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December 30, 2007

Photo of the Day - Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth, Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Florida, 2004. If anyone's wondering why there's been a bunch of WDW photos from 2004 in this space recently it's because I've been revisiting those photos and working with them recently. I never really went through them very carefully when I took them back then. I'm going to do the same with my Las Vegas photos from 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)

I'd Love to be Blogging...

...but there's really not much to blog about. No one really cares about how I celebrated my birthday or what I got for Christmas and there's not much going on in Nascar or baseball. But hopefully things will pick up a little next week.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)

December 27, 2007

Photo of the Day - Peeking

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

Posted by silverdsl at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2007

Roger Clemens Goes on the Offense

Roger Clemens has a Youtube video in which he proclaims his innocence and an interview set up with 60 Minutes in which he will respond to any and all questions about his alleged use of performance enhancers as detailed in the Mitchell Report. And now his lawyers are launching their own investigation, claiming that there are people that George Mitchell should have interviewed but didn't, all in an effort to clear Clemens.How hypocritical of Clemens's lawyers to imply that the Mitchell Report is faulty when any "investigation" they'd do would be far more biased than anything that George Mitchell did.

What does this all amount to? Nothing more than a carefully crafted public relations campaign. If Clemens wanted to clear his name so badly why didn't he give a statement of his own to Mitchell when he was contacted? Why didn't he answer reporters questions and make a statement himself directly to the media and fans when he was first named in the Mitchell Report instead of speaking through his agents and lawyers? And the youtube video - give me a break. Nothing more than Clemens and his "people" trying to control the message.

There's no hard evidence that Brian McNamee is telling the truth; unfortunately for Clemens there's no real proof that he's telling the truth either. Just one man's word against another's.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)

Unanswered Questions Heading Into 2008

As 2007 comes to an end there's lots of unanswered questions heading into the new year for a lot of teams, drivers and Nascar itself...

*Will Brendan Gaughan find a ride? I think the last thing that anyone expected was that Brendan would still be looking for a ride this late but then again it was also pretty surprising when the merger between South Point Racing and Wyler Racing fell apart which led to South Point Racing closing their doors.

*How many other teams might have to fold due to financial or other issues?

*What team will Ted Musgrave race for in 2008? At the end of the season there was a lot of talk that he had a deal in place but nothing's been announced yet.

*Will Morgan-McClure Motorsports field a Cup car next season? That they're heading into 2008 with no driver, no crew chief and no sponsor doesn't seem to bode well for them.

*A lot of fans have dug in their heels and are insistent that everything about the "new" Nascar is horrible as compared to the way things used to be. Any change, no matter how small is met with negativity, and more and more fans seem to like complaining and being negative about everything they hate about Nascar from some drivers to the governing body more than they enjoy watching good racing (yes, there is some of that!) and cheering for their favorite drivers. How is Nascar going to respond to these increasingly vocal fans?

*How long will Steve Park keep looking for a ride before the desire to race is greater than his desire to find an elite ride? And if he doesn't race next year either, how long before Steve acknowledges that he might be done?

*How many other talented drivers will have to sit on the sidelines next season for all or part of the season due to a lack of quality rides, sponsorship or other factors?

*Rumors circulated at the end of the season that all or part of Bill Davis Racing might be sold. Will that sale actually happen? More and more teams are finding that they need to bring on additional financial partners due to the ever increasing costs of racing so it wouldn't be surprising to see this sale go through at some point.

*How will switching manufacturers from Chevy to Toyota effect Joe Gibbs Racing? Some are predicting that JGR won't skip a beat and will be just as competitive as ever, while others are predicting that 2008 will be a disaster for them. I think 2008 will more likely be somewhere in the middle - an organization like JGR doesn't suddenly become non-competitive that quickly, but with how many problems Toyota had in Cup in 2007 I don't think it will be smooth sailing either.

*How will Dale Earnhardt, Jr. adjust to racing for a different organization for the first time in his Cup career? Many are already penciling him in as the 2008 Cup Champion but I think things won't be as easy for Junior in 2008 as some think. Aside from making the transition from DEI to Hendrick Motorsports, Junior will also be dealing with new teammates who are just as high-profile as he is, new major sponsors and new obligations that could be a distraction from what he's trying to accomplish on the track.

*Will HMS continue their dominant ways in the Cup Series next year? Will Jimmie Johnson win his third Cup championship in a row? I believe HMS will continue to be one of the best organizations in the garage, but I suspect that some of the other elite teams will close the gap a little. I expect Jimmie to contend for his third championship in a row.

*Will BDR, Michael Waltrip Racing and Red Bull Racing improve in performance in 2008? MWR has made the most changes, bringing in a new financial partner, new upper management, a Director of Engineering, three new crew chiefs, as well as additional personnel and resources. However, BDR and RBR must also be working hard to ensure that they are more successful next season. Some believe that Dave Blaney is poised to have a breakout season but BDR has struggled so much the past few seasons I'm not convinced of that. I think Brian Vickers will likely have a much stronger 2008, assuming that RBR can give him more competitive cars than they did this season.

*Who's going to end up in the #00 for MWR after the first five races? It's expected that one or both MWR development drivers, Josh Wise or Michael McDowell, will end up in the #00, but MWR has been known to surprise - will a veteran end up in the mix?

*How will all the open wheel drivers fare in Cup in 2008? With two of them needing to qualify for races on speed to start the season, and a limited amount of experience in Nascar for all of them, the results might not be pretty.

*Will drivers who struggled such as Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Michael Waltrip and Jeremy Mayfield rebound in 2008?

*What company will replace Craftsman as the sponsor of the Truck Series?

Posted by silverdsl at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2007

Photo of the Day - Merry Christmas!

No, Bailey was not named in the Mitchell Report on steroids, he's naturally over-sized for a pug! May all who celebrate Christmas have a very merry and joyful holiday!

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

December 21, 2007

Chris Carrier to be Sam Hornish, Jr.'s Crew Chief

In a move that may surprise some fans, Chris Carrier, who was crew chief of the #4 driven by Ward Burton at Morgan-McClure Motorsports, is joining Penske Racing to be Sam Hornish, Jr.'s crew chief next season. Although Carrier is a long-time veteran in Nascar, I'd guess that some might not think much of him because of the struggles of the #4 team this season. However, I suspect Carrier will be excellent for Hornish. For one thing, Carrier (nor Burton) shouldn't be judged only on the basis of the results this season for the #4 - Morgan-McClure has significantly less resources than many of the teams in the garage area which is a major challenge for them.

Carrier has been Claire B. Lang's go-to person many times this season when she needs a crew chief to explain things or give an opinion on something happening in the garage area on her XM show, particularly those issues that affect the go-or-go-home teams. I've been extremely impressed by Carrier - he's clearly very intelligent and knows what he's doing. The other thing that's clear is that working for a team with so few resources in comparison to the other teams is very frustrating for him. Carrier won't have that problem at Penske - he knows what he needs to do to give his drivers competitive cars and I think he will do that for Hornish. That said, I'm still not convinced that next season is going to go well for Hornish. But Penske hiring Carrier will certainly help him.

Unfortunately this doesn't bode well for Morgan-McClure. Not only do they not have a crew chief, but they also need a driver, and perhaps most importantly a sponsor. It seems to me that if they aren't able to put something together very soon, particularly in relation to sponsorship, we may not see the #4 on the track next season, at least not full-time. Which would be a shame considering Morgan-McClure's long history in the sport.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

December 20, 2007

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/20)

Great article on Nascar.com about Michael Waltrip and how optimistic he is about next season for Michael Waltrip Racing! After a season filled with struggles in which the media coverage about Michael and MWR was mostly negative, it's nice to see an article that's positive, and especially one that's three-pages long!

In relation to last season Michael said,

"Last year was very, very important to me because it got us prepared for next year. And when I say that, I mean that when I look back to where we were a year ago right at this moment, and I see where we are now, it makes me smile. It makes me very happy."

I also smile when I think about where MWR is now - just a few years ago MWR was just a Busch team that didn't race a full season that was housed in the backyard of Michael's house. Now, it's a major organization that fields multiple full-time Cup teams, a full-time Busch team (and possibly a second one) and until recently a full-time truck team. They have a beautiful new facility, hundreds of talented personnel and several major sponsors. Although it's hard to consider 2007 a success for MWR in light of their struggles, Michael has really brought the organization a long way in a short period of time!

Michael continued,

"Hindsight is always 20-20. We can sit here and say could've, would've, should've -- but we don't choose to live that way. We wanted a technical director; we just couldn't find anybody to fill the role. We tried to add depth on our team, and we just weren't ready. We didn't know we weren't, but we weren't.

And so what doesn't kill you, I think probably makes you stronger. What we learned last year is going to make us better this year -- and to me, that makes what we went through last year worthwhile."

Both Michael and Ty Norris have talked a few times about how MWR - and the other Toyota teams for that matter - felt that they were prepared for what 2007 would bring but weren't. Michael and others at MWR seem to be the only ones who are really willing to honestly admit to that and I think that's important because it means that they're able to make an honest assessment of themselves. Sometimes it seems to me as if teams and drivers get so caught up in putting a good spin on things that they can't conceive of the idea that things won't work out the way they envision. Such as Yates Racing for example - Max Jones was certain yesterday that they'd find sponsors for both of their Cup cars. Well, what if they can't find those sponsors? So hopefully if MWR has learned one thing from last season it's not to assume that things are going to fall in place or somehow work out in the right way because that's not always what happens.

I think it's very true that the struggles of last season, while not what Michael and MWR wanted to go through by any means, also served as an excellent learning tool that has and will continue to make their organization stronger. Hopefully they'll have learned a lot from this past season that will help them avoid mistakes in the future. Of course there's still going to be some struggles for MWR next season - they're still going to be starting the season without any of their cars in the top 35 in owner's points - and in general every team has their share of issues and problems to deal with each season, even the elite teams. But their experiences this past season will surely make Michael and MWR a lot wiser when it comes to next season.

Some fans have expressed some disappointment that Michael took on a partner in Rob Kauffman because they wanted Michael to be able to become a successful owner completely on his own. But Michael said,

"So I knew in order to stand toe-to-toe with those guys, I had to be able to spend the dollars necessary. And if we thought we needed something, we had to be able to figure out how to get it. Rob has offered his participation, and his partnership has secured the ability to do those things."

Kauffman's involvement is going to be a huge asset to MWR moving forward, and is something that Michael had to do to ensure that MWR had the financial resources necessary to compete.

Michael added,

"It's not really a number and it's not really a piece of equipment here or there. It's really more of an attitude, and just a very confident feeling by everyone who works here. And that feeling is that if we need it, we're going to get it. It's up to our people -- who are very smart, talented people -- to justify why we need what we're asking for. And if they are able to do that, then we're going to acquire it."

That added confidence is huge for MWR. It's so important for those that work at MWR to feel good about the organization and believe in their ability to compete and succeed. I'm glad that bringing Kauffman on-board is going to enable MWR to do the things they need to do.

One thing that is very appealing about Micheal is that he's always tried to have a positive outlook, which probably wasn't very easy at times this year. As such he's feeling good about the progress that MWR made this season.

"I just couldn't be prouder of who we are today, and I know that it will result in better performance and happy sponsors and more smiles. "

I certainly hope so! Although I'm not sure that all three MWR cars are going to be racing up front every week as that seems a bit much to expect when they struggled to even make races this season, I definitely think there's going to be a big difference in performance between 2007 and 2008. I expect there to be races where MWR contends for wins and I expect that the finishes will be much improved over this season. And I can't wait!

Michael also posted a holiday message on his website for his fans which was also full of optimism. One comment in particular jumped out at me:

"In building this race team, many people told me that the experience would be challenging, intense, fun and rewarding. Those people were right. It was every bit of that and more. But they also said it was impossible. Yet after enduring a few setbacks, MWR is still alive and as you have read in our announcements, growing stronger day-by-day. I feel confident in declaring our teams “light years” ahead of where we were at this stage last year."

There were a huge amount of doubters and naysayers before MWR even raced one race in 2007. As the season went on and they continued to struggle, there were a tremendous amount of fans, and even some in the media, who doubted whether MWR had a long-term future in the sport. Some even predicted that MWR would fold by the end of the season. But they're still here, and they're stronger than ever. Michael didn't give up and neither did anyone else at MWR - they kept on showing up to races week after week whether all three teams or none had made the race the week before, and that determination paid off in steady progress as the season went along. There is no doubt in my mind that like Michael says, MWR is a better organization today than they were a year ago and I couldn't be happier!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2007

Photo of the Day - Driftwood Beach

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

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

Yates Racing Still Has No Sponsors

While he tried to put a very positive spin on things and be very optimistic about the future of Yates Racing, Max Jones, who is a co-owner, along with Doug Yates, and also the general manager, said that they don't have sponsors for either of their two Cup cars next season. And it didn't sound like anything was close to getting done either considering Jones said that they were prepared to race at Daytona with blank cars. I have to wonder realistically how long Yates can keep two Cup teams on the track - and have them be competitive - without any money coming in from sponsors. No matter how much support they might get from Roush-Fenway Racing they still need sponsorship money to pay the bills. Jones seemed completely unconcerned that it was this late in the going and they had no sponsorship. He said that there's many companies who are anxious to get into Nascar and when was the last time anyone saw a blank car? Not often since most teams without sponsors either cut back or fold. In addition, while it's true that there are a lot of companies who want to get involved with Nascar because of how much exposure it can generate, there aren't that many companies that are in a position to hand over the $15-20 million required to be a full-time primary sponsor, let alone finding two of those companies.

What I also found a little puzzling is that Jones talked about how they're a little behind in terms of getting the cars ready for next season because of their recent move into a smaller shop. However, they will be closed all of next week though January 2. While that's very nice for their employees most other race teams will be working at least part of next week - can Yates really afford to fall further behind the other teams? Jones was saying a lot of the "right" things to put a very positive spin on everything (and make it clear that they were a separate entity from Roush-Fenway contrary to what most believe) but I didn't feel very optimistic about that organization's long time future after hearing they have no sponsors for their cars.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)

More on Frank Kerr

Frank Kerr was just on XM talking about going to Robby Gordon Motorsports to be Robby's crew chief. There's been a lot of speculation about why Frank left Michael Waltrip Racing, whether it was by choice and whether it was because he was replaced as David Reutimann's crew chief by Ryan Pemberton. Well, it turns out that Frank always remained in contact with Robby after he left RGM, and he's been talking to him since the Dover race in September about becoming his crew chief. I guess his contract at MWR must have put a little crimp in his plans - it must have been pretty disappointing to Robby and Frank when Gene Nead fled RGM that Frank couldn't step in right away as Robby's CC due to his obligations to MWR. Frank said that Robby's driving style is exactly like his was when he raced - intense. From the way he was singing Robby's praises I'm wondering if he really enjoyed working with David and had as good of a relationship with him as it had always seemed. None of this surprises me as I've just always had the sense that there was still a relationship of some sort between Robby and Frank and that Frank would be leaving MWR eventually to return to RGM.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)

More on Kasey Kahne

I've just been thinking about the trouble that Kasey Kahne currently finds himself in. When was the last time a driver was put in handcuffs and arrested? I think it was Jimmy Spencer in 2004 when he was arrested for interferring when some police officers came to arrest his son. That resulted in Jimmy losing his Cup ride that season, and while he raced in the Truck Series for Ultra Motorsports for a season it seemed like his career never really got back on track after that. As I recall Jimmy was raked over the coals for his behavior that resulted in him getting arrested, and more recently Michael Waltrip has been ripped to shreds in relation to his accident even though he was never arrested and got nothing more than a traffic violation as a result. And let's not forget the horror at Carl Edwards's behavior when he lashed out at Matt Kenseth and the speculation about how he might be on steroids. So where's the outrage over Kasey being charged with (misdemeanor) battery?

While I'm pretty understanding of where Kasey was coming from in that incident, the reality is that Kasey should never have pushed the guard. In addition, he was arrested which is no small matter even if the incident seems like it might be an over-reaction. I get the feeling that there are some drivers who could do just about anything and it would get brushed off, meanwhile there are some drivers who can't do anything right in some fan's eyes.

I also can't help but wonder how long this might drag on and if it will turn into a distraction for Kasey as he prepares for next season.

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

The Usual Nonsense

Without much to talk about on a lot of the forums, racing and otherwise, fans are getting restless which are leading to the usual kinds of petty disagreements and childish behavior. Over on the Nascar. com forums there's a big to-do over a moderator taking down (and later re-posting with some modifications) a prayer that a user had posted. Many of the other users felt that it was an attack against those who have Christian beliefs, but those that run Nascar.com have to take into consideration that not all of their users share the same religious beliefs and they need to make sure that everyone (as much as possible) feels welcome on their forums no matter what their beliefs may be. Fact is, despite what many Nascar fans believe there are non-Christian Nascar fans. That doesn't mean that prayers shouldn't be posted but when something comes across as preachy and non-inclusive that's a problem. What a lot of people don't realize is that freedom of speech doesn't apply on the Nascar.com forums (or most other forums) - they can edit, delete or restrict some types of posts as much as they want. While I understand why some are upset, it's unfortunate that some can't take a step back and realize that it's not only their religious (or other) beliefs that matter.

As for some of the other kerfuffles, most of them seem to be about attention-starved drama kings and queens jumping up and down saying "look at me, look at me!" only using different words. I'm sure it's not too much fun for those who are on those particular forums but I have to admit that while I have sympathy for the admins/moderators of those forums as one who has had to clean up plenty of messes as an admin/moderator herself, it's also kind of hilarious. Some people are so self-involved they have no idea how ridiculous they make themselves seem.

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

Terry Cook, Richard Johns to Drive for Wyler Racing

Wyler Racing made their driver lineup for 2008 official today. Joining Richard Johns, who had been previously announced as the driver of the #60 truck, will be Terry Cook, who will race the #06. As a Steve Park fan I know I'm supposed to be disappointed by this announcement but I'm not - I never expected that Steve would get a ride with Wyler even though he had reportedly been talking with them. In addition, I like that Wyler is giving an opportunity to a young driver to race what will likely be a competitive truck, even though one reason they went with Richard is likely because he brought sponsorship with him. I'm also glad to see that Terry is getting another opportunity with a good team, one that might be better than HT Motorsports, who he raced for last season.

Overall, I'm just glad that Wyler Racing is going to have trucks on the track next season since the last thing the Truck Series needs is to lose more teams. After the merger with South Point Racing fell through I feared that it might spell the end for Wyler Racing since they were likely counting on additional resources from South Point financially and otherwise to help their efforts. So it's good to see that Wyler went forward with their plans to field two truck teams next season even without South Poitn and the Gaughans.

As for Steve, he's talked to Wyler Racing about a ride since he was released from the #62 truck at the end of 2005. If they didn't give him a ride the past two years, I didn't think it was too likely he was going to end up with them now even though they had two open rides. A lack of sponsorship, the reason that's commonly cited for why Steve isn't getting rides, isn't the issue here either since Wyler is still looking for sponsorship for Terry's truck, which indicates a willingness to put a driver behind the wheel even if he doesn't bring sponsorship with him. If Wyler really wanted to give Steve a ride they would have put him in the second truck and then searched for sponsorship like they're doing with Terry, or raced the truck with the Wyler Automotive logos on as they did with Jack Sprague in the past. More than a few fans complain that the young kids are "stealing" all the rides from Steve even though (in these fan's eyes) they don't really deserve them. Well, age certainly isn't a factor here since Terry is about the same age as Steve.

So why did Wyler pick Terry for their second truck instead of Steve? Of course there's no way of knowing for sure - for all I know maybe Steve decided that Wyler wasn't right for him after all. But there's two advantages that Terry has over Steve - one being that he raced for another Toyota team last season and when a driver races for one Toyota team that seems to open doors for them with other Toyota teams. The other factor is that regardless of what team or manufacturer he was racing for, Terry raced last season. Steve never got behind the wheel of a car or truck on any of Nascar's three highest levels, and has only raced one race over all - a Camping World East race - in more than a year. I suspect that makes some teams (and sponsors) leery of him. Oh yeah - Terry's also a more accomplished driver in the Truck Series having won six races, four of them in one season (2002).

If things didn't even work out for Steve with a team run by good friends of his, I think it's pretty unlikely that he's going to find a ride anywhere else. I'm sure some will come up with all sorts of excuses and reasons as to why Steve hasn't been able to find a ride, but unfortunately it appears that there's not that much interest in his services - at least from the kind of teams that he says he wants to race for. I hope to be surprised and have Steve show up at testing or peedweeks with a competitive Truck, Nationwide, Cup, ARCA or Camping World East team that he'll go on to win lots of races for. But I doubt it's going to happen. And that's not me being a negative-nellie, "bad" fan who doesn't believe in Steve. That's just the reality of Steve's situation that he doesn't have a ride and there aren't many openings left.

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

16-Year Old Jamie Lynn Spears Pregnant

It's not just Britney Spears whose life is a trainwreck, it appears her younger sister, Jamie Lynn has learned nothing from her sister's problems. Just 16-years old, Jamie Lynn appears on the Nickelodeon show, Zoey 101, and in an interview with Ok! magazine admitted that she's pregnant. Teen pregnancy is disturbing to begin with but what's particularly troubling about this situation is that Jamie Lynn's long-time boyfriend, Casey Aldridge, is 19 so he could be charged with statutory rape, though it's probably unlikely to happen. It boggles my mind 16- years old! It's difficult to raise teens to begin with, but I'd think that adding celebrity into the mix makes things even harder. However, there seems to be some real issues in the Spears family that go beyond being influenced by fame and money.

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

Roger Clemens Denies Using Steriods or HGH

While other players, including his good friend Andy Pettitte, have stepped forward to confirm that information contained in the Mitchell Report is mostly accurate, Roger Clemens continues to insist that he never used performance enhancers. In a statement released yesterday by his agent, Clemens said,

"I want to state clearly and without qualification: I did not take steroids, human growth hormone or any other banned substances at any time in my baseball career or, in fact, my entire life. Those substances represent a dangerous and destructive shortcut that no athlete should ever take."

I'd like to give Clemens the benefit of the doubt - no fan has any way of knowing for sure without a positive drug test, federal indictment, and admission or other concrete evidence, for sure if a player's used performance enhancers. But I don't believe Clemens. For one thing, it wasn't until fairly recently that Major League Baseball cracked down on the use of performance enhancers and added substances like HGH to the banned list. So Clemens may very well have been taking performance enhancers but because they weren't on MLB's banned list at the time he was using them he may feel he's done nothing wrong. In addition amphetamines, otherwise known as "greenies," are also considered performance enhancers. Greenies were widely used by many players, including those who would never touch steriods or HGH. I find it hard to believe that at the very least Clemens didn't use greenies at some point.

Clemens continued,

"I am disappointed that my 25 years in public life have apparently not earned me the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that Senator Mitchell's report has raised many serious questions. I plan to publicly answer all of those questions at the appropriate time in the appropriate way. I only ask that in the meantime people not rush to judgment."

Clemens has had plenty of opportunities to defend himself starting with talking to George Mitchell for The Mitchell Report. Clemens declined to do so even though that would have been the perfect opportunity to refute Brian McNamee's claims. Or now that the report has been released Clemens could prove McNamee wrong. But he hasn't, and I suspect an "appropriate time and appropriate way" will never come. There's been some talk that Clemens wants to sue MLB or McNamee over these allegations. That'll never happen. By doing so Clemens will open himself up to having every part of his life examined and investigated and I highly doubt he wants that to happen.

Clemens should have let his initial denials last week speak for him and remained quiet. But by being so insistent that he's an innocent man that's been wrongly targeted on the basis of false accusations, I think Clemens is digging a rather large hole for himself that he might have trouble climbing out of . Someone, somewhere right now is likely taking Clemens statement that he's never used performance enhancers in his entire life as a challenge and eventually if there's proof out there that Clemens used it will surface. In addition, there's going to be another round of congressional hearings on performance enhancers in baseball. Clemens could get called to testify and he will get questioned about McNamee's allegations under oath. Will he answer their questions or take the Mark McGwire route?

What's most damning in my mind is that Pettitte confirmed some things from the Mitchell Report which means that McNamee is telling at least part of the truth. If he told the truth about Pettitte it seems to me that there's a good change he was telling the truth about Clemens as well. It will be really intersting to see what's going to happen at the congressional hearings if Pettitte is called to testify as well - he'll say that he got HGH from McNamee and then Clemens is going to say that McNamee is a liar? Either McNamee is a liar or he isn't.

Some are wondering why Clemens would issue such a strong denial if he really did take performance enhancers and I'd guess that's because he's trying to salvage his chances to still be considered for the Hall of Fame. It remains to be seen whether he'll be elected to the Hall or not, but one thing's for sure, Clemens's accomplishments in baseball are forever tainted much like those of Barry Bonds.

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

December 17, 2007

Photo of the Day - Early Morning Fishing

Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)

CD 1 - Michael's Mix

An explanation for anyone who comes across this entry or the one that precedes it who isn't one of the Wal-Nutz, each year we do a holiday gift for Michael Waltrip. Last year I had everyone send good luck charms, poems or gifts that I boxed up to send to Michael, this year I decided that with how much Michael loves music, that he'd enjoy something music related. So I asked everyone to send me titles of songs that make them thing of Michael. I took those songs along with some of the songs that he played on his XM show this year and burned them onto two CDs, which were given to Michael today. From the sounds of it Michael liked getting the CDs which makes me happy!

Special thanks to Cathy for delivering the gift and for the cover sheet and CD covers and to Jess for her design work on the CD jewel box covers. Big thanks also to all the Wal-Nutz who contributed a song suggestion or a card for Michael.

Disc One
1. Runnin’ Down a Dream – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Jess Zeller/RockOnMW) – Jess said, “I’ve always thought of this song as being related to NASCAR, and now even more that you’re running down a dream of being a team owner. There’s something good waiting down this road, I’m picking up whatever is mine, and what’s waiting for you, and what you pick up, is success!”

2. Beautiful Day – U2 (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – It’s always a beautiful day when you’re racing!

3. Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms (Laura Ritt/boogityx3) – Laura choose this song because “it makes me drive fast when I hear it!”

4. I Want You To Want Me – Cheap Trick (Jess Zeller/RockOnMW) – This song reminds Jess of one of your wins – “To this day I can’t listen to this song without thinking about your Talladega win in 2003. I’ve never heard a driver serenade to a teammate before, and that as well as the pop out of the roof hatch, made that one victory I’ll never forget.”

5. I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair – George Jones – A song you played on the XM show – you definitely don’t need that rocking chair yet. You’ve still got lots of racing – and winning – left to do!

6. Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go) – Dierks Bentley (Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Cathy is reminded of you when she hears this song because “Even though Michael had a tough go of it this year, the free and easy attitude expressed in this song reminds me of Michael’s fun loving and easy-going disposition! The outlook that he seems to have of life is expressed in this song, so I can’t help but think of him when I hear it!”

7. Good Directions – Billy Currington (Darla Patterson/mikeytoyo55 and Jeannie Rush/zebmonkey)

8. Me and God – Josh Turner (Darla Patterson/mikeytoyo55)

9. The Rising – Bruce Springsteen (Laura Ritt/boogityx3) – Laura said, “Next year people better look out for the rising of MWR!!”

10. I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher (Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Cathy choose this song because “The reason this song makes me think of Michael is because of the time I was standing in the XM show recording studio with him and Tony as they were recording their show and my cell phone went off unexpectedly. My ringtone is I Got You Babe… It always makes me think of him and that funny moment!”

11. My Way – Elvis Presley (Doylene Stafford/doylene1) – Doylene suggested this song because “Michael has built a future empire by doing it his way.”

12. Wild Thing – The Troggs (Wanda Flatt/mikeyforme) – Wanda thinks of you when she hears this song because “It’s so like Mikey!”

13. We Will Rock You – Queen (Jess Zeller/RockOnMW) – Jess choose this song because “I will always think of you rocking at the restrictor plate tracks so this song fits into that. You’re one of the kings of drafting at Daytona and Talladega, and those races are the highlights of my season!”

14. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple

15. Top of the World – Van Halen (Sherry Payne/slpayne) – Sherry says she heard this song on the radio, liked it and thought of you because the top of the world is “where Michael and his teams are going to be next year!”

16. I Believe – Joe Satriani (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – Joe Satriani is a talented musican that few have heard of. Most of his songs are instrumental, but not this one. The song goes “I believe in my dream” which reminds me of you because you believed in your dream of growing MWR and fielding multiple Cup teams so strongly that you made it a reality.

17. Changes – Tesla (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – “Changes, time's makin' changes in my life, Rearrangin', can't seem to stop the hands of time” When I hear this song I think of you, and all the changes that you’ve surely seen in NASCAR – and in your life – since you first started racing. Often fans want things to always be the same in the sport or with their favorite drivers, but of course that isn’t possible.

18. Back in the Saddle - Aerosmith

Posted by silverdsl at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)

CD 2 - Michael's Mix

Disc Two
1. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits

2. The Stroke – Billy Squier

3. Wild Night – John Mellencamp (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – As the song says, “All those wild nights breeze through your mind.” You love to have fun, and I’m sure you’ve got many fond memories of wild nights through the years!

4. Here Comes The Rain Again – Eurythmics

5. Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – Opinions vary about what the lyrics to this song mean, but the day is going to come when all your hard work is going to pay off and you’re going to “fly like an eagle” as an owner (and driver).

6. These Are Days – 10,000 Maniacs (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – These are the days you’ll remember – and be remembered for. As a two-time Daytona 500 winner you’ve already made your mark on the sport, but you’ll continue to be a presence and have an impact for years to come as an owner even after you’ve stopped racing. There is success on the horizon for MWR, and when that comes “these are the days” that you’ll be celebrating.

7. Isn’t That Everything - Danielle Peck

8. As Good As I Once Was – Toby Keith (Kathy Fannon/mikeyfansy and Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Both choose this song because you sang it after you won the pole at Pocono. Kathy remembers that you said “Well, I’m not as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was” in response to a reporter’s question about how you felt about winning the pole, which she said totally threw off the reporter who didn’t know the song. She still laughs about that moment and was even recently talking about it with her son. Cathy said, “I love hearing him sing – he does it with all his heart and soul! Everytime I hear this song now I think of that moment and Michael’s big smile!”

9. Proud of The House We Built – Brooks & Dunn (Jeannie Rush/zebmonkey) – You should be extremely proud of what you’re building with MWR!

10. Dust on the Bottle – David Lee Murphy

11. Baby Blue – George Strait (Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Cathy said, “I know that this is a love song about a guy losing a girl, so why in the world would it make me think of Michael??!! Well, it’s because of the lines in the song that go ‘baby blue was the color of her eyes, baby blue like the Colorado skies’ and we know that Michael has awesome blue eyes! Plus the line that goes ‘so here’s to you and whoever holds my baby blue tonight’ as whoever holds him is pretty darn lucky!” (Many of the other female Nutz would agree with Cathy on this one!)

12. Lights – Journey

13. Dust in the Wind – Kansas

14. Wildflowers – Tom Petty (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – As the song says, you belong somewhere where you feel free, far away from your trouble and your worry.

15. Stand – Rascal Flatts (Kristy Howard/kristy) – Kristy is reminded of you when she hears this song because the lyrics talk about when you are going through something tough, how you can, and will, get back up, and “Stand.” It seems very fitting to her considering everything that has happened this year.

16. Kansas City Lights – Steve Wariner (Jeannie Rush/zebmonkey) – Jeannie had choose “River to the Sea” which she knows that you like a lot, but that song wasn’t available for me to download, so I used this one instead that you had played on your XM show.

17. Please Come to Boston – Dave Loggins

18. Kind & Generous – Natalie Merchant (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – “You’ve been so kind and generous, I don’t know how you keep on giving, For your kindness I’m in debt to you.” For your kindness we are all in debt to you. All of your fans thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness to us whenever we’ve encountered you through the years. Even this year when there were so many challenges you were always terrific to each and every one of us!

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

Lawsuit to be Filed Against Kasey Kahne

I figured we hadn't heard the last of the incident between Kasey Kahne and the security guard at Homestead at the end of the season. A lawsuit will be filed today against Kahne alleging that the guard, Archibald Hutchinson, has suffered emotionally since the incident and that he's getting bashed by fans on blogs (and presumably message boards). In addition, in spite of only being treated for minor bruises and abrasions, Hutchinson hasn't been able to return to work. I hesitate to be too critical of Hutchinson for filing suit since I have no idea how great the emotional distress he's suffering from is, nor was I present when the incident took place. But it seems to me if someone is suffering emotional trauma, part of which is caused by the way that they've been ripped on the internet, why would they set themselves up to be a target again by taking part in a news conference, scheduled for tomorrow?

One thing that jumped out at me when this incident first came to light is how many different stories there were about what had happened. Although it had been said that Kahne's brother, Kale, was involved, according to the police report that doesn't seem to be the case. The report says:

"According to a Homestead police report, Kahne was attempting to access a restricted recreational vehicle parking lot on a golf cart after he finished driving his racecar when Hutchison stopped him and asked him for credentials. Kahne stated that he was a driver and didn't need any, then got out of the golf cart and tried to walk through the gate, the report stated. When Hutchison blocked the entrance and asked Kahne for credentials again, Kahne pushed Hutchison to the ground, according to the report."

In addition, Kahne was arrested later in the day for battery.

It continues to boggle my mind that things escalated so far out of hand. Kahne wasn't in the wrong - drivers don't carry their credentials with them when they are practicing or racing and while in uniform shouldn't need his hard card to access the motorcoach lot. I understand that the guard was told that unauthorized people weren't allowed to access the lot without exception but where was Hutchinson's common sense? First of all, a driver in uniform is someone who is - or at least should be - authorized to enter the lot. Second, if there's any question, instead of confronting someone who by all appearances is a driver, the way to handle things would be to call for a supervisor or an official with Nascar or the track who surely would have cleared up any misunderstandings and clarified what the policy was as it relates to the drivers, their credentials and their access to the motorcoach lot.

While Kahne shouldn't have pushed the guard, looking at things from his point-of-view, besides the fact that he's fully aware that the drivers don't need to wear their hard cards to gain access when they're in uniform, he's also being denied access to where he lives each weekend. Who wouldn't get upset if they were barred from their home?

I can't help but wonder if Hutchinson's lawyer is going public with their intentions to file a lawsuit in the hopes that Kahne will offer Hutchinson a settlement of a lot of money to go away to avoid negative publicity. But there might be a miscalculation there if that thought has crossed their minds - thus far the majority of the negativity has been directed towards Hutchinson. Again, you'd think that someone who is suing over emotional distress due to being bashed by Nascar fans online might look to avoid putting themselves in that position again.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts

*As I suspected, Frank Kerr is headed to Robby Gordon Motorsports, where he had worked previously, to be Robby's crew chief. I just had a very strong feeling that Frank was going back to RGM, the only question (which we may never know the answer to) is whether he left Michael Waltrip Racing as a result of Ryan Pemberton being hired to take his place as David Reutimann's crew chief, or whether Frank was already planning to leave for RGM before MWR even started talking to Pemberton. Robby has had a hard time keeping crew chiefs as he can be extremely hard on them, but Frank is familiar with Robby already so maybe he'll stick around at RGM longer than some of the other crew chiefs Robby has had recently.

*More and more of the smaller Nationwide and Truck teams are struggling to continue to race. Things look bleak for McGill Motorsports since they don't have a primary sponsor or a driver, but also Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports is being dissolved. I can't say I'm surprised about that. After Eddie D'Hondt left Yates Racing, he announced with great fanfare his plans to form Riley-D'Hondt and race full-time in both the Nationwide and Cup Series, even though he didn't have much (if any) sponsorship lined up or any drivers. While they did race part-time in the Nationwide Series with Mark Green, Riley-D'Hondt ultimately made only one Cup start with Marc Goossens at Infineon. Apparently D'Hondt plans to field some cars in the Nationwide and ARCA Series next season as D'Hondt Racing.

*Danny O'Quinn's finally been released by Roush-Fenway Racing. After winning Rookie of the Year honors in the Nationwide Series in 2006, it seemed as if O'Quinn had a bright future ahead of him. However, Roush was never able to secure sponsorship for him for this season nor would they release him from his contract. So he ended up in limbo, racing just ten Nationwide races for a few different teams. Hopefully he'll find a team to race for but it's rather late in the going to first be looking for a ride now as most of the best available rides are already taken.

*Although Bobby Hamilton, Jr. is no longer involved with his father's company, Bobby Hamilton Racing, due to a dispute with the current ownership group that includes his late father's second wife, that hasn't stopped him from giving his opinion about the organization moving from Nashville to Virginia now that they've merged with Arrington Manufacturing. Bobby believes that his father would never have allowed the move to Virginia for reasons much like why Brendan Gaughan wanted South Point Racing to remain in Las Vegas - that people told them that a team couldn't be successful outside of Charlotte. While both organizations have had their share of success over the years, I think there's a lot of truth to the idea that the successful teams are those that are based in the Charlotte area. While Virginia still isn't Charlotte, it's a step in the right direction. BHR has yet to announce their driver lineup for next season, though it's been rumored that Dennis Setzer and possibly Ted Musgrave or Stacy Compton (who is involved with Arrington) will race for them in 2008.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2007

Andy Pettitte Admits to Using HGH

Andy Pettitte is the first player since the Mitchell Report was released to admit that allegations in the report that he used performance enhancers are (at least partially) true. Pettitte released a statement yesterday in which he admitted to using HGH for two days in 2002. It's not surprising to me in the least that Pettitte did use performance enhancers. However, like Peter Abraham of the Journal News I think Pettitte's apology/statement is lacking but I suppose we should be happy he's even acknowledging it since so many players who are accused or caught using performance enhancers deny it, even when there's a positive drug test.

For me it's this part of his statement that's so troubling:

"If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize. I accept responsibility for those two days. Everything else written or said about me knowingly using illegal drugs is nonsense, wrong and hurtful. I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable. I wasn't looking for an edge; I was looking to heal."

There are no "if's" about it. The use of HGH without a doctor's prescription was illegal even though it wasn't specifically banned by baseball until 2002. Pettitte knew that it was illegal to use HGH but he still made "an error in judgment" and used it anyway.

In addition, the excuse that he was only looking to heal faster and return to the team quicker, not gain an advantage over other players, is ridiculous. Again, as Abraham points out, Pettitte was gaining an advantage over other players who also had injuries but weren't using HGH to help them heal. As I've said before every players has excuses to justify it to themselves and others - it was to heal faster, it was to perform better on the field and help the team, everyone else was doing it so it wasn't a performance enhancer I was just keeping up with the other players, etc... While more than a few fans are willing to excuse Pettitte's use of HGH because he was trying to return to help the team, in my mind the use of performance enhancers is still wrong regardless of the reasons why he was using.

Pettitte's admission to using HGH is bad news for Roger Clemens. While Pettitte doesn't mention Clemens or Brian McNamee, it certainly makes McNamee's statements seem more credible. Clemens denied everything in his own statement, but it's hard for me to believe that McNamee would tell the truth about Pettitte but lie about Clemens, especially when he had a good relationship with both players until fairly recently.

Some fans feel that MLB is to blame for Pettitte using HGH because they didn't address the problem of performance enhancers soon enough or that Pettitte was manipulated by others into using HGH. I don't agree. Pettitte is the only person who is responsible for what he puts in his own body. He was fully aware of what he was doing. MLB, Clemens, McNamee, nor the media are to blame for Pettitte using HGH.

Many Yankee fans are bending over backwards to discredit the Mitchell Report, but while I believe the report is flawed, I think there's likely a lot of truth there too. That Pettitte used performance enhancers doesn't really change the way I think of him - he's very good pitcher who has helped the Yankees win and will hopefully pitch well for them next season as well. However, unlike many fans I don't think his use of performance enhancers is okay no matter what his excuses are. I accepted a long time ago that the athletes that I admire, whether they're Nascar drivers or baseball players, are going to say and do things that I don't agree with and that doesn't make me any less of a fan of their's. Some fans put the players they admire on pedestals and think that they can do no wrong, but I know that just like any other human beings the players can and will make mistakes and do things that they shouldn't be doing - like Pettitte did when he used HGH.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2007

Nascar Allows Owners Points Switch Between Busch and Hornish

Nascar has decided to allow Penske Racing to switch owners points between Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish, Jr. to start next season, which will put Hornish into the top 35 in owner's points, thus guaranteeing that he will race in the first five races of the season. Busch will have to qualify for races on speed, but he has a Champion's provisional he can make use of, so he's essentially locked in as well. While that could present a problem for Dale Jarrett if he was planning on using his Champion's provisional to make those races, odds are that Busch won't have to use a provisional since he's a good qualifier and usually gets fast cars from Penske.

I'm not crazy about this kind of a points swap. I don't blame Penske for doing it since it will help Hornish, who seems to need all the help he can get given that he's not shown much in his limited time in Nascar so far. However, it just doesn't sit right with me, just like all the other ways that teams manipulate the rules by buying or swapping points or putting past Champions in their cars to use their provisionals to make races doesn't feel right to me either. Again, as long as Nascar allows it, I don't blame the teams for doing everything they feel they need to do to increase their chances for success. I'm just not completely comfortable with it happening. I also wonder how Busch really feels about giving up the owner's points that he earned for his team to Hornish? He'll make the races regardless but having to use a Champion's provisional might be a little embarassing for him.

The other thing is that while being locked into those first five races will give Hornish an advantage over the other teams that currently are outside the top 35 in owner's points, his results in those first five races will still have to be good enough that when things revert to the 2008 owner's points he'll be in the top 35. Hornish is a talented driver but he's not shown the same kind of ability in Nascar that he has in other series so far so Penske will have to be sure to surround him with a very talented team and give him extremely good cars to be sure he sticks in the top 35 for the entire season. The level of competition next season will likely be even greater than it was this season so that might not be so easy.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

New Crew Chief Lineup for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2008

Yesterday Michael Waltrip Racing announced their crew chief lineup for 2008. In a previous entry I had said how great it would be if Ryan Pemberton ended up at MWR, but that I thought he would likely go to a more established team - I'm very happy that I was wrong about that! Pemberton will be David Reutimann's crew chief next season, first when he's in the #00 for the first five races of the season, and then when he moves to the #44 team. Pemberton was most recently the crew chief of the #01 at Ginn Racing and DEI, where he worked with Joe Nemechek and Mark Martin. Previously he worked with Ernie Ervan and Jerry Nadeau. Michael Waltrip will also have a new crew chief - Paul Andrews, who Michael knows from when they were both at DEI at the same time. Andrews was Steve Park's crew chief at DEI for one of his wins and also worked Jeremy Mayfield, Jeff Burton and most recently with Bobby Labonte and Kyle Petty at Petty Enterprises. The crew chief of the third Cup team will be Bill Pappas, who doesn't have any Nascar crew chiefing experience, but has had considerable success as a chief engineer for Chip Ganassi Racing and Panther Racing among others in IRL and CART. He was the chief engineer for Juan Pablo Montoya when he won the Indy 500 in 2000. In the Nationwide Series, Jerry Baxter will remain as crew chief of the #99 car for David.

I'm really glad that Michael is getting a crew chief who has a lot of experience with other veteran drivers and at a lot of different organizations. Buddy Cisco was officially the crew chief last season once they settled on someone, but Bobby Kennedy was clearly callling the shots on race day. I think Bobby and Michael worked together extremely well but Bobby is probably needed in other areas at MWR. Paul has worked with a variety of different drivers with different personalities so he likely has the patience and ability to handle Michael's strong personality, plus he will hopefully be able to give Michael competitive cars so that he will be able to make races and get good results. Having one crew chief from the start of the season to the end of the season will give the #55 team the stability that they didn't always have last season and that should help both the team and Michael. While the results can't be considered good for Michael last season since he DNQ'd for so many races, he did get two top tens which is two more than he got in 2006 in 35 races for Bill Davis Racing and a pole, so based on what they were able to do in a limited amount of races, I expect to see Michael and his team have a solid season next year, especially with the addition of Paul.

Although I suspect that David is likely disappointed about Frank Kerr not continuing as his crew chief since they worked so well together this season, I think that Ryan will really help David in his sophomore season. David is an extremely talented driver but he didn't often get the change to show that in Cup in 2007. With a crew chief who has guided other drivers into Victory Lane I think we'll see David develop even further as a Cup driver and race up front more often in 2008 than he did this year. I think some fans are upset about David getting a new crew chief but when an organization has an opportunity to get a crew chief like Ryan who can help them improve, they need to take advantage of it. In addition, at the moment it's unknown as to what Frank will end up doing next season - it's possible MWR has another role for him or maybe he was offered an opportunity with a different organization that he felt he couldn't pass up. He's worked for Robby Gordon previously, for some reason I get the feeling he could end up there again at some point.

As for Bill Pappas, while there is no question that he has impressive credentials in other racing series, I wonder about the wisdom of using a crew chief with zero experience in Nascar for a team that will likely have a rookie driver (and maybe two rookies drivers) with limited experience in Nascar themselves. That seems like a huge risk for an organization that doesn't have much room for error. Obviously MWR must be impressed with Pappas and believe in his ability to help them succeed otherwise they wouldn't have hired him, but things could be rocky for a while as Pappas adjusts to working in Nascar. One thing that occurred to me is that since the driver for the #00 after the first five races of 2008 hasn't been announced yet that MWR could have changed their minds about putting Michael McDowell and/or Josh Wise behind the wheel. While I think we'll likely see McDowell in that car for many, if not all, of the races, I wonder whether MWR is considering an open wheel driver like so many other teams have and that's why they brought someone in with experience in those series.

Overall while I'm a little unsure as to how Pappas is going to work out, I'm pretty excited about this lineup of crew chiefs for MWR for next season. I think it's really going to help them build on the progress they made at the end of last season! I can't wait for Speedweeks in February!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2007

Photo of the Day - Clouds

Somewhere over Georgia, July, 2006.

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

New Role for David Reutimann - Team Owner

Starting next season David Reutimann is going to field a car for his cousin, Wayne Reutimann in the ARCA series for eight races. When efforts to get Wayne a ride with an established team in the series using his contacts failed because the teams wanted Wayne to bring $2 million in sponsorship and other assets with him, David took matters into his own hands and decided to start his own team for Wayne. David has purchased three Cup cars from Michael Waltrip Racing and has a $35,000 per race budget, $15,000 of which will go towards leasing engines from Toyota. He will also receive help from his Cup team.

I don't know much more about Wayne than that he's David's cousin. But I'm looking forward to seeing him race in ARCA. Ever since MWR started having their development drivers race ARCA I've paid more attention to that series and it'll be good to have another driver to cheer for. What I like about what David's doing is that not only is he helping a member of his family with their racing career, but that instead of saying, "Sorry, too bad" to Wayne when he couldn't find a team for him to race for, he came up with a well-thought out plan B, and he's following through on it. Good for David and I hope it's a successful venture! If things work out for them with the eight races next season maybe they can expand and race even more races in the future.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)

Yankees Finalize Deal with Alex Rodriguez

No one really noticed because of all the fuss over the Mitchell Report but Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees announced that the $275 million deal that will keep A-Rod in the Bronx for the next ten years has been finalized. Maybe that was by design that the announcement was made on a day when they knew that few people would pay much attention.

What's more interesting rather than the actual deal is the comments that A-Rod made regarding the opt-out mess in which he acknowledged that it was extremely poorly handled, and that the timing of the announcement (by Scott Boras) was "distasteful and very inappropriate." Most interesting is that A-Rod indicated that Boras led him to believe that the Yankees weren't interesting in retaining him. I can only guess as to why Boras misled A-Rod in that way, but I would think that was an effort to get A-Rod out on the open market in the hopes of cashing in on a big payday. A-Rod also acknowledged that he should have done things differently - including reaching out to the Yankees personally. Thing is it's hard to know whether A-Rod genuinely means what he's saying regarding the opt-out decision or whether it's just PR in an effort to fix the damage that was done to his image. I've not seen anything to indicate that A-Rod has fired Boras, and if he keeps him, how unhappy is he really with the the job that Boras has done for him?

Posted by silverdsl at 07:06 PM | Comments (0)

Random Thoughts on the Mitchell Report

*Just because a player wasn't named in the Mitchell Report doesn't mean that they never used performance enhancers.

*Members of the New York Yankees without question used performance enhancers. That isn't something that was made up by George Mitchell, Bud Selig, the Red Sox or the media.

*Maybe Brian McNamee exaggerated the truth regarding Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Or maybe he told the full and complete truth that he injected both players with performance enhancers. While his allegations should be taken with a grain of salt because there is no collaborating evidence such as the canceled checks that we see in the case of some other players, the information that he provided to George Mitchell shouldn't be immediately dismissed either.

*Contrary to some early rumors, Albert Pujols, Johnny Damon, Jeff Bagwell, and Jason Veritek were NOT named in the Mitchell Report.

*It'll be interesting to see whether any of the players named in the report who haven't already done so, will come clean and admit to their use of performance enhancers or whether there will be denials like the one issued by Roger Clemens. Or maybe we'll hear the ever popular excuses about how the players thought it was vitamins that they were ingesting or being injected with. Sure.

*The report doesn't capture the full picture of the performance enhancers problem in baseball. For one thing it doesn't include any information about the use of greenies, which were probably the most widely used performance enhancer. In addition, information comes from a limited amount of sources. Every active player declined to speak with Mitchell other than Jason Giambi, and Giambi was forced to do so by Selig. There is also no doubt that players obtained performance enhancers from more than just Kirk Radomski and Brian McNamee. Those two only had information about the players they dealt with, but there are many more players who used performance enhancers that they wouldn't have information about.

*Chuck Knoblauch is named as a user of performance enhancers. He should have asked for a refund as they apparently caused him to be unable to field his position or hit.

*The report includes an email exchange in which Theo Epstein brings up Eric Gagne's possible use of steroids to a scout. A number of months after that exchange Epstein traded for Gagne, which to me is an indication that teams don't really care if a player has used performance enhancers as long as it doesn't effect their ability to play and produce for the team.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)

The Mitchell Report

The Mitchell Report on the use of performance enhancers in baseball comes out today, in about a half hour to be exact. Odds are there's going to be a number of New York Yankees named besides just those who have already been connected to steroid use. Nothing would surprise me. I believe that the use of performance enhancers in baseball is and has been wide-spread, likely even more so than the Mitchell Report will detail, throughout baseball and across all teams. Especially if one considers amphetamines to be performance enhancers - that this report apparently doesn't address the use of greenies is a major oversight and flaw in my opinion. There are other issues with the Mitchell Report - that George Mitchell was on the payroll for the Red Sox raising the question of potential bias, that no player other than Jason Giambi spoke with Mitchell which means that all of the information of who used comes from others as opposed to the players themselves, not to mention that these players will be accused of using performance enhancers but there's no positive tests in many cases to prove it definitely. In addition, the context of how the players are named is important - there's a big difference between someone saying that they sold steroids directly to a player and someone saying that they suspected a particular player of using. Unfortunately a lot of fans will take it as a done deal that the players named used performance enhancers just because they're named in the report even if they're mentioned in just a casual way. I'm hoping that the full report will be available online somewhere because I'd like to read for myself what it say. More to come...

Posted by silverdsl at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts

*Jimmie Johnson will race in three Nationwide races next season for JR Motorsports in the #5 car. I would expect that Junior and Casey Mears will also see time in the #5. JR Motorsports is poised to become one of the top Nationwide organizations next season. For one thing they'll be using some of the best equipment in the garage area thanks to the merger of their Nationwide operations with Hendrick Motorsports. So I would guess that Brad Keselowski will be in the thick of the Championship hunt, which will be great to see since he's a full-time Nationwide driver. In addition, the #5 car should contend for some wins as well with Jimmie and other Cup drivers behind the wheel.

*Speaking of Jimmie, he's currently looking for an agency to represent him as he seeks to expand the Jimmie Johnson brand and secure additional endorsement deals. It'll be interesting to see what kind of deals he signs in the future. Jimmie's public persona, as well as his success on the track, would likely appeal to many companies. Personally, I find the way that Jimmie is in media interviews to be pretty uninteresting, as if every word he says is carefully weighed as to whether it's the "right" thing to say. However, there's definitely another side to Jimmie. Every week on his XM show Jimmie is much more relaxed, giving his opinions freely - and sometimes strongly - as well as telling stories about partying and other fun. He also has a good sense of humor that doesn't often come through in many interviews. Maybe the right kind of endorsement deals will allow him to show his fun side a little more often.

*Ryan Pemberton has left DEI to explore other opportunities, and he will be replaced as crew chief of the #8 by Doug Richert. It's been rumored that Pemberton was headed to Penske Racing to be Sam Hornish, Jr.'s crew chief but apparently Pemberton is still talking to teams and weighing his options. Since Michael Waltrip Racing has yet to name a crew chief for the #44, it would be great to see Pemberton end up there, but I suspect he might want to work for a more established team. I'm sure many fans see Pemberton leaving DEI as just one more sign of how bad that organization is but this is the time of year when there are many crew chief (and crew) changes so he may simply be looking to take advantage of some of the opportunities that are available to make a change and advance his career. I doubt Richert would end up at DEI if that organization was in such bad shape.

*According to Jayski, word is that the finalists for the #10 truck are Bradley Riethmeyer, Brendan Gaughan, Bobby East and Clay Rogers. One would automatically think that Brendan would be the front-runner but according to Dave Moody on his blog, East might be at the top of the list for Circle Bar Racing because he has backing from Ford. I would also think that Brendan's insistence that his next team hires 10-12 members from Brendan's #77 team might also be an issue. Hiring those crew members might mean that 10-12 current crew members lose their jobs. Overall, it's a big financial investment for a team to not only have to hire a driver, but 12 more people. I have to wonder if Brendan's stubbornness in wanting to do thing his way is going to cost him a ride for next season. It seems almost unthinkable that he wouldn't find a ride, but he doesn't seem to be as much of a hot commodity for next season as one might thing given his ability and previous success in the Truck Series. It's been said that Brendan's mouth gets him in trouble and makes some teams and sponsors leery of him so that could reduce his options as well.

*Although there's been no official announcement from the team, it appears that Robert Johns will be in the #60 for Wyler Racing. This announcement comes from the sponsor, Technology Based Consulting, who says that they've signed a two-year contract to sponsor Johns in the #60, with their brand logo, www.havfun.com, on the truck. Since the announcement refers to Wyler-Gaughan Racing, and that merger never happened, I don't know if Wyler still plans on putting Johns in the truck, but it hasn't been denied yet which leads me to believe that there's some truth there. Which means that Ted Musgrave won't be ending up at Wyler after all, nor will Steve Park. I had thought Musgrave would have been a good fit at Wyler, but I'm not surprised that it appears Steve won't get this ride. He's talked to Wyler since 2005 when he was released from the #62 truck about racing for them and I think if they were going to put him in a truck they would probably have done so already. Wyler is really going to be a different organization next season. They've gone from having a driver who has had a tremendous amount of success in the series and a fairly prominent sponsor, to having an unknown sponsor and a driver who has raced just 15 Nationwide races and no truck races, plus the merger fell though. I don't expect to see them racing up front all that much next season.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2007

Dave Loggins - Please Come To Boston

This is just one of the many great songs that was played on Michael Waltrip's XM show, Michael Waltrip Out Loud this year. Despite my love of music from the 60's and 70's, this is one that I hadn't heard until I heard it on Michael's show, now I can't stop listening to it. Something about this song tugs at me.

Please come to Boston for the springtime
I'm stayin' here with some friends and they've got lotsa room
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a café here I hope to be workin' soon
Please come to Boston
She said "No, would you come home to me"

And she said, "Hey ramblin' boy now won't cha settle down
Boston ain't your kinda town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

Please come to Denver with the snowfall
We'll move up into the mountains so far that we can't be found
And throw "I love you" echoes down the canyon
And then lie awake at night till they come back around
Please come to Denver
She said "no, Boy, would you come home to me"

And she said, "Hey ramblin' boy why don't cha settle down
Denver ain't your kinda town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
'Cause I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

Now this drifter's world goes 'round and 'round
And I doubt that it's ever gonna stop
But of all the dreams I've lost or found
And all that I ain't got
I still need to lean to
Somebody I can sing to

Please come to LA to live forever
California life alone is just too hard to build
I live in a house that looks out over the ocean
And there's some stars that fell from the sky
Livin' up on the hill
Please come to LA
She just said "no, Boy, won't you come home to me"
And she said, "hey ramblin' boy why don't cha settle down
LA can't be your kinda town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
No, no, I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

"I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

Posted by silverdsl at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2007

Photo of the Day - Aruba Sunset

Aruba, September, 2005.

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

December 09, 2007

Photo of the Day - Outer Banks

Outer Banks, NC, July, 2003.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts

*As per usual at this time of the year, there's very little going on in Nascar. I expect there could be a couple of announcements next week though as teams solidify their plans for 2008. Testing really isn't that far away and almost every team wants to know who their driver and sponsor(s) will be by then if not sooner. I'm pretty surprised we haven't heard by now about what team Ted Musgrave will be racing for next season, particularly since he had been talking like it was just about a done deal at one point. Although he's been linked to a number of other teams, I have to wonder if the delay in the announcement about his plans for 2008 are because he really was headed to Wyler Racing but the merger with South Point Racing getting called off threw a wrench into those plans.

*Speaking of South Point Racing, someone on one of the forums I occasionally visit brought up a good point regarding the impact that their closing will have. Not only will all their employees lose their jobs, but it will also effect a number of local businesses. Kroyer Racing Engines for instance was closely associated with SPR, and although I believe they also build engines for Off-road and other teams, SPR had to have been one of their biggest clients who will be hard to replace given that there are no other teams in any of Nascar's three highest series based in Las Vegas. There's also Race Day Outfitters who printed their t-shirts and other merchandise, and likely other businesses that are losing revenue because SPR is closing. Even Las Vegas Motorspeedway is effected because the SPR shops were a destination for race fans, particularly when they had their open house, that was close to the track. When a team closed up shop in the Charlotte area, it doesn't have as much impact on surrounding businesses because there are so many teams in the area.

*Not too long ago Bobby Hamilton, Jr. thought he was out of a Nationwide ride due to Team Rensi being unable to secure sponsorship for a car for him. So he accepted a ride in the Busch East Series. Turns out at the last minute Team Rensi did come up with some sponsorship so he'll race for them again next season, as well as in as many Busch East races as possible and some ARCA races. It's nice to see a driver not be too proud to consider racing in other series and it's something that (as I've said before) I wish Steve Park would consider if he really wants to keep racing as much as he says he does.

*I also can't help but think of Steve when I read Bobby's comments in the article about how it's dog-eat-dog when it comes to finding rides and how drivers have to do something, especially since as the article points out, teams and sponsors are unwilling to invest time and money into driver who they don't think are going to win race and produce for them immediately. As much talent as Steve has as a driver after not racing for so long, I think there would likely be an adjustment period where he got used to being behind the wheel again, as well as for learning the changes that have been made to the sport since he last raced, and that may be something that teams and sponsors don't want to deal with. I also have to repeat the comment that Bobby made - "You have to do something." Countless drivers this season have said the same thing - you have to remain active in the sport somehow - racing, testing, consulting, whatever - if you want to be considered for open rides and get opportunities.

*A number of sponsors have pulled out of Nascar recently but last week Coca-Cola announced that they're extending their partnership with Nascar for another ten years. Although financial terms weren't disclosed, according to a spokesperson for Coke, it's one of the largest corporate sponsorships in the country, which is a pretty good indication that Coke's presence in Nascar has been very lucrative for them if they're willing to enter into a long-term deal like that at a time when some have concerns about the economy and consumer spending. Coke extending their deal with Nascar is also good for Michael Waltrip since he's a member of the Coke Family of Drivers so he appears in ads, marketing campaigns and promotions for them which helps increase his exposure.

*If I understand correctly Robby Gordon is going to miss Daytona testing to race off-road in Dakar in January. Furthermore he may also miss testing later in the month for another off-road race. While I understand that Robby is passionate about off-road racing, it seems to me that considering the problems for his organization this past season it's important for Robby to be present at testing, not just to offer input from behind the wheel, but to be there for his team as owner. Robby has missed testing in the past for Dakar, and other drivers miss Daytona testing without issue, but it seems to me that Robby Gordon Motorsports is at a crucial junction where it's essential that they improve on their results from 2007 if they're going to grow and be around long-term.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)

December 07, 2007

Photo of the Day - Jeff Gordon

Pocono, June, 2007. No putting on airs for Jeff Gordon. This was the June Pocono race when there was a rain delay (Jeff ultimately won this race when they got going). So after an abbreviated driver's introductions the drivers were getting carted back to the garage area where they either went to their haulers or their coaches to wait out the rain delay. Some drivers got their own cart, others shared a ride with their PR reps, family members or other drivers. I've seen some fans be critical of Jeff because they think he carries himself as if he's somehow above other drivers, yet at Pocono he didn't hesitate to jump on the back of Ward Burton's cart. He never asked for a seat or tried to dodge people who wanted to talk to him. I don't know how he is at other tracks but every time I've observed Jeff at Pocono he's always signed for the fans near pit road and been very agreeable about signing for fans who have approached him in the garage area too.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)

Not Much Going On...

...other than a big event at work which is luckily over now. Not exactly on the most uplifting of topics either, particularly for one like myself who is prone to think and ponder on things as much as I tend to do...

Posted by silverdsl at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2007

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts

*One of the most interesting things to me that happened during Champion's week in New York is the party for the media that DEI held. Max Seigel and Teresa Earnhardt hosted the party, and although her comments were off-the-record, Teresa did address the media who were present, something she rarely does. By all accounts she was personable and gracious to all in attendance. I've seen some criticism of DEI for hosting this party, but I think they did something very smart. This party was a way for the media to interact with personnel from DEI, including Teresa, away from the track in a relaxed setting and it's a good way for DEI, particularly their PR staff, to develop relationships with those in the media that might not already exist. I think every organization in the garage area should do these kinds of events which are more social in nature instead of the pointless media tour that takes place in January every year where the media members go from shop to shop and listen to the teams and drivers say absolutely nothing of interest. Although these kinds of events don't generate too many stories, the media tour usually isn't very newsworthy either. It's much more beneficial for all if there's a good working relationship between teams and the media.

*Otherwise, I didn't pay much attention to any of the events during Champion's week, including the banquet, other than to see if there were any photos of Michael Waltrip attending any of the various parties that took place (there were). I have zero interest in the banquet. I like some of the drivers who were being honored but I've always found the speeches so cookie-cutter and boring. It's too much to expect that the drivers would write their speeches themselves, but I would like to see more of their own personalities reflected in what they say. Unfortunately that's not too likely to happen considering how formal the setting is that they're speaking in and the long list of people they're obligated to speak glowingly about, particularly their sponsors. There's really not much time for the drivers to speak from the heart or say what they really want.

*One interesting thing from the banquet came in the form of what wasn't said during Tony Stewart's speech. Apparently Tony spoke highly of Chevy and his relationship with the manufacturer, but never once mentioned Toyota who he will be racing for next season. It's possible that Tony was simply showing respect to a manufacturer he's been happy to be associated with for a long time, but it's fueling the speculation that Tony will only continue to drive for Toyota - and Joe Gibbs Racing - for another year or two before signing with another Chevy team. When JGR first announced the move to Toyota it had been said that they were negotiating an extension with Tony (and Denny Hamlin) and expected to get one done very soon. That never happened and now Tony is saying he won't talk about an extension during the off-season. I suspect he might not be too inclined to discuss it next season either.

*I often think that Kyle Busch gets a raw deal from fans, who over-react to things that he does because of how disliked he is. However, there are times when it's really hard to defend Kyle or see things from his perspective. Over the weekend he and Steven Wallace were both disqualified from participating in the Snowball Derby due to their cars failing inspection for various infractions. Both drivers were understandably angry, but both reacted very differently. At times Steven has had trouble keeping himself under control but this time he apparently managed to stay professional despite his disappointment about his car failing inspection. On the other hand, Kyle freaked out. According to the person who is in charge of technical inspections, who was on Claire B. Lang's show on XM yesterday, Kyle cursed out one of the inspectors and then invited him to meet in the parking lot so Kyle could "kick his tail." Ridiculous. I understand why Kyle was upset, but he needs to suck it up and deal with it. There is no excuse for threatening anyone, let alone an inspector who is just trying to do his job.

*On the heels of South Point Racing shutting down, Spears Motorsports also announced last week that they were closing their doors. Although there's been some speculation that it was due to the rising costs of fielding a competitive truck, the Spears said on their website that due to the demands of their business they no longer had the time to give to the truck team that they felt it deserved. It's unfortunate that a team that has been involved in the series since the beginning is closing down but it's better off for the Spears to make the decision to close up shop on their own terms, and not because they had financial problems or weren't able to be competitive any more.

*Although they had been negotiating with Nascar to continue as the sponsor of the Truck Series, Craftsman will end their sponsorship of the series after the 2008 series. That's unfortunate because they seemed like a good fit for the series. I have to wonder if given the increase in ratings recently whether Nascar upped the asking price for sponsorship of the series to a level that Sears/Craftsman wasn't comfortable with, especially in light of the overall financial issues that the company is dealing with . The reality is that even though the ratings for the truck races on Speed might have gone up the overall interest in the series pales in comparison to what it is for the Nationalwide and Cup Series.

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

December 02, 2007

Photo of the Day - Paulinskill Viaduct

Paulinskill Viaduct, Knowlton, New Jersey. 2006.

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

December 01, 2007

Driver by Driver: Season in Review - Cup Series

1. Jimmie Johnson - Is there any better team in the garage right now? I'm not talking just about Jimmie's talent as a driver as there are other elite drivers with a lot of talent, but the #48 team overall. From top to bottom this team performs at a level that is superior to most, if not all, of the teams in the garage area. I've been impressed for quite some times with the #48 team's ability overcome any challenges that present themselves whether it's things that come up during races such as tire issues or more significant problems such as Chad Knaus's suspension. They always come to the track prepared and they never miss a beat no matter what. It's no surprise that Jimmie won his second championship in a row, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him win a third one next season.

2. Jeff Gordon - It shouldn't be missed that Jeff was on top of the points for the majority of the regular season and had an outstanding season himself. Even in the Chase Jeff was terrific - just one finish outside the top ten. But what might have won a Championship in years prior fell just short this season because Jimmie and the #48 team was just that much better. Of course Jeff will still share in the Championship celebration not only as Jimmie's teammate but also because he has an ownership share in the #48 team. What's incredible to me is that Jeff finished in the top ten in 30 out of 36 races - even Jimmie didn't achieve that level of consistency in spite of winning ten races.

3. Clint Bowyer - It was a surprise to many, myself included, how well Clint finished in the points this season. It was unexpected to begin with that he made the Chase and then most figured he'd be a non-factor. Well, Clint sure proved everyone wrong by winning the first race of his career in the Chase and then racing well enough to end up finishing 3rd in the points overall. I think Clint still has a way to go before he can be considered an elite driver, but he's certainly shown that he can be a force in Cup.

4. Matt Kenseth - There were a few stretches in which Matt and his team struggled a little mid-season which contributed to a slightly worse season for the #17 team than in 2006, but overall Matt raced very well this season particularly over the last five races of the season when he didn't finish outside the top five, and won the final race of the season at Homestead. Next season Matt will have a new crew chief, the first time he'll ever work with someone other than Robbie Reiser while he's been in Cup. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for him to adjust to working with someone else and how that might effect his results in 2008.

5. Kyle Busch - One of the most hated drivers in the sport right now, but it's hard to deny that Kyle has talent behind the wheel, which he showed this season by finishing 5th in the points. He's outspoken and can be difficult, but he'll likely be in Victory Lane at least once a season and in the Chase for a long time to come. Next season Kyle will move to the #11 team at Joe Gibbs Racing. Assuming that there are no issues when JGR makes the switch to Toyota, I expect that Kyle will pick up right where he left off with his new team.

6. Tony Stewart - Although Tony had a very good regular season in which he had three wins, in the Chase he wasn't much of a factor, and he seemed to be distracted by a ridiculous feud with Paul Menard. It's also possible that the level of support that Chevy gave to JGR as the season wound down wasn't as much as it had been, particularly in light of reports that JGR might have started working with Toyota while they were still under contract to Chevy. How Tony really feels about the switch to Toyota is a bit of a mystery but one thing's for sure - Tony loves to race and he's one of the best drivers in the sport so I expect no matter what his feelings are he'll be racing as hard as ever and if the JGR cars are as good next season as they have been Tony will be a regular visitor to Victory Lane.

7. Kurt Busch - A mid-season tangle with Tony Stewart on pit road threatened to undo all the progress that Kurt's made to rebuild his image with fans, and for a while it looked like Kurt might miss the Chase. But I was impressed with how he and his team rallied to improve their performance and do what needed to be done to make the Chase. Clearly, the addition of Pat Tryson as crew chief made a different in this team's performance. Kurt ended up finishing the highest he has in the points since he won the Championship in 2004.

8. Jeff Burton - For the second year in a row Jeff finishes 7th in the points and showed that a veteran driver can have make the Chase if they have good cars to race with. He's been very consistent the past two seasons and I expect we'll see more of the same next season as well.

9. Carl Edwards - Carl broke a long winless streak in a big way this season with three wins and most figured that he'd be a big factor in the Chase. But that never really happened. Carl also was involved in an ugly and puzzling incident with his teammate, Matt Kenseth, where he physically confronted Matt after the race at Martinsville. Carl was never penalized by Nascar, but it may be quite a while before he can repair the damage that was done to his image, particularly after it was revealed that there are major issues between Carl and his teammates and others in the garage area view him as a bit of a phony.

10. Kevin Harvick - This season has to be considered a success for Kevin and the #29 team because they won the Daytona 500 to start the season and then made the Chase. However, in between they really seemed to struggle at times to get consistently good results, and there was a big drop off in performance between last season and this season. Kevin did finish well enough in the Chase to earn the final spot at the Championship banquet but I'm interested to see whether there will be any changes to this team between now and next season.

11. Martin Truex Jr. - If most people had to choose a DEI driver to make the Chase it wouldn't have been Martin, it would have been Junior. But instead it was Martin who had the better season and proved to some who felt he was over his head in Cup that he belonged. Not only did Martin get his first Cup win and first Cup pole of his career, but he made the Chase in just his second season. It's pretty clear that he knows how to race up front and win. Contrary to the popular belief that DEI is going to crash and burn without Junior, I think the "other" Junior - Martin - is going to help DEI have a lot of success in the future He's really blossomed this season and I think being out of Junior's shadow is a very good thing for him.

12. Denny Hamlin - Denny won a race, made the Chase and finished in the top ten or better in half of all Cup races this season so this year was far from a disaster for him. Still, he experienced a bit of a sophomore slump in comparison to his first season in Cup when he won two races and finished third in the points. Denny's attitude also took a turn for the worse and it remains to be seen as to whether he was just under stress this season or whether his success has gone to his head.

13. Ryan Newman - Although Ryan didn't win any races this season and missed the Chase (by just one spot), his performance this season was an improvement over last in just about every category. With a new crew chief next season and a win or two, Ryan could be a factor in the Chase.

14. Greg Biffle - In 2005 Greg won six races and finished 2nd in the points but since then he's struggled to achieve the same kind of success. He did win a race this season, but he also openly expressed his displeasure about losing Pat Tryson as his crew chief, as well what he saw to be a lack of competitiveness of his cars, to the point where he said he wouldn't sign an extension with Roush Racing yet. Rumors ran rampant that Greg was on the verge of leaving Roush until he said that it was almost definite that he'd eventually re-sign. I'm not so sure about that. Nor am I sure the performance will improve in 2008 as I sense that things might have gotten stagnant for Greg at Roush and a change in team might do him some good.

15. Casey Mears - Casey won the first Cup race of his career but actually ended up finishing one spot lower in the points than he did last season. Most of Casey's fans were thrilled when he made the move to Hendrick because they expected that the results would be dramatically better for him there than at Ganassi but other than the win they weren't. More than a few of Casey's fans were upset to find out that he was being shifted to the #5 team but Kyle Busch finished 5th in points with that team and it's cars. I expect to see an improvement in Casey's performance next season.

16. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - A major disappointment for Junior in the last season at his father's company - for the second time in three years Junior failed to finish in the top ten in points. Although Junior often raced up front, he suffered six engine failures and DNF'd an additional three times due to wrecks. The finishes were particularly poor at the end of the season which should have surprised no one since DEI wasn't about to pour resources into Junior's team when he and Budweiser were both on their way out, and when Martin Truex, Jr. was in the Chase. Most fans are assuming that Junior will win many races and dominate next season with Hendrick, I'm not so sure. For one thing, it'll be the first time in his career that Junior will be racing for an organization other than DEI and there may be an adjustment period. I also can't help but notice that the team that Junior will be joining finished just one spot ahead of him in the points. Of course he'll have a different crew chief than Casey did - Tony Eury, Jr., but I still wonder if we're going to see the kind of season from Junior in 2008 that some thing he'll have.

17. Jamie McMurray - Jamie won for the first time since 2002 but I continue to be underwhelmed by him. I wonder if he regrets getting out of his contract at Ganassi early now that he's finished worse in both seasons at Roush than he ever did at Ganassi? I don't think Jamie will ever live up to the hype of a couple of years ago about him, but that's okay - he'll likely be good for a win every so often but I don't expect much of an improvement in performance next season.

18. Bobby Labonte - Bobby finished only 18th in the points with just three top tens but it was actually his best finish in the points in the last three seasons, including his last season with Joe Gibbs Racing. I would guess we'll see more of the same from Bobby next season. I'm sure it's disappointing to his many fans after so many good seasons in the past but Bobby seems to be fine with helping Petty Enterprises get back on track.

19. Kasey Kahne - Kasey suffered a huge drop-off in performance between 2006, when he won six races and finished 8th in the points and this season, when he struggled to finish in the top ten let alone contend for any wins. But it wasn't just Kasey that struggled - the performance for Gillett-Evernham Motorsports overall was subpar this season, and in fact Kasey finished the highest in the points of any GEM driver. Kasey didn't forget how to drive a race car - any driver who ends up in Victory Lane six times in one season has talent behind the wheel. But there's only so much he can do if the cars he's given to race aren't as competitive as they need to be. Kasey will have a new sponsor in 2008 - Budweiser, who are used to getting a lot of bang for their buck via their association with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. so there may be some pressure on Kasey and GEM to improve their performance. It'll be interesting to see if Kasey undergoes an image make-over in the off-season to make him fit the Bud image a little better.

20. Juan Montoya - A significant amount of fans are very opposed to Juan's presence in Nascar because he's an open wheel driver, from a foreign country, and he has a very aggressive driving style which sometimes leads to him getting himself into trouble on the track. However, while Juan made some mistakes, he also showed that he can definitely handle racing in Nascar. Not only did he win Rookie of the Year, but he also won his first Cup race at Sonoma. Juan will likely always be a threat to win at road course races, but I think we'll eventually see him show that he can contend for wins on a variety of tracks too. Although Juan sometimes irritates fans and his fellow competitors with his attitude on the track, he's also seems to be making more of an effort than some might have thought he would to be fan-friendly which could eventually win him a good-sized following.

21. J.J. Yeley - J.J. actually did improve in his second full season in Cup, but it wasn't by much, so it's not surprising that Joe Gibbs Racing opted to part ways with him in favor of Kyle Busch. J.J. will race for Hall of Fame Racing in 2008, and I have a feeling the results won't get that much better next season.

22. Reed Sorenson - Reed really didn't improve all that much from his rookie season. Although he did get the first pole of his Cup career and got a couple more top five's, he actually led a lot less laps then he did last season. What really jumps out at me is that his average start and average finish is exactly the same - 24.4. Neither is very good. In Reed's defense based on the post-race reports it often seemed like his team struggled to get the set-ups and handling of the cars right for him, but I think the expectations for Reed were a little higher than this so he may be in danger of being replaced sooner rather than later if he doesn't improve his performance next season.

23. David Ragan - After all the hand-wringing about what a disaster David was going to be in the #6, I don't think he turned out to be as dreadful as a lot of people were expecting. He did have some tough races and made some rookie mistakes, but he didn't wreck in every race like a lot of people predicted he would. Not only that he finished 5th in the Daytona 500 and 3rd at Richmond which is an indication that once he gains more experience we might see more of him racing up front.

24. David Stremme - The results were so dismal for David in 2006 that many thought he'd never made it to 2007 in the #40 but he did. And David did manage to get three top tens. But there wasn't much else to get excited about, so neither David nor Coors will be back with Ganassi next season. David will race part-time in the Nationwide Series for Rusty Wallace, Inc. but I suspect he'll have a hard time finding a decent full-time Cup ride. However, David is still young and he's fairly marketable so that may hold some appeal to a sponsor and mid-pack team at some point.

25. Elliott Sadler - Since Elliott finished 9th in the point with two wins in 2004, the results have gotten progressively worse for him. After seeing Kasey Kahne win so many races in 2006, Elliott must have thought he hit the jackpot when he left Yates Racing to go to Evernham. But the results were even worse for him in 2007 than they were in 2006. I'm not convinced they're going to get much better either next season. I definitely believe that Elliott has talent behind the wheel and that he could win some more races if he has a competitive car, but I'm not sure that Elliott is ever going to turn into the elite driver that some thought he would. Regardless, Elliott is extremely fan-friendly and he's very good with his sponsors so he probably doesn't have too many fears about losing his ride any time soon.

26. Robby Gordon - Robby did finish a few spots higher in the points than he did in 2006, but otherwise there wasn't much to get excited about for Robby this season. As a one-car team it's imperative that Robby finds a way to improve his team's performance and race up front a little more otherwise I fear this team doesn't have a long-term future. Robby is a terrible qualifier and that could come back to bite him if Nascar changes the top 35 rule (unlikely for next season) or the results aren't too good in the first few races and he drops out of the top 35. Just about every season Robby gets himself into trouble with his fellow competitors or with Nascar and this season was no different - a temper tantrum during the Busch race in Montreal got him parked for the Cup race the next day at Pocono. Fans may love Robby's antics but I think he's his own worst enemy - stunts like he pulled only hurt his team's efforts to succeed. He's also very hard on his employees so he needs to find a way to deal with them a little better so they'll stick around a little longer, otherwise it's impossible for there to be any stability with his team.

27. Mark Martin - Mark raced in just 24 races this season but he still finished higher in the points than some who raced the full season. He started the season particularly strong with a second place finish at Daytona and three more top tens, which led to speculation that he would change his mind and race the full season since he was leading the points. However, Mark stuck to his previously announced plan and got out of the car after Phoenix. It was a mixed bag for Mark for the rest of the season but he still managed to finish with 11 top tens and five top fives which isn't that far off his 2006 results. The ultimate team player, Mark never complained or aired any grievances publically regarding Ginn Racing closing or being shifted to DEI. Next season it will be more of the same for Mark - sharing time in the #8 with Aric Almirola. DEI's decision to replace Junior in the #8 with Mark is a smart one - a lot of fans will be reluctant to boo Mark or the U.S. Army who will sponsor the car.

28. David Gilliland - Tough season for David and it did nothing to prove those who think he isn't deserving of a Cup ride wrong. However, David can only do his best with the cars he's given and it appears that those he was given to race at Yates weren't all that competitive. M&Ms is leaving his team to sponsor Kyle Busch so there is some question about what Yates will do if they can't find sponsorship for this team (or the second car that will be driven by Travis Kvapil).

29. Tony Raines - With just one top ten finish, same as last season, Tony really didn't improve much over last season, so it's no surprise that the new owners of Hall of Fame Racing opted to go in a different direction. Although some fans seem to think that Tony will end up in a Kevin Harvick, Inc. Busch car, Tony hasn't been mentioned in connection to any ride that I know about. Given his age, lack of a lot of success in any series other than the Truck Series, and that he's not as marketable as some other drivers I suspect Tony is going to have a hard time finding a quality ride for next season.

30. Johnny Sauter - Johnny raced his way into the top 35 in owner's points to start the season and managed to stay there but the results really weren't all that great for Johnny this season. Haas-CNC opted to go with Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield next season so Johnny will make a return to the Nationwide Series, where he'll race for Phoenix Racing.

31. Dave Blaney - Dave was the best of the Toyota teams this season but had to endure a lot of bad luck which ruined what could have been some solid finishes for him. He did get Toyota their first pole in Cup in Louden in July. Dave and his team also did a good job of racing their way back into the top 35 in owner's points in spite of having DNQ'd three times. Some are predicting that Dave is going to have a big season in 2008, but his results in Cup have never been very impressive, and BDR has struggled tremendously in Cup in recent times. I think we'll see more of the same from Dave next season - I think the only reason this team looked better than some of the other Toyota teams is that they were an established team who had raced together already (and started the season in the top 35) so they had more of a foundation to build on than some of the other teams did.

32. Jeff Green - A former Busch Series champion who won 16 races in that series, Jeff isn't as bad of a driver as most probably think he is. However, his talent appears to be more suited for that series since his results in Cup have never been very good. Jeff was replaced by Jeremy Mayfield with four races to go in the season and I doubt we'll see him back in Cup. Like the other Green Brothers I think it's likely he'll surface somewhere though, whether it's racing in a lower series even part-time or helping a team out in some capacity.

33. Ricky Rudd - A tough season for Ricky, and not the way he wanted to finish his career in Nascar. Due to the overall struggles for Yates Racing this season Ricky was only able to manage one top ten this season. Even worse a shoulder injury suffered in a wreck at Fontana late in the season caused him to have to miss five races. However, Ricky's Cup career is nothing to be ashamed of. Ricky is the winner of 23 Cup races and finished in the top ten in points many times, including a second place finish in 1991. Ricky is probably retired for good, but maybe we'll see him get involved in the sport in some capacity down the road particularly if his son continues racing.

34. Paul Menard - Paul's rookie season in Cup was a pretty tough one. Paul's best finish was 12th at Michigan in June, and before DEI acquired the points to lock him into the top 35 in owner's points, he DNQ'd six times. I expected more from Paul, and while it may be that the cars that DEI gave him weren't very good and he's struggling to adjust to racing Cup, I'm a little disappointed that he didn't show much on the track this season. He also got involved in a dispute with Tony Stewart towards the end of the season. Martin Truex, Jr. picked up his performance substantially in his second Cup season, it'll be interesting to see if Paul is able to do the same.

35. Kyle Petty - As is par for the course for Kyle these days it was a subpar season for him, so bad that he was in danger of finishing the season outside the top 35 in owner's points. Although Kyle got out of the car for a few races during the summer to do some broadcasting, I don't think he's as done as a driver as most seem to think he is. Kyle still talks as if he still has the desire to race, and his confrontation with Denny Hamlin after they tangled on the track is evidence that he still has a lot of passion for racing. In addition, Kyle finished 3rd at Charlotte, his best finish in ten years. I think 2008 will be very similar to 2007 for Kyle - he'll race mostly in the back but at times he'll show that he can still get the job done when he has a good car.

36. Scott Riggs - Truly a dreadful season for Scott. For the second season in a row, Scott and his team dropped out of the top 35 in owner's points, but unlike last season this year they were unable to get back in. Even when Scott qualified well for races, usually the results weren't very good. So it wasn't much of a surprise when it was announced that GEM was going to go in a different direction in 2008, with Patrick Carpentier taking Scott's place in the #10. As for Scott, he'll be racing for Haas-CNC next season. Although he'll be locked into the top 35 to start the season, I'm not sure how dramatically better the results will for him.

37. Joe Nemechek - Joe started the season with Ginn Racing where he raced his way into the top 35, but it was pretty much downhill from there. Joe lost his ride when Ginn Racing folded, but eventually found a new home at Furniture Row Motorsports. The results weren't very good but Joe did a very good job of qualifying the #78 into most of the races he attempted.

38. Brian Vickers - Brian is a much better driver than his results in 2007 indicate. Although Brian DNQ'd 13 times, in the 23 races he made an appearance in he got five top tens and one top five. In addition, he led almost as many laps (106) as he did last season when he was still with Hendrick Motorsports (126). If Red Bull Racing can field competitive cars on a regular basis for Brian, I have no doubt he could finish in the top 15 or better in the points and contend for some wins. Problem is, I'm not sure how much improvement to expect from RBR next season. While the other Toyota teams such as Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing have announced driver, crew and management changes in an effort to improve performance, Red Bull Racing replaced their general manager but hasn't seem to do much else (at least not that they've said publically).

39. David Reutimann - Considering David was a rookie in Cup this season, having raced only a single Cup race prior to this season, it was extremely impressive that he was able to qualify for 26 out of the 36 races, particularly given that the Michael Waltrip Racing overall struggled tremendously on the competition side this season. David also had to deal with a tremendous amount of bad luck and mechanical issues, including an extremely hard wreck at California and his engine expiring in the last few laps of the spring Talladega race when he was racing in the top five. Given his runner-up status for the Championship in the Nationwide Series, there's no doubt in my mind that if he has competitive cars next season we'll see David racing up front and having a significantly better season. After racing the first five races in the #00 with sponsorship from Aaron's, David will take over the #44 and the UPS sponsorship from Dale Jarrett. Should UPS decide to stay with MWR and continue their association with David, I think that sponsorship could turn him into a star.

40. Sterling Marlin - Since 2002 the results have gotten worse and worse for Sterling as each season has gone on, but the results were really dismal this season. Things went from bad to worse when he lost his ride when Ginn Racing closed. Next season Sterling will race in the Nationwide Series for Phoenix Racing and will try to race about ten Cup races, also for Phoenix. I doubt the results will be very good.

41. Dale Jarrett - Even his past Champion's provisional wasn't much help for DJ, though it got him into a number of races that he would never have made on his own. The finishes for DJ were also poor in almost every one of the 24 races he did make, with it taking until the last month of the season for him to finally finish in the 20 (19th at Atlanta). DJ's best finish of the season was when he finished 17th at Homestead. Although the cars he was racing were pretty bad too - and at times had mechanical issues (four engine failures) - many felt that DJ didn't have the same desire to race that he once did which might have influenced his results. Given that he announced plans to retire earlier than expected, there might to be some truth to that. Next season DJ will race the first five races, then turn the #44 and the UPS sponsorship over to his teammate, David Reutimann. I don't expect we'll see anything too impressive from DJ in the limited time he'll be racing next season, though I hope he's able to race well enough to put the car in the top 35 in owner's points so David won't have to worry about having to qualify for races on speed.

42. Bill Elliott - Bill raced in 20 races for the Wood Brothers in an effort to help them get the #21 into the top 35 in owner's points. It didn't work. Although there had been some talk that the Wood Brothers were going to use him on a part-time basis in the #21 again next season, it appears that might not happen. I doubt we've seen the last of Bill racing in Cup though. Even though he wasn't racing a very competitive car, Bill said that he had fun this season, and he does have the Champion's Provisional. I would expect that some team outside the top 35 after the first five races will put him behind the wheel.

43. A.J. Allmendinger - A.J.'s rookie season probably couldn't have gone any worse. He was able to qualify for only 17 races. A.J. was able to race to a season-high finish of 15th at Charlotte in October, but the results in most of the other races he was in were extremely poor. A.J.'s performance seemed to improve after he started racing in the Nationwide series, so it maybe that his struggles aside from being due to being given bad cars to race are due to a lack of seat time. However, I'm not sure that things are going to get much better next season for A.J. I wouldn't be surprised to see him replaced if the finishes don't start getting better by mid-season next year.

44. Michael Waltrip - It was pretty much a disaster of a season for Michael, starting in Daytona with the illegal fuel scandal, followed by his failure to qualify for the next 12 races in a row. However, after he qualified at Dover things gradually started to get a little better for Michael and his team. In fact, in the 13 races he did qualify for, Michael was able to finish in the top ten twice - Elliott Sadler only had two top tens and he raced in all 36 races. In addition, Michael won the pole at Talladega, the first Cup pole for Michael Waltrip Racing and the first Cup pole that Toyota won with an engine they had built themselves. If Michael has the kind of car he did at Talladega at the other restrictor plate races next season he will contend for wins just as he has the rest of his career. Contrary to popular belief, Michael is also capable of racing well at other kinds of tracks, but the results at those tracks will be determined on whether MWR is able to field better cars next season.

45. Jeremy Mayfield - Another driver who had an awful season. Jeremy raced in just 17 races this season and didn't even break the top 15 once, quite a difference from 2004 and 2005 when he made the Chase. I highly doubt Jeremy forgot how to drive, it's just that the cars he was given to race were junk. Jeremy also had to deal with being sponsored by 360OTC who turned out to be scam artists. Jeremy left the #36 team before the end of the season to race the #70 for Haas-CNC Racing, the team he'll be with next season. Although Jeremy didn't have to worry about qualifying since the #70 was in the top 35 in owner's points, the results were pretty poor for Jeremy in that car which might not bode well for next season especially since Haas needs to find a new sponsor for that car.

46. Kenny Wallace - Kenny started the season with Furniture Row Motorsports and qualified for 8 of the first 12 races, which was pretty good for a one-car team that didn't have that many resources and was based on Colorado. However, he missed 10 of the next 12 races, which resulted in him getting released when his team lost confidence in him. For the rest of the season Kenny did what he's done previously in his career - filled in for drivers who are injured or otherwise unable to race. He made one start in place of Kyle Petty in the #45, and raced the #88 for Ricky Rudd for four races while he recovered from a shoulder injury. It's unlikely we'll see Kenny racing Cup next season but he's trying to find a ride in the Nationwide Series, and he'll continue his media work for Speed as well.

47. Ward Burton - Ward's fans were thrilled when he got a ride in the #4 after almost two years of having sat out, but their joy was short-lived. Ward was only able to qualify for 16 races in 2007, and was released prior to the last race of the season. Although he expressed a desire to continue racing, he also said he would be fine with going back to hanging out in the woods and spending time with his family if a ride doesn't become available to him. Given that Ward doesn't seem interested in racing in the Nationwide or Truck Series, I think it's unlikely we'll be seeing him race again next season.

48. John Andretti - Despite a decent finish in the points in 2006, John's Nationwide ride for this season disappeared thanks to sponsorship issues and his team merging with another. But John didn't sit idle - he raced for three different Cup teams in 2007, and seemed to find a home with BAM Racing, where he did an good job of qualifying the #49 for ten races. He'll race the #49 again next season, and while the results probably won't be much better than this season, as John said in a Sirius interview, he'll look to achieve small victories like qualifying for as many races as he can and gain some satisfaction from that.

49. Ken Schrader - When the season started Ken was going to split time in the #21 with Jon Wood, and the Wood Brothers were going to field a second car for him in races that Jon was in the #21 for. That plan quickly got derailed due to Jon's health issues and the #21 falling out of the top 35 in owner's points. When Ken was replaced in the #21 by Bill Elliott most thought it would be the last of Ken in Cup, but he returned to the #21 for several races towards the end of the season and has said he will also race for the team part-time next season. Although I'm sure Ken would like to race up front and win just as much as any other driver, he's seems to be happy as long as he's racing regardless of the results, so as long as the Wood Brothers (or some other team) is willing to give him a ride he'll keep racing.

50. Regan Smith - Regan started the season with Ginn Racing but finished the season with DEI after the two teams merged. He made just seven starts in 2007 so he'll be eligible to race for Rookie of the Year next season when he's slated to be in a car for DEI next season. However, the sponsor and number have yet to be announced so there's still some questions to be answered in regards to 2008 for Regan.

51. Boris Said - Boris did end up racing in five races for three different teams - his own, Wood Brothers and Gillett-Evernham, but he also missed some races that he probably deserved to race in due to qualifying being rained out and the top 35 rule. I'm not sure if Boris will continue to try to make races with his own team since he apparently took a big loss in the races he DNQ'd for, but there's no doubt that some team will put him behind the wheel for both road course races.

52. Aric Almirola - Some thought Aric was crazy to leave Joe Gibbs Racing for Ginn Racing, but after that organization folded, Aric ended up at DEI where he'll share the #8 with Mark Martin next season. He appears to have some talent behind the wheel but it may be hard for him to show what he's truly capable of racing part-time.

53. Mike Bliss - Mike raced the #49 early in the season but the results weren't pretty so he and the team parted ways. Which was probably fine with Mike because he also had rides in the Nationwide and Truck Series, both of which were much more competitive than the #49. I doubt we'll see him in Cup in 2008.

54. Ron Fellows - Every year Ron races both road course races and this season was no different. Hall of Fame racing put him behind the wheel of the #96 and he did very well finishing 15th at Sonoma and 4th at Watkins Glen.

55. P.J. Jones - Another road course ringer, P.J. Jones raced the #00 for Michael Waltrip Racing. At Sonoma he was able to get the #00 their best finish of the season - 12th. P.J. also filled in for Robby Gordon in the #7 at Pocono when Robby was parked. We'll likely see P.J. at both road course races again next season.

56. Mike Wallace - A strong restrictor plate racer, Mike finished well in both Superspeedway races he was in this season - finishing 4th at Daytona for Phoenix Racing and 15th at Talladega for Yates Racing. Mike will race in the Nationwide Series for Germain Racing in 2008.

57. Patrick Carpentier - Raced the #10 in three races this season and will race it full-time in 2008. Although he was able to qualify for races at Phoenix and Homestead over more experienced Cup drivers, I think his results may end up being better than his fellow rookie open wheel drivers next season.

58. Terry Labonte - Terry raced the #55 in three races this season, but he only had to use his Champion's provisional once to get him into the field. However, the results weren't very good in the races he was in, despite two of those races being road course tracks that Terry normally races very well at. I would expect that if the #55 isn't in the top 35 in owner's points at some point in 2008, we may see Terry race it a few times like he did this season.

59. Johnny Benson - Johnny did a good job of qualifying for three races this season, one for Wyler Racing and two for Bill Davis Racing. If there's any Toyota teams on lower levels that attempt any races I think there's a good chance we'll see Johnny behind the wheel since he did well in that capacity this season.

60. Jacques Villeneuve - Jacques made two Cup starts in 2007, one of which was very controversial since Bill Davis Racing opted to have him debut at Talladega despite the fact that he neither had Cup nor superspeedway experience. I wasn't impressed at all by what I saw from Jacques this season in Cup or in the Truck Series. He's going to race the #36 full-time next season but I have a feeling things aren't going to go very well for him.

61. Chad McCumbee - Chad made two starts in the #45 in place of Kyle Petty. He'll likely be in the car again when Kyle steps out for a few races next season like he did this year. At one point Petty Enterprises had expressed interest in putting Chad in a Nationwide car next season but since we haven't heard anything about that recently I'm not sure if that's still going to happen.

62. Sam Hornish Jr. - Sam made the last two races of the season and will race for Penske full-time next season. Thanks to some points swapping he'll be guaranteed a spot in the first five races but I'm not convinced his results are going to be good enough in those races to where he'll be in the top 35 after that. I think Penske would have been better off having him race the Nationwide Series full-time for one season before throwing him in a Cup car.

63. Chad Chaffin - Was in the #49 for two races. I doubt we'll see him in Cup next season.

64. Kevin Lepage - Kevin and the #37 team kept showing up to attempt races but they only were successful twice. I'd guess we won't see him or the team next season.

65. Mike Skinner - Raced the #36 once at the end of the season and finished 24th with it which was one of that team's best finishes of the season.

66. Butch Leitzinger - Raced the #23, which was really the #36, at Sonoma.

67. Jon Wood - When the season started the plans were for Jon to split time in the #21 with Ken Schrader with the intention being that he would be groomed to eventually take over that ride full-time. That's unlikely to happen now and I have my doubts about whether we'll ever see Jon in Cup as he's still trying to get back on track after he had to stop racing due to an adverse reaction to medication for ADD.

68. Scott Wimmer - Attempted a number of races for Richard Childress Racing in a 4th car but only qualified for one. I'd guess we'll see him attempt some races in the #33 again next season.

69. Marc Goossens - Raced the #91 for Riley-D'Hondt Racing at Sonoma but only finished 36th. Still just making the race is an accomplishment.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)