Random Thoughts

« March 2008 | Main | May 2008 »

April 30, 2008

Photo of the Day - Ogunquit

Ogunquit, Maine, 2005.

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

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (4/30)

*Yesterday was Dale Earnhardt Day at DEI. Last weekend Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was asked by the media whether he would attend and he said that he wouldn't but didn't give any explanation. Of course Junior isn't obligated to attend now that he no longer works for DEI and he is entitled to remember his father in any way he chooses, privately or publically. However, it turns out that the reason that Junior only sent a video and wasn't there in person was because he was testing. In fact, his sister Kelley Earnhardt-Elledge attended and indicated that Junior would have been there had he not had to test. What I don't understand is why Junior didn't say up front when questioned that he wouldn't be there because he was testing because not giving a reason - even if it was an excuse - opened the door to speculation about whether there's still ill-will between himself and his step-mother, Teresa Earnhardt. Kelley said all the right things when she was interviewed about how Teresa and Taylor, as well as all the employees at DEI, are their family and how Junior leaving DEI was just business and nothing personal. But this isn't the first time when Junior has made a comment where he leaves room for speculation - I sometimes wonder if it's deliberate or not.

*Steve Park attended Dale Earnhardt Day like he did last year. Dave Moody from Sirius was broadcasting live and had Steve on as a guest. Steve told some stories about Dale and was also highly complimentary about Teresa, saying how instrumental she was in the development of DEI and what a wonderful job she's done to keep DEI going and to keep Dale's memory alive with things like Dale Earnhardt Day. Last year Michael Waltrip was one of the few to publically speak well of Teresa, and it's good to hear someone else echo his remarks. Steve also talked briefly about his Camping World East ride and once again I found myself perplexed by something Steve said. Steve said that given the level of the competition in the East Series it's an accomplishment to finish in the top ten like he did at Greenville-Pickens. I agree with him completely. But why is it an accomplishment to be proud of to finish in the top ten in the East Series but in his view, as per his recent comments in an XM interview, racing in the top ten in the Nationwide or Truck Series would be "just riding around?" I'd think finishing in the top ten in one of those series would be an even bigger accomplishment considering the competition only gets greater the higher the series is.

*One thing I've been wondering about in relation to Tony Stewart considering leaving Joe Gibbs Racing for another organization is how Joe Gibbs feels about his driver publically talking about listening to offers from other team when he still has almost two years left on his current contract with JGR. On Monday night's This Week in Nascar, Michael Waltrip "put on his owner's hat" as he called it and said that he wouldn't want any of his drivers publically talking about exploring their options, particularly this early, and that if he's doing "due diligence" in relation to his future that it should be done quietly, behind the scenes. I agree with Michael completely. If I were Joe Gibbs, I would be very uncomfortable with Tony making it known in a very public way not only that he's open to listening to offers from other teams but also making reference to some of what might lure him to another team, i.e. ownership. Of course Tony has to look out for his own interests but when he still has almost two years left on his existing contract it just doesn't seem right to be to publically be "exploring his options." What Tony and the teams he's talking to are doing would be highly frowned upon in other sports but of course Nascar is very different than other sports.

*Ken Schrader might have lost his ride with BAM Racing when that team suspended operations but it looks like he's still going to be doing a lot of Cup racing this season. In addition to the possibility of more races in the #70 for Haas-CNC Racing, Schrader is going to replace Dario Franchitti, who is recovering from a broken ankle, in the #40. One thing all of these teams have in common is that they're all outside the top 35 in owner's points - it'll be interesting to see if Ken can help any of them get back in. Dario will be evaluated each week and the goal seems to be to try to get him back behind the wheel by Charlotte. In some ways it might not be such a bad thing for Dario or the team to get other veteran drivers like Ken and David Stremme who raced the car at Talladega behind the wheel because their feedback could help the team - and Dario - improve their results.

*Chip Ganassi Racing will likely have to find a replacement driver for Dario at Darlington as well. It's quite possible that another former driver of the #40 will end up behind the wheel of that car - Sterling Marlin. Although nothing's set in stone apparently there have been some discussions. Sterling is racing some races - including this weekend at Richmond - for Phoenix Racing but he would be available to race for Ganassi at Darlington. It would be good to see Sterling back in that car since in spite of their struggles the #40 team is still likely more competitive than the #09.

*Lowe's Motorspeedway is installing additional SAFER barriers on the backstretch inside wall prior to the All-Star Race in May. Even though not too many cars end up in the area of the track where they're adding the SAFER barrier they felt it was better to be safe than sorry. I agree - I applaud anything that increases safety for the drivers.

*There continues to be a lot of attention given to the fact that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. hasn't won in 71 races - a stretch dating back to this weekend's race at Richmond two years ago. Somehow I suspect Junior won't be breaking his winless streak this weekend either. I have no doubt that he'll race well - he has in just about every race so far this season. It's just that the #88 team doesn't seem to be able to put all the pieces together to end up in Victory Lane and I doubt that the scrutiny from fans and the media is going to help any. The pressure on Junior and Tony Eury, Jr. not just from others from also from themselves has to be immense.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:28 AM | Comments (1)

April 29, 2008

I understand that a lot of people don't like the way Kyle Busch races, including some of his fellow competitors. But I don't think it's a wise idea for one of Kyle's fellow drivers to be so negative about him like Brendan Gaughan did this weekend. Brendan started out by saying, "A lot less trucks will get wrecked this weekend. We're all happy." I'm sure there are plenty who are happy Kyle wasn't at Kansas. But maybe Brendan should speak for himself and not for all his fellow competitors. I remember a few years ago Brendan went on a huge rant on XM about how horrible all the rookie drivers were in the series that year and how all the veteran drivers felt the same way he did. A few months later I had the opportunity to ask David Reutimann, who at the time was still racing in the truck series, about what he thought about the rookie class of drivers and he responded that he had no problem with them. I suppose that he could have been just saying the "right" things but with the way Brendan went on and on about how all the veterans were upset with the way the rookies raced and their attitudes, I'd think some hint of that would have come across in David's comments. So I have to wonder - is this something similar where Brendan is saying that "all" his fellow competitors are happy Kyle isn't racing but "all" is a bit of an exaggeration?

Brendan continued,

"The better question is, ask me if I care. I don't care. If you look at his record in the first four races, he's done a great job wrecking others and not taking himself out most of the time. Do I think he'll win the championship not coming all year? No, I don't think he will. I think we have too many good drivers and good race teams. There's too many Rick Crawfords, Todd Bodines, Mike Skinners that will be running up front every week to be able to miss races like that."

Fact is Kyle might not have always raced in the smartest way but he's also done some winning. In fact in those first four races Kyle has won twice and finished second once. Which is in addition to his two Cup wins and three Nationwide wins. To act as if Kyle's success in the series and overall in Nascar is a whole lot of nothing sounds like sour grapes to me. Maybe Brendan is a little resentful that he's not the one who is racing as well as Kyle is. Brendan has had a lot of success in the truck series in the past - eight wins is no small amount of wins. However, in recent years Brendan has struggled to race as well as he did in 2003 when he was in contention for the series Championship. Meanwhile Kyle isn't even racing every race and he could still contend for the Championship. Maybe that seems unfair to Brendan, particularly since Kyle doesn't always have a very good attitude and also races in a very aggressive way on the track.

Contrast Brendan's remarks with that of his teammate, Rick Crawford, who said,

"Fan or not, every doggone race from Cup to Truck to Nationwide series, Kyle Busch has been in contention to win. Every race this year. Hand it to the man. He's on top of his game."

Rick may have similar sentiments to Brendan but if he does he's not letting on. He also knows how to give credit where credit is due. Kyle is having an incredible season so far, not just in the Truck Series but also in Cup and Nationwide as well. Not that Brendan should fall all over himself praising Kyle, who he clearly doesn't like, but is it really necessary to practically celebrate that Kyle's not racing?

Posted by silverdsl at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)

Driver by Driver: Talladega I

Seems like a lot of fans are complaining about various things about Sunday's race at Talladega but I thought it was one of the better races of the season with a lot of exciting racing. Maybe it was a matter of who the winner was but if fans don't find anything good about the racing on Sunday I don't think they'll ever be happy with any of the racing this season.

1. Kyle Busch - I don't care for Kyle's attitude or some of the things that he does sometimes but unlike some fans I can still recognize and appreciate his talent behind the wheel. I'm in awe of how much winning he's done so far this season - two Cup races, three Nationwide races and two truck races. That is impressive and very worthy of all the attention that it's gotten Kyle from the media so far. If he keeps it up he could be poised to have an incredible season much to the chagrin of many fans, and probably a few of his fellow competitors. I think Kyle is schooling Hendrick Motorsports without even having to say a word directly about what a mistake they made in letting him go, regardless of what attitude issues he might have had.

2. Juan Montoya - Another driver that fans love to hate who had a great race. So many fans predicted he would cause "The Big One." But not only didn't he, but he also finished extremely well. This is Juan's best finish since he finished second at Indy last July.

3. Denny Hamlin - Denny is on quite a roll. Since winning at Bristol four races ago he hasn't finished outside the top five.

4. David Ragan - Best finish for David so far this season.

5. Brian Vickers - Great finish for Brian especially considering he had to rebound from a spin on pit road. This is a much needed strong finish for this team that has been somewhat inconsistent.

6. Travis Kvapil - Great finish for Travis and it's good for him and his team that it came with a sponsor on the car. However, even with a solid top ten run there is very little attention being given to Travis. How are teams supposed to keep and find sponsors when even good finishes don't get them any exposure?

7. Casey Mears - This is Casey's second top ten in four races but many are continuing to speculate that Casey is on his way out at HMS.

8. Ryan Newman - Ryan won the Daytona 500 and finished well in this race so it appears he's going to be strong at restrictor plate tracks this season. The results haven't been bad for Ryan at other tracks either but I wonder if it's going to be enough to keep him at Penske or whether both he and they are thinking about making a change?

9. Clint Bowyer - The first three races of the season didn't go very well for Clint but since then he hasn't finished outside the top ten.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Most driver's fans would be happy with a top ten finish in a race in which he was involved in a wreck. They would also be happy with him being 3rd in points. But not many of Junior's fans. Any less than him ending up in Victory Lane is unacceptable to them. I suspect even if he wins a race they'll still be unhappy if he doesn't win multiple races this season.

11. Robby Gordon - Strong finish for Robby when he really needed one considering how far he had fallen in the owner's points. I suspect he and a few others might not have finished as well as they did though if not for the big wreck on the last lap.

12. Jeff Burton - First finish outside the top ten for Jeff since the second race of the season.

13. Jimmie Johnson - Jimmie was working extremely well with Michael Waltrip over the last few laps of the race and they were poised to make another push to the front when the engine on the #55 let go. Not only did it cost Michael a strong finish but it probably also cost Jimmie a better finish as well.

14. Paul Menard - Led some laps in this race but ended up going for a spin. He still managed to get his best finish since June of last year.

15. David Gilliland - David finishes 15th for the third race in a row. He's actually racing fairly well this season but it seems as if no one cares which is the same story for his teammate. Not a good sign for teams looking for more sponsorship.

16. Scott Riggs

17. Jamie McMurray - "The Big One" on the last lap might have been caused by Jamie but he still managed to finish 17th. Since he finished in the top ten to get back into the top 35 the finishes for Jamie have been okay but just like is so often the case less than what's expected from him.

18. Greg Biffle - At least one fan this morning on Sirius was blaming Greg for Junior not winning the race. According to this fan Greg dumped Junior and that was why Junior didn't win. Greg needs to do what's best for him and if he sees an opportunity to advance his own position he needs to go for it. It's great when drivers work together but Greg is under no obligation to help Junior win, particularly since they aren't teammates and aren't even with the same manufacturer. Greg is there to try to win just like Junior is.

19. Jeff Gordon - I'm not sure if Jeff was involved in the last lap wreck or not but overall the past few races the results have not been impressive for him. Things can change, particularly when talking about a team and driver as good as Jeff but right now I'm not feeling like the #24 team is going to be in the Chase.

20. David Reutimann - Tough day for David. Had an ill-handling car for much of the day, tangled with a teammate and might have also been involved in the last lap wreck. However, this is his second top 20 in a row and if he keeps finishing at least that well or hopefully better he won't have to worry about dropping out of the top 35 in owner's points.

21. Regan Smith

22. Sterling Marlin - Not a bad finish for a go-or-go-homer making his first start of the season. Sterling will race for this team again at Richmond and then could end up making a return to his old team, the #40 for a few races while Dario Franchitti recovers.

23. Kasey Kahne - Was involved in the last lap wreck.

24. Kevin Harvick - Ditto for Kevin.

25. Joe Nemechek - ... and for the pole-sitter of the race. It had to be particularly disappointing for Joe that he was collected in that wreck since he was probably on his way to a good finish if not for the wreck. Still, this is his best finish of the season and overall the team has to feel good with what they did at Talladega.

26. Michael McDowell - I'm not sure exactly what happened but he ended up tangling with his own teammate and spinning.

27. Michael Waltrip - Poor Michael. As I detailed in a previous entry Michael was contending for the win over the last laps of the race and seemed poised to make a charge for the lead with Jimmie Johnson when the engine on the #55 blew. Had to be heartbreaking for Michael to come so close to what probably would have been at least a top five finish, if not a win.

28. David Stremme - David did outstanding in his return to the #40 team as a replacement for the injured Dario Franchitti. It's a shame he got caught up in the last lap wreck so the finish doesn't show how well he raced. David even led a couple of laps too. He won't be able to race this car again though due to his contract with Penske Racing which prevents him from helping another team outside the top 35 get into the top 35 since that could be to the detriment of one of their teams.

29. Elliott Sadler - Led some laps but was collected in two different wrecks, including the one on the last lap.

30. A.J. Allmendinger - Also got wrecked.

31. Patrick Carpentier - Got into the wall on lap 143.

32. Kyle Petty - I think he was just slow as usual.

33. Aric Almirola

34. Bobby Labonte - Got spun and collected some others with him.

35. Sam Hornish Jr.

36. Jon Wood - As far as I could tell raced a clean race and stayed out of trouble which is good for him.

37. Martin Truex Jr. - Was collected in the lap 173 wreck.

38. Tony Stewart - Got into the wall early on maybe because of a tire issue but got back on track only to be collected in the lap 173 wreck.

39. Kurt Busch - Also a victim of the lap 173 wreck.

40. Carl Edwards - A cut tire put him in the wall.

41. Matt Kenseth - Tough season for Matt. Also had tire issues that put him in the wall. This poor finish sinks Matt to 19th in points and it may be hard for him to rebound into Chase contention.

42. Ken Schrader - Got in the race with a strong qualifying run but apparently lost an engine pretty early on.

43. Reed Sorenson - Lost an engine. There's nothing Reed can do about mechanical issues but overall he's going to need to improve his results since he's in the danger zone as far as the owner's points go.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

McCready Confirms Affair With Clemens

Yesterday representatives for Roger Clemens tried to claim that his relationship with country singer Mindy McCready was nothing more than a long-time platonic friendship. But today McCready confirmed that the relationship between herself and Clemens was a romantic affair. In fact, McCready told the New York Daily News, who broke the story originally "I cannot refute anything in the story" which means that she is confirming that the relationship between herself and Clemens began when she was just 15-years old and he was 28. "Sources" tell the Daily News that when the two first met when she was 15, they went back to Clemens's hotel room but nothing intimate happened that night. Then what exactly were they doing in his hotel room? According to these same sources they didn't have sex until after she was legal. So McCready confirms a romance that began when she was 15, and I'm supposed to believe that they didn't have sex even though they were dating or whatever they were calling it?

Even if there is no sex a romance between a teen and an adult is still wrong. Really there is nothing that would excuse or make acceptable Clemens's actions in relation to McCready - but Wallace Matthews from Newsday sure did try. Wallace believes that aside from McCready's age when the relationship allegedly began, this is a big non-story. Well, her age is the whole story in my mind. As Wallace points out, it's not uncommon unfortunately for baseball players to cheat on their significant others. But with a teenager? Where Wallace completely loses me is when he says,

"The fact that she was 15 and he was 28? Well, that one is a little tougher to get around, but these days, 15 is the new 30. Ask Miley Cyrus and her dad, who had no problem posing for an Annie Leibovitz photo spread with his scantily clad teenage daughter - looking creepily like his girlfriend - which, of course, was the only way that has-been was ever getting into Vanity Fair."

Putting the Miley Cyrus issue aside, 15 is not the new 30 regardless of what it might seem in ads or on TV. The legal system still prosecutes adults for having sex with 15-year olds. And regardless of how sexy or alluring a 15-year old might seem, it's the responsibility of the adult to know better than to enter into a relationship with someone who is underage. Besides that, Clemens started the relationship with McCready in 1991. How does the way society portrays teenage women now apply to what Clemens did then?

Wallace continues by saying that maybe Clemens was just mentoring McCready - just exactly what how was he mentoring her in his hotel room or with the thousands of dollars which included checks in the amount of $25,000 he sent her? And just exactly what would Clemens mentor her about anyway? How to play baseball? How to (allegedly) use performance enhancers?

In addition, Wallace brings up the possibility that McCready herself is the source of the Daily News articles in an effort to re-start her career which has spiraled downhill in recent years due to personal and legal problems. There certainly is that chance. However, regardless of what McCready's movitations might be - and she might very well have had nothing to do with any of this becoming public - she was still 15 when this relationship allegedly began. No matter what misdeeds McCready might be guilty of that is still wrong.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2008

Kevin Lepage Apologizes

On Sunday Kevin Lepage did what he should have done on Saturday - apologize for making one of the worst moves a driver has made on the track in a long time when he came off of pit road and moved up onto the track in the middle of the lead pack of cars when he was going significantly slower than they were, a move that resulted in 16 wrecked race cars. What bothered many fans, and probably more than a few of Lepage's fellow competitors, was that Lepage didn't take any responsibility for what happened, and instead placed blame on others. Lepage said,

“[On] Saturday afternoon every racer’s concern was realized, as I caused ‘the big one. After reviewing the tapes of the accident I realize I need to apologize to NASCAR, the car owners, my fellow competitors and, most importantly, the fans. I made a huge driver error by blending onto the race track in the wrong area. This caused a multicar accident and changed the outcome of the race for many teams. I’m so thankful that no one was hurt considering the number of cars involved... And I promise that it will not happen again. It is such a terrible feeling knowing that NASCAR, the car owners, fellow competitors and NASCAR fans think this was a ‘bonehead’ move, and I certainly don’t want anyone thinking of me in these terms. Speaking yesterday before reviewing the tapes of the accident made me look like a ‘heel,’ and there is not a single person to blame for this huge mistake except myself. I have worked very hard over the years to gain the respect of NASCAR, the owners, competitors and the fans, and it will take a long time to gain it back after what happened.”

Lepage also called it one of the biggest mistakes he's ever made on the track - I'd say it's probably one of the biggest mistakes any driver has made on the track recently.

Problem with Lepage's apology is that it shouldn't have taken him until Sunday to make it. For one thing one has to wonder given his comments immediately following the incident whether he really means it or whether he's just saying what he thinks he has to in the face of a significant amount of criticism. I'd like to think that upon review of the replay and after speaking with his wife, who is also his spotter, who had a bird's eye view of what happened, Lepage really does realize that all the blame rests on his shoulders and that he has a lot to apologize for. But that the apology came a day later makes me wonder.

Lepage is probably right that it might be a long time before he regains the trust of those in the garage area. Apparently another driver told Claire B. Lang from XM that they were no longer comfortable racing with Lepage and I can't say I blame that person considering Lepage's mistake showed a complete lack of common sense.

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

Allegations Surface that Roger Clemens had an Affair With Mindy McCready

Normally I don't comment much on the personal lives of the players and drivers that I like. I get curious at times just like anyone else but I'm much more concerned with what they do on the field or on the track than what they do behind closed doors and it's really not much of my business anyway. However, there are times when something is newsworthy and the allegations that Roger Clemens had a decade long affair with country singer Mindy McCready that began when she was just 15-years old fits the bill.

That Clemens might not have been faithful to his wife isn't really even an issue to me. It's almost part of the lifestyle of an athlete that many of them aren't faithful to their significant others. I might not make the same decisions that they make, but I've long since accepted that all people, including athletes, have flaws and they are going to say and do things that I don't like sometimes. That said, having a relationship with a 15-year old is completely unacceptable and inexcusable to me, not to mention it's criminal. Clemens's lawyer has admitted that there is a relationship between Clemens and McCready but denied that it was ever sexual. But one has to wonder why a 28-year old (the age Clemens was when he allegedly met McCready) would want to spend time with a 15-year old. If the allegations are true then Clemens is guilty of something a lot more serious than using performance enhancers.

Of course all of this is coming to light now because Clemens is suing Brian McNamee for defamation. It's laughable that Clemens and his attorney thought it was a wise idea to proceed with a defamation suit. Clemens might have convinced himself that he is perfect without any skeletons in his closet but I doubt this is the only piece of information that's going to come to light that's going to damage Clemens's reputation. After all, considering how long they worked together closely McNamee probably knows a lot of dirt about Clemens... and he's probably not the only one.

So far McCready has had no comment. That probably won't continue considering the seriousness of the allegations. I don't know what the statue of limitations is on statutory rape or whether the authorities will investigate, but it seems like Clemens might find himself in a lot more hot water than he thinks before this is all over.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:16 PM | Comments (0)

A Sad But Happy Day for Michael Waltrip at Talladega

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times for Michael Waltrip yesterday at Talladega. In spite of having a car that wasn't among the best he's ever raced at a restrictor plate track, at the end of the race yesterday Michael was contending for the win. In fact, on the last lap he and Jimmie Johnson were setting up another push to the front of the field which would have surely resulted in a top five for Michael if not the win. But then heartbreak - just as Jimmie was about to give Michael a push forward, the engine in the #55 blew, relegating Michael to what had to be a very disappointing - but given that they knew they had some mechanical issues - not quite unexpected result.

Although I was sad for Michael that he came so close to a win only to see it slip from his grasp, I'm still thrilled with yesterday! It was outstanding to see Michael racing up front, contending for a win! I was so nervous and excited that I could barely watch! What really impressed me is that Michael took a car that he said was slow, a car that had ignition box issues and other mechanical problems and he still raced his way up front with it. What a difference from last season when the Michael Waltrip Racing cars were so slow at times on these kinds of tracks that it seemed like they struggled to keep up with the pack and stay in the draft let alone contend for the win! I loved the fact that Jimmie had enough confidence in Michael, his car and his abilities to work with him as well as he did!

Of course this isn't the only time there's been heartbreak for a MWR driver at Talladega. Last season David Reutimann was also in a position to contend for the win at this track and he too experienced an engine failure during the last laps of the race. That's the one thing that bothers me about yesterday other than the fact that Michael didn't end up in Victory Lane - that it was due to losing an engine. MWR doesn't have an in-house engine department so all of their engines are provided to them by Toyota. Last season it seemed like there were quite a few engine failures and other engine related issues. Given that I had hoped that Toyota had put even more work into their engine program to make them as solid as possible. Of course there's always going to be engine failures from time-to-time no matter who builds the engines or how good they are, but it seems to me that it shouldn't be happening as often as it does to the engines that are provided to MWR. Toyota probably doesn't care all that much since another one of their drivers ended up with the win, but it makes me think that MWR needs to get an engine program of their own going at some point in the near future so that the success or failure of their engines is in their own hands.

It was a so-so day for Michael's drivers. David finished 20th and Michael McDowell finished 26th, but they tangled towards the end of the race. I'd like to know a little more of what happened there - mistakes are going to be made and sometimes it's unavoidable for drivers to get into each other but teammates should use care when racing each other. David also had to deal with a car that was tight for much of the race and like Michael complained about in relation to his car, seemed down on power. David is probably pretty lucky to have finished as well as 20th since not only was there the incident with McD but also was barely able to avoid being collected in the last lap wreck.

While I know that the perfect day for Michael would have been if he and his drivers finished 1-2-3, it was still a pretty good day big-picture. Michael was able to race competitively and contend for the win, and all three MWR cars left Talladega still in the top 35 in owner's points. The folks at NAPA Auto Parts also have to be happy - they got a lot of exposure from Michael leading laps and contending for the win. Of course I'm sure they would much rather they were celebrating a win today - that's what Michael and his fans were hoping for too - but it was still a good day for them in terms of their car getting some TV time.

While I'm sad for Michael that he didn't get the win he so dearly wants I'm also smiling because of how wonderful it was to see him racing competitively. There's still two more restrictor plate races to go this season and I have no doubt that Michael will be up front racing for the win at both of those races as well! And maybe we'll even see Michael contend for a win at another kind of track too. MWR has made so many advances since last season and they're only going to get better and better!

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

April 27, 2008

Fine Finish for Michael Waltrip Goes Up in Smoke

More about this tomorrow but Michael Waltrip saw a possible win literally go up in smoke when his engine let go on the last lap of today's race at Talladega while he was racing in the top ten and setting up to make a run at the win with help from Jimmie Johnson. To add insult to injury Michael couldn't get the car to go and had to push it back to pit road himself at the end of the race. The finishing position was a disappointment but it was awesome to see Michael race up front and lead some laps!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:37 PM | Comments (2)

Kevin Lepage Makes a Huge Mistake

All drivers make mistakes, sometimes costly mistakes that result in wrecked races cars, but I don't think I've ever seen a driver make as big of a mistake as Kevin Lepage did in yesterday's Nationwide race. Lepage exited pit road significantly slower than the rest of the field and instead of waiting for the field to pass him and then come up onto the track and up to speed he just came onto the track in the middle of the pack. That resulted in 16 wrecked race cars, including many of the leaders because they weren't able to stop in time. I can't figure out what Lepage was thinking - regardless of what his understand of the rules were there is no excuse for pulling onto the track in the middle of a pack of cars.

What made matters worse is that when Lepage was interviewed after the race he refused to take any responsibility what-so-ever and instead blamed the other teams spotters for not alerting their drivers. That's ridiculous. Even if the spotters warned their drivers that there was a slow car exiting pit road no one is going to expect anyone to be stupid enough to pull up into the middle of a pack of cars when they're going maybe as much as a hundred miles an hour slower! Not to mention none of the drivers are going to expect it either and by the time they see it happening there's no time to react. I would much rather have heard Lepage acknowledge that he made a mistake and apologize.

Lepage claimed that his understanding of the rules as per what was said in the driver's meeting was that he could put two tires over the yellow line heading into turn one, but supposedly what was actually said was that they couldn't put two tires over the yellow until they got into turn two. Now, Lepage wasn't the only driver who misunderstood since Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann got penalties for doing something similar. But if it's true that this rule was gone over at the driver's meeting I think it's pretty bad that Lepage and other drivers either weren't paying attention or didn't understand what was said.

Part of the reason for the drivers meetings is for Nascar to go over rules specific to that particular track and race. There is also an opportunity for drivers to ask questions if they need clarification on anything. In addition, crew chiefs are required to attend the meetings with their drivers. The meetings get repetitive, and I would think even more so for the veteran drivers who hear the same things over and over again. However, it's their responsibility to be aware of the rules and the crew chiefs to make sure their drivers understand the rules as well. Prior to today's race Ty Norris, Michael Waltrip's spotter, went over a rules change that was made in response to yesterday's incident that was discussed at the spotter's and drivers meetings to be sure that Michael understood it. All teams should routinely be doing the same thing - even veteran drivers sometimes need a reminder about things.

Thing is even if Lepage was confused about the rule he should still have known better than to move up onto the track when he did. That's simply a lack of common sense, and as much as I avoid trying to say things like this it was as dumb of a move as I've seen on the track for a long time. Kyle Busch makes some moves on the track that some consider idiotic but I can't remember the last time Busch has caused a 16-car wreck. What Lepage did truly shows what doing something stupid on the track actually is. To be clear, I'm sure Lepage isn't a stupid man, but he made a mistake of such gargantuan proportions yesterday that it's hard to see it as anything else but a foolish and idiotic move.

Of course even a small mistake can result in "The Big One" at a track like this but because of that the drivers need to race smart even more so at these tracks than at others. Lepage didn't do that yesterday.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)

David Stremme to Replace Dario Franchitti in the #40 at Talladega

A tough season for Dario Franchitti gets even harder after he broke his ankle in a hard wreck in yesterday's Nationwide race. Franchitti lost a tire and in the ensuing chaos on the track he ended up getting hit in the driver's side by Larry Gunselman. Franchitti was taken to a local hospital for evaluation where the injury was discovered. For at least today's race David Stremme, who Franchitti replaced in the #40, will reunite with his old team, which shows the importance of not burning any bridges. There's been no word on the severity of the injury or how long Franchitti will be out but I suspect if it's for any length of time we'll see Stremme continue to race the car considering his familiarity with the team as long as it doesn't conflict with his Nationwide schedule.

Franchitti's injury highlights the risks of Cup drivers racing in others series. As safe as the cars are there's still a risk of injury. In Franchitti's case he really needs as much seat time as he can get so Chip Ganassi Racing really needed to have him racing as many Nationwide races as he can because it would help him on the Cup level. But unfortunately now he's out for at least once race and possibly more.

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

Morgan Shepherd Finishes 13th in Nationwide Race at Talladega

Morgan Shepherd gets a lot of criticism directed his way - including in this space - for starting and parking in virtually every race. But one thing about Shepherd that a lot of people seem to forget but I try to remember is that in his prime Shepherd was a decent driver who won four Cup races, finished in the top ten in Cup points three times and also won 15 Nationwide races. Apparently when he had a good car he still knows how to race even at 66-years old. Yesterday in a car prepared by Kevin Harvick, Inc. Shepherd finished 13th. It was the first time that he finished on the lead lap of any race on one of Nascar's three highest levels since 2001 and the first time in a Nationwide race since 1999. Of course Shepherd wouldn't have finished as well as he did if not for many of the leaders getting wrecked but he still would have finished and during the race he showed that he can race with anyone else with a solid car. Unless KHI continues providing assistance to Shepherd it's likely that he'll go back to starting and parking but it was good to see Shepherd show, even if for only one race, that he can still get the job done on the track.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2008

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (4/26)

*J.J.Yeley, Dave Blaney and John Andretti all failed to qualify for Sunday's Cup race at Talladega. It's not such a big surprise that Andretti missed the race since he's only been able to qualify for three of eight races so far this season. However, both Blaney and Yeley had made every race so far this season, Yeley because he was in the top 35 in owner's points until now and Blaney because he had been able to make all the races on speed once he was a go-or-go-homer again. For Blaney it means that it's probably not too likely that he'll be able to make it back into the top 35 and it further reflects the struggles for Bill Davis Racing on the Cup level. Yeley may still have a chance to get back in the top 35 but it will probably be very difficult. The team that benefits the most here is probably the #70 team since they were behind both the #96 and #22 in owner's points but thanks to Ken Schrader they made Sunday's race. That could help them get back into the top 35 in owner's points but they might need others to have bad luck for it to happen.

*Joe Nemechek is on the pole for tomorrow's race. Although the odds are that Nemechek won't be able to stay up front for long it'll be nice to see Nemechek and his team get some attention that they don't normally get. Some fans think it's ridiculous that a go-or-go-homer can get a pole like Nemechek's team did because they're in a different set-up than the teams that are guaranteed to race, but these teams need to do whatever they have to so they make races. The margin for getting in or being out is often razor thin and particularly at tracks like this we've seen even cars that qualify up front on speed end up going home.

*A tough season continues to go bad for Dario Franchitti. In today's Nationwide Series he lost a tire and in the ensuing chaos his car was hit in the driver's side hard by another car. Although Franchitti was conscious after the wreck, he was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. What was striking to me was how far the side of the car, including the bars that protect the driver were pushing in. Hopefully being taken to the hospital was just a precaution and he'll able to race tomorrow.

*Scott Speed won the ARCA race yesterday at Kansas Speedway. Gee, I wonder how long it'll be until he replaces A.J. Allmendinger in the #84? Somehow Red Bull Racing was able to find Speed an ARCA and a truck ride but A.J., who dearly needs extra seat time, had to sit on the sidelines while Mike Skinner was in his car. Allmendinger qualified well for tomorrow's race but he's going to need to start racing well too otherwise his Cup career will probably end a lot sooner than he'd like.

*At Phoenix someone from Roush-Fenway Racing had a conversation with Danica Patrick about her interest in moving from open wheel to stock cars. According to Jack Roush Patrick has some interest in eventually racing stock cars and naturally he said he would be willing to put together a program for her to do so. Nascar desperately needs more female drivers - really more diversity overall. However, I'm not sure that Patrick is the right fit for Nascar or the female driver who will experience the success that has thus far eluded other women who have raced in Nascar. I think a driver like Chrissy Wallace who has a background in stock cars, access to good cars and trucks from the start and works their way up is more likely to be successful. Sue to her accomplishments and experiences in the IRL, as well as her popularity, Patrick would probably be rushed to Cup or even start out in Cup right away and as we've seen with other open wheelers that's not been a recipe for success.

*Besides Tony Stewart, a number of other drivers are engaged in contract negotiations for new deals as well. Two of those drivers are Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards. Newman acts as his own agent and Edwards acts as his own business manager so essentially they are doing the negotiations themselves. I'm sure they are both working with lawyers and get advise from others so it's not like they aren't getting help from anyone but at this stage in their careers when the negotiations are probably complex and involve quite a bit of money I'm not sure it's wise to not have a business manager or agent be involved. Both Newman and Edwards are intelligent people but it still might be good to have someone who has specialized experience in business negotiations about contracts and isn't emotionally invested acting on their behalf.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2008

Microsoft Small Business to Sponsor #00 at Michael Waltrip Racing

Starting this weekend at Talladega, Microsoft Small Business will become an associate sponsor of the #00 at Michael Waltrip Racing in 2008. If I understand correctly this sponsorship is a way for companies that participate in Microsoft's small business program to market and promote themselves using Michael McDowell, MWR and Michael Waltrip. This is the same sponsorship that was at BAM Racing before that team suspended operations and I would guess that they'll get a lot more exposure through their sponsorship of the #00 than they would have with the #49, particularly in light of how much attention McD has gotten since his spectacular wreck during qualifying in Texas. In addition, the companies who participate will be able to take contest winner to Raceworld, a facility that is a lot more impressive than anything BAM had to offer.

Michael (Waltrip) said,

“My race team has been blessed by partnerships with some of the most recognizable companies in the world and it makes me proud to represent a powerful international brand such as Microsoft. My team will deliver to the many Microsoft Small Business partners marketing assets that will help their businesses grow, which is ultimately the goal of this relationship.”

It's outstanding for Michael and MWR to be associated with a company like Microsoft which is known throughout the world! It could even encourage other companies to sponsor MWR since it sends a message if a prestigious company like Microsoft is willing to be involved with MWR that maybe it's worth it for other companies to become sponsors at MWR as well.

The other thing is that it's a creative kind of sponsorship. If I understand correctly small businesses pay a certain amount of money to get a marketing package that includes race tickets, a logo on the car and other things. That's the kind of sponsorship that I can see appealing to Michael since he thinks out of the box a lot. These days with how hard it is to find and keep sponsors I think teams need to think of different ways to generate sponsorships and also ways to sweeten sponsorships - being able to offer sponsors the use of Raceworld is certainly a nice perk that other organizations can't offer.

Even though it's not a primary sponsorship it's still great news that the #00 has some additional sponsorship and that it's for the entire season! Hopefully some other companies will decide that they want to sponsor McD or Aaron's who are sponsoring the car for a few races will decide to extend their sponsorship!

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

Tony Stewart Acknowledges that He's Exploring his Options

Yesterday Tony Stewart acknowledged that he's listening to offers from other teams and that while he may stay at Joe Gibbs Racing, he finds some of the offers that have been presented to him including those that would include an ownership stake in a team "intriguing." In addition, while Tony said that he hasn't asked for a release from his contract, he did say that he has discussed with JGR the possibility of getting out of his contract early if he decides he has enough interest in one of the offers that have come his way. The fact that Tony is openly discussing all of this and giving details such as that ownership interests him indicates to me that he is seriously considering leaving JGR and that this isn't just something that's being floated by Tony's representatives as a negotiating ploy.

Tony said,

“But we’re going to look at all the options, and the options are exciting all the way around. It’s pretty exciting. … Right now, it’s just a matter of figuring out what we want to do and just being smart. We’ve had a great run at Joe Gibbs Racing, and it doesn’t mean it’s over yet. We’re just going to look at everything that’s out there. A wise person told me it never costs a dime to listen, so right now we’re all ears.”

I would guess that the options will get more exciting since now that it's publically known that he's willing to listen to offers from other teams there will probably be a lot more offers that come his way. There probably isn't a team in the garage that wouldn't want a driver of Tony's caliber, particularly since he could possibly bring a major sponsor in Home Depot with him, or attract another major sponsor.

What I don't understand is why it's acceptable for Tony to talk to other team while he still has almost two years left on his current contract with JGR. Of course with how early sponsors and teams want their plans set for the following year drivers can't wait until their current deals expire before they start talking to other teams about a new ride. But this far in advance? It's like Tony's contract with JGR doesn't mean anything! In other sports like baseball teams can't talk with players from other teams while they're still under contract because it would be considered tampering. But in Nascar it happens all the time.

I have to wonder what effect this will have on the #20 team now that they know that Tony might want to leave JGR. J.D. Gibbs had a meeting with the team and others at JGR to reassure them but with all the attention and speculation from media and the fans I think it will be hard for this not to be a distraction, particularly since it's likely this won't be something that will be resolved any time soon. The other thing I'm wondering about is whether JGR is going to start talking to other drivers in case Tony leaves. The #20 is a high-profile ride and unless they decide to give it to Joey Lagano, JGR would probably want to replace Tony with another top driver, and there are several drivers like Martin Truex, Jr. for one who might be available. It's going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2008

Michael Waltrip Out Loud (4/24)

Huge round of applause for Michael and Tony! I loved what they said in the first part of the show about Danica Patrick and Jamie Little, about how it was the weekend of the ladies because they both won this past weekend! Tony defended Danica's win, how it was every bit as valid of a win as any other even though it was a win by fuel strategy which is what I talked about in my "Wins Matter!" entry a few days ago. Michael agreed and said what an accomplishment it was for a female to have won a major race. Tony said that a win is a win and Danica crossed the finish line first. There's nothing wrong with winning based on fuel mileage like Danica and Jimmie Johnson did recently. Tony asked whether Danica was headed to Nascar and Michael said he didn't think so but that he would have a "chair" (a ride) for her if she was interested. Yeah, Michael and every other car owner! I was just really happy to hear them talk about how great Danica's win was instead of trying to dismiss it as so many others have.

After not having had a guest on all season they found one to have on - Dale Jarrett. Usually I don't mind when they get to talking about golf even though I don't always understand what they're talking about but in this instance I have to admit I kind of only paid half-attention. DJ took part in a televised golf event that Tony watched and it seemed like he had DJ describe every single shot he took the entire game! Michael was so quiet during that part I'm not even sure he was still in the room - it's hard for me to believe he could go that long without talking on his own show! When he finally did speak up Michael said he took part in his first members-members tournament and I think Michael took great joy in saying the word "members!"

When they finally did get around to talking about racing there was some discussion about DJ retiring and how everyone made him feel special at his last points start at Bristol, as well as some talk about Talladega. But DJ's most interesting comments were in relation to the organization he was with before he went to Michael Waltrip Racing, that being Yates Racing whose cars are still mostly unsponsored. DJ said that Nascar needs to "wake up" and make the sport more affordable for the teams, even if it means going so far as to cut down on the amount of races. Michael knows how much it takes to field a team and he doesn't know how Doug Yates is doing it without sponsorship. DJ said that he wants to help MWR in relation to their situation (presumably convincing UPS to stay) but that he would also do anything to help Yates Racing because of how many people he still knows over there and how highly he thinks of Doug Yates. (I wish that all those who think that DJ has never said anything good about Yates or Doug Yates would have heard him say that) DJ doesn't understand why the Yates teams are unsponsored and he thinks that's a red flag that there are problems in the sport in relation to sponsorship.

My guess as to why the Yates cars are still unsponsored is because sponsors don't feel that the Yates drivers are that marketable and also question how much exposure they would get if they were on one of those cars. Sure, they've shown that they can race competitively this season but when was the last time one of the Yates drivers was discussed at length during a TV broadcast for something other than one of them being involved in an incident or how they still don't have a primary sponsor? Both Travis and David seem to be nice guys but they don't seem to have very dynamic personalities. I also think that they aren't traditionally "cute" and unfortunately these days looks can play a role.

I agree with DJ fully that the woes of not just Yates but other teams is a red flag that there are problems in the sport in relation to sponsorship, and not just on the Cup level. The economy is such these days that companies that might have jumped at the opportunity to be on a car in the past might not have the money in their budgets now to do so. However, the costs of fielding teams seems to be continuing to go up - where are the teams going to find the money to pay for those costs if they're having trouble finding and keeping sponsors, especially big-money sponsors that are willing to spend $20 million or more to be the primary sponsor on a Cup car?

Posted by silverdsl at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/24)

I probably should have titled this one "Vote for Michael!" because that's what most of the news about Michael Waltrip involves ways for his fans to show their support for him by voting for him in various online polls. If you're like me you might not be a huge fan of online polls but as time has gone on more and more they've become a gauge of how fans feel about certain drivers or topics. Sponsors, the media and other fans pay attention to where fans finish in these polls. For a driver like Michael who is trying to convince two major sponsors to re-sign with his organization, it's really important that his fans vote for him as much as possible in these polls so he finishes as high as possible.

Fans can vote every day for Michael in the Chex Most Popular Driver poll. Last year Michael finished 3rd in MPD voting which is awesome! Even though Michael struggled through a very challenging season his fans stuck by him anyway and maybe even supported him even more than ever. I'm not sure Michael's fanbase rivals that of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or Jeff Gordon who finished ahead of him last season, but he has a huge amount of fans, many more than some think, so it's very possible for him to finish at least as well this season if everyone votes daily.

Now through May 19th fans can vote their favorite driver into the All-Star Race. Contrary to popular belief you don't have to be s Sprint cell phone customer, go to a Sprint store or vote at the track - the link in the sentence before is a way for fans to vote online as many times as they want. Previously Michael had been guaranteed a spot because he won the All-Star race in 1996 but Nascar put a ten-year cap on how long drivers can grandfathered in after winning. So to race in the All-Star race Michael needs to be voted in. It would be huge for Michael and for NAPA Auto Parts if Michael was the driver who emerged from behind the stage when the winner of the fan vote was announced! It would be a great way for Michael's fans to very publically show how much they support and believe in him!

Every week Directv Hotpass Superchannel features driver audio from 13 drivers as voted on by the fans. The voting is open to anyone whether they have Directv or not - all it takes is an email address just like many of the other polls. It's another way to show how popular Michael is. It would be great for him if he was able to tell his sponsors that he's a featured driver just about every week.

So my fellow fans, let's see how much voting we can do for Michael!

In other news after a one week break, the Cup Series returns to action this weekend at Talladega. Of course Talladega is one of Michael's better tracks and Michael Waltrip Racing as well as Toyota overall has shown they are capable of fielding competitive cars at restrictor plate tracks. Michael was on the outside pole for the Daytona 500 and I think there's a very good chance he could have a good enough car to contend for the pole in this race too. I suppose that it's too much to expect that an MWR car might end up in Victory Lane this weekend, but a girl can dream can't she? I would be so happy for Michael if he or one of his drivers won on Sunday!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

Something Entirely Different...

Although to regular visitors to this space it might seem like I'm not interested in anything much than Nascar, that's far from the case, it just that I realized that it might be better to just focus on Nascar, my photography and occasionally the New York Yankees here rather than be all over the place with a bunch of different things. In fact I have so many things that interest me that I have a hard time keeping up with everything! I love information, I love reading about the things that interest me, I love learning and I love thinking about things. What usually happens is that something catches my attention and I want to find out everything I possibly can about that topic. That often happens with things related to the outdoors and particularly places like National Park or natural features.

Lately I've been reading a lot about slot canyons and canyoneering. Now the odds of me ever stepping foot in a slot canyon or doing any canyoneering myself is probably slim to none. Which is perhaps the fascination because aside from often being beautiful places, they are completely unknown to me. I've been reading quite a few trip reports about people's adventures in various slot canyons, most of which are in Utah and they are often quite an adventure. Canyoneering doesn't just involve a long hike, it's also often rappeling, scrambling, swimming and using a wide assortment of technical skills specific to canyoneering (but sometimes similar to what's involved with climbing). A lot of working together as a group and problem solving might also be required. Due to floods the conditions in a slot canyon are constantly changing and there might be challenges and obstacles to overcome that can be completely different from one visit to another.

One natural feature found in some slot canyons are potholes which are circular pits formed by the rush of flowing water. Potholes, which can be very deep, can be filled with varying levels of water, or no water at all, and often have very smooth sides. A keeper pothole is one that someone could get trapped in if they aren't careful. Those who visit slot canyons have to have a plan in advance for how to get around or out of keeper potholes. Even those with a tremendous amount of experience respect keeper potholes. It's interesting to read how canyoneers tackle keeper potholes and other challenges in slot canyons when they encounter them. Canyoneering isn't just physically challenging, at times it's mentally challenging as well, though I suppose the same is true for all sports.

I think what fascinates me the most is the beauty of the slot canyons. I've long been enamored with rocks that are smoothed by wind, water or other kinds of erosion and that is most certainly present in slot canyons. I'm in awe of the power that creates these canyons and other natural features that are so beautiful and amazing.

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

April 23, 2008

Tony Stewart to Leave Joe Gibbs Racing for Haas-CNC Racing?

The Nascar garage was rocked last year when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. left DEI for Hendrick Motorsports and another shocker might be on the verge of happening this year - Both Marty Smith from ESPN and Tom Bowles from Sports Illustrated are reporting that sources are telling them that Tony Stewart has asked out of the last year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing so he can join Haas-CNC Racing next season, not just as a driver but as a part owner. Of course all parties are denying everything but I would guess there is a good chance there's some degree of truth to all of this. It's been rumored for months that Tony wasn't entirely happy with JGR switching manufacturers to Toyota and that when his contract ran out that he would go to a Chevy team. In addition, Tony put off talks about a contract extension with JGR more than once, something which was a red flag to me since if Tony was as committed to JGR as most seemed to think he was it would seem to me that he wouldn't keep putting off talks on a new contract.

When I first heard about this on XM this evening I thought like I'm sure most everyone else did, "What is Tony, on crack?!" But then I got to thinking about it and I'm not sure the idea of Tony leaving JGR for Haas is so crazy. Bowles is reporting that Tony might want a challenge - becoming an owner/driver for what is currently a less than elite team would certainly be a challenge. However, it wouldn't be the same sort of challenge that drivers like Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip faced in recent years when they took on owning and driving at the same time. Both of those drivers had to start from scratch but Haas has an infrastructure in place and gets support from HMS. In addition, Chevy would pour a tremendous amount of resources into whatever team Tony was with, plus there would be a significant amount of sponsorship dollars put into the team from Home Depot or another major sponsor. Tony's presence as owner would also help Haas - he might be able to attract sponsors for the second team which in turn could help them get a higher-caliber driver than Scott Riggs. By becoming an owner Tony would also ensure that he has a way to stay involved in Nascar long after he's retired as an active driver.

Of course all of this could just be a bargaining chip on Tony's part to make sure JGR gives him what he wants during contract negotiations. But I wouldn't be surprised if Tony really did leave JGR for Haas or another Chevy team.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)

This is Why Steven Wallace Gets so Much Negative Attention

Yesterday I said that I feel sorry for Steven Wallace because of all the negativity that's constantly directed his way and how very few people besides his family seem to believe in him. And I still feel for him because it can't be easy at times for him. However, it's articles like the opinion piece by Dave Rodman that was published on Nascar.com today which is why there's so much criticism directed his way. The article is called "Wallace's 10th-place run in Mexico proves he belongs" and is almost two pages of praise about how wonderful Steven is because he got the first top ten of his Nationwide career (61 starts) at the race in Mexico City. Yes, it's great for Steven that he got his first top ten and it's something he should be happy about. However, is it really worthy of a feature article on Nascar.com? I don't think so.

Part of the reason for the article is surely all the criticism that's constantly heaped on Steven, but maybe that's exactly the reason not to do an article like this. Steven would be much better off quietly enjoying his top ten and focusing on making it just the first of many rather than giving his critics more ammunition to use against him. Many fans already believe that Steven gets way too much undeserved attention in light of his less than stellar results. At times I agree. It seems that Steven is constantly being talked about during Nationwide races regardless of how well - or not - he's racing. Meanwhile other teams and drivers, some of whom are racing well go ignored race after race. It's almost an insult to driver who finish well, sometimes just as unexpectantly as Steven, and get no attention for it that there's a feature article on how great Steven is.

The fact of the matter is that one top ten doesn't mean that he belong in the Nationwide Series. That he finished better than some others who have more road course experience doesn't mean that he's going to be a successful driver in the Nationwide or any other series (and it's ridiculous to say that finishing ahead of Colin Braun proves how wonderful Steven is when I think Colin had tire or mechanical issues that caused him to finish where he did). Steven may very well develop into a driver who regularly finishes in the top ten and wins races in Nationwide and maybe even in Cup. That would be great for him since there are so many that doubt his talent level. However, fans can't be forced to like Steven and they can't be forced to believe in him and especially not on the basis of one top ten or who his father is.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:48 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park Post-Race Quotes

From his website, Steve Park said in relation to his top ten at Greenville-Pickens in the East Series on Saturday night,

"To be absolutely honest with you, getting a top ten finish was really something to be proud of. It shows that we have some really good equipment, a crew that is relentless and with the right amount of practice we will definitely be a top five car battling for the win."

A top ten absolutely is something to be proud of - it's a really great finish, particularly considering how long it's been since the last time Steve raced! he and the team also did a terrific job of working on the car during the race to make it better and race their way forward from how they qualified.

However, I don't understand why a top ten in this series is something to be proud of, a sign of how good his team is and an indication that through hard work they can become a top five team and contend for wins but Steve turned down rides in the Nationwide or Truck Series where he could have finished as well because racing in 10th is "just riding around" and according to Steve isn't the kind of ride he could win in. I'm risking someone ripping me by continuing with entries of this nature about Steve but his comments from his recent XM interview simply do not make any sense, and I don't like not understanding things.

If Steve can take this team and help them build into a top five team that can win races there is absolutely no reason why he couldn't do the same thing with a team on a higher level. Everyone who attended the race talked about how hard Steve raced at the end of the race and how the team was happy that he took a top 20 car and made it into a top 10 car. That is a sign of a driver with talent. So it continues to be puzzling to me why Steve can do that on this level but apparently isn't willing to do it in Nationwide or the Truck Series.

Of course the level of competition is greater the higher the level, but Steve is a driver who is a proven winner in the Cup Series. I hope the reason why Steve has turned down good rides in other series isn't because he doesn't have confidence in his own abilities behind the wheel. He has shown he can race successfully on any level in Nascar and if he believes in himself as strongly as his fans believe in him then just about anything is possible.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:22 AM | Comments (0)

East Series Shock-er - Peyton Sellers Gets His Win Taken Away

What a stunner in the Camping World East Series! Saturday night's race winner, Peyton Sellers, had his win stripped away from him by Nascar yesterday due to the car being found to have had an illegal shock on it in a post-race inspection. The new race winner is Peyton's 17-year old teammate, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress's grandson, who now finds himself with a win in his first-ever race in the series. Nascar also suspended the crew chief of the #44, H.C. Sellers, for the next three races.

Naturally the team said that the infraction was unintentional. Team owner Andy Santerre said,

“The one thing we know in the NCWES is if we finish in the top-5, which for ASM, is about every week, the tranny, the rear gear and the shocks are coming apart. It would be stupid to do something that blatant intentionally when we know it will be checked. We built shocks for a team last year and bought them back at the end of last year. We dynoed them and they seemed the same as when we built them. We tested all four shocks on the car at Greenville, but to make the car better, we changed three of them, but one of the shocks stayed on the car. It was this shock that was illegal.”

Which might explain why Nascar won't allow the team to appeal. Based on their explanation it sounds like they're claiming a Robby Gordon defense, that they got the shocks from another team and put it on the car not knowing that the shock had been modified which is similar to Robby's defense that he got the wrong nose from Dodge and unknowingly put it on his Cup car. In that case Robby's penalties were mostly overturned on appeal and maybe Nascar thinks the same thing might happen with the #44. They may want to send a message that blatant violations may result in harsh penalties - at least on this level - and having the penalty overturned would definitely dilute that message. However, I think it's very unfair to this team that they aren't being allowed to appeal. Every team no matter how blatantly they might have cheated should be allowed to plead their case to an appeals panel if they so choose.

Peyton said,

“What’s really baffling to me is that there’s no opportunity to appeal it. When you go to a court of law, both sides get to plead their case. We don’t get to do that. Our character means nothing. Neither one of us had ever been caught cheating before. Andy never has and my team, running well last year in this series and winning a National Championship, winning Rookie of the Year, there’s never been one question about me.”

Problem is this isn't a court of law. Nascar can do whatever they want as unfair as it might be.

I have to wonder if this signals that Nascar might consider taking wins away on other levels as well. It's a lot easier to do in this series where there much less attention given to the series than the Truck, Nationwide or Cup Series. In addition, the sponsor dollars that are invested in the team are much less. On higher levels I suspect Nascar would be much more leery of taking wins away or sending teams home from the track because it doesn't just punish the team and driver, it punishes the sponsor and the fans as well. I don't think Nascar is going to want to go down that road - especially in Cup - unless the violation is extremely blatant and a gross violation of the rules.

A big problem is that sometimes there's a lot of variables and possibilities as to how infractions happened. If it's proven that a team deliberately modified a major part and knowingly put it on their car, then yes, I'd think that a win should be taken away or a team sent home from the track. But if an illegal part is found and the team claims that they got it from an outside supplier and had no idea there was a problem with it, and Nascar doesn't have any evidence that's not true, then I think it's a lot harder for Nascar to take a win away. I certainly wouldn't be comfortable with a team being punished that harshly without concrete evidence that they knowingly did something wrong.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)

April 22, 2008

Photo of the Day - On the Road

Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Nevada, January, 2005.

I should probably be putting up some more of the photos that I took a few days ago at Island Beach State Park but I was going through my Las Vegas photos yesterday and this one caught my eye. I wonder where that road goes?

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

A Thousand Beautiful Things

I stumbled across this Annie Lennox song, "A Thousand Beautiful Things" the other day and now I can't get it out of my head...

Every day I write the list
Of reasons why I still believe they do exist
(a thousand beautiful things)
And even though it's hard to see
The glass is full and not half empty
(a thousand beautiful things)
So... light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
Never close my eyes

I thank you for the air to breathe
The heart to beat
The eyes to see again
(a thousand beautiful things)
And all the things that's been and done
The battle's won
The good and bad in everyone
(this is mine to remember)
So ...
Here I go again
Singin' by your window
Pickin' up the pieces of what's left to find

The world was meant for you and me
To figure out our destiny
(a thousand beautiful things)
To live
To die
To breathe
To sleep
To try to make your life complete
(yes yes)
So ...
Light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
never close my eyes ...
That is everything I have to say
(that's all I have to say)

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

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (4/22)

*I watched the Mexico City Nationwide race on Sunday. Although some fans have no use for road course races normally I love them. I had a hard time getting into this race though. I was very happy that David Reutimann finished 11th after having run into trouble on the track - he and his team did a great job of rebounding from that for sure! I also thought there were some times when there was good racing. But what I didn't enjoy was ESPN's coverage of the race. It's not entirely their fault since covering a race in a foreign country is challenging enough let alone at a road course where everything is so spread out. There was also a power outage and two red flags to contend with. But I felt like the flow of the broadcast wasn't all that great and I didn't enjoy the team that ESPN used in the booth. In addition, it seemed like there were quite a few commercial breaks. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood but I guess I was expecting to enjoy the race more.

*One thing that happened in the Nationwide race was that Steve Wallace got his first ever top ten. I was surprised that he hadn't yet gotten a top ten. Apparently his best previous finish was 11th place at Kentucky in 2006. Yes, Steven has struggled - and wrecked - a lot. But there have been times when it's seemed like he's raced well too yet none of it has apparently translated into a really solid finish until now. Maybe finally getting his first top ten will give him a boost of confidence and it will be the first of many finishes in the top ten this season. As I've noted in this space before I think Steven might have benefited from being started out a little slower, maybe in ARCA or the Trucks before being thrown into the Nationwide Series, but I've started to feel a little sorry for him. It seems like no one believes that he'll ever amount to anything and as much as he might try to shut all of that negativity out, it has to get to him sometimes. There's a lot of pressure in being Rusty's son.

*Rumors continue to circulate that UPS is going to leave Michael Waltrip Racing and that their first choice for their new driver to represent them is Carl Edwards. Since Carl has already won three races this season I can understand why UPS (and maybe other sponsors) are interested in him. But I think UPS already has a great driver - David Reutimann. David may not be young and sexy, but he's capable of winning races and he could represent any sponsor well. There's also a lot UPS could do with the fact that David used to work for them in his younger years. But most of all the sponsorship at MWR would probably come a lot cheaper than the $22-$24 million a year that Roush-Fenway Racing reportedly wants to get from whoever sponsors Carl next season and beyond. That's ridiculous money. I don't understand how UPS or other sponsors can justify spending that much in this economic climate (and for UPS specifically when the company probably spends so much on gas). $15 -$20 million, what is supposedly the average amount that it takes to sponsor a competitive Cup team is expensive enough, but even more than that seems over the top. Sure, costs of fielding cars is probably going up just like everything else, but where does it end? I don't see how teams are going to be able to find or keep sponsors if the cost is so great.

*After just four races Philip McGilton is out of the #22 at Bill Davis Racing with sponsorship woes cited as the reason. Scott Speed will be in the #22 starting this weekend and I'm sure he brings sponsorship from Red Bull Racing with him. While I understand that BDR needs to make the moves that will help them pay the bills it seems to me that it's a little quick to part ways with a young driver who might have some potential. The results weren't spectacular for Philip but finishes of 12th, 10th, and 16th twice and to be 12th in the points as a rookie isn't horrible either. It just seems to fit a familiar pattern with BDR where they talk with or sign a driver only to have things go bad suddenly because of sponsorship.

*Turns out it's not just me who doesn't understand Steve Park's thinking regarding turning down top ten and top fifteen rides. I was chatting with someone this morning who has been discussing the very same topic with another fan of Steve's. Of course money isn't everything and there's something to be said for racing just to race and have fun, but this person said that they were surprised to see that Steve got just $1,500 for finishing 9th this weekend. It's even less when you consider that his team probably gets a cut of his winnings. To this person it doesn't really seem to make sense that Steve would turn down the opportunity to earn more money in the Truck or Nationwide Series and race at least as well as he did this past weekend.

I think the other thing that makes this all make even less sense is that it turns out that one of the drivers for this team in this series last year, Eric Holmes actually cited bad results and poor equipment as the reason he left the team before the end of the season. I'm sure someone would say that Eric just must not be as good of a driver as Steve but Eric has won two of the first three West Series races so far this season, including one race where he actually led every lap. Maybe NDS Motorsports has made big advances from last season but if they haven't the results might not be those top fives that Steve says are the only thing that will satisfy him. I could say more but it will be perceived as bashing Steve when in reality I'm just trying to figure out what his thinking is in turning down the many offers he said he received to race in quality equipment to race in this series. Unless this team is very different than they were last year it just doesn't make sense based on what he said last week that he would end up racing for them.

*I admit that I doubted that Red Bull Racing would put A.J. Allemendinger back in the #84 but they are this weekend at Talladega. I have to wonder if the results will be any different considering instead of racing and gaining more experience A.J. was watching from the sidelines - it seems to me if RBR was really committed to developing A.J. they would have spent the money to sponsor him in a ride on some level like they're doing with Scott Speed. At any rate he'll be back at Talladega and in a car with an awesome paint scheme! As anyone who knows that my user name here and elsewhere online is silverdsl can probably guess, I love anything silver, so naturally I love the way that car looks! I'm not into buying diecasts that aren't Michael Waltrip's but I might consider getting one with that scheme because it looks so cool!

*Jon Wood is going to make his Cup debut for this season at Talladega. What the heck are the Wood Brothers thinking? Poor Jon. Previously Jon had expressed a lack of confidence in his ability to qualify for races, particularly given his lack of experience with the COT, but with just 46 cars attempting this race the chances are good he'll make the race. But is Talladega where a little mistake can turn into something huge really the best place to throw Jon in the car considering he's publically said that he's not sure of his own abilities behind the wheel? I hope this works out the way the Wood Brothers want it to.

*DEI's Vice President of Motorsports operations says that despite not having a full-time primary sponsor for the #01 car, they won't be coming to the track with the car blank. I think that's a wise idea. For one thing I think Story is right when he says that blank cars don't usually translate into calls from sponsors. I think it looks bad when a team has a blank car - it reminds fans, the media and potential sponsors that the car is unsponsored, which I suppose is the idea, but as Story mentioned it can also make potential sponsors wonder why they should sponsor the team if no one else will. Even the company logo or a charity on the car is better than having it show up to the track completely blank. DEI is going a step further and is "sweetening" their deal with Principal Financial Group, who is an associate sponsor for the full season and a primary sponsor for a few races. DEI is given them additional space on the car and Regan Smith is wearing their uniform even during races where they aren't the primary sponsor. It's not like DEI is giving away something for nothing since Principal is paying money for their sponsorship, instead I think they're creating good will with a sponsor which is important considering how hard it is to get sponsors to stick around these days. It must be very hard to sell sponsorship for Regan - the results haven't been very good but beyond that he almost never gets mentioned during race broadcasts which means that whatever sponsors are affiliated with him would get next to no exposure.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

Wins Matter!

I'm bothered by the amount of people who are finding ways to devaluate Danica Patrick's IRL win in Japan this past weekend. In general it's something that irks me to no end how these days wins are meaningless or not legitimate to some fans. As far as Danica goes her win is a big accomplishment no matter how long it took for it to happen, no matter how overhyped she might be, no matter how grating her personality might be, no matter how much she might use her sexuality to get attention, and no matter what strategy her team used to help her win. Danica is the first woman in a very long time - in the modern era of racing at least - to win a race in a major racing series. But let's put her gender aside. A win is still something to be celebrated no matter the circumstances of how the driver got to be there. That driver is still the first person to cross the finish line when it counted regardless of whether they did so because others wrecked, ran out of gas or any other circumstances.

Maybe this first started bothering me because of how many fans these days dismiss Daytona 500 wins. Even though the Daytona 500 is considered to be the most prestigious and important race in Nascar, a race that every driver dreams of winning, many fans seem to think that Daytona 500 wins aren't an accomplishment because Daytona is a restrictor plate track. Ridiculous. Winning isn't easy whether it's at Daytona or another track. That Michael Waltrip won two Daytona 500s is a huge accomplishment. That Derricke Cope, regardless of how much starting and parking he might do now, or how his win came, won a Daytona 500 is something to be respected.

It's not just Daytona 500 or other restrictor plate wins that some fans think are meaningless. If a driver wins because their team had better fuel mileage than other teams or otherwise used some sort of strategy somehow that win isn't a "real" win. Teams need to use whatever strategy works for them to get them to Victory Lane. That's smart racing. If a driver wins because other drivers who were in contention for the win got wrecked or had mechanical problems, according to some fans, that driver was just lucky. Meanwhile, even if other drivers didn't fall victim to misfortune the same driver might still have won. Or if a driver wins who some fans don't like then they start throwing around accusations about cheating or about how the race must have been fixed. All nonsense. Yes, some teams do cheat, but there's also plenty of times that teams race - and win - with perfectly legal cars. As for races being fixed, although many fans seem to believe this routinely happens that teams or manufacturers pay off Nascar, or that Nascar decides to give drivers wins to help ratings, no one has ever been able to come up with one single shred of evidence this actually happens. It's very hard for me to believe that it's even possible to get 43 teams to go along with something like that, particularly considering how Nascar is such big business.

It also seems like if a driver isn't successful now, then their wins in the past are dismissed. I don't care for Morgan Shepherd starting and parking just like many other fans but I most certainly do respect the fact that he has four Cup wins to his name. Those wins still matter regardless of how many more times he might start and park. Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, and Ward Burton have all won quite a few Cup races over the course of their career (including six Daytona 500s between them). Just because their last few years as full-time drivers weren't impressive doesn't take anything a way from their wins or other accomplishments of the past.

Racing is hard. Winning is even harder. As Michael Waltrip has said a couple of times recently, so many things have to fall into place in exactly the right way for a driver to win. There are so many good drivers out there who don't win often - or even at all. That doesn't mean that they're lacking in talent or that their teams aren't trying. So many fans make comments about how they could get in a car or truck and do better or win more often than this driver or that driver. I say that the majority of those fans wouldn't even last a month in either IRL or Nascar let alone end up in Victory Lane. I'm not familiar enough with the IRL to know about the situation in that series but in Nascar the level of competition is greater than it's ever been. As I've said in this space a thousand times I don't expect every fan to like every driver or be happy no matter who wins. It's natural that we get disappointed when our favorites don't win. But I think it's very unfortunate how little regard some fans have for wins.

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

NAPA Auto Parts and Michael Waltrip - A Perfect Fit!

This morning on my way to work I passed a NAPA Auto Parts truck as I usually do a couple of times a week. When ever I see that truck I smile and think of Michael Waltrip, which usually gets me to thinking about the NAPA commercials or about something else related to Michael and NAPA. It occurred to me this morning that I would probably not give that truck a second's worth of thought if not for NAPA's association with Michael. I'm not sure I would even know of NAPA Auto Parts if not for them sponsoring Michael but they're so ingrained in my brain that a few weeks ago when someone brought up Napa in conversation, the first thing I thought of was auto parts even though this person was talking about the area in California! I'm so trained to notice NAPA that when I went to Aruba I stopped on the side of the road when I saw a NAPA so I could take a photo of it! To put this all in the proper perspective it should be mentioned that other than when it comes to Michael and his sponsors I have been the kind of fan sponsors hate because I tend to fast-forward through commercials (other than Michael's) and I don't make my purchases on the basis of what drivers I like and the sponsors that support them (again, other than when it comes to Michael). That all changed when I became a fan of Michael's and it's all because of how awesome Michael when it comes to representing NAPA (and his other sponsors).

I don't think it's possible for their to be a driver who is a better fit for NAPA than Michael. For one thing there is no other driver in the garage area who could do the kind of commercials that NAPA does with Michael. More than a few drivers can act in commercials but Michael has a gift for letting his personality come through, and especially for making people laugh. There are NAPA commercials from years ago, such as "I'm at the wrong track!" that people still talk about. And whenever a new NAPA commercial with Michael debuts people pay attention! The recent fan mail commercials and this season's strange fan commercials have been huge hits because they're creative and most importantly, hysterical. With some commercials fans watch once or twice then they don't pay attention after that - not with these commercials. Fans find them just as funny when they're watching for the 20th time as they did when they watched for the first time. Talk about creating brand awareness!

Michael is also a dynamic personality who people pay attention to whether it's when he gives an interview, when he's making his weekly appearances on This Week in Nascar, on his XM show, or when he's in the booth for truck race broadcasts. What I've always find very interesting is the even the fans who dislike Michael listen to what he says very intently. They may disagree and argue that he doesn't know what he's talking about, but most of them don't change the channel when he's on. Even those who claim they put the TV on mute when Michael's on can often talk in detail about the things that he's said through the years. Of course there are also many of us who listen to Michael because we think he's intelligent. I look forward to Michael's appearances on TWiN and especially his XM show because I want to hear his opinions and perspectives on what's going on in the sport. I love the way Michael often makes me think about things in a way that I hadn't considered before. How many other drivers not named Earnhardt are as magnetic as Michael where they command attention from so many fans? And more often than not Michael is wearing a NAPA shirt or hat, or somehow mentions NAPA.

There's also how fan-friendly Michael is. Of course every fan thinks their favorite driver is the best when it comes to the way they are with the fans. But Michael has such a way with everyone, young and old. He makes everyone feel comfortable and makes everyone feel like they're important to him. I've been amazed when I've met Michael at how down-to-earth he's been and how easy it is to talk to him. And I've heard so many stories about how he's gone out of his way for fans whether it's at Raceworld or at the track. Speaking of Raceworld and going the extra mile, what other driver can offer his sponsors something like Raceworld? I've not yet had the opportunity to visit but from everything I've heard it's an incredible experience that any Nascar fan, not just fans of Michael, love visiting. The amount of extra exposure that NAPA gets just from fans walking through Raceworld is huge.

Oh yeah, one other thing - Michael is a two-time Daytona 500 champion. In this sport it's often what have you done for me lately, but the fact remains that Michael has been a proven winner for NAPA. He's gotten their car into Victory Lane four times and if he has a good enough car he is capable of winning for them in the future too. There have certainly been a lot of struggles the past few years for the #55 team but I suspect NAPA has actually gotten far more exposure because of Michael's struggles than they would have if he had been racing in the top ten or top fifteen every week. Fact is that there's way more attention paid to go-or-go-homers and their struggles to make races than there are to cars that are racing well since TV doesn't always do a very good job of giving attention to all the drivers in the field. This season when Michael has done well - such as when he led some laps at Bristol he's gotten a lot of attention for it because of his struggles last season.

Michael has a huge fanbase, much, much bigger than a lot of people realize. Many of those fans buy their auto parts from NAPA (and drink Coke, use UPS, shop at Aaron's, etc...) because of him. NAPA's sponsorship deal with Michael Waltrip Racing runs out at the end of the season and while I understand that sponsors care about on-track performance, there is no other driver who could get NAPA as much exposure as Michael can so it amazes me that there's even a question about them re-signing. Both Michael and NAPA have really benefited from their partnership so a divorce after having such a terrific driver-sponsor relationship for so many years would be a shame. NAPA was willing to take a risk and join Michael when he decided to start his own race team, I hope that they're willing to continue to support him now that his organization is starting to make gains. NAPA won't be sorry if they re-sign with MWR but they might be sorry if they go elsewhere.

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

April 20, 2008

Photo of the Day - Island Beach State Park

Island Beach State Park, NJ, April, 2008. I could have sat there all day and watched the waves!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park Finishes 9th at Greenville-Pickens!

Great finish for Steve Park and his NDS Motorsports team last night in the Camping World East Series race at Greenville-Pickens! In what was apparently a very excited race Steve finished 9th in his return to racing regularly! A top ten is terrific in his first race after having only raced twice since August of 2006. Hopefully the results will just get better and better from here. It's really good to see that it looks like Steve is going to have cars that are good enough to enable him to race up front against even the Cup backed teams.

Of course no driver is completely happy unless they end up in Victory Lane - with how competitive they are finishing second can even be a disappointment. Still, most drivers are able to feel a sense of satisfaction and happiness after a good night of competitive race in which they finished near the front of the field. But will that be the case for Steve? I think he definitely has plenty to be happy about - he finished great and from what I understand he was swarmed by fans who wanted to meet him and wish him well which had to make him feel good. However, given Steve's comments earlier in the week that racing outside the top five is essentially a waste of his time, I have to wonder if he's going to be okay with "only" finishing 9th. Hopefully from here the results will only get better and he'll end up contending for a few wins, but the reality is that there are a lot of good drivers and teams in this series so it may not be so easy to race in the top five as much as he'd like - what would happen then?

Peyton Sellers, the driver who many think is the driver to beat for the East Series Championship, won last night in thrilling fashion. Although Peyton started on the pole, he ran into trouble on lap 59 when he brushed the wall due to a brake problem. After pitting for repairs, he re-started in the back and had to race his way back up front which he did. The final re-start was apparently really exciting with Peyton beating his 17-year old teammate, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress's grandson. Austin probably had more than a few fans hoping that he'd end up in Victory Lane since he was racing a car with #3 on it, the first time that a car with that number was raced in Nascar since the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001.

Finishing third was Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Marc Davis. I just have a feeling about Marc that he's in store for a good season. Another driver who should be very happy with his finish is Ricky Carmichael who finished 6th in a car fielded by Ken Schrader Racing with support from Hendrick Motorsports. That's pretty impressive considering how little stock car experience he has. Some are expecting that the results are going to be really poor for him because of that but to finish 6th in his first race is outstanding. I don't know if he'll keep racing that well but if he can finish that well with so little experience, imagine how good he might be with more experience?

Unfortunately the results weren't too good for a few notables including Jeffery Earnhardt who finished 3 laps down in 24th, Eddie Sharp Racing's Craig Goess who finished 15 laps down in 28th and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. who finished 29th and 27 laps down. As of yet I haven't found post-race notes or anything to explain what might have caused those drivers to finish poorly.

The next race in the East Series isn't until May 18 at Iowa Speedway but last night's race will be shown on Speed on May 7th.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)

April 18, 2008

Photo of the Day - Island Beach State Park

Island Beach State Park, New Jersey, April, 2008. It was a beautiful day out today so we took a ride down to the Jersey Shore. First we stopped off at Mt. Mitchell Scenic Overlook in Atlantic Highlands to see the view of Sandy Hook and in the distance, Manhattan. Then we had lunch at Klein's Fish Market in Belmar where we enjoyed a very yummy lunch outside. After that we continued down the shore to Island Beach State Park, the biggest stretch of undeveloped barrier beach in New Jersey. It's truly gorgeous there and even more so with the wind kicking up the waves like was the case today. I wish I lived closer so that I could visit there more often. It was a great day for sure!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:05 PM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2008

Photo of the Day - Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon, 2005. I only got a small taste of the Grand Canyon as a side trip from Las Vegas a few years ago. Sometimes I really wish I lived out West and could do more exploring of canyons and deserts.

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

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (4/16)

*It's official - Ken Schrader will race the #70 at Talladega. As I said yesterday although the #70 team has struggled this season Haas-CNC Racing probably has more resources than BAM Racing does so the prospects for improvement and competitive racing with that team are probably better than with the #49. I'm happy that Ken is going to continue to race Cup. Although he's not had really good results for a few years now - a big reason being the quality of the teams he's been racing for, Ken is a true racer with a great attitude and as Michael Waltrip said recently, he's an asset to the sport.

*Verizon Wireless and Motorola are going to sponsor Chase Miller for seven of the Nationwide Series races he's in for Gillett-Evernham Motorsports this season. Usually I don't take much notice of sponsor announcements unless they involve Michael Waltrip Racing but this got my attention because both of those sponsors had been previously affiliated with Robby Gordon Motorsports. There is a partnership between RGM and GEM so perhaps those sponsors ended up with GEM because RGM wasn't going to be fielding a Nationwide car at all this season. But that would be a little curious since usually sponsorship money makes it possible for an organization to field a car. What I'm wondering is whether handing these sponsors over to GEM is a way for Robby to pay for the equipment and help he's getting from GEM through the partnership. I doubt any of that comes for free.

*Something else that was made official today was David Stremme joining Penske Racing as one of their test drivers for their Cup program. There's been some speculation - that's been denied - that Penske wanted to sign David as a back-up in case Sam Hornish, Jr. decided that he had enough of Nascar and wanted to go back to the IRL. There may not be any truth to those rumors - for now - but I can't remember the last time there was an official release about an organization signing a test driver which may be why some are speculating that there's more going on than meets the eye. Regardless I think it's a good move for David. He'll continue to race in the Nationwide Series for Rusty Wallace, Inc. and at the same time he's going to test for one of the top organizations in Cup. There's no telling what that might led to and it'll keep David's name in circulation in the Cup garage.

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr's new bar, Whisky River, is opening this week in Charlotte. Junior says that the bar and other off-the-track business interests are a way for him to have things to be involved with after he retires from racing, as well as a way for him to have some income then (not that he'll ever have to worry about money given how much money he makes each year). Some drivers get involved in business ventures or media work which could provide something to occupy themselves after they retire, but other drivers don't seem to give any thought to what they might do for the rest of their lives. Of course Junior has many people to advise him and some other drivers don't, but as much as I sometimes wonder whether all that he's involved with off-the-track might be a distraction, I think it's a good thing that he's thinking ahead and trying to be prepared for when he has to enter a new chapter of his life that doesn't involve racing.

*Nascar added an additional test for Cup teams which will be held May 5-6 at Lowe's Motorspeedway. That's a good thing because it will give the teams the opportunity to be better prepared for the All-Star Race and the Charlotte 600 next month, as well as help them get used to the COT in general, something more than a few teams seem to be struggling with. Some aren't crazy about testing because of the cost to smaller teams but I'm in favor of anything that might help these teams get a handle on the COT.

*Last week Chip Ganassi ripped into his own organization publically, criticizing his teams for not performing as well as he'd like. So this week he made some changes, swapping crew chiefs between the #41 and #42. Donny Wingo will now be the crew chief for Reed Sorenson and Jimmy Elledge will now crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya. I wonder if this is really going to make for better results. Sometimes shaking things up does end up being a positive thing but it seems to me that overall Chip Ganassi Racing needs to improve the overall competitiveness of their cars. Just swapping crew chiefs might not be enough for improvement to the degree that Ganassi wants. Also, both Reed and JPM are going to have to get used to working with a new crew chief which might result in a period of adjustment that could effect performance. In addition, Chip was most upset about the #40 team - did he make any changes to that team?

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

More on Steve Park

I tend to give a lot of thought to things hence this blog where I can get a lot of my thoughts, at least those related to racing and sometimes baseball down in one place. So naturally a day later I was still thinking about Steve Park's comment yesterday on XM that he turned down rides because he didn't want to ride around in 10th or 15th place and that he could only race for top five teams. What I started wondering about is whether Steve has ever been a top five driver for a top five team and the answer is no. Let me be clear - Steve is a very talented race car driver who I believe can race up front and win with good cars. He's a proven winner in Cup, Nationwide and Trucks and I have no doubt that he can win again. But statistically speaking Steve has never raced at an ultra-elite level to where a Hendrick Motorsports or a Joe Gibbs Racing is going to give him one of their best rides.

Steve's best season where he got the most top fives was in 1997 in the then-Busch Series. That season he won three times and finished in the top five 12 times, 40% of all of his finishes. That's excellent but that's not racing in the top five every week like Steve says he wants to do. After 1997, Steve's top five finishes drop, though he won twice in Cup, but that's partially a factor of the increased level of competition in Cup and the quality of the cars and trucks he was racing which wasn't always that good. Still, based on Steve's comments he seems to want to race like Jimmie Johnson did last season in his Championship year where Jimmie finished in the top five 20 times (55% of the time) and won ten races. Thing is the #48 isn't likely to be available any time soon and even if there's an opening in a ride like that it's not too likely that Steve's going to end up in it. I don't blame Steve for wanting to race in the top five every week since I'd think every driver wants to race up front and contend for wins on a weekly basis. But I think most of them are realistic about how likely it is that they're going to end up in a top five ultra-elite ride. There simply isn't that many of those rides around, and there aren't that many drivers who would be considered for those opportunities.

I suppose to more than a few people these kinds of entries come off as overly critical of Steve, but it's just that I don't understand his thinking or his attitude and I haven't for a long time. Some of the things he says are so vastly different from other drivers. One of the reasons I think I like Michael Waltrip so much is that I often agree with his line of thinking, but even when I don't I can understand where he's coming from and why he thinks the things that he does. With Steve I'm often puzzled.

In discussing this topic with someone last night this person wondered whether Steve has confidence in his abilities behind the wheel anymore and whether he creates roadblocks for himself when it comes to racing because he's afraid that he might not be able to get the same kind of results he once did in Cup, Nationwide or Trucks. Of course he'll be racing in the East Series this year but the level of competition probably isn't as great as it is on a higher level, and there's not as much attention paid to that series so no one's going to notice if Steve doesn't dominate the series. I don't know Steve enough to know what might be going on in his head but I wish I did because it might help me understand his reasoning regarding why he would turn down good rides.

By refusing even top ten or top fifteen rides I don't see any way that Steve will ever return to any of Nascar's three highest levels which is kind of sad since he belongs there. I'm not sure he'll even stick in the East Series past this season since there's no guarantee that the #35 is going to race in the top five enough for Steve either. What does Steve do then if he doesn't race up front enough with the #35? Where does he go from there? I'll have my fingers crossed for Steve that the #35 will turn out to be exactly what he's hoping it will be - a car which he can race up front with and win races in.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:09 PM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2008

Steve on XM (4/15)

One of Steve Park's biggest fans in the media without a doubt is Claire B. Lang from XM. Not only does she speak well of Steve but she has him on her show all the time. So I wasn't surprised that she had him on today in advance of the Camping World East Series race at Greenville-Pickens which he'll be racing in on Saturday. It was great to hear Steve's voice after so long and it'll be even better to follow him racing this season in the East Series!

But as usual these days when Steve does an interview I found myself completely perplexed by his attitude about finding a ride in one of Nascar's higher levels. In the past Steve has said he'll only take a ride where he can race up front in, and I understand that because riding around in 35th every week isn't any fun and it's not going to show teams that he's still capable of racing competitively. Steve has also talked about turning down rides because they weren't good enough - in fact, he said that to me in person last year. He was almost boastful about how many rides he had turned down. In a previous interview with Claire towards the end of last season Steve had said that even a car or truck that finished regularly in the top fifteen might not be competitive enough for him. But since then Steve's standards have got even higher. Today he said that he's turned down rides because he doesn't want to "ride around" in 10th or 15th, and that he'll only consider rides where he can race in the top five and win races.

I really can't understand what Steve is thinking if he really turned down opportunities to race for teams that race in the top ten. If that's true he may have also turned down the chance to win races, something which he keeps saying he dearly wants to do. Racing in the top fifteen and top ten is racing up front. Racing in 10th place isn't just riding around, it's racing for something and sometimes when things fall into place in the right way a team like that is racing for a win. In addition, this season's top fifteen or top ten team might be next year's top five team with the right resources, the right sponsor, the right mix of personnel and most importantly a determined and talented driver like Steve.

There really aren't many rides in Cup, Nationwide or Trucks where a driver can race almost every race in the top five and realistically even if there was an opening with one of those rides it won't get offered to Steve. He's a great person, very fan-friendly and a talented race car driver but he also hasn't raced in any of Nascar's highest levels since August of 2006. Since then the extent of his racing total has been two East Series races. That isn't enough for an owner to hand him an elite ride. Frankly, even if he kicks ass in the East Series and wins a bunch of races I'm not sure even that would be enough to get him an elite ride on a higher level.

Steve also said that he's tired of having to prove himself. Well, just exactly what has he done lately to try to prove anything to anyone? As noted, he's barely raced since the Summer of 2006. The fact of the matter is that the way this sport works is that teams hire drivers based on their results in the here and now, not based on what they might have done in their prime seven years ago. That's just reality. There's so much money invested by owners, sponsors, financial partners, etc... that teams want to feel confident that the drivers they hire can be successful for them, and it's a big unknown how successful Steve can be since he's not raced regularly in so long.

Another thing that Steve said was that when a team does well people say it's because of the car (or truck) but when the results are bad people say it was the driver's fault. And there's definitely some truth to that. However, there's also a lot of people these days who recognize how competitive it is on all levels in Nascar and that drivers can only do the best they can with the cars (or trucks) they're given. There's so many pieces that have to fall into place beyond just the driver and his ability for a team to have success - a sponsor willing to spend money, an owner willing to give the team unlimited resources, a talented crew chief, a fast pit crew who doesn't make many mistakes, a solid spotter, good support personnel, etc...

The thing is that even if Steve were with an imperfect team he'd at least be showing that he still has the desire to race and if he were to help them improve their results he would show what an asset he can be to a team. In addition, I've heard drivers speak with confidence about how they feel that they're good enough to help even a struggling team get to the next level - doesn't Steve believe in himself and his ability behind the wheel that he could do that too? No one faults a driver who gives 100% effort and that effort doesn't go unnoticed even if some think it does. David Reutimann didn't get good results last season in Cup yet he was still an in-demand driver before Michael Waltrip Racing re-signed him, and recently a top agent said on XM that he was one of the most under-rated drivers in the garage area. The right attitude - and ability - gets noticed. Brad Keselowski is another driver who is a good example of someone who raced in subpar equipment but made the most of opportunities that came his way and his talent got noticed too. Of note is that neither David nor Brad brought any sponsorship with them to their rides - it was all talent.

I really hope things are going to work out for Steve in the East Series. I'd really love to see him race up front and win a bunch of races. But it's not going to be easy. Steve is going to be racing against some really talented young drivers, some of whom have backing from Cup organizations. So I hope he's being realistic and he won't get discouraged if he doesn't race in the top five in every race because even if he spends time racing in the top ten or top fifteen doesn't mean that he won't win. Steve just needs to believe in himself and his team. He just needs to go out there and race! If he races with all the passion, determination and desire that he has he'll find himself in Victory Lane!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:23 PM | Comments (2)

BAM Racing Goes Part-Time; Ken Schrader to Haas-CNC?

First BAM Racing decided to not enter a car for Texas or Phoenix, now they've decided to cut back on their schedule even more. Although they had planned on entering the #49 at Talladega, now it appears they may not return to the track until the Fall, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't return at all this season. Beth Ann Morgenthau cited a potential primary sponsorship deal falling through, at least for now, as the reason they're going to cut back to part-time but I think this outcome has been inevitable for some time given their struggles and lack of outside funding, and particularly after they opted not to go to Texas or Phoenix. What gets me is that BAM probably spent a lot of time and money converting cars to Toyota and all of that is wasted.

I suppose there was a hint that something was up last night on This Week in Nascar because Ken Schrader said that he was going to be at Talladega but he wasn't sure what he would be racing. It won't be the #49 but it likely will be the #70 for Haas-CNC Racing. There's been no official announcement but the admin on Ken's forum on his website has pretty much confirmed that he will be in the car for Talladega, that Johnny Sauter might be back in the #70 for Richmond and that Ken might then get back behind the wheel of the #70 for the rest of the season. Although the #70 has had it's share of struggles this season as well since Haas has support from Hendrick Motorsports the cars will likely be better than what Ken was racing at BAM.

It's likely that Ken got the opportunity with the #70 at least partially because of his continued affiliation with Rick Hendrick. Just how Johnny didn't burn his bridges when he left Haas which allowed him to race the #70 last weekend and possibly at Richmond, that Ken stayed on good terms with Rick might have helped get him another ride, something that isn't always easy these days for veteran drivers. It really highlights how important it is for drivers to refrain from speaking ill of past owners, at least publically, because one never knows when they might need those people's help in the future.

BAM scaling back means that there's one less team that will be showing up at the track, at least for the next few months. There are a few others who may be in danger of scaling back or closing their doors as well. So it might not be long before we see only 43 cars showing up for 43 spots for Cup races.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:09 PM | Comments (1)

April 14, 2008

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (4/14)

*As a New York Yankees fan I have a much different perspective than many of my fellow Nascar fans about Fox's decision to show the Yankees-Red Sox game instead of the pre-race show. I'd much rather have seen as much of the Yankees game as possible rather than the pre-race show which is often a waste of time - does anything ever happen on the pre-race that matters? I'm much more bothered by the fact that Fox switched the baseball game to FX in the middle of a pitch than I am about them going to the race later than some fans would have liked. Switching the game mid-pitch is like Fox going to a commercial break when there's a pass for the lead. In a lot of ways Fox was in a no-win position. Yankees-Red Sox games aren't just a big games for the Northeast markets, it's a game with national interest that is shown in 97% of all markets across the country and due to the excitement of the rivalry gets the biggest audience of most any games that Fox shows. So there was going to be a lot of baseball fans, especially those who don't get FX, who were going to be upset about the decision to switch away from the game. And there were going to be lots of upset Nascar fans who didn't like missing so much of the festivities leading up to the green flag. I'm not sure what else Fox could do differently, but hopefully they won't be put in that kind of a situation too many more times in the future. Things just lined up in a bad way due to the rain delay in Boston and that it was a Saturday night race.

*Kevin and Delana Harvick are exploring their options in NHRA drag racing and whether he wants to field a top fuel dragster with a NHRA veteran, Bob Vandergriff Jr. The goal is to possibly field a dragster as soon as next year. At first I was wondering why if they were interested in expanding Kevin Harvick, Inc. they wouldn't look into fielding a Cup team but then I realized that the costs associated with fielding a NHRA dragster might be less than that for putting together a competitive Cup team, particularly since they have an already established entity in the NHRA they could work with.

*An announcement is expected soon that David Stremme is joining Penske Racing as their test team driver. But there's speculation that it could lead to more than that. Apparently Penske has entered a third car with the #77 for the Indy 500 and there's some talk that Sam Hornish, Jr. might decide to race that race instead of the Cup race that weekend. If that happens I have to question Hornish's commitment to Nascar. Yes, he's had more success in open wheel racing and he's been struggling in Nascar, but if he ever wants to succeed in Cup he needs all the seat time he can get and he can't be opting out when it gets hard. Stremme's results in Cup haven't been all that impressive either but he has raced better than Hornish. It would be interesting to see what he could do in the #77, though historically no one recently has been able to do much in the #77.

*As noted in a previous entry Robby Gordon is headed to Europe later this week for the rescheduled Dakar Rally. Since the rally ends on April 26, the day before the Cup race at Talladega, P.J. Jones will practice and qualify Gordon's car and be on standby to race it for him in case he doesn't get back to the United States in time for the race. Usually Gordon does fairly well on restrictor plate tracks but I have to wonder what effect rushing back from Europe after having done a rigorous off-road race and then starting from the back is going to have on how he finishes at Talladega. Gordon needs some good finishes otherwise he may end up having to worry about qualifying for races on time. All of Gordon's fans seem to think that Michael Waltrip is lacking in talent behind the wheel and incompetent as an owner but Robby's not in such a different position than Michael these days in terms of where he is in the points standings as well as trying to juggle the demands of racing and ownership. Gordon and his fans count on the road course races as the highlight of his Cup efforts but I have a feeling that things may not go as well as some of his fans would like on the road courses for him this season.

*The first race of the Camping World East Series is this Saturday at Greenville-Pickens. Steve Park will be behind the wheel of the #35 for NDS Motorsports but it will be almost impossible for fans to find out what's happening in the race in a timely manner unless they're at the race. I knew that Speed would be rebroadcasting the East Series races several weeks after they first aired on HDNet, but I figured the races that they had the rights to they would show the same day they were raced. Not so. Saturday's race won't air on Speed until May 7! At that point is anyone going to care? It's so hard to find coverage of this series both in the media and online in general. I'd like to think that Steve's own website will have photos and a post-race report so fans can find out how the race went for Steve at least but in the past they've not been inclined to do that. (In fact I was once told a few years ago by the person who did Steve's website at the time that for some strange reason there would never be post-race reports on Steve's site). It's really hard for even die-hard fans to stay interested when there's so little news to be found about the races and their favorite drivers.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:13 PM | Comments (1)

Driver by Driver: Phoenix I1

Compared to some races this season I thought Saturday night's race at Phoenix was pretty good since there was actually side-by-side racing and passing as opposed to follow-the-leader racing where passing is hard as we've seen a few times this season. Some fans still weren't happy, maybe because fuel mileage came into play or because Junior didn't end up in Victory Lane, but I enjoyed watching.

1. Jimmie Johnson - The #48 team took a big gamble by stretching their fuel and staying out when others pitted for gas but it paid off for them big-time. Jimmie is "only" 4th in the points and the team has struggled at times this season but clearly they are a team that is still a threat to not only win but contend for the Championship if luck continues to be on their side. I thought it was funny how on the last lap Chad Knaus kept telling Jimmie to slow down so that he would conserve fuel - usually crew chiefs want their drivers to keep racing hard until they cross the finish line.

2. Clint Bowyer - Another team that took a chance and stayed out when others pitted even though the team thought they were three laps short on fuel. But Clint did a good job of conserving gas and it lead to his best finish of the season.

3. Denny Hamlin - Top finisher of the cars that had to pit for fuel. After mixed results in his first few races this season, Denny has come on strong in the last four races - he has one win and his worst finish is 6th.

4. Carl Edwards - Had to overcome a penalty on pit road for a tire changer going over the wall too soon that took him from 2nd to 34th but Carl was able to race his way back up front, even after an additional problem on pit road. It's still to early to really know how things are going to shake out but it's the sign of a championship team that they're able to overcome challenges to salvage good finishes.

5. Mark Martin - Led 68 laps and looked like he had a car that he could of won with but ultimately Mark had to pit for gas. It had to have been heartbreaking to pit when he was so close to the finish. Had Mark been able to hold on for the win it would have killed Junior fans if the #8 got into Victory Lane before Junior with Hendrick. Some continue to think that DEI is only a season or two from folding but teams that can field cars that are this competitive don't disappear that quickly.

6. Jeff Burton - Holds on to the points lead with his 6th place finish. If Jeff continues to succeed this season some may have to change their thinking in relation to older driver's ability to win races and contend.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Led 87 laps but his car faded as the race went on, something which has happened a lot it seems to Junior this season. That he hasn't won in 70 races, since Richmond in the spring of 2006 has gotten a lot of attention. I wonder how heavily it's weighing on Junior's mind too?

8. Martin Truex Jr. - So far this season hasn't been all that great for Martin after having been in the Chase last season. Since his contract with DEI runs out at the end of this season it'll be interesting to see how things play out and whether he sticks with DEI. They need to give him good cars to get him to re-sign but he also needs to put up good results to interest top teams in his services.

9. Greg Biffle - A solid race for Greg got him his 5th top five of the season.

10. Kyle Busch - A quiet top ten finish for Kyle.

11. Casey Mears - 11th place is a solid finish for Casey and it helps move him up a spot in the points to 25th but he still only has one top ten this season. The expectations for Hendrick Motorsports drivers are that they not only finish up front on a regular basis but contend for wins on a regular basis, something that Casey doesn't really do. Unless he wins a few times this season I've started to wonder how much longer Casey will be at HMS.

12. Bobby Labonte - Highest finishing Dodge but he had his share of problems too with a spark plug issue that had to be fixed.

13. Jeff Gordon - Had some handling issues at the beginning of the race that the team worked hard to fix and felt that he could have finished in the top ten if not for having to pit for fuel. This season has been very erratic for Jeff - he has three top five finishes but also three finishes of 35th or better. The season could really go either way for him - I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in Victory Lane a couple of times but I also wouldn't be surprised if he missed the Chase.

14. Tony Stewart - Lost track position early on and struggled to get it back. His post-race report doesn't mention it but I believe Tony also stalled when he was on pit road getting gas at the end of the race.

15. David Gilliland - This is David's second top fifteen in a row. While he hasn't been racing up front I have to admit that the results for David this season have been better than I expected, particularly considering he doesn't have full sponsorship for his car.

16. Juan Montoya - Still waiting on his first top ten of the season.

17. Jamie McMurray - When Jamie needed a great finish to get back into the top 35 he got it with a top ten at Martinsville. The results since then haven't been as good. Not that they've been bad either but I think Jamie really needs to pick it up if he wants a long-term future at Roush or another top Cup organization.

18. David Reutimann - After two races full of bad luck and mechanical issues, David finally had things go his way and he was able to move back into the top 35 in owner's points. Great news for David and Michael Waltrip Racing which now has all three of their cars locked in at Talladega.

19. Kevin Harvick - Raced up front for most of the night but ran out of gas with just seven laps to go in the race just as he was headed to pit road for a splash of fuel. Kevin's probably lucky that he finished in the top 20.

20. Sam Hornish Jr. - Finished well enough to move up a spot in the owner's points - he'll need to keep finishing this well or better if he wants to stay in the top 35. This is Sam's best finish since Daytona.

21. Paul Menard - As long as his father is sponsoring his car I'm sure Paul has job security but if not for that DEI might be thinking about making a driver change. Forget about top tens, Paul hasn't even finished in the top fifteen since June of last year.

22. Travis Kvapil - Not a terrible finish but Travis probably would have liked to have finished a lot better considering this was a race he had a sponsor on the car for.

23. Kurt Busch - One of the few that didn't have to pit for gas at the end of the race but it didn't help him all that much since he was dealing with car that was way too tight for him to race much with it.

24. Michael Waltrip - As I mentioned in a previous entry this was a good race for Michael and his team in comparison to many of the previous ones this season. Like so many others, Michael is definitely a better driver than his recent results have shown and I'm hoping that he'll be able to finish even better in the near future.

25. Brian Vickers - Brian raced very well the first four races of the season and some thought he might be a surprise Chase contender, but his performance has since dropped off. I wonder if the turmoil with the second Red Bull Racing team has anything to do with that?

26. Scott Riggs

27. David Ragan - Was racing in the top fifteen until he spun on lap 201.

28. Mike Skinner - Mike continues to get the #84 in the show, but with how few cars are showing up to race these days I suspect A.J. Allmendinger would be able to do the same. A.J. is slated to return to the car at Talladega but I wonder if that's actually going to happen. RBR never got A.J. any seat time in any other series and I also wonder just exactly what benefit there was to him standing on the sidelines as opposed to being behind the wheel.

29. Robby Gordon - Robby's second half slide has started really early this season, something that I suspect is related to all the off-track distractions he's had to deal with this season. If Robby continues to finish poorly and other teams improve their performance he could very well find himself having to worry about qualifying for races. Things might not be too pretty for this team at Talladega since Robby will be rushing to get back in time from Dakar meaning that he might not be 100% prepared to race or worst-case he won't make it back at all meaning that P.J. Jones will have to race in his place.

30. Dave Blaney - Dave isn't outside the top 35 by much, but he's still on the outside looking in. That will continue if the results don't improve.

31. Bill Elliott - Not much to say here other than the Wood Brothers are just barely hanging on.

32. Dario Franchitti - Dario made the race so that was good for this team but the finish was just as unimpressive as just about every other race for him this season.

33. Patrick Carpentier - Ditto what I said for Dario for Patrick. He might be able to make some races but the results are pretty poor.

34. Michael McDowell - Would have finished better if not for stalling the car on pit road when he pitted for gas.

35. Regan Smith - Struggled with engine issues.

36. Kasey Kahne - Had a brake problem.

37. Johnny Sauter - Johnny was racing well and had a chance of getting the #70 back into the top 35 in owner's points but then he got swept up in a wreck not of his own doing.

38. Matt Kenseth - Blew a front tire on lap 41 and had to spend a lot of time in the garage while his team made repairs. Very inconsistent results for Matt might take him out of Chase contention.

39. J.J. Yeley - Bad luck for J.J. in the form of getting wrecked when he got into oil from Ryan Newman's car puts him out of the top 35 in owner's points. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not able to get back in.

40. Joe Nemechek - Got into the wall.

41. Elliott Sadler - Lost an engine.

42. Reed Sorenson - Cut a tire and got into the wall. Since he finished 5th at Daytona the results have been terrible for Reed and he's in the danger zone as far as the top 35 goes.

43. Ryan Newman - When Ryan's engine went oil got on the track and caused a number of spins and cars to wreck.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:37 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2008

Photo of the Day - Clouds

Posted by silverdsl at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

Decent Night for Michael Waltrip Racing at Phoenix

Although the results weren't as good as they might have liked, it was still a pretty good night for Michael Waltrip Racing at Phoenix. The best news was that David Reutimann was able to race his way back into the top 35 in owner's points which means that he won't have to worry about qualifying on time at Talladega, but I was also pleased with how the race went for Michael Waltrip as well. Even Michael McDowell did okay, though he apparently stalled the car on pit road which caused him to finish five laps down.

Almost every race since Daytona has been a tremendous struggle for the #55 team either because Michael has been unhappy with his car and unable to race with it or because they've had some sort of problem. However, last night Michael might have had his best car of the year since Daytona. Sure, he complained that it was loose and that his team wasn't doing much to help him out, but Michael finally had a car that he was able to race with, and race he did. Michael was able to race his way up to 21st, and while that isn't spectacular, that's definitely a lot better than other races this season when he's struggled to pass to the point where he's had trouble finishing 35th let alone in the top 25. Ultimately Michael had to pit late like a lot of others for gas and finished 25th, but I was still pretty happy with that result. I know Michael really wanted to finish better but given how much they've struggled this season racing up front may not happen as quickly as he'd like it to at a lot of tracks where many teams including his own are still figuring things out with the COT. This week Michael finishes in the top 25, maybe next race he's able to finish in the top 15 (or better considering it's Talladega which is a very good track for him). All they need to do is not get discouraged and keep building on what they learn each week.

What I also really liked last night is the communication over the radio. I'm usually positive about just about everything about Michael but one area that I've discussed in this space before where I think he could use some improvement is his communication with his team during races. Things improved somewhat when Paul Andrews was replaced with Bobby Kennedy as his crew chief but I think where they've gotten even better is with Ty Norris spotting. Michael's spotter had been Mark Green who he had seemed to work with fairly well but the last race that Mark spotted for him Michael seemed very frustrated. So I wasn't entirely surprised when Ty took over. Ty had spotted for Michael in the past and until hearing him the other week I had forgotten how good he is. I'm sure Mark is a good spotter but from a fan's perspective I really like Ty's style better. Some of the differences are subtle like Ty's voice which seems louder and clear (to my ears) than Mark's. Some are more obvious like the kind of information he gives Michael and the way he encourages him.

Someone brought up to me that it's a concern that Ty is taking on one more role at MWR when he already has so much to do but I'm hoping that Ty continues spotting for Michael because I really think he can help not just Michael but the entire team. His way of communicating is very good, not just with Michael but with Bobby Kennedy as well. I also think that Michael benefits from working with two people - Ty and Bobby - who aren't afraid to stand up to him and won't be intimidated by his strong personality or his outbursts. I suspect Michael probably has an easier time viewing Bobby and Ty as his equals than he might with Paul or others who have been his crew chief. There's also more trust there since he's known and worked with them both for a long time. So it's been really good to hear Ty over the radio and I hope that continues.

David finished 17th (or 18th depending on how Nascar sorts out the finish), his best finish since Daytona. That was good enough to get him back in the top 35 in owner's points something that's very important given all the talk about UPS possibly looking to leave for another organization. David is a terrific driver and with better luck and more competitive cars he could definitely race up front against the best regularly. I feel confident that we're going to see some good things from David in the near future. I'm very happy for him that he won't have to worry about qualifying at Talladega. It's nerve-wracking for every driver to have to deal with trying to qualify for races but David actually gets sick to his stomach he gets so nervous. I feel really good about what Talladega might bring for him (and all of MWR) now that he can focus on the race and not worry as much about qualifying.

Michael McDowell's finish wasn't very good but he brought the car home in one piece and wasn't involved in any problems on the track. That might not seem like much but for a rookie driver with so little Cup - or overall Nascar experience, it's a good thing when he can successfully finish races and not find trouble on the track. He did stall the car on pit road when he pitted for gas at the end of the race but there were a number of veteran drivers who did the same.

I know a lot of my fellow fans are disappointed and frustrated with the way this season has gone for Michael and MWR and I can understand why they feel that way since all of Michael's fans are anxious for him and his teams to race competitively and contend for wins sooner rather than later. But MWR is an organization that is still growing and learning in a very competitive sport. Positive results may not happen right away but they will happen - I just hope that Michael's fans and the sponsors have the patience to stick around to see it happen.

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

Nascar Needs to Take Their Heads Out of the Sand

Both Mike Helton and Brian France tried to defend Nascar's drug policy last week in the face of mounting criticism after it was revealed that Aaron Fike raced after having used heroin, and both made themselves look foolish. France's comments were the most comical. He said,

“We have the most aggressive policy in sports. We can test anytime, anyplace. It’s better than random testing because we can do it on a more frequent basis. Then the punishments, should anything happen, are more severe than anything in sports. It’s a game-changer for somebody’s career. If you’re caught doing something substantial like that, that could easily get you a year, two-year suspension or more – not a few games, this that or another thing. … I’m disappointed to hear what [Fike] said, but we’ve got a very strict and clear policy.”

He continued,

“We’re comfortable with it. If we can find a way to enhance it, we will. But it’s pretty hard to enhance the most strict policy in sports.”

Surely he can't be serious in thinking that Nascar has the strictest policy in sports? I can't speak to the details of the drug policy that the NHL or NFL have but let's look at that of the MLB which just this past week strengthened their drug policy on the basis of recommendations in the Mitchell Report. (As an aside George Mitchell called MLB's drug testing program even before it was strengthened "the strongest in U.S. professional sports."). MLB will administer 3,600 drug tests under the new program which is an average of three tests per player per year. Amount of times on average a Nascar driver is tested per year? Zero (making France's statement about conducting drug tests more frequently than other sports completely lacking in fact). The top 200 amateur players eligible for the first year draft will now be tested. Amount of times top amateur drivers poised to enter Nascar are tested? Zero. MLB has established a Department of Investigations which will investigate possible drug use by major or minor league players. Amount of people that Nascar has who are dedicated towards addressing possible drug use by drivers? Zero. Of course those are just a few examples but the idea that Nascar has the strongest drug policy in professional sports because a driver might not be able to race for a year or two (or longer after repeated violations) is laughable. It's not about what the governing body does when they catch athletes using drugs, it's all about making sure that they aren't using in the first place.

Mike Helton's comments were almost as ridiculous. He said,

"The [NASCAR] community polices the community. The positiveness of all the drivers talking and everything, I think, echoes the responsibility that exists in this sport to avoid all that and to police all that. That's why we think that the reasonable suspicion policy works as an umbrella from a NASCAR perspective."

First of all it shouldn't be up to the Nascar community to police each other. That forces people to tattle on each other and make accusations, possibly without any real proof. It should be the responsibility of the governing body of the sport to ensure that there isn't anyone using a banned substance. Second, having the community police each other doesn't work since a driver ended up racing after he used heroin. In addition, Kasey Kahne said that he suspected that Fike might be using drugs and he didn't say anything. Nor did anyone else who might have known or suspected Fike was using drugs since the only reason Fike was caught was because he was arrested for possession of heroin along with his fiancee.

Helton also talked about the severity of Nascar's punishments for drivers who test positive. He said,

"The other part though is the fact that when we do find a situation and we do authenticate the abuse of a substance, it is a severe reaction. It's not just a couple of weeks off, it's a very severe, career-changing reaction from us that I think speaks loudly."

The penalties for using drugs in Nascar should be more severe than they are in other sports. After all, it's unlikely that a player under the influence of drugs on the field will injure or kill someone but given the risks associated with racing, there is that possibility if a driver gets behind the wheel after they've used drugs. However, are Nascar's penalties really harsh enough? Drivers who test positive can apply for reinstatement so it's not like they're gone from the sport for good, though in the case of drivers who are found to have raced under the influence I think they should be. In addition, that drivers who have recently been allowed back in the sport after having failed drug tests were both eventually resuspended for violations of the drug policy - Shane Hmiel for failing drug tests three times and Kevin Grubb for refusing to take a drug test - is another sign that the policy is too weak because it may not deter them from reverting to past habits which led them to being suspended in the first place.

In addition, Nascar needs to get a handle on performance enhancers just like every other sport has. More than a few fans think that Nascar can't possibly have a performance enhancers problem because steroids, HGH or other performance enhancers would be of no use to anyone in the garage area. Wrong! Pit crew members would definitely benefit from using steroids or HGH. In addition, as we've seen with baseball players performance enhancers aren't just used for additional strength, they're also used for endurance and to heal from injury which would certainly help drivers. Furthermore amphetamines are also considered performance enhancers and those would be of benefit to both driver and crew members - I wouldn't be surprised if just like in baseball before MLB started testing for them, amphetamines were widely used in the garage area.

Nascar must give their drug policy more teeth and they need to do it now. Every driver and all those on pit road should be subject to random drug tests on every race weekend and maybe during the off-season as well. I believe that Nascar may fear increased drug testing because they fear that some big names will test positive but the consequences and negative publicity will be far greater if there's a tragedy because a driver was on the track under the influence of drugs. Nascar put years into developing the COT, they implemented Safer barriers, and required drivers to wear head and neck restraints, all in the name of safety. Making sure that drivers aren't racing after they're used drugs (or alcohol) is a safety issue as well and there is no good reason for not addressing the lapses in the drug policy that might allow for drivers to be on the track when they're in no condition to be racing.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2008

Drivers Support Strong Drug Testing Policy

Several drivers made it clear today that they would fully support random drug testing for drivers or other ways that Nascar might strengthen their drug policy. The current policy was shown to be weak and ineffective after Aaron Fike admitted that he raced after having used heroin. Kevin Harvick, who employed Fike as a driver of his Nationwide car for a few races had harsh words for Nascar. Harvick indicated that in the past he's spoke with Nascar regarding his concerns about their drug policy but felt his pleas fell on deaf ears. He said today,

“I had a long conversation with NASCAR the last time we had this policy brought up at the end of the year last year and it almost seems like it went on deaf ears. “I’m disappointed [that we] … have to have reaction instead of being proactive about the situation and … I’m disappointed that we have to answer these questions again and we haven’t made any headway whatsoever in the drug-testing policy. In the 10 years I’ve raced I haven’t been drug tested. So, to me, that’s not a proper professional sports drug policy. So as I went up and talked to them about it, they were more mad that I had a reaction to the situation than they were trying to move forward. To me, it was kind of one of those meetings where they were content to listen to what I had to say and that was about it. My name’s not Jeff Gordon.”

Kevin is 100% right - Nascar doesn't have a professional sports drug policy and they should realize that on their own without a competitor having to say something and without Aaron having to embarrass them by admitting that he raced while he was under the influence of drugs. What's unbelievable to me is that Nascar might actually have been angry with Kevin for saying something. In fact that's inexcusable. Kevin is out there racing and he shouldn't have to worry that someone he's racing with is using drugs before they get in their car.

Tony Stewart agreed that the drug policy needs to be changed. He said,

"I would love it. I've never been asked to take one yet. I think it should be mandatory to have random drug testing. I think it's a great idea. The Fike situation shows that as an organization, we're not doing a good job of seeing this before it happens."

Which is exactly the point - as Kevin said, Nascar needs to be proactive, not reactive.

Naturally Nascar's spokesperson, Kerry Tharp, defended their drug policy. He said,

“The responsibility here rests across the board - with the drivers and competitors, owners and teams and NASCAR,. We test an individual when we have reasonable suspicion, and a positive test result has severe consequences and is a career-changing moment for that person. NASCAR's policy is also supported by the various policies that the teams have in place that are required under the driver/owner agreements. No system is flawless, but we believe our zero-tolerance policy that is in place has served the sport well.”

They don't actually have a zero tolerance policy. If they did drivers who tested positive would not only be suspended but banned from the sport for life, which is what I think should happen. I'm all for giving people a second chance but not when it comes to drug use and racing. Sure, when a driver tests positive Nascar does something about it, but by testing only on the basis of reasonable suspicion, they're only testing when they're forced to, essentially when they can't ignore that there might be an issue any longer. In addition, it's pretty clear that Nascar's policy hasn't served the sport well since they had a driver on the track after he used heroin. Nascar's continued defense of their drug policy is making them look ridiculous and out of touch with reality, particularly given how many drivers said that the drug policy needs to be changed.

In the ESPN:The Magazine article Tom DeLoach from Red Horse Racing said that no one had a clue that Aaron might be using drugs. Wrong. Kasey Kahne said today that he suspected that something wasn't right with Aaron. Kasey said,

“I don’t feel like I race with guys on drugs, but there are certain people you wonder about sometimes, and I definitely wondered about Aaron Fike. For the last year he was racing, I always wondered. I have no clue why he raced as long as he did. If I wondered, I don’t know why other people didn’t wonder.”

First of all if Kasey wondered then he should have said something to Nascar because they could have tested Aaron on the basis of "reasonable suspicion." But if Kasey noticed things that made him wonder if Aaron was using drugs then why didn't anyone else? Or maybe they did and just put their heads in the sand like Nascar is regarding their drug policy. Truly unbelievable and unacceptable.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)

April 09, 2008

Former Truck Series Driver Aaron Fike Admits Using Heroin on Race Day

I've said more than a few times in this space that Nascar needs to change their drug policy and if there's no more proof of that than Aaron Fike's admission that not only was he a daily heroin user leading up to when he was arrested for heroin possession last year, but he was actually using on days that he raced in Truck Series races. Fike, who is just 25, admitted in an article in ESPN: The Magazine, that he was addicted to pain killers for six years and used heroin for eight months prior to when he was arrested. Nascar is lucky that Fike didn't cause a wreck during a race that killed someone.

Jim Hunter, Nascar's vice president of corporate communications said,

"No system is perfect. Our current policy has served us extremely well. We do have discussions from time to time regarding possible alternatives, so I wouldn't rule those out. But I think what our policy has allowed us to do up to this certain point in time, it has served us well."

If Fike was able to race when he was possibly under the influence of drugs - and he may not be the only one who raced in that condition - then Nascar's drug policy is a failure. Currently, Nascar only tests competitors when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a driver is using drugs. Their drug policy needs to be far strong. All the drivers and also pit crew members should be subject to random drug tests every single race weekend. Nascar says that they don't have the problems that other sports but in reality they have no idea if they have a drug problem in the sport because they don't regularly test competitors for drugs. I suspect that Nascar may not want to strengthen their drug testing policy and find out just exactly who might be using. Image is huge in this sport and the negative publicity if a "name" driver tested positive for a banned substance would be very damaging to Nascar. But more extensive drug testing has to happen, otherwise Nascar is taking the risk that another driver like Fike might be on the track when they're in no condition to be there. This sport is risky enough, drivers shouldn't have to worry that one of their fellow competitors is impaired.

What I'm having difficulty with is that up until when Fike was caught, no one apparently noticed that he had a problem. Fike raced for Red Horse Racing and Tom DeLoach the general manager and co-owner said,

"I had no idea. None of us did. Not those of us that worked beside him every weekend or, to the best of my knowledge, any of the people that we race against every weekend."

It's true that drug addicts hide their drug use but when someone's drug addiction is so bad that they're using every day it seems to me that there would be some warning signs that something is wrong. And we're talking about heroin here. Heroin! I've never used any kind of illegal drugs ever, but I have had the misfortune of being around more than one heroin user. When their addiction got to the point of it being a regular thing, it was obvious there was something going on, even to me who had never used drugs. Maybe in addition to a strong drug policy, Nascar also needs to educate those in the garage area about what the signs of drug use are. Maybe they also need to encourage people who see something to say something - no one wants to be a tattle-tale but drivers who use drugs are putting others at risk.

I'm sure there are some fans who have their heads in the sand about drug use in the sport. Nascar has promoted itself as being a family sport whose competitors never get into the kind of trouble that athletes in other sports do. Some fans probably can't even begin to imagine any of the drivers - and especially their favorite drivers - using drugs. However, there are many people who use drugs in society as a whole and it's very hard for me to believe that no one in the garage area uses illegal drugs ever. I'd like to think that all the drivers are smarter than to abuse drugs but the cases of Shane Hmiel, Aaron Fike, Tyler Walker, Kevin Grubb, and others indicates otherwise.

As I've said in the past Nascar needs to take their heads out the sand and deal with this issue head-on before they're forced to because something bad happens.

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

Nascar Inspector Brienne Davis Killed in Car Accident

Sad news for the Nascar community - Brienne Davis one of the few female Nascar inspectors was killed yesterday in an accident on I-77 in Charlotte. Davis was just 28, and by all accounts was a very popular and well-liked person in the garage area. In a sport that is very difficult for women to work in except in public relations or marketing positions, Davis began working at DEI as an engine builder when she was just 22. Two years later she became a full-time inspector for Nascar, mostly responsible for inspecting carburetors and manifolds in the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series. I remember seeing her in the garage area at Pocono last summer, and just coincidentally I thought of her yesterday morning while I was listening to the replay of her good friend Tony Stewart's show on Sirius. Davis was an inspiration for any woman trying to make it not only on the technical side in Nascar, but any woman trying to break into traditionally male dominated fields. R.I.P Brienne.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)

April 08, 2008

Bill Davis Racing Sues 360OTC

Bill Davis Racing has filed suit against Rockford-Montgomery Lab, the maker of 360OTC, because they've only paid $25,000 of the $14 million they were supposed to as part of the sponsorship deal for the #36 car last season. In addition, apparently RML never paid any of the $3 million they owed for sponsoring the #36 truck or the $1 million owed for a partial sponsorship of the #23 truck. The only surprise here is that it took BDR this long to take legal action against RML - that and that they entered into the deal with 360OTC in the first place when even fans thought the company seemed sketchy. It also boggles my mind that BDR kept 360OTC on the car and both trucks all of last year in spite of only having received $25,000. No wonder BDR is in such bad shape on the Cup level right now - they must have been spread extremely thin financially last season trying to pay all the bills to field two Cup cars, which is likely why they aren't attempting to continue to field a second car this season without sponsorship.

Of course this is the fourth lawsuit brought against RML for non-payment - Just Marketing, the World of Outlaws and World Wrestling Entertainment also sued. I remain astonished that any of these entities entered into business or sponsorship deals with RML/360OTC. They really must have talked a good game. It's also amazing to me that RML thought they could get away with making these deals and then not paying.

ETA: On another forum there was some speculation that I think is likely on-point and explains why it took so long for BDR to take the 360OTC logos off the car and file suit. By fulfilling their end of the contract and waiting until the season ended, BDR ensured that they could not only sue for the full amount that 360OTC owed them, they also made sure that 360OTC couldn't turn around and accuse them of breach of contract. I highly doubt that BDR will be able to get $18 million from RML but it sure would help them if they got even half that amount.

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

Best "This Week in Nascar" of the Season

As I said in a previous entry, I haven't been a big fan of the new Monday night show on Speed that took the place of Inside Nextel Cup. In fact, just about the only reason I've continued to watch is because Michael Waltrip is on the show. However, I thought that last night's show was the best of the season so far and if they can continue to build on some of the positives from that show there may be some hope yet. I think the biggest reason why I enjoyed last night's show was that Michael, and to a lesser degree Greg Biffle, were let loose to be themselves. In prior shows it seemed as if the producers were keeping Michael, who can get very wound-up, reined in, and overall the show seemed very scripted. The panel members seemed stiff and at times uncomfortable and it didn't seem like the conversation flowed freely. Compare that to the old INC where the lively discussions between the panel members, the jokes, and the insight into each week's race from those who had taken part made the show a must-watch. TWiN has been more of a must-fast-forward. But last night Michael's free-spirited and quirky personality was allowed to shine and both he and Greg seemed much more at ease which made the show fun to watch.

I even learned something last night. I know most fans are probably watching to be entertained and I am too, but I also enjoy watching the Monday night show because I often learn about something I didn't know before. That hasn't happened much this season. However, last night Michael talked about why the bottom of the #00 under the driver's side was gold (a Dow Automatives heat shield) and how Aaron's got exposure worth millions due to all the media coverage of Michael McDowell's practice wreck. Overall, the quality of the discussion seemed really good to me and I enjoyed watching. I also enjoyed laughing as I watched something I used to do all the time with INC - I thought the way Michael kept tapping Greg to get his attention when he had something he wanted to say to be particularly humorous (I often raise my hand or wave when I have something that I can't wait to say when I'm in a group and I think no one is paying attention to me.).

That said there's still room for improvement. The biggest complaint that most viewers have is that they preview the upcoming race for a considerable amount of time at the top of the show. That should come after the panel reviews the race that just happened and discusses any news from the weekend. I have no interest in sitting through 20 minutes or more of video and discussion about the next race when I'm anxious to hear from the drivers who were there what happened in the race that just finished. I think Speed is using it as a way to promote the upcoming race to try to get people to watch but most of the people watching TWiN don't likely need any extra encouragement to watch the next race. And if they are trying to promote the next race they could achieve the same goal in the second half of the show after they've talked about what just happened in the last race.

In addition, I think the show suffers from only having two panelists. A third panelist would add another perspective whether it's another driver or a crew chief. What would be best is if Ken Schrader was a regular on the show again. One of the biggest reasons why INC was such a hit for so long was the way he and Michael interacted. Unfortunately it appears that either Ken is no longer available when the show tapes or a decision was made by the powers that be that his services are no longer needed. That's unfortunate. His presence would add to the show and not just for entertainment purposes. Ken may not race up front very often but he's extremely knowledgeable when it comes to not just Nascar but racing in general.

So it wasn't a perfect show last night - far from it since it definitely pales in comparison to INC back in the days when Alan Bestwick and Johnny Benson were on the show - but it's an improvement over the way the show was to start the season.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

Chip Ganassi Rips Into His Own Team

Dario Franchitti failed to qualify for the Cup race at Texas this past weekend and his car owner Chip Ganassi, wasn't too happy about it. However, Ganassi wasn't upset with Franchitti; instead he was angry with the #40 team and others in his organization who he says are failing to give Franchitti a good enough car. Ganassi said on Sirius radio,

"Frankly, there are 46 cars there and if you can't beat three of them, that's pretty pathetic. I certainly have all the faith in the world in [Franchitti's] driving abilities. I don't think it's that. The fact of the matter is, we didn't give him a car that was capable of doing it."

He continued,

"We're not working as a team. You can't have guys that are fast and guys that are slow. It doesn't make any sense. These guys, these teams are not talking to each other, they are not working together, they are not using all the resources that are available to them. That's how you end up in a fix like this."

I can understand why Ganassi is upset. No owner wants to see one of their teams struggle to make races. However, he shouldn't be ripping into his own teams publically through the media. If he's not happy with the way people are doing their jobs then he needs to address it directly with his people. As David Poole said this morning on Sirius, Ganassi also needs to look in the mirror - he's the team owner and it's his responsibility to do everything he can to field competitive cars and make sure his teams work together. It's not like the #40 car just started struggling this season - Sterling Marlin towards the end of his time at Ganassi and David Stremme both had mediocre results in the #40. So he should have noticed well before now that there were issues with the team that he needed to address.

In addition, Ganassi is the one who made the choice to put an open-wheel driver with zero experience in Nascar in the car. Maybe he thought that Franchitti would attract sponsorship and that money would be used to help make the team more competitive. But the #40 still only has partial sponsorship for this season. Maybe Ganassi thought that it would be easier for Franchitti to adjust to racing Cup. That was a mistake if that's what he thought. It's hard for drivers with experience to make races and race competitively let alone a driver with no experience.

I have to wonder what the long-term future of the #40 is. I would think that Ganassi will want to try to continue fielding three teams for as long as possible but without full sponsorship and if the team is going to miss races it makes it difficult. In addition, Ganassi's other teams haven't been all that impressive either. Juan Pablo Montoya, who was expected to be a Chase contender this season, is 19th in points. Reed Sorenson who started the season off strong with a top five at Daytona, hasn't been able to finish any better than 18th since and is 27th in points. Seems to me that Ganassi needs to take a close look at his entire organization and make some changes but he needs to be smart about it. Being critical of his teams publically isn't going to motivate them to work harder or perform better, it's only going to create resentment.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2008

Photo of the Day - Waterfall

Columbia Gorge, Oregon, October, 2006. Another place I wish I was...

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

Jeremy Mayfield Out of the #70 at Phoenix

There's not been an official release by Haas-CNC Racing yet so there's still a lot of unknowns but the official entry list for Saturday night's Cup race at Phoenix shows that Jeremy Mayfield has been replaced in the #70 by Johnny Sauter who had raced that car last season before being replaced by Jeremy. So basically Johnny is being re-hired to drive the car he was released for, at least for this weekend and maybe longer. I can't say I'm surprised. From the start it seemed like things weren't working out for Jeremy with Haas-CNC. The #70 was slow in just about every race and there were mechanical gremlins too. Jeremy and the team just didn't seem like they were clicking. Dropping out of the top 35 in owner's points was probably the last straw. What was also troubling was that some of Jeremy's fans were actually vocalizing that maybe Jeremy had lost something behind the wheel - usually when things go bad fans are quick to blame the crew chief, the owner, the pit crew or just about anyone other than the driver but when even his own fans were wondering about Jeremy that wasn't a good sign.

That doesn't mean Jeremy's done though. For one thing if it seems like Jeremy's lost something, maybe it's not his talent behind the wheel it's his confidence. Racing lousy cars and struggling to finish well each week is going to wear on a driver. They might start to question whether the problem is the cars or themselves. But somehow I suspect like so many drivers if Jeremy was given competitive cars to race he'd be able to race his way up front. Problem is Jeremy might not get another opportunity to race in competitive equipment, at least not in Cup. Most teams are looking for drivers who are younger than him, and he's gotten into conflicts with several of his former owners which may scare some teams away. I'd like to see Jeremy race a truck because I think he'd do well but he may not be willing to consider anything that's not in Cup.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)

Random Thoughts on Texas

*There is no way I can do a driver-by-driver run down for the race at Texas - it was one of the most boring races I've ever watched (and the Nationwide race the day before was just as bad) so I would have a very hard time coming up with something to say about every driver in the field. It seemed like there was very little passing all day and many teams are continuing to struggle to figure out the COT. It's an insult to my intelligence as a fan that those in the booth tried to pass off the finish of this race as ultra-exciting. Sorry, but a last lap near-wreck between Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin that has no effect on who wins the race isn't what I'd call exciting last lap racing. I can usually find something interesting or exciting in just about every race I watch but not this weekend. I want to see good side-by-side racing with passing for the lead and throughout the field, not the whole field strung out in a line struggling to make any forward progress.

*Carl Edwards dominated a big chunk of this race which must have been thrilling for Carl's fans but boring for every other driver's fans. Carl has now won three races this season and it appears that the #99 team is one of the few that have figured out the COT. Carl's Roush-Fenway teammates all finished in the top 15 with the exception of Greg Biffle who lost an engine.

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr. started this race on the pole and most were penciling him in as the race winner before the race even began. But it was far from Junior's day. Though he led 31 laps he was never a factor at the end. Each week it's thought by many that it'll be the week that Junior wins his first for Hendrick Motorsports and each week so far fans have been disappointed. The expectations are so high for Junior at HMS and he's certainly been racing extremely well but fans are already very restless and impatient to see him in Victory Lane - I wonder what will happen if he doesn't have at least one win by mid-season?

*The top 35 situation continues to be in flux. For a while it looked like David Reutimann was going to be able to race his way back in but mechanical problems for the second week in a row ruined a potentially strong finish yet again. Sam Hornish, Jr. and Regan Smith are just hanging on to spots in the top 35, and Jeremy Mayfield has dropped out by just six points. Jeremy's teammate, Scott Riggs is also in the danger zone when it comes to the top 35. Thanks to a wreck J.J. Yeley is also on the verge of dropping out of the top 35. I think there's a good chance that both Haas cars and Yeley may find themselves on the outside looking in. The Haas cars weren't all that great last season and they don't seem to be much better this season, particularly the #70. Yeley has been unimpressive in the #96 and it's an uphill battle for that team anyway since they're a one-car team.

*Where will the freefall for Robby Gordon stop? He has about a 100 point cushion between where he is and the top 35 cut-off but that could disappear very quickly if things continue like they have been for him. If Robby were to find himself outside the top 35 he could be in trouble since he's not a very strong qualifier. What should be most worrisome to Robby's fans is that Robby often has a better first half than second half - if the results are this bad now, how much worse might they get in the second half? Of course Robby and his team are far from the only ones who are struggling and they could still figure things out and right their season. Problem is that Robby's been getting into the wall quite a bit too and when that happens it doesn't matter how good or bad his car is.

*Ryan Newman finished 4th but his car failed a post-race inspection when it was found to be too high. I haven't heard much about this so I have no idea if this is something that Nascar will penalize him and his team for or whether it's something that could have happened during the race. I tend to think that a car being too high is something that couldn't happen as a result of damage during the race but one never knows.

*On the white flag lap Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer tangled. After the race Denny was so dizzy from being hot and dehydrated that he nearly collapsed while talking to reporters. I have to wonder if how dizzy and sick he was feeling might have played a role in the way he was racing on that last lap?

*Last season HMS seemed to have the COT figured out but this year it's a much different story. Jeff Gordon and the #24 team were terrible in this race. The car was bad throughout the race and Jeff finally spun and got into the wall. He ended up finishing 43rd which drops him five spots in the points to 24th. That a team with as many resources and talented personnel as the #24 has is struggling so much is a definite indication that there's some issues with the COT that teams are having a hard time with. If the #24 team can't get things right with the COT, how are smaller teams going to be able to? Even Jimmie Johnson who finished second but has struggled a lot in other races this season complained after the race about the COT.

*It was a good race for Yates Racing with both of their cars finishing in the top 20. However, I still have to wonder how long they're going to be able to continue fielding these cars without any outside sponsors? Finishing in the top 20 might not be enough to attract sponsors, particularly when the personality of the Yates drivers aren't as dynamic as that of some other drivers, which may not be a draw for some sponsors.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)

Another Driver Killed at Thompson International Speedway

Racing is a dangerous sport. No matter how many safety advances are made there's still an element of risk in that if things go wrong it can still lead to injury - or even a fatality. Unfortunately that was the case at Thompson International Speedway yesterday where a 27-year old NorthEastern Midget Association racer, Shane Hammond was killed on the fourth lap of a 25-lap race when his car made contact with another car, went airborne over the four-foot wall around the track and crashed into a billboard. That had to be a horrible sight for those in attendance to see. Hammond's death was the second at Thompson in the past eight months - in August of last year John Blewett III died as a result of a wreck in a modified race at the track. And it was back in 2004 that Tom Baldwin lost his life at the same track.

Each of the wrecks that have resulted in fatalities at Thompson seem to be different so there might not be all that much that could be done to prevent them, though the question will surely be asked many times over the next few days as to why there were no catch-fences around Thompson that might have prevented Hammond's car from going out of the track. At the very least there seems to be some bad karma associated with Thompson.

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

April 06, 2008

On The Beach

Found this one in Down East, the magazine of Maine.

The slow, cool, emerald breakers cruising clear
Along the sparkling edge of level sand,
Shatters its crystal arch, and far and near
Its broken splendor spills upon the land.
With rush and whisper, siren sweet and soft
Gently salutes the children of the earth,
And catches every sunbeam from aloft,
Flashes it back in summer mood of mirth:
And with its flood of strong refreshment pours
Health and delight along the sounding shores.

Amid its frolic foam and scattered spray
Tossed lightly, like some dreaming lion's mane,
The tired dwellers of the city play.
Forgetful for a while of care and pain,
While peace broods over all, nor does it seem
As if he sleeping lion could awake;
And yet, when past is this sweet summer dream,
What roar of thunder on the coast will break
When winter's tempests rage in sullen wrath,
Death and disaster in their cruel path,
And hurl against the sandy margin gray
Devouring fury, tumult and dismay!

-Celia Thaxter

Posted by silverdsl at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2008

Kyle Petty Unhappy

Although Robbie Loomis tried to claim that Kyle Petty was fine with being replaced in the #45 this weekend by Chad McCumbee, and that Kyle had decided to make that move jointly with executives at Petty Enterprises, Kyle made it clear that isn’t the case. He said, "I never want to come out of a car. Why would I ever want to come out of a car if that's what I do for a living? I'm arrogant enough to believe that I'm not the problem. At the same time... I don't want to be on the one to stand in the way if I am the problem. But I'm confident enough in my ability in what I do, if I'm forced to step out or have to step out to let somebody else do it, then I'll step out."

Kyle seems to be just about the only one these days who thinks that he’s not the problem with the #45 but he may be right. The same thing happened this weekend with Chad behind the wheel as it has the proceeding weekends with Kyle behind the wheel. The #45 was slow as molasses in practice, then no faster in qualifying which resulted in a DNF since the #45 is outside the top 35 in owner’s points. Until Petty Enterprises figures out how to make the #45 more competitive it may not matter who they put behind the wheel. The performance for Bobby Labonte and the #43 team has been better than that of the #45 but that team is very inconsistent and the results certainly aren't stellar for that team either which is why there's so many rumors about Bobby leaving for Richard Childress Racing or another team.

Being taken out of the car isn’t the only thing that Kyle disagreed about. He also wasn’t happy about the decision to move Petty Enterprises from Level Cross to the Charlotte area. He said, "I think there was a time when we needed to move to Mooresville or we needed to move to the Charlotte area. I think that time had passed, so I was not 100 percent behind moving to Mooresville. I felt like we had some issues that we should fix or could fix whether we were in Level Cross or whether we were in Mooresville. We've not fixed those issues. We're not running any better in Mooresville than we were running in Level Cross."

I think that moving to where the majority of race teams is concentrated could end up being a positive move for PE in the long-run, but they’ve got to be able to address their issues in relation to overall competitiveness, sponsors and apparent internal strife otherwise it’s not going to matter where they’ve based. It's not a good thing when any organization closes their doors and it would be an especially bad thing if it's an organization like Petty Enterprises that has such a long and storied history in the sport.

Kyle also indicated that if the feeling at Petty Enterprises was that he wasn’t wanted he would see if he could find another team to race for. That’s a shocker because I don’t think too many people can picture Kyle racing for anyone other than PE, but it might be interesting to see that happen because it might provide a truer picture of whether the problem is Kyle or the cars he’s racing. In some regards Kyle might have a difficult time finding a new ride since his results haven’t been good. However, the Petty name is still very marketable, Kyle is extremely personable and fan-friendly, he’s very media savvy, has a weekly TV show on Speed, and is high-profile due to his charitable efforts to raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. All of those things may make him attractive to some teams and sponsors because there’s a degree of exposure they’ll be guaranteed to get with Kyle that they wouldn’t get with other drivers at a similar point in their careers. However, it’s difficult to overlook how poor the results have been for Kyle for quite some time now and that would probably make most of the better teams in the garage area that could give him a more competitive car than the #45 leery of him.

I think there's a lot of fans who think that Kyle should just face reality and retire but that's so difficult for drivers to do. Racing is all that most of them have known for their entire lives and it's not easy to give up something they love so easily. Although some think that Kyle is just making laps out there and that he's not really as into racing as he once was - and there may be some truth to that after Adam's death - it's quite possible that Kyle still has just as much competitive fire as any other driver, he just doesn't often get the chance to show it. Kyle says he still has the desire to race, and if that's how he truly feels then that's what he should go out and do.

It's likely that the issues between Kyle and those at Petty Enterprises will be worked out - after all it is his family's company. But it might partially depend on what The King wants, and if that's not the same thing as what Kyle wants, his unhappiness might lead him in a surprising direction.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2008

Scary Qualifying Wreck for Michael McDowell

Qualifying for Sunday's Cup race at Texas was red flagged for 72 minutes this afternoon so repairs could be made to the SAFER barrier after Michael McDowell crashed just about head-on into the wall and then rolled his car at least nine or ten times before it finally came to a rest with pieces strewn everyone. Almost everyone watching was certain that McD was injured if not worse, but McD got out of the car under his own power, waved to the crowd and walked to the ambulance which took him to the in-field care center where amazingly he was found to be completely uninjured. I'm very happy that I had walked out of the room briefly and didn't see the wreck live when it happened. By the time I got back McD had already gotten out of the car so I knew he was okay. Truly a scary, scary wreck and it's a testament to the advances Nascar has made when it comes to the rules regarding safety that McDowell was able to walk away. Without the safer walls, the head and neck restraints, the advanced seats and probably also the COT, the outcome of McD's wreck could have been much worse.

Even McD wasn't quite sure why he wrecked but there was oil dry on the track after David Gilliland lost an engine during his qualifying run and it's possible that getting into that is part of what caused him to lose control. McD also felt like something was off with the car so it's possible there was a mechanical failure of some sort as well. Or maybe he just lost it. That happens to even the most veteran of drivers, though some fans tried to blame his inexperience in Cup for why the wreck was so spectacular and that it was an indication that Michael Waltrip made yet another mistake with one of his teams by putting a rookie behind the wheel. Nonsense. Mistakes are made by even the most experienced of drivers and in this case there's quite possibly other factors that played into why the wreck was so bad.

I can't imagine what it was like for Michael Waltrip, anyone at Michael Waltrip Racing or anyone who knows McD personally such as his wife to watch that wreck unfold and then wonder if he was okay or not. I know Michael has a lot of confidence in the safety of the COT and in the safer walls but despite how much safer the cars are than they were years ago this is still a risky sport, so Michael still had to be pretty scared for a couple of minutes wondering whether he lost on of his drivers. I'm so happy that wasn't the case! McD certainly had someone looking out for him today!

Although I'm sure McD would rather be noticed for finishing up front in races, he's made quite a splash in the two races he's been in Cup and there's certainly a lot more people who know his name - and that Aaron's is on his car - than two weeks ago. Hopefully he'll continue to make headlines for MWR, only it'll be about how great he races!

I'm just so glad that he walked away from today's wreck!

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

April 03, 2008

Michael Waltrip Out Loud (4/3)

On tonight's show Michael talked about the rumors about UPS leaving Michael Waltrip Racing and swaybar-gate but I'm not going to get into that much because he didn't cover much new ground and I've covered all that at length in other entries. One thing is that Michael did pretty much blow off swaybar-gate as no big deal and Tony said that everyone is laughing at Jack Roush. To a degree that's true but I think one person's "no big deal" is a huge deal to someone else and there are definitely some, particularly some fans, who are taking this as seriously as Jack Roush.

I've always been under the impression that Jeff Burton and Michael were good friends but now I'm not so sure because Michael had harsh words for him regarding how Jeff wasn't happy with the way Michael McDowell raced him and was very vocal about it after the race. Michael felt that instead of ripping him publically, Jeff should have sought out McD and discussed it with him privately. He said something along the lines of how "a veteran who is respected often begins to feel like he's smarter than he really is" which comes across like he's questioning Jeff's intelligence level. I happen to agree with Michael that Jeff's comments were completely out-of-line to be said publically in a TV interview but I was pretty surprised by how strongly Michael felt about it. I seem to remember that Jeff had some strong comments in relation to the Daytona mess last year as well and I wonder whether Michael was hurt by what Jeff said considering that they were supposedly friends. I might be completely off-base but I just sense that Michael and Jeff might not be as tight as many of us fans have thought they were.

There was some talk about Elliott Sadler's "mysterious" back injury. Tony said that they gave three different reasons as to why he hurt his back, then finally said that they didn't know. I have to say that I found the deal with Elliott's back to be pretty peculiar too. Maybe he hurt it in an embarrassing way but if he hurt it playing golf or lifting weights as some have said what's the big deal? Whether they're going to go with a fake excuse or give the real explanation as to how he hurt his back they just need to pick one story and stick with it. Otherwise they look like they have something to hide and they look untrustworthy with all the back and forth and conflicting stories. Of course that's something that some of Elliott's fans have taken exception to in the past.

The email question this week was about what would Michael changes Michael would make if he was in charge of Nascar. Immediately Michael said that Nascar does a great job and that he wouldn't change anything. Come on! I know that Michael loves the sport and feels that he has an obligation to be positive and defend Nascar but I find it hard to believe that there's nothing he would change. Particularly since there's been a time or two when even he has disagreed with some of the calls that Nascar's made or wished that they would make a directive governing what the teams did with certain things with the cars. No one can always agree with everything that a person or entity does, nor does it make them a bad person if they have a different opinion. Michael did indicate that he would like "them" to be more creative but I'm not sure who "them" is. If he means Nascar I agree completely - sometimes I feel like there's so much fear about who might get offended if various things were done that they're hesitant to do things different.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2008

UPS Evaluating Their Options

Both UPS and NAPA Auto Parts have sponsor contracts with Michael Waltrip Racing that run through the end of this season. Rumors have circulated since early last year that both sponsors were looking to go elsewhere. The talk in relation to NAPA has mostly quieted down but UPS has acknowledged that they are indeed evaluating their options, whether they want to continue to sponsor the #44 beyond this season or move to another team. Apparently UPS wants to be on a car that will be in contention for a championship and they want to sponsor a driver who is a "rock star" like Dale Jarrett.

When I think of rock star I most certainly don't think of DJ. Perhaps UPS means that they want to align themselves with a high-profile driver who is popular and can get them a lot of exposure. Because DJ certainly doesn't have a flamboyant, in-your-face, look-at-me kind of personality. In fact, it's hard for me to see how that kind of a persona would fit the UPS brand. As for racing for a championship, well so does every sponsor but that's a lot harder to deliver these days than ever even for the better teams in the garage area. I can understand how UPS might be frustrated with missing races and the way MWR has struggled but they voluntarily followed DJ to MWR so they had to know there was a risk that the performance wouldn't be all that great. Actually even before that the performance hadn't been so spectacular. The last time DJ was anywhere near in contention for a Championship was 2002 when he finished 9th in the points. Maybe the problem is that UPS is seeing one of their competitors, FedEX in Victory Lane regularly and in Chase contention every year with Denny Hamlin and they want to be with a team that's equally as successful.

In the past it's been rumored that UPS might be interested in sponsoring Greg Biffle, and as much as I hope they stay at MWR, I do think Greg would be a good fit for their brand. In fact Roush-Fenway Racing may have a number of cars in need of sponsorship next season since AAA won't be back on the #6 and I think some of the sponsorship on the #99 is also up for renewal. I already question Jack Roush's motivation for speaking out about his missing swaybar since it seems like it only stems from a vendetta against Lee White from Toyota. I'd be even more suspicious if UPS ended up at Roush because I'd have to wonder if Jack was deliberately trying to make MWR look bad as a way to help convince UPS to leave. I'm sure Roush won't be the only suitor for UPS though - they've shown that they're willing to spend money and do a lot of marketing, advertising, commercials and promotions, so they're exactly the type of sponsor that a lot of teams would want.

Of course UPS could just end up staying at MWR. I think David Reutimann is an excellent fit for their brand too and he even worked for UPS years ago. He's also got a lot of talent behind the wheel and I have no doubt that if he had competitive cars to race he could contend for wins and maybe even the Chase as well. However, UPS may not be willing to have the patience to wait for MWR to start fielding cars that are not only competitive but that David can race up front with on a regular basis. Unfortunately it's also possible that they aren't happy with some of the continuing negative headlines since last season - the mess at Daytona, Michael's accident, now swaybar-gate. While none of those things effected them directly they may wonder what else might be on the horizon.

My fear is what happens if UPS leaves MWR. In the past I'd say that MWR would just find a replacement sponsor and move on. However, with the way the economy is these days convincing a company to spend $15-20 million, the average amount it takes to field a competitive Cup car, is a tough sell. Even getting a company to spend less is difficult. Rumor has it that Domino's, who sponsored the #00 for part of last season, wanted to return to MWR but couldn't afford to spend the money - I guess that's what happens when profit drops as dramatically for a company as it did for Domino's last season. Complicating matters is that NAPA's deal with MWR also runs out. It would be bad enough if UPS left but a complete disaster if NAPA left as well because then MWR wouldn't have sponsors for any of their cars. At least with NAPA they're so tied in with Michael. Even though the results on the track haven't been very good lately, they've still gotten a lot of exposure via their association with him. I don't think there's anyone else in the garage area who could do the commercials that NAPA does like Michael can. Still, it's a concern - what happens to MWR if they lose UPS and NAPA and don't have replacement sponsors lined up?

Posted by silverdsl at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)

BAM Racing to Skip Texas and Phoenix, Then Return at Talladega

Not only did BAM Racing withdraw from the Cup race this weekend at Texas, but they're also going to skip the race at Phoenix as well, but plan on returning to the track at Talladega. Tony Morgenthau cites the challenges in switching manufacturers, and a desire to refocus on improving performance for the rest of the season. He also said,

"We recognize that we will sacrifice our 42nd position in owner's points, but that only guarantees our team a spot if qualifying is rained out. Ultimately every car that is 36th or lower must qualify on time in order to race. While skipping the next two races will hurt our points position in the short term, returning to the track at Talladega ready to move forward with fully-tested Toyota Camry's will enhance our program overall. This has been a very difficult, "big picture" decision; by taking a little time to regroup now, we should be a much stronger team for the rest of the year. Finally, for all the naysayers who may predict this to be the death knell for one of the few remaining independent teams in Sprint Cup . . . wait until Talladega, then tell us if we're dead or not!"

I don't understand the thinking in relation to the owner's points. Morgenthau says that they're thinking long-term but are they really? Being guaranteed a spot to race in case qualifying is rained out is important not just for the remainder of this season but for next season as well. Missing races means that it's likely that they'll start next season without a guaranteed spot to race in case it rains as well and that could ruin their chances next season too... if they actually survive that long. Teams that have a successful long-term future don't usually voluntarily skip races to regroup. BAM says they're not dead yet, but they may very well be on life support.

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

April 01, 2008

Photo of the Day - Mike Mussina

In honor of Yankees opening da... I mean night, here's a pic of Mike Mussina from his fan club dinner in 2006.

Yankees win their home opener 3-2!

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

BAM Racing Withdraws from Texas

I thought this was an April Fool's joke when I first saw it on one of the forums I go to but then I saw an article on Nascar.com and knew that sad to say it was no joke - BAM Racing has withdrawn the #49 from Texas. There's no other information as to whether they're just not fielding the car for this weekend or whether they're done altogether, but it doesn't bode well that they're not going to Texas. I don't think anyone expected this. It was just last week that BAM announced sponsorship from Microsoft Small Business as a primary sponsor for Martinsville and as an associate sponsor for the rest of the season, as well as a switch to Toyota and a partnership of a sort with Bill Davis Racing who would be providing them engines and possible marketing help. All of that might not have been enough to keep BAM going. I've long wondered how long the Morgenthaus could keep going without much sponsorship and we might have found out the answer.

Although I know that Ken Schrader will be fine because he has plenty of racing lined up in other series I'm still sad if this means that he's lost his Cup ride. As Michael Waltrip said on his XM show last week - not only does Ken love to race but he does a lot for the sport. He's also a good friend to Michael and in light of what seems like constant turmoil sometimes, Michael can use all the friends he can get in the garage area.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)

Changes at Petty Enterprises

After failing to qualify for the race at Martinsville this past weekend, Kyle Petty will step out of the #45 and Chad McCumbee who was in the car for two races last season, will take his place behind the wheel. I feel sad for Kyle because I think despite how poor the results have been for him for quite a few years now that he still had the desire to race. But it was inevitable that some changes were going to have to be made once the #45 dropped out of the top 35 in owner's points and even more so when Kyle DNF'd at Martinsville. It's unknown whether this is for just one race, but I wouldn't be surprised if Petty Enterprises put a variety of drivers behind the wheel in an effort to evaluate the program and improve the results for that team. Maybe we'll even see Terry Labonte race the #45 a few times - it's been rumored that they've talked to him and his Champion's provisional would help them make races.

If things weren't bad enough for PE that the #45 was out of the top 35, things became even more dire when it was announced that after this season, General Mills, who had sponsored the #43 for the last seven years will be moving to Richard Childress Racing next season to sponsor their fourth team. Although Bobby Labonte claims he hasn't signed with any team for next season, it's heavily rumored that he'll also be following General Mills to RCR, and it does make some sense considering he's already racing for RCR in the Nationwide Series. That creates an additional problem for PE because it's even harder to attract sponsors when there's no driver signed.

Although PE is seriously talking with a potential investor, it may be too little too late. With only one car in the top 35, sponsorship issues and the results not being very impressive for the organization for quite some time, their future in the sport might be in jeopardy which is pretty sad considering how much an important part of the sport the Pettys have been.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)