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February 28, 2009
Random NASCAR Thoughts on Random Thoughts (2/28)
*Toyota Racing Development's president Lee White described engine problems for the second weekend in a row that have led to five Toyota teams having to change engines as "embarrassing." I have to agree with that. What's troubling to me is that the engine problems at Fontana took TRD by surprise and based on what White said the continued issues also caught them off-guard because they thought they had addressed it after last week. There are always going to be engine failure and other mechanical issues no matter how well-prepared a manufacturer or team is but this seems like a pretty major issue that they should have had some idea might happen. While also said that the #55, #7 and #13 teams won't have to change engines because the problems usually show up after 75 miles of wear so if they haven't happened yet those teams should be safe. Well, what if they're wrong about that? Given that TRD hasn't seemed to have a very good handle on the problem thus far I would be pretty nervous if I was with one of the teams that hadn't changed engines.
*Besides how great Michael Waltrip Racing did in Cup qualifying yesterday, what caught my attention the most was that Travis Kvapil failed to qualify for the race. I'm not entirely surprised because the #28 still only has a few races worth of sponsorship so there's probably limited financial resources that can be put into this team. In addition, no matter how good Yates Racing's intentions are I would guess that their focus is on their fully sponsored, full-time teams. It's very unfortunate for Kvapil. He raced well enough last year to earn top 35 owner's points only to see them be given to a teammate. While it's understandable that Yates would want to be sure their fully sponsored cars are both locked into races, Kvapil got the short end of the stick. Now he's not going to be racing on Sunday and that hurts his chances of being in the top 35 after Bristol which in turns makes it more difficult for Yates to find additional sponsorship to continue fielding the car.
*Other drivers who failed to qualify for the race included Scott Riggs for Tommy Baldwin Racing and Jeremy Mayfield for his own team. Although both drivers and their teams did a terrific job of qualifying for the first two races one had to expect that their luck might not hold out forever. Both teams are racing on shoe-string budgets with very little resources. For those teams everything has to go perfectly and any issues are difficult to overcome. Hopefully both teams will continue to try to make races and build their teams but it may be hard if they miss more races. Dave Blaney also failed to qualify but given that Prism is going to start and park races other than the Blaniacs and the team themselves there probably aren't too many who are upset since most would prefer that teams that are going to race full races make the field rather than those who may not last even 50 laps.
*There's been a lot of talk about how drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or Ryan Newman need to start finishing better to get their season going in the right direction and there are other drivers that's true for as well. One of those drivers is Robby Gordon whose 2009 season has so far started off exactly where 2008 left off with poor results and mechanical issues. This has to be a big disappointment since there had to be high hopes after making the switch to Toyota for this season. However, Gordon is still resistant to forming a partnership with another team and I think that really hurts him. It's admirable that he's independent and wants to do things his way but I think his team would benefit from the resources that would be available from a larger team. Last season there had been some talk that Gordon was talking to MWR about a potential alliance. After seeing how well it's worked out at least early on for JTG-Daugherty Racing and Germain Racing I wonder if Gordon regrets not having pursued that alliance? At some point the results are going to have to get better for Gordon otherwise I have to think that he'd be in danger of losing his sponsors - even NAPA Auto Parts wants to see better results from the #55 team this season.
*Joey Logano is struggling yet again this weekend in Cup and I have to think contrary to what some fans think that it's not a lack of talent but because he has very little experience in a COT or on these tracks. This is where being able to test would really benefit a team because Joe Gibbs Racing could have been testing with Logano at tracks where he'll be racing so he's not hitting the track for the first time in a COT during the first practice. Some have written him off already which is ridiculous - his first season might not be very good but after he gains more experience I think he'll start getting things going in the right direction and could end up being successful in Cup.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:23 PM | Comments (1)
Scott Speed on the Pole for the Nationwide Race in a Michael Waltrip Racing car!
The good news for Michael Waltrip Racing continues - after an excellent Cup qualifying effort yesterday, Scott Speed put the #99 car on the pole for the Nationwide race today! What's impressive is that not only is Speed making his first start for MWR in the #99, it's his first-ever start in the Nationwide Series! Pretty good way to start out! In his first start I think it's a little too much to expect that he's going to win from the pole but given that he clearly has a fast car, if he stays out of trouble he should be able to race competitively and finish well.
The results for Speed in Cup haven't been good so far - although he finished 16th in the season-ending race at Homestead last year, in six other races his best finish is 30th, including finishes of 35th and 41st in the first two races this season. So being able to race up front and finish well in the Nationwide Series should give him confidence that he can do well in Cup even if the early results are poor. I'm glad that Red Bull Racing seems to have learned something from where they went wrong with A.J. Allmendinger and entered into the deal with MWR to put Speed in the #99 to get him some much needed experience that will surely benefit him in Cup.
Hope Speed and the #99 team have a great race today!
Posted by silverdsl at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2009
Great Qualifying Results for Michael Waltrip Racing at Las Vegas But...
Michael Waltrip Racing continued to show that they are a much improved organization in 2009 by qualifying three cars in the top fifteen today for Sunday's Cup race at Las Vegas. David Reutimann, who was second fastest in the first practice, qualified fourth, Marcos Ambrose fifth and Michael Waltrip 15th. In addition, Max Papis, whose Germain Racing team gets cars and technical support from MWR, qualified 26th. That MWR had so much success in qualifying, just two years after they struggled to make races, is outstanding. I'm very happy for them!
However, the news from qualifying wasn't all good. Both MWR and Red Bull Racing get their engines from Toyota Racing Development since they don't build their engines themselves and for the second week in a row the teams got a bad batch of engines. David and Marcos, as well as Brian Vickers, Scott Speed and possibly Michael will have to start from the back on Sunday because their teams all have to change engines. Apparently the exact same part that was a problem last weekend at California which caused Vickers to have to change engines and start from the back after winning the pole is the same problem this weekend. Talk about disappointing!
These teams aren't building their own engines, they're completely dependent on TRD to provide engines to them. There are always going to be some engine failures but there shouldn't be the same parts issue two weekends in a row that's going to result in so many engines having to be changed. While I have no idea what the details are about how this happened, I don't think it reflects very well on TRD that this issue wasn't addressed after last weekend. It puts the teams at a real disadvantage because it means that they have to race their way from the back to the front which isn't always easy even when they have good cars as these teams seem to have this weekend. As much as I want Michael to be able to start where he qualified it might be better for the #55 team to be safe than sorry and also change engines so that they don't have to worry about an issue during the race unless they know for sure that there isn't a problem with the part in the engine in their car.
In addition to the engine woes for the teams that get their engines from TRD, there was also an engine failure for another Toyota team - for the second week in a row a pole-sitter will start from the back after an engine change since Kyle Busch lost his engine during practice. The issue with his engine might be totally unrelated since Joe Gibbs Racing builds their own engines but one has to wonder if JGR possibly got some parts from the same source as TRD did.
Even with the engine problems I'm still very happy! Max didn't have any luck last season when it came to trying to qualify for races so I'm really glad that he was able to make the show today! I really like him a lot and I'd like to see him do well even though he's only racing part-time in Cup. But I'm especially excited that MWR qualified two cars in the top five and overall three cars in the top 15! That's awesome! Of course the results on Sunday are more important than how they qualify but assuming there are no other problems I'm optimistic that MWR is going to have a very successful race as well!
Posted by silverdsl at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2009
Some Positive Media Attention for Michael Waltrip
One thing that's been nice recently is that instead of the usual gloomy predictions from the media about how Michael Waltrip Racing is going to fare this season, since they've gotten off to an excellent start there's been a lot of positive comments and optimism about how they might do this season. Yesterday Dave Rodman from nascar.com was on Dave Moody's show on Sirius and I was very pleased to hear during a discussion about which were the most likely drivers who were most likely to drop out of Chase contention as the season went on, Rodman didn't write off Michael Waltrip immediately. In fact, Rodman was very complimentary of Michael and spoke highly of his ability behind the wheel which was very good to hear since many don't think much of Michael as a driver.
Rodman said that a lot of people have probably forgotten how when Michael was with Tony Eury, Jr. at DEI and how during that time (2005) he was competitive everywhere, at every track and almost won at Phoenix. I definitely haven't forgotten 2005! It was awesome to see Michael be able to race up front competitively just about every week. Best of all was that Phoenix race - most believe that Michael can only contend for wins at restrictor plate tracks because all of his wins so far have come on those tracks. But Phoenix is a very different kind of track. I very badly wanted Michael to win that race so that he would be taken more seriously as a driver but unfortunately it wasn't to be.
Rodman said that everyone makes fun of Michael and says he can't drive but that's a crock! It most definitely is a crock - Michael can without question drive! However, since he's left DEI Michael hasn't been able to race as well as he's capable of because the cars he's been given to race haven't been very competitive. But this season might be different - if MWR fields fast cars that Michael can race up front with on a regular basis, with Bootie Barker's help it may very well be 2005 all over again. Michael actually has finished 12th in points twice (1994 and 1995) and in the top fifteen in points six times. While that may not be as impressive as the usual points finish for a Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart, it reflects that Michael is very capable of putting together a good season and that it shouldn't be assumed that he's going to free-fall in the points.
I think some members of the media and a lot of fans forget very easily what Michael and other drivers have done in the past. So because Michael hasn't raced competitively very much the past two or three years most fans don't think he can race up front and contend for wins. Meanwhile the reality is for Michael and every other driver is that they can't race competitively if the cars they are given to race aren't very good. But as Rodman said, MWR has been on an uphill climb the past few years - the cars, and as a result the finishes, have been getting better. This morning, also on Sirius, David Poole said that he had been remiss last season in not doing an article on what an impressive accomplishment it was for MWR that they made 107 of 108 possible races last season as compared to all the races they missed in 2007. That right there should have served notice to some that MWR is making progress and that it should be expected that they will continue to improve this season as well.
Of course it's only two races into the season and anything can happen. Michael may not continue to finish as well as he has to start the season. But at least there's reason to be optimistic that it's possible that he will continue to race competitively and have a much better season than he has in years. I'm happy for Michael that some people besides his fans are taking notice of the potential and hopefully if he continues to have a good season even more people will take notice!
Posted by silverdsl at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2009
Dupont Cutting Back in NASCAR
Dupont is continuing to sponsor Jeff Gordon and the #24 team this season but it's no surprise that like so many other sponsors they've had to reduce their program this season as a result of the economy. What is a little surprising is just how much they've cut back. According to Sports Business Journal instead of hosting 17,000 guests at 37 events like they did in 2008, Dupont is only going to host 2,000 guests via hospitality packages at just six races. That's a huge reduction! Not only will that mean that Dupont has less of a presence at the track but it's also lost revenue for the tracks (and likely other vendors who provide services for hospitality) since Dupont paid $5,000-$10,000 for each hospitality tent, plus often rented a suite. In addition, those 17,000 guests each got race tickets so that's potentially 17,000 less people in the stands (spread out throughout the various different tracks). I would guess that just about every sponsor is also reducing the level of hospitality that they're doing this season as well but I wonder how many of them are reducing it by as much as Dupont is?
What's interesting is that because Dupont used Gordon at these hospitality events and there's only going to be six of them this season, they need to figure out different ways to use him to represent and promote their brand. That's probably a challenge for a lot of sponsors this season. Some fans have been complaining recently that it seems like a lot of drivers aren't making as many appearances as they used to but they don't realize that a lot of driver's appearances are because of their obligations to do so on behalf of their sponsor, but if their sponsor isn't able to spend money on hospitality, signings or other events, the amount of appearances is going to be reduced. That's not the fault of the driver or because they are less fan-friendly but that there's not the money to spend on events that feature the drivers like there was in the past. That's a problem for the sponsors in that these sponsorships are all about creating exposure, brand awareness and selling their product but if they can't spend money on events, it's hard to get that exposure outside of when their car is seen on the track.
Dupont has been Gordon's sponsor since 1993 which is the longest driver-sponsor partnership. Most probably assume that they will continue to sponsor him until he retires. But apparently Dupont's contract with Hendrick Motorsports only goes through 2010 and given how much they've reduced the money they're spending in the sport speculation is that's leading up to them leaving the sport when their current contract expires. Unless Gordon plans on retiring after 2010 and I'm skeptical about that if he continues racing as competitively as he has been, then that would mean that HMS will have to find a replacement sponsor which may not be as easy as some believe. As popular and as successful as Gordon is and as much exposure as a sponsor would get with him, HMS would likely be asking for as much as $25 million from a primary sponsor and in this economy there probably aren't too many companies with that much money laying around.
Some have said that when an organization needs sponsorship and can't find it that it must be their own fault for not being competitive enough. Well, HMS is among the most competitive and successful organizations in the garage area, yet one of their biggest sponsors may walk away. Not a good sign about the state of the sport when it comes to sponsorship if even HMS may have sponsorship woes. I hope that the economy turns around soon and that when it does companies are more inclined to spend money in NASCAR.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2009
This Week in NASCAR on SPEED with Michael Waltrip and Aric Almirola (2/23)
Some observations and thoughts on last night's This Week in NASCAR...
I wasn't sure what to expect when I heard that Aric Almirola was going to be part of the panel on TWiN alongside Michael Waltrip but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Aric was terrific! Although Aric is much younger and has far less Cup experience than Michael, Aric didn't hesitate to give his opinions and he made some good contributions to the discussions. Some who appear on TWiN sometimes seem intimidated by Michael but not Aric - he was personable and charismatic. Aric talked about a new sponsor on last night's TWiN but if he is to race more than a limited schedule this season Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing needs to find additional sponsorship for him - I think there are sponsors who are missing out on a golden opportunity to align themselves with a driver with a lot of personalty and talent who could become a star in the sport in the future.
Of course Michael's fine finish at Fontana was one of the first topics of conversation. He said that he was nervous going into California because they were terrible there last year and the results at California are more indicative of what the results would be for the rest of the season but they passed the test. They sure did! I'm still extremely happy with what I saw not only from the #55 team but from Michael Waltrip Racing as a whole this past weekend and I hope it really is an indication of what we're going to see for the rest of the season from Michael and his teams! Michael joked at one point that he was going to talk to his owner (himself) about his strong performance so far this season and see about getting a bonus!
Steve Byrnes asked Michael and Aric about whether they notice when some cars are fast or whether they're so focused on their own race that they block everything out. According to Michael and Aric they do notice and both agreed that it's like a different world when you're with a team that is fast and races up front all the time as compared to being with a team that struggles which is a position that both of them have found themselves in. Michael said that he's made up so much ground from the world he was in to his new world now but it's still different than the other world of the teams like the #17 or #24, which is a really cool world. Hopefully some day Michael will get to that world with the #17 and #24 teams!
There was some discussion about how everything is so precise and technical with the new cars. One little change and everything can be thrown off. They can change the wedge and air in the same stop but if it's the wrong changes then they have to figure out which thing they changed was wrong. I think that's something that some fans don't really understand. First of all, the changes on the cars have to be very exact and they might be making changes in very small increments. To it's probably very difficult to get things just right. But once changes are made that don't work out it may not be so easy to go back to where they started from or know immediately exactly which of the changes they made aren't the right ones.
Later in the show there was some discussion about cars that are about to be lapped or are already lapped racing the leaders. Aric said that sometimes people don't understand why the drivers race the leaders so hard which is very true - fans are constantly complaining about drivers who race the leaders hard as if those drivers should simply pull over rather than fighting to stay on the lead lap, to be the lucky dog or to not go additional laps down. But as Aric pointed out what happens in that situation can change your whole day whether it's staying on the lead lap or staying in position to be the lucky dog if the caution comes out.
At various times Michael and Aric would mention different facts about the race or things that happened in the past so at one point Steve commented on it and Michael said he took lots of notes. He held up a sheet of paper with a lot of text typed on it so it's obvious that someone definitely did take a lot of notes though it's almost certainly the producers who then handed a sheet of notes to Michael for him to read in preparation for the show. There was also some discussion about their new set and about how there had been some changes to the way the chairs were based on feedback from Michael. However, he still wasn't completely happy - in the past he would get the attention of the other panel members when he had something to say by tapping them on the arm only Aric wasn't close enough so Michael in his own words was "swatting at Aric the whole show."
Being on TWiN is a great way for a driver to showcase their sponsor and Aric was very mindful of that. He talked about how a new sponsor, Tom-Tom, who makes GPS devices is going to be on his car this weekend at Las Vegas. Michael claimed to have never heard of Tom-Tom, saying that he thought Tom-Toms were drums. Later in the show when they were joking around Michael said they would have to head to Las Vegas on Thursday to leave enough time in case they got lost. So Aric said "No Michael that's why you have a Tom-Tom so you don't get lost!" The camera then panned to Michael and the mystified look on his face was hysterical! I have no idea if he really didn't know what a GPS device was used for or whether he was just joking but it was pretty funny!
One of the questions that was submitted by a listener was about the transponders that are on the cars since Michael had a problem with the transponder on his car at Daytona and Ryan Newman had a problem with the one on his car this past weekend. The fan who emailed wondered whether NASCAR would have started the race while Michael and Ryan were getting their transponder issues fixed and Michael said that no, the race wouldn't have started without them. Apparently the transponders belong to NASCAR and are their responsibility and at least in the case of the #55 one being missing was due to an oversight in inspection. I have to admit that when I heard that there was an oversight during inspection I couldn't help but wonder what else might get overlooked if a missing transponder can be.
Overall, I thought it was a really great show! The past couple of years I've not always enjoyed TWiN as much as I did when Alan Bestwick was hosting since the format seemed to get so much more formal after he was replaced. But the panel was pretty relaxed last night and they seemed to be enjoying themselves which makes for a good show. I like seeing Michael be so happy and joke around so much - so often the past few years he's been serious and unhappy even though when he was making an effort not to be due to all the challenges and problems he had to deal with. But things are finally going in the right direction for him and it's wonderful to see!
Posted by silverdsl at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2009
New NAPA Auto Parts Commericals with Michael Waltrip and Ron Capps
One of Michael Waltrip's biggest assets is that he's a terrific spokesperson for NAPA Auto Parts, not just in interviews or at hospitality events at the track, but also in commericals. Every year fans, even those that aren't big fans of Michael, look forward to the new NAPA commericals because they're always creative and humorous. Even I, who doesn't pay much attention to commercials, looks up when the NAPA commericals (of any of the commericals Michael is in) comes on.
The new commericals that debuted during Speedweeks are no different. In the latest commercial Michael and Ron Capps (who just won two NHRA events in a row) are having tea with some fans in their living room while playing some sort of game. Michael and Ron demonstrate their impressive knowledge of auto parts and awe the fans who thought they were doing pretty well. As always, Michael's delivery is perfect. He really is as good of an actor - and comedian - as he is a driver! I'm looking forward to seeing the other commericals in the series and I hope there are a couple of commericals with just Michael!
It's been said by some that NAPA isn't happy with the results on the track the past few years and aren't going to continue their association with Michael past this season if he doesn't finish better on a more consistent basis. So far Michael's results have improved but even if Michael doesn't race up front in every race this season I think they'd be crazy to stop sponsoring him. Yes, results matter and I understand that in this kind of an economy it's hard for a company to justify spending millions of dollars to sponsor a car that isn't up front all the time. However, NAPA will never get the kind of exposure they get with Michael with another driver. Oh, there might be a driver with whom they'd get more TV time during races but there is no other driver who is as gifted when it comes to creating opportunities for his sponsor to get exposure not just at the track but everywhere he goes. And there will most definitely never be another driver who is so good in commericals that even fans who don't like him watch when those commericals come on because he's so funny in them. That really says something that whether fans like Michael or not they pay attention to him.
NAPA will never, no matter how much money they put in, be able to create as close of an association with another driver like they have with Michael - when fans think of Michael they think of NAPA and vice versa. That's rare these days given how often drivers and sponsors switch teams. I think even if they were to become affiliated with another popular driver and put him in their commericals it wouldn't likely be the same due to how much personality Michael has and how good he is in these commericals. Of course that creates a problem for NAPA since eventually even if they stick with Michael past this season one day he's going to retire but hopefully they'll stay with MWR even after Michael is no longer racing to sponsor the next generation at MWR. Then NAPA can continue using Michael in their commericals to sell auto parts for years to come - and he most definitely has sold a lot of auto parts and created a huge amount of brand awareness for them!
The NAPA commericals aren't the only ones that Michael's in this season. As I mentioned in a previous entry he's also in some really great commericals for Aarons, but there's also an extremely funny commercial that Michael's in along with all his fellow Toyota Cup drivers in which some robots go looking to get some autographs for some young fans from the drivers and are very persistent about it. The funniest two parts are when a robot pulls David Reutimann out from under his car, then rejects him because he's not Michael, and then Michael ends up fighting off the robot with a metal rod - the expression on Michael's face is pretty funny and it looks like something out of a comic book!
Really great stuff when it comes to the commericals Michael's in!
Posted by silverdsl at 09:43 AM | Comments (0)
Good Weekend for Michael Waltrip Racing in California!
Although things started off rocky with engine problems with not only the Michael Waltrip Racing cars but their plane as well, the weekend finished very well with Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann finishing in the top 15 in Fontana and Marcos Ambrose finishing 21st. For some teams "only" finishing in the top 15 might be a disappointment but for the MWR teams it's another sign of how many strides they've made in the short time they've been in the Cup Series.
I'm particularly happy that Michael finished 15th! I wasn't sure how he was going to do, one, because the team had to change engines which meant that Michael was going to be starting from the back and two, because he wasn't all that fast in practice. However, much to my delight, Michael was able to race his way from the back into the top 15. Yes, it may come as a surprise to some of the doubters who are thinking that Michael finished in the top 15 because of pit strategy or for some other reason, he did in fact race his way up to the front. Michael's 15th place finish is his best finish at this track since 2005 and is ten spots better than his average finish at Fontana.
Even when Michael went a lap down at one point where in the past that might signal the start of a bad race, there was no panic. Michael simply keep racing as he had been, kept himself in position for the lucky dog and got it on the next caution which put him back on the lead lap where he stayed for the rest of the race. Later in the race there was some concern that his engine was overheating but removing some trash from the grill on a subsequent pit stop eliminated that issue. The communication between Michael and Bootie Barker continues to be excellent. Thus far even when Michael isn't happy he's remained calm and Bootie does a terrific job of handling him even when he's complaining. But the best thing is that Michael was actually able to race. So many times last season the handling on his cars was so bad that he couldn't actually race for position, but rather to just hang on and not wreck. But so far this season it's a much different story - even when the car isn't perfect Michael is able to pass for position. Of course it's only two races into the season but I love looking at the points standings and seeing Michael in 7th!
David finished one spot ahead of Michael in 14th and he also had to come from the back due to an engine change. David had been fast all weekend both in practice and in qualifying so he and his team probably weren't too happy that they had to change engines and start from the back. However, David quickly made his way forward and still ended up being able to race competitively. It's particularly impressive that David was able to finish in the top 15 considering he lost his brakes mid-way through the race which must have made pitting particularly challenging. David is currently 12th in points, and while just like with Michael's it's only two races and things can change a lot over the next few races, it sure is great to see him in the top 15 in points.
Even Marcos had a good day, spending most of the race in the top 20, though he lost a couple of positions at the end of the race and finished 21st. That's still pretty good considering he only has 13 races worth of Cup experience and he finished 32nd in his only other Cup start at California last season. I think a lot of people were expecting Marcos to struggle considering how little Cup experience he has but so far it's looking like he's making the adjustment to Cup pretty well. The season is still young so there may be some tracks he's going to struggle on, particularly if there are any that he's never raced on before, but I have a feeling he's going to have a decent season.
On the Nationwide side Michael also finished 15th and that may have been a little disappointing considering how fast of a car he had. Michael qualified 10th and I really thought he might be able to contend for the win - though no one really had anything for Kyle Busch as it turned out. However, Michael got hit on pit road by Brandon Whitt just as he was entering his pit, which resulted in Michael ending up backwards in his pit. He had the team pit him backwards and then spun around but that put him in 23rd, and if I understand the discussion over his radio during yesterday's race, there might have been a penalty. So he had some ground to make up which might have prevented him from finishing as well as he might have been able to without that incident. Michael had harsh words for Whitt yesterday, saying that he must be "retarded." As much as I hate it when drivers (or anyone) says things like that, I can't say I blame Michael for being upset - that was a pretty big mistake by Brandon.
All last week there were a lot of fans and the media dismissing Daytona, saying that the results there don't matter and how the "real" season starts at California because more tracks are like California than they are Daytona. So I don't think a lot of people thought much of MWR doing well at Daytona. But if California is a better measure of how teams are going to do this season, then MWR might end up having a very solid season. It's still only two races into the season but I think it's an extremely good sign that the finishes have been very good and the cars have been fairly fast and competitive at two different kinds of tracks. It was especially good to see MWR race well yesterday since they've struggled at tracks like that in the past and I'm hoping that it's an indication that they've made progress on getting a handle on those kinds of tracks. I know that there are still going to be bad races and tracks that the MWR teams struggle on but after the past two weekends I feel very optimistic about how MWR is going to do this season!
Posted by silverdsl at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2009
Michael Waltrip Racing Plane Experiences Engine Problems, Lands Safely in Las Vegas
Probably some very nervous moments those aboard Michael Waltrip Racing's plane that was headed out to California for the races this weekend when the pilot had to shut an engine down and the flight was diverted to Las Vegas. Michael wasn't on the plane since he was already in California but 48 other people were. Thankfully the plane landed safely without incident and there were no injuries but it's still kind of upsetting to hear about an incident like this.
I wonder how they got everyone from Las Vegas to California and whether the plane will be repaired in time for them to use it to get everyone back from California to North Carolina at the end of the weekend?
Update: Michael commented on this incident today at the track and gave some additional details. Apparently the engine lost oil pressure which is why the pilot shut it down. Everyone got to California from Las Vegas via a bus and they believe that the plane will be fixed in time to go to California on Saturday and fly them back home to North Carolina.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
Mayfield Motorsports Team Member Suspended Indefinitely for Violating the Substance Abuse Policy
Paul Chodora, a crew member from Mayfield Motorsports, has been suspended indefinitely for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy, which likely means that he tested positive for something when he was administered a drug test. Jeremy Mayfield said,
“Mayfield Motorsports respects the decision by NASCAR to indefinitely suspend Paul Chodora. We as an organization appreciate NASCAR's drug testing policies and policing efforts as it makes the sport stronger overall. If Paul doesn’t comply with NASCAR’s reinstatement process, then he will no longer be an employee of Mayfield Motorsports.”
Of course Chodora was just recently hired since Mayfield only assembled his team a couple of weeks before heading to Daytona. He previously worked for Haas-CNC Racing and was one of those laid off at the end of last season - pretty unbelievable that he got another opportunity, something that isn't easy these days given how few teams are hiring, and almost immediately threw it away by taking something that resulted in a positive test.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
Alex Rodriguez's Story Continues to Fall Apart; Daily News Connects Him to Banned Trainer
During Alex Rodriguez's press conference on Tuesday he claimed that his cousin was able to walk into a pharmacy in the Domincian Republic and legally buy "boli" which turned out to be Primobolan, a steroid he later tested positive for along with testosterone, over-the-counter, legally without a prescription. Unfortunately for A-Rod, according to officials in the Dominican Republic that can't be true because Primobolan has never been available legally, by perscription or not in pharmacies. Dr. Pia Veras who is in change of the agency that regulated pharmaceutical drugs in the Dominican Republic said,
"What Alex Rodriguez stated at the press conference [in Tampa] doesn't make sense. It is important for us to clarify that such substance has not been registered and is not currently registered for legal sale in Dominican pharmacies -- not now and the same applies for the years 2001 to 2003."
However, the drug is apparently available on the black market in the Dominican Republic so if the cousin did in fact go to that country to get "boli" for A-Rod he likely did so illegally on the black market. Which should have been a further clue to A-Rod - if one believes that he didn't know what he was doing - that what he was injecting into his ass was wrong and might get him into trouble one day.
Potentially even worse news is that the Daily News is reporting that four sources have confirmed to them that A-Rod has a long-time relationship with Angel Presinal, a trainer who has been banned by MLB from every team's stadium since 2001 when he was caught with a gym bag of steroids (that he claimed belonged to Juan Gonzalez). According to the article, A-Rod has been close with this trainer, even though he was warned to stay away from him, since he was a member of the Texas Rangers and had him traveling with him on the road while he was a Yankee as recently as 2007, though he avoided being seen with him in public. Supposedly A-Rod continued to have contact with him in 2008 as well in both New York and Miami. It's certainly possible that A-Rod was only working out or getting advice from Presinal, but I think it looks terrible for A-Rod that he's been connected to someone who was banned by MLB because of his involvement with steroids. At the very least it's yet another sign that A-Rod has extremely poor decision-making skills and I think it also opens the door to speculation that perhaps A-Rod isn't on the level when he says that he hasn't used performance enhancers as a Yankee.
All of this should be expected. A-Rod never should have given specifics about how his cousin supposedly got the steroids for him because it opens the door for the media, MLB or even the feds to do some investigating. And it's not a surprise that it appears that there are major holes in A-Rod's story. Someone on NYYFans.com said that if any evidence surfaces that A-Rod used performance enhancers while he was a Yankee surfaces he (A-Rod) is done and I agree. Unfortunately the news about Presinal may open the door to exactly that happening so things may get worse for A-Rod - and the Yankees - before they get better.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2009
Not Impressed With Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez held his much anticipated press conference on Tuesday and as I said in an opinion piece I wrote for NYYFans.com, I thought it was pretty disappointing because instead of taking steps towards putting everything behind him, A-Rod only fanned the flames. In fact, I thought the press conference was pretty much a disaster and that was pretty surprising considering that A-Rod had hired a team of advisers, including some who specialized in public relations and damage control to weather this storm. Many of A-Rod's answers to reporters questions were evasive and contradictory, and admitting to "misunderstanding the facts," aka, fabricating a story about Selena Roberts breaking into his house made me wonder just exactly what else A-Rod might be "misunderstanding" or making up all together. I found it very hard to believe much of what he said.
ESPN.com is reporting that they've found out who A-Rod's mystery cousin is and it's 46-year old Yuri Sucart which makes A-Rod trying to excuse it all away by blaming youthful naivety to be even more ridiculous than when he said it on Tuesday given that Sucart was in his late 30's when he was injecting A-Rod, hardly a kid. In addition, on Tuesday A-Rod claimed that his cousin convinced him to try "boli" but Sucart is portrayed by ESPN as a "mule" who only did what he was told by A-Rod which begs the question as to whether it was actually A-Rod who asked Sucart to get some sort of performance enhancers for him. It will be very interesting if Sucart speaks publically what he says and whether his story holds up any better than A-Rod's.
Members of the media have brought up numerous questions that still need to be answered even after A-Rod's press conference and they aren't the only ones looking for answers. MLB's investigators would also like to speak with A-Rod as to whether his cousin had access to the Texas Rangers clubhouse and whether he or A-Rod provided any other players with performance enhancers. While A-Rod can't be punished for his use of performance enhancers in the past, he could be penalized for giving performance enhancers to others so I hope that never happened. Some are already saying that A-Rod should refuse to speak with MLB and I couldn't disagree with that more. For his own good A-Rod needs to cooperate because any failure to do so will make him look like he has something to hide. In addition, while MLB turned a blind eye to the performance enhancers problem in the past, if there is any hope of them making up for past mistakes and addressing it now, they need to get as much information as possible about the use of performance enhancers in the past and present.
Experts in the field of anti-doping also have a few questions such as just exactly what is "boli?" According to ESPN.com those in the field including the leading expert, Dr. Don Catlin, have never heard of it. There are additional questions about how taking "boli" produced a positive test for both Primobolan and testosterone since according to Catlin it's unlikely that one injected substance would cause a positive test for both, though he acknowledged that it could have been tainted. That opens the door to even more questions such as whether "boli" is even what A-Rod used or whether that was a "misunderstanding of the facts" like the Selena Roberts story.
Something tells me that what's been revealed so far about A-Rod and his use of performance enhancers thus far only scratches the surface.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:07 AM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2009
No Short Fields at California
One thing that all the negative-nellies and doom and gloomers harped on during the off-season was how short the fields were going to be for the races at California. The predictions were particular dire for the Truck Series with some saying that less than 20 trucks might be entered for the race. But as it turns out all three series are going to have full fields. The Cup Series has 47 cars entered, the Nationwide Series 46, and the Truck Series 36. Of course some of the teams in all three series may be start and park teams or ones that aren't likely to race competitively even if they do race the full race but things definitely aren't looking as bleak as many thought they would after Daytona. Some of these teams may stop showing up to races if they don't have much success or run out of money but just as quite a few new teams formed during the off-season, some other teams may take their place.
Or there could end up being short fields at some tracks as the season goes on. But so what? There's been short fields on occasion in the Truck Series for years, why should it be any different this season? I don't recall any race being effected by there being a few less trucks. Whether there's a short field or not the races will go on in Cup, Nationwide and Trucks just as they always have. That may come as a disappointment to some who were not only predicting that the Truck Series and maybe NASCAR itself might fold before the end of the season but seemed to be hoping for it.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)
This Week in NASCAR with Michael Waltrip and Greg Biffle (2/16)
Last year I had a lot of fun doing weekly recaps of "Michael Waltrip Out Loud" on XM but unfortunately for me and the many other fans of the show, it won't be back along with the other driver's shows, a victim of the poor economy. But luckily Michael will still be appearing weekly on "This Week in NASCAR" on SPEED. Michael isn't able to give as many of his opinions in as detailed of a way as he did on Outloud and Tony Rizzuti isn't around to ask questions to draw out some of those interesting opinions, but it's still an opportunity to hear what Michael thinks about each race and the news of the week in the sport. So this season I'm going to do more commentary on TWiN than I have in the past, not a full recap by any means since then I'd pretty much just be recapping what happened in each race, but just whatever Michael (or the other panel members) say that interests me.
As I discussed in a previous entry one thing that always bugs me is when fans stay that rain-shortened wins aren't "real" wins. Michael had a great point last night on TWiN about this. He said that rain-shortened races are actually some of the hardest to win because you have to know exactly when to be in front when the race is called. That's very true - for a while it looked like Elliott Sadler was going to be this year's Daytona 500 winner but the rain didn't move in fast enough for the race to be called while he was leading and he lost the lead shortly afterwards which opened the door for Matt Kenseth to eventually take the lead. Whenever rain is in the forecast the teams have to use strategy not just in terms of how to put themselves in a position to be leading when the race is called but to hold whatever their current position is in general if they're up front or how to advance in what may be very few laps to gain as many positions as possible before the race is called. Although some fans don't like it, strategy has always been a part of racing and to me, as much as I'd like to see a race run it's full length and be decided based on some great racing, it adds an extra element of excitement to see which teams make the best decisions.
I was particularly interested to hear what Michael and Greg Biffle would have to say about the incident between Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. However, they didn't seem to spend much time on it, maybe because they and their producers were afraid of setting off a big controversy given how hotly debated that topic is among fans. One thing that Michael said is that while he didn't think that Junior intended on wrecking half the field, maybe he was thinking that he wanted to get Brian out of sorts. So basically Michael was saying that there was some intent on Junior's part rather than it being just a mistake - I'm sure there are some Junior fans who weren't happy to hear Michael say that but he may be right. After all, Junior and Brian were racing and Junior probably didn't appreciate getting blocked. But no driver sets out to start "The Big One" so it's more likely that if there was any intent there, as Michael said, it was just to send Brian a message and maybe move him out of the way.
I couldn't help but be reminded as Michael was talking about that incident is that in a way Michael has been in Brian's shoes. The circumstances were different but at Charlotte in 2005, Michael got put in the wall by Junior who was at that time his teammate. Although I don't think Junior's intent was to plant Michael into the wall, I do think it was possible he let some frustration get the best of him, which may be what happened on Sunday as well. Of course Junior wouldn't be alone when it comes to a driver letting their emotions gets the best of them. It's happened many times in the past and it'll happen many times in the future. However, Junior can't let this one incident dictate his season. He needs to learn from the mistakes he might have made on Sunday and avoid making them again to ensure that he's a part of the hunt for the Championship at the end of the season.
Another interesting comment that Michael made was in reference to an incident that a lot of people probably didn't even notice or think much of. At one point Michael had pulled out of line at the same time Clint Bowyer did and Clint got into him a little. I'm not really sure exactly what was going on there but Michael went to the back after that by design so it may just be that Michael took Clint by surprise in that Clint didn't expect him to get out of line and slow up. However, Michael said on TWiN that his "buddy" decided to run him over and that he'll be keeping a tab on that. Although it's been said multiple times that Michael and Clint have made up after Clint's "worst driver" comment about Michael from last season, I've been skeptical and even more so after Michael admitted recently how much that comment hurt him. I get the feeling that one day when Clint needs Michael to give a little or otherwise needs a favor it's not going to happen.
One thing about Michael that he never gets enough credit for is how many good ideas he has such as when he advocated for having all the go-or-go-homers qualify together. Last night he had two of them. One was something he's talked about before how he thinks there should be a TV show just about what's said by the drivers and their teams over their radios during the races. I agree that it could definitely make for an interesting show, though some drivers may not be too happy about having extra attention brought to some of what they say since so many things are said in the heat of the moment. But I think it would definitely add some extra insight into what happens with particular teams and with the races themselves. Michael used the example of how Tony Stewart said over his radio that he was tired of seeing Sam's Club which was a reference to him being tired of seeing Kyle Busch in front of him since Sam's Club was on the back of Kyle's car, and how no one would know about that unless they were listening to Tony's radio or the clip was played somewhere. Maybe Michael could even host the show as I think it would be useful for their to be a driver or crew chief on the show to explain what the driver and his crew chief were talking about.
Michael's other idea was that he thinks NASCAR should allow the drivers to use tinted tear offs on their front windshields. Apparently NASCAR wouldn't let them use them because of visibility concerns but Michael said that there are visibility issues anyway with the COTs. Either Greg or Michael said that it would cut down on incidents that were caused by the setting sun at tracks like the one they'll be racing at this weekend (California). Some drivers use tinted shields on their helmets but I've never really understood why NASCAR won't let them use tinted tear-offs since it seems like there are times when the drivers are racing blind as they go into certain corners when the angle of the setting sun is a certain way which seems like a safety issue.
I'm admittedly not a fan of California Speedway where they'll be racing this weekend - that they have to promote the track by using footage of wrecks as opposed to showing exciting racing says a lot to me - but hopefully Michael and the rest of the panel will have a lot to talk about next week as well!
Posted by silverdsl at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2009
Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (2/16)
*I'm still thrilled today about Michael Waltrip finishing in the top ten yesterday! I had realized that all three of Michael Waltrip Racing's cars finished in the top 20 but I also didn't realize that they were also the top finishing Toyotas .In addition, as someone on Michael's fan forum on his site pointed out, when you add Terry Labonte into the mix since he was racing one of David Reutimann's old cars from last season via Prism Motorsports's technical alliance with MWR, the organization actually had four cars they built in the top 25. That's really outstanding in comparison to where they were last year at this time and especially in comparison to where they were two years ago!
*A significant amount of fans are upset today about a lot of things in relation to the Daytona 500 but one of the biggest complaints is that NASCAR decided to call the rain so quickly. I'm in the minority because I don't have a problem with their decision at all. Reportedly it was still raining at Daytona at 10 p.m. and since the track needs three hours to dry, if it stopped raining then the race still wouldn't have gotten re-started until 1 a.m. Seems to me making people stay at the track in on-and-off rain with no guarantee that the race would get re-started and finish wasn't a very good scenario either. It's unfortunate when one of NASCAR's biggest races doesn't go the full distance but the weather is completely out of NASCAR's control.
*Another thing that a lot of fans are harping on is that Matt Kenseth didn't really deserve his Daytona 500 win because it came via a rainout. It's become popular to tear apart just about every win and show why it's not a "real" win, but it always happens with rainout wins that some believe the driver who wins those races doesn't really deserve that win. Well, Kenseth raced his way up front and put himself in position to be in the lead when the race was called. If he raced his way to first, just exactly what was undeserved about his win? Had the race gone the full distance the outcome might still have been the same. Kenseth was up-front when it counted and he and his team deserve to be congratulated.
*It was nice to see Kenseth get emotional when he was interviewed about winning. Sometimes it seems like some drivers have become so accustomed to winning that it's old hat to them and they don't get too emotional - or in some case excited - about it. So it was nice to see how much winning the Daytona 500 meant to him.
*I hope that Richard Petty Motorsports is able to find a sponsor for A.J. Allmendinger so he can race the entire season. Allmendinger finished 3rd and continued to look like a driver who could have major success in Cup if he gets the opportunity to show what he can do in a competitive car on a full-time basis. RPM had three cars in the top ten and for a while it even looked like Elliott Sadler was going to win. Pretty good for an organization that went through so much turmoil in the off-season.
*It should be noted that there were six single car teams that finished in the top 25, with Marcos Ambrose finishing the best in 17th, though in all fairness the #47 is pretty much the third MWR team. Of course a couple of those teams like the #47 get technical help from larger organizations but for the most part these are small teams with much less resources, financially and otherwise, in comparison to the multi-car teams. They may have benefited from other cars getting wrecked but it's good to see these teams be able to avoid trouble of their own and finish well. It's particularly good to see Terry Labonte finish in the top 25 considering there was so much doubt as to whether this team was going to race the entire race. I have no doubt that Prism will start and park some races this season if they don't have sponsorship for those races but it appears they could end up with some decent finishes if they actually race full races.
*Speaking of single car teams, one that didn't do well yesterday was Robby Gordon. Hopes were high among Robby's fans about the Daytona 500 since Robby has done well recently in restrictor plate races. But that wasn't the case yesterday due to mechanical issues. It's just one race so Robby might go on to finish up front in California but yesterday seemed to be a continuation of the way last season went for Robby where there was always some issue to ruin races for him. At some point Robby is going to have to start racing up front more otherwise he may eventually find himself in the situation that Michael Waltrip is where his sponsors say they want to see better results. Being affiliated with Toyota will probably help Robby this season but I think his refusal to align himself with a larger team is a mistake as the technical support would probably benefit his team.
*I'm about the only fan who doesn't have a problem with Junior not being penalized for the incident with Brian Vickers. To me it was just a racing deal caused by Junior making a (very big) mistake, rather than him intentionally trying to wreck Vickers. I also don't see much comparison between what happened yesterday and what happened with Jason Leffler in the Nationwide race on Saturday. For one thing it's two different series with two different set of officials, but the circumstances in which things played out seemed to be a lot different to me.
*Kyle Busch got ripped by fans for many reasons last season including that they felt he often came off as obnoxious, rude and self-centered but I thought he's carried himself with maturity during Speedweeks. He hasn't mouthed off including when he was surrounded by the media after he got wrecked in yesterday's race and he had to be furious after that considering he had led 88 laps to that point and had a good chance of winning the race. In addition, he tried to help his young teammate Joey Logano, who had a tough Speedweeks, even getting in Joey's car during one practice to shake it down for him. I hope this Kyle Busch is present all season because it may win over some fans.
*Todd Bodine won Friday night's truck race even after starting "The Big One" earlier in the race. Bodine still doesn't have a primary sponsor which is amazing to me since any sponsor associated with him is going to get exposure since he races up front and wins. I hope Germain Racing is able to field this truck for the entire season so Bodine can make another run at the Championship.
*I can't help but notice that in spite of all the talk about how Nationwide regulars were going to have a greater chance at finishing up front this season because there are so few Cup drivers racing the full Nationwide Series that only one Nationwide regular finished in the top ten in Saturday's race. In fact in the top 15 while there are three Nationwide only drivers, the only one that has limited Cup experience is Jason Keller since even Brendan Gaughan and Michael McDowell spend some time in the Cup Series in the past.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2009
Photo of the Day - Great Falls
Great Falls, Paterson, NJ, 2009.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Has a Very Bad Daytona 500
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is a perennial favorite to win the Daytona 500 but today's race brought disaster instead of triumph and it was mostly Junior's own doing. Things started off badly with Junior missing his pit box during an early pit stop which caused him to have to come to pit road for a second time. A mistake, but one that could have been overcome. But on a subsequent pit stop Junior pitted outside his box and was penalized by being held in his pit for a lap. Not good but again he could have overcome it by putting himself in position for the lucky dog. But his next mistake was his biggest and costliest - while racing with Brian Vickers to put himself in a position to get his lap back, Brian blocked him and instead of letting up Junior got into him which resulted in "The Big One" which collected some of most competitive cars on the track including that of Kyle Busch who had led 88 laps.
What really bothers me isn't that Junior caused the wreck - every driver makes mistakes - it's his attitude afterward. Junior defiantly refused to take any responsibility what-so-ever for the wreck and then made excuse after excuse in a post-race interview not only for the wreck but for his prior pit road miscues. Junior actually had the audacity to tell his crew over his radio that he should relay a message to Brian's team that he would meet up with Brian after the race so he could kick his ass. Laughable. Junior's going to beat on Brian for a wreck he had a major part in causing? Junior should consider himself lucky if some of the drivers caught in that mess didn't come looking for him to whip his ass! It was also utterly ridiculous for Junior to start talking about how all the pit road signs look the same and how maybe NASCAR needs to re-evaluate the rules regarding drivers pitting out of their box. Maybe there were other factors that played into what happened but Junior is the only one behind the wheel of his car and though he doesn't seem to realize it his decision-making needs to be better.
Reportedly Junior's been sick with the flu all week and I can't help but wonder whether his illness might have been a distraction to him. Drivers race when they're ill and injured all the time and when it comes to the Dayona 500 a driver would practically have to be on their death bed to step out of their car. And maybe things would have played out exactly the same even if Junior had been 100% healthy. Still, I can't help but wonder if being sick with the flu might have made Junior a little less sharp than he normally was - not that he'd ever admit to that.
Although Junior is NASCAR's most popular driver he's never won a Championship. One race isn't enough to say for sure how his season is going to go. But the driver who wins the Championship is going to be the one who not only races the best this season but also the one who minimizes the mistakes they make. Junior can't have races like this if he wants to win a Championship.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)
Michael Waltrip Finishes 7th in Rain-Shortened Daytona 500
What a great way for Michael Waltrip and the #55 team to start off the season with a 7th place finish in the Daytona 500!! Had the race gotten re-started Michael would likely have been contending for the win at the end as he was just positioning himself for a run up front when the last caution flag flew but I'm not in any way disappointed with 7th! Due to bad luck and non-competitive cars this is Michael's best finish at Daytona since his last Daytona 500 win in 2003! I'm so happy for him! It was a terrific day overall for Michael Waltrip Racing - David Reutimann finished 12th and Marcos Ambrose finished 17th so all three cars finished in the top 20! Awesome!
I'm also very happy with what I heard over the radio today - Michael and Bootie Barker are working extremely well together and the communication is the best I've heard between Michael and one of his crew chiefs since Tony Eury, Jr. in 2005. Of course it's only one race but if they can continue to work so well together and the cars continue to be competitive, then Michael is going to have one of his best seasons in quite some time. What I loved hearing was that other than some complaints about his car not having as much power as he would like, Michael was very happy with the car. He complimented Bootie and the team for giving him a good car and for the changes they made to the chassis. That's a big difference from the past few years when Michael would complain about everything and instead of racing for position would often be racing to not wreck. I feel so optimistic about this season after today!
I love the fact that right from the start all the MWR teams have put themselves in a very good position in terms of the top 35! Again, it's just the first race and anything can happen over the next few but all three teams finishing in the top 20 gives them a good cushion in case they run into trouble over the next few races. The progress that MWR has made since the start of last season - and especially since 2007 - is something for them to be very proud of!!
Posted by silverdsl at 06:54 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2009
Less East Series Coverage on Eastseries.com in 2009
Good news for Alan and Katie Claffie who run eastseries.com in that they've found a new passion that takes a lot of their time, but bad news for fans of the Camping World East Series like myself that the Claffie's will be dramatically reducing the amount of East Series races they cover extensively in 2009 to possibly as few as only four races. Although they will still post press releases and race results for every race, the coverage they provided on their site when they were at a race in person was outstanding from reporting items of interest from the garage area to posting photos to coverage of qualifying and a lap-by-lap recap of every race.
I hope that another site will opt to provide coverage for those races that the Claffie's won't be attending but I suspect that might not happen. As Alan Claffie notes in his article there have been changes to the series and he's not the only one who doesn't feel the same sense of fun about the series these days. In addition, there are far fewer fans of the East Series than there are for the Truck, Nationwide or Cup Series so the feeling may be that it's not worth putting the effort in if there aren't going to be that many people who are interested.
This is pretty bad news for the series. Not only is the best source for information about the East Series dramatically reducing their coverage, but it's been said that HDNet, who broadcast most of the races last season, may opt not to carry the races this year. So unless SPEED decides to broadcast the races, which I have a feeling they won't, there may be very little exposure for this series at a time when the East Series, like every other series, needs it the most to attract sponsors and draw fans.
In my case it's going to make it even harder to follow Steve Park. It was extremely difficult last year since I don't have HDNet and I didn't go to any races so I was very dependent on eastseries.com. Of course as much as Steve will always have a special place in my heart because he was my first favorite driver so I'll always cheer him on and wish him well, some of the passion I once felt for Steve is gone. So while it's frustrating, I'm not as bothered about not being able to follow closely what Steve's doing in the East Series as I might have been in the past. I am concerned about what the future of the East Series might be though but maybe things will work out with HDNet or another network opting to broadcast the races.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)
Tony Stewart Rips Goodyear Again
During the final practice for tomorrow's Daytona 500 disaster struck for Stewart-Haas Racing when Ryan Newman experienced a blown tire which led to Tony Stewart running into him. Now both drivers will have to go to back-ups and start from the back of the field. For Newman it was his third wrecked race car of Speedweeks. After the incident Stewart had harsh words for Goodyear, who he's been extremely critical of in the past. He said,
“Same thing everybody’s been talking about all week, same stuff we always talk about every year – the failures that Goodyear has,” an angry. I think that’s part of their marketing campaign – the more we talk about it, the more press they get. But I think they forget it’s supposed to be in a good way, not a bad way.”
I completely understand Stewart's frustration, not just as a driver whose primary car got wrecked, but also as an owner who has had a total of four race cars wrecked so far this week. Given that there has been some concern about tires this week it's also not out of line for him to question what's going on with the tires. But as is often the case with Stewart, I think his comments cross the line from speaking his mind forcefully into bashing one of NASCAR's partners. Especially since according to the article, the evidence points to Newman's tire being caused by a puncture.
What I find particularly troubling about Stewart's comments is that he's basically accusing Goodyear of deliberately making bad tires and knowingly bringing them to the track to cause tire-related incidents as a way to get attention for their brand. Ridiculous. There is no way that Goodyear would deliberately put competitors at risk and especially not when safety is so important for to the livelihood of their company since consumers aren't going to buy tires they think aren't safe.
Stewart isn't just a driver, he's also an owner now and I think that brings with it added responsibility. How does it look to his employees that his way of responding to a bad situation is to angrily rip into Goodyear to the media? How does it look to anyone? I'm sure some fans will celebrate Stewart because the trend more and more seems to be towards excessive negativity and bashing but I don't think he comes off too well. An owner needs to be a problem solver but Stewart is only adding fuel to the fire. Does he think Goodyear is going to be willing to listen to any of his concerns after he makes comments like that? Maybe a better way of getting his message across and not have it dismissed would be to state his opinion strongly to the media without being insulting and then try to speak with them privately - I doubt they'll be open to meeting with him now.
I wouldn't at all be surprised if NASCAR were to call Stewart in for a chat, though they may be afraid of angering fans if it's perceived that they're trying to silence him. But I think they're well within their rights to tell Stewart to put a sock in it, not just because his comments are out-of-line, but also for his own good.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2009
Michael Waltrip Deserves More Respect
Great commentary by Tommy Thompson on frontstretch.com titled "Michael Waltrip: Due Respect" in which he touched on something that I've complained about over and over again in this space - the lack of respect that Michael Waltrip gets. Tommy wrote that even if one disagrees with Michael, by virtue of the fact that he's an owner, driver and a 25-year veteran of the sport Michael deserves some respect for his opinions, even if one doesn't agree with them. This commentary was prompted by some posts on scenedaily.com from fans reacting to some comments Michael made regarding NASCAR's decision to eliminate testing. Though Tommy doesn't agree with all of what Michael said either, he explains his own opinions in the commentary in a well-thought out way and still leaves room for why Michael could also be right. If only there were more people who were like Tommy.
The same comment that got Tommy's attention, "who cares what Michael Waltrip thinks" would surely have gotten my attention to. I find it incredibly frustrating how quickly a lot of fans dismiss Michael's opinions (and that of many other drivers) because Michael is saying things they don't agree with or because they just don't like Michael. Meanwhile, as Tommy points out, Michael has been instrumental over the years in advocating for important changes in the Cup Series such as the change in qualifying so that all the go-or-go-homers qualify together. In addition, Michael was a champion for the roof hatch that was briefly used as a safety measure and on his XM show Michael said that he went to Bill France many years ago with his concerns about how larger drivers were going to be squeezed out of the sport which led to rules in which weights were added to the cars to compensate for differences in driver's weight.
Because Michael is quick with a joke and often pokes fun at himself, a lot of fans don't take him very seriously when in fact Michael is intelligent, creative, passionate about racing, committed to making Michael Waltrip Racing a success. Too bad some have their minds made up that he had nothing worthwhile to say because he has many interesting opinions whether one agrees with him or not. One of the reasons that I miss "Michael Waltrip Out Loud" so much is because Michael would give his opinions at length on what was happening in the sport and it often caused me to look at situations in a way that I hadn't considered before.
One bone of contention for many fans is that Michael often agrees with or defends NASCAR. I don't have a problem with that. For one thing Michael is being consistent with his stated belief that the leadership of the sport knows what they're doing. Michael is entitled to have any opinions that he wants to have, even if those are opinions that fans disagree with or don't want to hear. In addition, I think it's important that there's someone who is willing to speak up on behalf of NASCAR and explain why their decisions might be sound ones - it's good to hear viewpoints from all sides. It gets really tiresome to only hear why NASCAR is in the wrong or why they should be doing things differently.
With all of that in mind this morning I read a comment by Michael that I partially agree with and partially disagree with. Michael said in reference to how there's going to be more start and park teams,
"That isn't a bad thing at all. All you need is enough people for Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. and Jeff Gordon to pass, and everybody will be happy."
In the past Michael has said more on that particular topic so I know that's not the totality of what he thinks - he believes that all these new teams are a good thing, that it presents an opportunity for teams to get involved in the sport. I agree with him on that, and while I don't really care for the practice of starting and parking, I also realize that it's a way for teams to make money which they could use to generate the funding to run full races in the future. I also agree with Michael that as long as the big-name drivers in the sport have enough cars to race against a lot of people - fans - will be happy. In fact there are a lot of fans who probably don't even notice what the tiny teams are doing.
However, I also disagree with Michael a little in that not everyone is a fan of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or the other top drivers even though it might seem that way sometimes. I think one reason there's been a decline in some fan's interest in the sport is that they feel that it's hard to follow what their favorite drivers is doing because often the focus is almost exclusively on a handful of drivers. The response is always that those drivers should, as Michael puts it, make themselves part of the story of the race, but I don't think it's that simple. Sometimes drivers don't get much attention when they race up front or even when there's something going on with their team that's worthy of getting coverage. Every single driver in the field has fans and I think that more effort needs to be made to be sure that a wider variety of drivers get some coverage during race broadcasts and in general.
In addition, the past few years a number of popular veteran drivers have retired and instead of finding another driver to cheer for those fans have opted to not follow the sport anymore. Some of the negativity that's directed towards some of the younger drivers in the sport seems to be rooted in resentment that those drivers are taking the place of older, veteran drivers even though the reality is that no driver can race forever. One of the challenges that exists is how to keep those fans interested in the sport even if their favorite driver is no longer racing. It worries me in relation to Michael because he may retire within the next few years and contrary to what some believe he has a huge fanbase - what happens to his fans? It's important for those fans to continue to support Michael Waltrip Racing even if Michael isn't an active Cup driver. Hopefully Michael's fans will cheer for the drivers who race for him but while everyone likes David Reutimann and other drivers who have raced for MWR, the same passion doesn't seem to be there as it is for them when it comes to Michael. So I think MWR is going to have to sell Michael's fans on his drivers and find ways to ensure that they stick around after Michael retires.
But whether I agree with Michael, disagree with him, or in this case both agree and disagree with him, I always have have nothing but the utmost respect for Michael.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2009
Top Fifteens for the Michael Waltrip Racing Drivers in the Gatorade Duels
There were some feel-good stories from today's Gatorade Duels but I think the Michael Waltrip Racing drivers are probably a little disappointed even though all of them finished in the top 15 in their respective Duel. There were some nervous moments for Michael Waltrip and his team at the start of the first Duel when NASCAR told them that they had to put another transponder on the car so it could be scored. Although I suspect anything less than a trip to Victory Lane at Daytona is a disappointment for Michael since he's had so much success at this track, I think he had a decent race considering he was in a back-up that he hadn't turned any laps in due to the practice wreck the day before. Michael was able to spend some time in the top ten which was good to see but ultimately he didn't feel the car was the way it needed to be to really race up front like he wanted. He ended up finishing 15th and since there are two more practices between now and Sunday, hopefully Bootie Barker will be able to make some adjustments to give Michael a car that he can contend for another Daytona 500 win with! Marcos Ambrose, a MWR driver by way of their association with JTG-Daugherty Racing was also in this duel and quietly he finished 13th so it appears Marcos can hold his own racing a COT on a restrictor plate track, something he had previously expressed some uncertainty about.
David Reutimann is surely the most disappointed of the MWR drivers and he also had amends to make with one of his fellow competitors. At the start of the race David was racing in the top five and I was beginning to wonder if he had a chance to win. But during the first pit stop he lost quite a few positions and then disaster struck - http://www.scottriggs.com>Ryan Newman moved down while trying to avoid a much slower car and instead of just letting him in for some reason David though it would be a good idea to try to bump draft him. Instead of helping Ryan, it send him hard into the wall and the defending Daytona 500 champion was left with a wrecked race car. He was clearly livid with David and gestured at him when he drove by and later took a dig at David, saying that he was racing over his head. Based on his comments after the race David clearly felt horrible since he thought he was going to help Ryan and I'm sure he'll apologize profusely to him - if Ryan is willing to hear him out. I admit I was pretty surprised to see David give Ryan a shot like that as the timing didn't seem right but every driver makes mistakes from time to time.
The real story of the Duels was the drivers who raced their way in - Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield and A.J. Allmendinger. I think a lot of people figured that A.J. would make it in but most weren't too sure how well Scott and Jeremy would do considering both were racing for brand-new teams that don't have a lot of funding, personnel or resources. Racing for Tommy Baldwin Motorsports, Scott did a terrific job of putting himself in position to make the race and staying there. Really outstanding work for a driver who was cast-off at the end of last season when Tony Stewart became an owner of Haas-CNC Racing. If Scott was outstanding, Jeremy was even more impressive. His team, which he not only races for but also is one of the owners of, was only assembled just a few weeks ago and is entirely made up of people who were laid off from other teams this off-season. If the odds seemed long for Jeremy to race his way in they looked even worse when his jackman was run over on pit road while helping another team in the first duel. But thanks to a great call by his crew chief, Tony Furr, to take only two tires on a late pit stop which helped give him track position, Jeremy did it - awesome job by Jeremy and his entire team! Regan Smith became a happy man before he even took to the track for the second duel - he found out he was locked in based on the way other go-or-go-homers had finished.
As for the winners of each duel, it was great to see Jeff Gordon win the first Duel and show some of the doubters that he's not done yet. I think Jeff is likely to have a pretty good season in 2009 and I'm looking forward to seeing him win some points races. Terrific way for the #24 team to start the season. Kyle Busch won the second duel much to the chagrin of the many fans who can't stand him. I'm not a fan of Kyle's but I admit I'm amused every time he wins because the reaction of many fans is so extreme. Kyle definitely showed today that he's picking up right where he left off last season.
Other than that the MWR teams didn't finish as well as I hoped they would, I enjoyed watching the Duels. I thought the racing was pretty good and it was exciting to see which drivers would be able to race their way in. Hopefully the races this weekend will be just as good!
Posted by silverdsl at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
TV Ratings Down for Both the Shootout and Daytona 500 Qualifying
I don't like giving in to the doom and gloom that seems pervasive in NASCAR these days among many fans and some in the media but when I read that TV ratings were down for both the Bud Shootout and Daytona 500 Qualifying this past weekend by what to me seems to be a significant amount, it's troubling. The Shootout was down 9% and Qualifying a whopping 22% from last year. Ticket sales have been extremely soft for most races to the point where even the Daytona 500 had tickets available as of this week and the assumption by most was that the economy was the reason because fans couldn't afford to attend races. However, if that's the case those fans should still be watching at home so one would think that the TV ratings would go up not down. But they didn't.
I can't say I'm entirely surprised about that. I've thought for quite some time that the decline in tickets sales isn't just because of the poor economy but instead because of a sense of dissatisfaction from many fans about the direction the sport is going in and an overall unhappiness. It seems to me that a lot of fans instead of choosing to follow the sport at home, are choosing to not follow the sport as much as they did in the past - or not at all. I visit a lot of fan forums and message boards and it seems to me that there is also an overall decline in the amount of participation by fans there too. Active online NASCAR communities are still active but there is a definite difference in the amount of posts and discussion. What really caught my attention is that it seems like even the Dale Jr Pit Stop isn't quite as active as it used to be - when it seems like even Dale Jr. fans aren't quite as enthusiastic as they once were that speaks to a problem for the sport.
Recently a lot of the drivers, teams and tracks have been talking about incentives, promotions and various other things they plan on doing to engage the fans, generate enthusiasm and encourage them to attend races. I've been really happy to hear how much is gong to be done for the fans in the sport this year. The only question is whether it will be enough to lure back those who seem to have put their fandom for NASCAR on the back burner?
Posted by silverdsl at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2009
Alex Rodriguez Admits to Using Steroids For Three Years While he was With the Texas Rangers
Yesterday Alex Rodriguez admitted in an interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons that he used steroids from 2001 to 2003 while he was a member of the Texas Rangers. A-Rod says he felt pressure to use after having signed his mega-deal with the Rangers and because he wanted to prove that he was the best player in the game. So sad that he didn't realize that given his natural ability he could have shown that many times over without having to resort to using performance enhancers. A big question in the minds of many Yankee fans is whether A-Rod might still be using and he claimed that he stopped using steroids before he came to the Bronx.
While some fans are falling all over themselves to congratulate A-Rod for coming clean, this fan gives him no special credit for his admission. Fact is, A-Rod had no choice. Some are impressed that he admitted to using for three years when he could have just claimed that he tried it once or twice but I suspect A-Rod and his handlers were concerned about some evidence surfacing from that time period that would prove he used steroids. In addition, there's no doubt in my mind that A-Rod was heavily coached on exactly what to say and how to act during the interview so there's no telling how much of what he said was from the heart or even what he's truly thinking. That's just the reality of the situation - A-Rod has many people around him who are paid to help him handle problems and do damage control and there's no way they're going to let him do an interview without making sure he's very prepared for it.
My problem with A-Rod's interview is that it's hard for me to know what to believe. He lied to Katie Couric in 2007 when she specifically asked him if he ever used steroids. So how I am supposed to know that he's telling the truth now when he says he didn't know what steroids he took, that he only took steroids for three years and never while he was with the Yankees? What really makes me skeptical is that A-Rod made some questionable accusations about the writer of the Sports Illustrated article, Selena Roberts, in which he claimed that she stalked him to the point where she was cited by the police. Only one problem - that's apparently not true so A-Rod either "mis-remembered" or was fed bad information. Attacking the accuser is often a strategy that backfires, and while it may play to those fans who don't think much of Roberts, it likely won't work too well for him in the end. As much as some, A-Rod included, would like to discredit Roberts by bringing up her controversial coverage of the Duke Lacrosse case or how she's writing a gossipy book on him, the fact is she accurately reported this story.
Some thing that now that A-Rod's confessed this will all blow over and be forgotten about by the time spring training rolls around. Unlikely. There's the possibility he could be called to testify in front of Congress and I have to think the Feds are going to be interested in talking with him. At some point A-Rod will likely have to name names and explain where he got the steroids from. Unfortunately for the Yankees it's not likely this story is going away any time soon.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2009
All Smiles for Michael Waltrip at the Start of the Season
Photo by Eric Gilbert, motorsports.com
I don't normally like to use someone else's photo in this space without permission but this photo of Michael Waltrip is so terrific that I had to post it. The photographer, Eric Gilbert, did an outstanding job of capturing that great smile of Michael's! I love seeing him look so happy and look like he's having so much fun considering how stressed out and upset Michael's looked so many times over the past few years. Michael was hysterical during Thursday night's draw for the Bud Shootout - if he did "whip it out" on national TV, everyone would still be talking about it now! One of the reasons that I like Michael so much is because of how much personality he has and that was in full evidence on Thursday - he's definitely not afraid to be himself and it's great!
As for the Shootout, unfortunately there weren't many smiles for Michael or his team as he ended up getting into the wall which ended his night early. What was troubling to me is that Michael said that his car was down on power in comparison to the other cars and it appears based on qualifying yesterday that his 500 car may have the same issue. I hope they can find something between now and Sunday to help fix that problem otherwise the result for Michael might not be as good as he's capable of on a restrictor plate track.
However, there were still two big positives for the #55 in Saturday night's race. I thought the communication between Michael and his new crew chief, Bootie Barker, was great. Michael seemed to have a better rapport with Bootie than he has with any other crew chief for years and that includes Bobby Kennedy. That may change but during the Shootout they seemed to be working together well, and Michael seemed willing to listen to Bootie as opposed to trying to take control of things. I was also happy to hear Michael say that the handling of the car was good. So many times last season Michael would have a decent car but wouldn't be able to race with it because the handling was so bad. Hopefully this is a sign that he'll have better handling cars this season because I think that would make a big difference in Michael's ability to get better results.
David Reutimann had a tough night on Saturday as well - he got caught up in a wreck like so many other drivers. From what others have said David seemed to also work well with his new crew chief, Rodney Childers, so hopefully he'll be able to pick up where he left off last season.
Although I was happy that Kevin Harvick ended up winning the Shootout and I thought the quality of the racing was pretty good, I didn't like seeing all the wrecking. Of course it's to be expected that there's going to be big wrecks during restrictor plate races, but I don't really enjoy races where the majority of the field is wadded up and in the garage by the end of the race. That makes the race more about who can survive as opposed who can race their way into Victory Lane. I hope we'll see something different during the duels and the 500 but I suspect both are going to be very messy as well. I just hope the MWR cars are around at the end of both and up front contending for the win!
Posted by silverdsl at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2009
A-Rod Revealed to be A-Roid
A number of people have asked me what I think about the news that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids twice in 2003, and while I'm disappointed I can't say I'm upset... or surprised. I've thought for quite some time now that it's likely that more players have used performance enhancers at some point in their career than less, particularly now that amphetamines are considered performance enhancers. There isn't any player whose name I'd be surprised to see connected to performance enhancers or on a list of players who have tested positive and that includes Derek Jeter. That's not to say I think Jeter has used steriods but again, when you add amphetamines into the equation, consider how widespread their use was, and that many players probably didn't see anything wrong with using them, especially since they weren't on the banned list there probably aren't too many players who played completely clean in every single game of their career. I think that the use of more serious performance enhancers like steroids and HGH was likely widespread as well, particularly before Major League Baseball instituted a testing policy, and even now I believe there are probably many players using HGH, which can't be detected in testing, and designer steroids that are hard to pick up in tests.
Of course just because a lot of players used doesn't make it right and that's why I'm disappointed in A-Rod. Even if he used steroids A-Rod is a player with a tremendous amount of talent and he is still one of the best players in the game. Steroids can't make a player without talent into an All-Star so even without the help of performance enhancers A-Rod would likely have put up some impressive numbers so it's unfortunate that he seems to have felt the need to give himself an extra edge over other hitters - or maybe keep up with the Jones so-to-speak, since he may have felt that he couldn't put up the kind of stats that some other players were unless he used performance enhancers like so many others were.
What I find the most disturbing is that allegedly Gene Orza, chief operating officer of the player's union, tipped off A-Rod about a test slated for September of 2004. That's inexcusable. The player's union should never have been informed that players were going to be tested and they shouldn't have been warning any players either. One has to wonder if A-Rod was warned about a test whether other players were as well. Both MLB and the union should be doing everything in their power to catch those who are using performance enhancers, not protect them and help them from being discovered.
I also question why A-Rod is the only player from the 104 who tested positive in 2003 whose name was leaked. Unlike some fans I don't believe it's because the entire world is out to get the New York Yankees. Perhaps it's simply because A-Rod has denied using performance enhancers in the past, and because he's one of the best players in the game so it makes for the biggest possible splash to have him be revealed as a steroid user. I have a feeling that more names will likely leak out and that it might be for the best for all the names of all the players who tested positive to end some of the speculation about who did or didn't test positive. Of course just because a player tested positive in 2003 doesn't mean they're still using now, and just because a player didn't test positive in 2003 doesn't mean that they didn't use at some other point in their career including now.
More than a few fans are upset with the reporter, Selena Roberts, who wrote the initial story for Sports Illustrated, but those fans are placing blame where it doesn't belong. I highly doubt that SI would run with a major story like this without properly checking Roberts's sources. In addition, like any good reporter she gave A-Rod an opportunity to comment and explain, but he choose not to. She did her job. Investigative reporting sometimes uncovers stories that are unpleasant that a lot of people would rather not know about but it's essential that the media reports all stories both good and bad.
What's unfortunate is that Spring Training is going to be a zoo for the Yankees. There's no way to sweep this under the rug and make it go away even if A-Rod holds a press conference to give his side of the story. A-Rod isn't Andy Pettitte, he's one of the faces of the sport. This will likely follow A-Rod - and the Yankees - not only throughout the 2009 season but for years to come as well. One can only hope that there aren't more revelations, but something tells me that what's been reported in relation to performance enhancers only scratches the surface of what was really going on, not just with A-Rod but throughout baseball.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2009
Michael Waltrip Says (Again) that he May Retire if he's Not Competitive in 2009
Please, oh please let Michael Waltrip race competitively up front in 2009! Even better would be if he was able to end up in Victory Lane for a race or two! Michael said today at Media Day, as he did at fan fest a few weeks ago that if he didn't race competitively in 2009 he might have to retire. Michael was clear about saying that wasn't what he wanted to do, that he wanted to continue racing in 2010 and for years to come but that if he didn't race as well as David he might have to step out of the car and put someone else in. Michael said,
“I think that’s interesting because ’09 could indeed be my last year because I can finally call it retirement if I choose to. There’s been years in my career where it could have been the last one and I just would not have had a ride. … I want to race the NAPA car in ’10 and beyond because I’m the best guy for it, but if I notice [teammate] David Reutimann out in front of me and me not being able to catch him and if I don’t see the results that I think the 55 car and 55 team deserve, then as an owner, I want to get somebody in it that can post those results. So it’ll be fun to see how it plays out. I believe in what we’re doing at MWR from a team standpoint, and I really, really want to be a part of it as a driver, but if not, I’ll just have to enjoy it as an owner.”
"Fun" isn't exactly what I'd call it! More like nerve-wracking for all of Michael's many fans because we want him to continue racing that #55 for a long time to come! Contrary to what some believe, Michael is a talented driver - his two Daytona 500 wins and two additional Cup wins speak to that. However, he can only make the best of the cars he's given to race and the cars he's had to race haven't been very good the past three years at times. If Michael has competitive cars to race like he did at the end of last season then I have no doubt that we'll be seeing a lot of him up front and not just at restrictor plate races.
What's going unsaid is that I think a lot of the pressure on Michael comes from NAPA Auto Parts and the possibility that they might not continue to sponsor Michael past this season. They want to see better results this season and if that happens the hope is that they'll remain at MWR, hopefully as Michael's sponsor. I suspect that when NAPA says they want to see better results it may not just be in terms of the finishes on the track but as far as the amount of exposure that Michael gets them. There is no doubt that there is any driver in the garage area who is as good as Michael is when it comes to finding ways to maximize the amount of exposure that his sponsors get but the reality is that poor results don't lead to much exposure during race broadcasts nor does it lead to very much coverage in the media or attention from fans. In this economy NAPA may be having second thoughts about spending millions of dollars if the results aren't there like they once were, though in my opinion they will never have another spokesperson as good as Michael is nor will they ever be as closely associated with any other driver as they are Michael. Even now when the results aren't there on the track, Michael still has a very large and loyal fanbase, much larger than many people realize, highlighted by the Wal-Nutz, and he still generates a tremendous amount of exposure for them - unfortunately given how much money they're investing in him they likely want more.
Michael said that he hasn't lost any of his ability behind the wheel,
“The last three years probably have been the most difficult years ever for me. They definitely have. It’s been challenging to be a guy that has won the Daytona 500 and competed at the level I have as recently as a couple year ago to think that my skills have gone away. They haven’t. We were building a new team, and I don’t think no one else has really done all that we’re doing right now, lately.”
I'm not surprised that he would say that he lost confidence in himself - anyone would if they had as much negativity directed towards them as Michael has the past few years. As much as one can try to shrug it all off and say that the criticism doesn't matter, when it's so relentless it's going to get to anyone. I think it's really unfortunate that so many people have written Michael off as a driver and haven't recognize that as he points out, MWR was building a new team and that came with a lot of struggles and challenges that showed up in the results not only for the #55 team but for all the MWR teams.
Apparently what really got to Michael last year - as I suspected contrary to what he said at the time - was Clint Bowyer's comment over his radio during the Bristol race in August that was broadcast on ESPN in which he called Michael "the worst driver in NASCAR, period." Michael said,
"The last three years, '06, '07, '08, probably have been the most difficult years ever for me. And maybe that came to where I wanted to beat somebody up when Clint Bowyer said what he said at Bristol because I didn't deserve that. It just made me mad. The fact that the whole world heard it was probably the hard part."
Michael definitely didn't deserve that! No driver deserves having everyone hear a fellow competitor insult him like that. What was truly awful in my mind is that ESPN and other media outlets continued to play the clip repeatedly afterwards even when it became clear that Clint's comment was because of his mistaken belief that Michael had caused an accident in which he was actually just as much of an innocent victim as Clint was. It set Michael up to be mocked by fans - and I suspect perhaps by some in the garage area. He must have felt terribly hurt by that incident and it must have been difficult to put it behind him - and maybe he hasn't completely since he discussed it today at Media Day.
I'm all for fans and the media calling things as they see them. I don't think that anything should be swept under the rug and ignored. Some drivers are more successful than others, and Michael's four Cup wins in the 25 years he's been in Cup aren't as much as some drivers who have that many wins in one season - that's fact. No one has to like Michael and cheer for him like his fans do. But I think he and every other driver in that garage area deserve some respect. No one sticks around in the Cup Series for 25-years - or wins two Daytona 500s - if they're lacking in talent. Michael is not only a talented race car driver, but also an intelligent person, who dared try something that may others would be afraid to do - start their own three-car Cup operation, something which I think a lot of people don't realize just exactly how hard it is to do. When times got tough for himself and for his organization he didn't call it quits, he kept going - luckily for us fans!
I'm very happy that Michael said today that he's regained his confidence and that he feels mentally and physically better than he has in a long time - hopefully that will help him have an outstanding season which will lead to NAPA re-signing and Michael continuing to race beyond this season!
Posted by silverdsl at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
Marcos Ambrose will be Locked in for the Daytona 500, Next Four Races
NASCAR told Marcos Ambrose and his team today that they are going to get the last spot in the top 35 in owner's points and will be locked in for the Daytona 500 and the next four races, something that seemed in doubt this week after a flurry of owner's points swaps were announced or proposed. I'm thrilled that Marcos is going to be locked in! It means that all three Michael Waltrip Racing cars will be locked in to the first five races of the season and it takes a lot of pressure off Marcos and his team because they don't have to worry about making races on time. I was particularly concerned about the Duels next Thursday because there are a huge amount of cars entered and there won't be many open spots so all the go-or-go-homers will be racing like maniacs to make the race which hate to say it will likely result in some wrecked race cars. Besides that Marcos expressed some nervousness about racing at Daytona since he's never been on a superspeedway in a COT before. This way Marcos knows he's in no matter what and he can focus on racing well enough in the first five races to be in the top 35 of this year's owner's points.
Apparently the reason why Marcos is going to end up being locked in is because NASCAR wouldn't approve the deal between Phoenix Racing and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to transfer owner's points from the #41 to the #09, a deal which to me would have made a complete mockery of things considering the #09 was only on the track for seven Cup races last season. The deal was going to take advantage of a provision in the rules that allows an organization to field a fifth car in spite of a four-car cap if they're fielding the car for a rookie driver who will be full-time in the future. Apparently NASCAR said that points transfers weren't meant to give an organization a fifth car for a rookie but I would guess they also realized how ridiculous that deal was going to make their rules regarding owner's points transfers look.
So now Brad Keselowski will have to qualify on time for the first five races (or race his way into the Daytona 500 via the Duels) and I don't have a problem with that. Brad isn't going to race the full Cup season this year and while it's important for him to get as much Cup experience as possible before he races in the series full-time, missing a race isn't going to be as damaging to his season as it would be for Marcos who is racing full-time in Cup. In addition, as Marcos brought up in an interview on Sirius this morning, full-time sponsors should have some protection, maybe even more so in the case of his sponsors since they're new to the Cup Series. These days given the economy there aren't that many new companies choosing to get involved in Cup - or in the sport overall. While things could still work out in such a way that Marcos is outside the top 35 after the first five races, eliminating the possiblity of missing those races will greatly increase the changes that he'll be in the top 35 by the sixth race of the season.
Two other drivers found out today that they would be starting the season in the top 35 via deals that NASCAR approved for their teams to acquire points from two DEI teams that won't be on the track in 2009. As expected John Andretti will be locked in by way of a deal for the #15's owner's points and Clint Bowyer will be locked in through a deal for the #01's owner's points that will make Bobby Ginn a minority owner at Richard Childress Racing. Personally, I think that last deal also kind of makes a mockery of things considering Ginn left the sport in scandal after things went so bad with Ginn Racing that he not only had to fold the team but couldn't pay all the money that he owed to various creditors including his former drivers.
It's certainly going to be interesting to see how things unfold in the first five races - and beyond - with the go-or-go-homers, and who ends up in the top 35 this season.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)
Aaron's Agrees to Sponsor David Reutimann for the Full Cup Season
Great news for David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip Racing! Originally Aaron's had agreed to sponsor only a partial season on the #00 Cup car but Michael Waltrip spilled the beans at media day today that Aaron's had agreed to step up to sponsor the car for the full season! That means that all of MWR's Cup cars are fully sponsored! Michael said,
“It’s going to be the Aaron’s Dream Machine from Daytona to Homestead, and I’m really, really happy about that and proud that Aaron’s has made that commitment."
I'm really happy too! I'm sure that Michael gave Aaron's a good deal to convince them to sign on for the full season but odds are MWR would have had to give any other company a deep discount this late in the going anyway. To me some outside money coming in is better than no money at all. Aaron's is certainly very committed to MWR given that they're now sponsoring David for the entire season in Cup and Michael for a partial Nationwide schedule.
I like that David is going to have one sponsor for every Cup race. As much as I think it's a good idea for teams to break up full season sponsorships and have a variety of companies sponsor a few races as a draw because it's more affordable for them than being a full-time primary sponsor I think the downside of that is that it's hard for fans when the sponsor is changing every race because it becomes confusing. So fans have trouble associating one sponsor with a particular driver and I suspect they may not be as likely to support those sponsors since they don't feel the same kind of connection the way they might if a sponsor is on the car for every race.
Something tells me that Aaron's is going to be very happy they decided to sponsor the #00 full-time - David is going to win his first Cup race sooner rather than later and hopefully it'll be this season!
Posted by silverdsl at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)
February 04, 2009
Four New Aaron's Commericials for 2009 Featuring Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann
Four new commercials that Aaron's did with Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann are going to make their debut during the Daytona 500 weekend but fans can get a sneak peek of all four on the Aaron's Youtube page. As always the Aaron's commercials are creative and humorous - Michael has a real gift for acting and has perfect comedic timing. It doesn't appear that acting comes as naturally to David since he doesn't have much of a speaking role in any of the commercials but he still does a good job.
Continuing a theme from commercials of the past where DW used to plead to be allowed to race the Dream Machine, Macy Waltrip begs her father to let her have a turn behind the wheel in the #99. No doubt this commercial is going to be a big hit! Fans love seeing Michael with Macy to begin with, but it's also funny and Macy does a terrific job of delivering her lines - it appears Michael isn't the only talented actor in the family!
In "After a Long Day at the Track," Michael and David show how they like to relax after a hard day's work at the track using the furniture and electronics featured at Aaron's. In another commercial Michael the spokesperson is hard at work at Aaron's, along with David who is busy checking out the Aaron's website. Michael instructs David and the Aaron's Lucky Dog in how to sign an autograph - Lucky Dog passes but David appears in need of some extra help! "Who's the Real Driver?" features all three drivers that Aaron's will be sponsoring in 2009 - Michael and David at MWR and Ken Butler, III, who will race 18 races for R3 Motorsports with sponsorship from Aaron's. I think the commercial is funny but I suspect there are going to be some jokes made at the expense of Michael and Ken when it comes to the "real driver" question. Unfortunate for sure, but as much as I dislike drivers being mocked it may draw some additional attention to that particular commercial which I'm sure Aaron's will have no complaints about.
One thing that strikes me about these commercials is how prominent Michael is in them. That's to be expected since Aaron's has a long relationship with him and he's very much associated with Aaron's in fan's mind. I would have thought that even though acting isn't his thing, David might have had more of a starring role in at least one of the commercials considering Aaron's will be sponsoring David in the Cup Series for part of this season. In the past I've thought that David might not be as marketable as some other drivers and perhaps this speaks to that. David is a nice guy and a very talented driver who will no doubt get Aaron's a lot of exposure by racing their car up front in Cup this season, but I think Michael will probably get Aaron's even more exposure - not only will he likely contend for wins in the Dream Machine but as reflected in one of the commercials his talents as a spokesperson are far superior to David's. But as long as Aaron's is happy with their association with MWR and continues to sponsor David that's what's important.
It's always great to see new commercials with Michael in them! As much as I enjoyed these commercials I'm really looking forward to the new NAPA Auto Parts commercials with Michael and Ron Capps - those should be really awesome!
Posted by silverdsl at 07:58 PM | Comments (4)
Michael Waltrip Designs His Own Paint Scheme for the #55
Michael Waltrip's #55 is going to feature a new paint scheme this year, one that's very cool looking which I think will make it stand out more on the track. Much as I suspected Michael actually designed the paint scheme himself and I think he did a great job! I especially love the way the flames look! Michael said of his design work,
“I’m an amateur artist. My brother [Darrell] was the same way: He always wanted to have the coolest looking race car when I was a kid. He’d be real proud of his cars and the way they looked, and to me they were awesome. I’ve always had that eye. I want things to look uniform. I like them to make a statement: Our chrome wheels, our double numbers. All those things were important to me. I like doing that a lot.”
Not only did Michael design this year's paint scheme on the #55, he also designed MWR's logo. The first time I met him I had him sign a design I drew that incorporated his car number at the time and he told me then that he likes art, I found out later on that he's always liked to draw. So when I heard that he designed the MWR logo, the next time I saw him I asked him if it was true and he said that it was. He told me about how he drew a lot in high school but gave it up because there was someone who was better than he was and he wanted to be the best! But he sure didn't give it up all together thankfully!
Michael makes note of his "eye" and how he likes things to be uniform. As someone else who is into art and photography that was something that I picked up on - I've noticed that a lot of times when he signs things, without having to be told, it's he instinctively knows where the "right" spot where it's going to look good. I actually asked him whether he had ever done any photography in the same conversation when I asked him about the MWR logo because with his "eye" I think it would be something that he would likely be very good at. His answer was no, that he didn't do much photography because he got frustrated when his photos didn't come out exactly the way he wanted them to. Maybe someday he'll get over that because I think with his eye for design he would really do well with a camera.
On The After Show on Tony Rizzuti's site one time, Tony talked about how when Michael was designing the MWR logo he got really into it, drawing variations over and over which he taped up inside his motorcoach. I can only imagine how many versions of his paint scheme he went through! I think it really speaks to how unique Michael is that not only is he a driver, an owner, and business man but he's also creative and an artist! Just one more reason why I like him so much! Maybe someday when he retires from racing and has some more time he'll do more art and design work - sure would love to see more of what he does!
Posted by silverdsl at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)
Michael Waltrip Says Alliance With Prism Motorsports is a "Win-Win"
Yesterday there was a press conference at Michael Waltrip Racing about the technical alliance they have formed with Prism Motorsports. Phil Parsons was also on Sirius just after the press conference talking in glowing terms about the alliance and Window World, the company that will be the primary sponsor of Prism's #66 as well as an associate sponsor (according to Phil, I can't find a press release about it) on the MWR cars. In a video clip from the press conference that was posted on MWR's Facebook page Michael talked about Window World, and in a separate interview he spoke about how the alliance was a "win-win" for all involved - I definitely agree on that!
Michael said,
"This association with Prism Motorsports and Phil and Randy, with Terry Labonte driving their car, is an avenue for us to put some money on the bottom line, sell some cars, furnish these guys with support so they can have a chance to go out and make races and accomplish their goals."
One reason I've been so excited about the technical alliance that MWR formed with JTG-Daugherty Racing, and the other alliances that have followed is that I suspected that it was going to bring in some revenue. That revenue will not only help MWR continue to operate as they have previously even though the economy has gone downhill, but hopefully it will help them be able to field the #00 as competitively as they would if it had full sponsorship, even though they only have sponsorship from Aaron's for a partial season for that car. In addition the alliance will also benefit Prism since they'll receive technical support from a large Cup organization. I also think it will help Phil Parsons, one of the co-owners of Prism, to be affiliated with MWR because it will legitimatize Prism and his efforts to go Cup racing in the eyes of fans who are skeptical and suspicious after seeing what Phil did with MSRP Motorsports last season in the Nationwide Series.
According to what Phil said on Sirius the affiliation with MWR came about because Phil and Michael got to talking and Phil was saying how he was going to go Cup racing. So Michael said that MWR was building all these new cars all the time and that he would check their inventory and see what cars they had to sell off. Michael definitely knows how to seize an opportunity!
They had to ask him three times before he would answer but Phil finally said that yes, Prism will be racing the full races not just start and parking. I hope that truly is what happens particularly now that they're affiliated with MWR. However, Phil said that they don't have sponsorship beyond the Daytona 500 right now so I think that might make it difficult for them to race the full season let alone full races. Only time will tell how things are going to work out for Prism but now that they're working with MWR, I'm cheering for them to do well!
Posted by silverdsl at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)
Michael Waltrip Racing May Not Have Three Cars Locked in for the Daytona 500
It's a little over a week to the Daytona 500 and Michael Waltrip Racing still doesn't know whether all three of their teams will be guaranteed a spot not only in the Daytona 500 but for the following four races. That's because of the rush of teams trying to make deals to buy or transfer owner's points. MWR had been thinking that the #47, their third car via an alliance with JTG-Daugherty Racing, would be locked in via that team's use of the #00' owner's points. That team had finished 36th in owner's points in 2008 and was first in line to move into the top 35, something which appeared was going to happen after a number of teams in the top 35 folded. However, as it turns out it appears that those owner's points may all be transferred or sold to other teams instead of going unused. Apparently it all comes down to whether Richard Childress Racing can work something out to acquire top 35 owner's points for Clint Bowyer and his team - if they can, Marcos is out, but if they can't, Marcos is in.
My issue isn't whether it's fair or not. For one thing, JTG made a deal of their own to get owner's points to try to lock themselves in and they had to know that there was a risk that something like this would happen once the #00 finished 2008 36th in owner's points. What bothers me (besides the deal Phoenix Racing is trying to broker) is that it's so close to the Daytona 500 and Marcos Ambrose and his team still don't know whether they're locked in or not. Michael Waltrip said he doesn't even know what's going on,
“I don’t know. He was 36th, and then he was 34, and then he was 35th. I heard he might be 36th again. But I don’t know. He may be, but then again, he may not be. I haven’t heard from Daytona what the official top 35 in points is today. I know that there’s a lot going on.”
It most definitely does make a difference whether they're in or out because having to race their way in means that they'll have to approach Speedweeks, and the four races that follow, with an entirely different strategy and a lot more pressure. Supposedly NASCAR is going to finalize the top 35 on Friday so teams have between now and then to finalize a deal but it seems to me that NASCAR should have set a much earlier deadline. Or maybe they should tighten up the rules regarding owner's points transfers even more so that it's not so easy for teams to move points around unless they're making a transfer of owner's points internally between their own teams.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2009
Penske Racing Aquires a Top 35 Spot for Sam Hornish, Jr.
The rash of owners points being moved around continues with the news that Bill Davis has become a minority owner in Penske Racing which will allow the owner's points from the #22 team to be transferred to Penske's #77 team which will lock Sam Hornish, Jr. in for the first five races of the season. I wish this deal wasn't happening because it may bump Marcos Ambrose out of a guaranteed spot for the first five races in light of all the other owner's points being moved around but I understand why Penske bought the points from the #22 - and that's exactly what it is. They may try to pretty it up by saying that Bill Davis is now a minority owner at Penske since that's what NASCAR requires for the points to be transferred but the reality is that money changed hands and Penske bought the #22's owner's points.
Penske appears to have made this move in response to Pheonix Racing getting owner's points of their own to lock their team in despite only being a part-time team last season, which would bump Hornish out of the top 35. Roger Penske said,
"As a business person, you have to look at what your options are. I think the key thing right now is it's too bad that anyone who has run a full season whether they're in the top 35 or not — and I don't mean the ones that run a half season — but if you run the full season last year, every car in every race, you hope you would be given some kind of priority."
I agree with him completely. It's unfortunate that a team that raced only seven Cup races last year, not even half the season, is going to be able to be locked in for the first five races this year while teams that attempted every race could end up having to race their way in on time. It also bothers me that as I mentioned in a previous entry, Brad Keselowski, a rookie who will only be racing a limited amount of races for the #09 is going to be locked in while drivers who will be racing the entire season will be on the outside looking in. It's been said that the #09 will be fielded for the entire season with a variety of drivers besides Keselowski but is that really going to happen? Of course some will say that if a team really wants to be locked in they should either make sure that their results from the season before are good enough to make sure they finish the season in the top 35 or they can engineer a deal for owner's points themselves and they'd be right but it still doesn't sit quite right with me. The top 35 was meant to protect full-time teams with big sponsorship deals but that may not be the way it works out.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:36 PM | Comments (0)
Points Swapping Mania
I don't really have as much of a problem with teams swapping, buying or selling owner's points. For the most part I think the teams should be able to do what they want with the owner's points they've earned, particularly when it comes to points swapping internally between their own teams. But even I'm bothered by the scenario that seems to be unfolding that will lock Brad Keselowski and the #09 team in for the Daytona 500. Kesekowski isn't going to race full-time in Cup this season, and the #09 may not be a full-time team either. In addition, the #09 team only raced in seven Cup race last season. So just exactly what did they do to earn a spot in the top 35?
Meanwhile teams that were full-time last season, that are fully sponsored like the #77 or the former #00 team that's now the #47 team, both teams that will race the full season with Sam Hornish, Jr. and Marcos Ambrose respectively may have to race their way in on time. Of course both of those teams could have ensured themselves a spot in the top 35 by getting better results last season but it's hard for me to understand how a part-time driver is more deserving of a locked in spot than a full-time driver. Granted none of these teams could be making these moves without NASCAR's approval so I can't blame them for taking advantage of what the rules allow. But it just doesn't feel right to me.
As a Michael Waltrip Racing fan I just hope things work out so that Marcos ends up locked in for the first five races. It probably all depends on whether the #22's points are transferred to another team or not.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Blasts Track Owners for Wanting Drivers to do More
Recently Bruton Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, said that he thought that the drivers needed to do more to encourage fans to go to races and buy tickets. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. didn't take too kindly to those remarks. He said in an interview with Sports Illustrated,
"The race track owners want drivers to do more? Yeah, right. They need to go back to work. They forgot what it's like to sell tickets. That's their problem. They ain't had to sell tickets for a long time and none of them remember how or knew how or ever learned how. They need to get back to working hard and doing their promotions and putting packages together for race fans. They don't want to cut the ticket price but they probably should and get these hotels to quit gouging these people. They can dump that responsibility on drivers all they want but the responsibility really lies in their hands to sell race tickets and they have to get creative in doing it. We already do a lot. We do [bleeping] plenty and they are full of [bleep]."
I agree with Junior that the tracks have to put together packages, reduce ticket prices, try to work with area hotels to encourage them to reduce room rates and figure out other ways to make going to the track affordable - and enjoyable - for race fans. However, I think the drivers share some responsibility as well when it comes to making fans want to come to the track to see races.
Perhaps for a driver like Junior it doesn't seem as important to him because he has such a large fanbase, many of whom will be his fans and attend races regardless of how much it costs or what happens. But the sport overall is, in my opinion, has some serious issues when it comes to the fans in general in that a lot of fans are becoming disinterested and discouraged, and the reasons go beyond the economy - quite a few fans are so unhappy with the direction the sport is going in that they no longer want to invest time, money or effort into being a fan. I think all entities from NASCAR to the drivers, sponsors and teams all share some responsibility in changing that trend. However, one of the best ways to renew a fan's excitement about the sport beyond what happens on the track is if they have a positive experience with a driver.
Junior is completely correct that the drivers already do a lot. They do countless public and private appearances for sponsors and other entities. On race day they have hospitality and suite visits. There are numerous media obligations, commercial and photo shoots.In addition there are also many times when drivers spontaneously reach out to the fans by signing autographs on pit road or stopping to speak with a fan at the track. But I think at times there is still room for improvement and ways in which some drivers - Junior included - can do their part to engage and encourage fans. It doesn't mean that they have to spend every minute of their spare time with the fans, but there are drivers who seem to do everything they can to avoid the fans and when they do interact with the fans make it seem like it's the last thing they want to do - that shouldn't be happening. Even if it's just a smile and a wave when they pass some fans, a little extra effort can go a long way. When a fan comes away from meeting a driver with a memory that they'll treasure for a lifetime I think it goes a long way towards ensuring their loyalty not only to that driver but to the sport as well.
Virtually every time Junior does an autograph signing there are numerous stories about how he barely pays attention to the people he's signing for. He doesn't look up, doesn't smile, sometimes doesn't acknowledge them and some have said that at times he talks on the phone while he's signing. No driver is going to be able to have a conversation or acknowledge every fan at a signing, and there are going to be times when they might have to take an important phone call or speak with someone who is there. It's especially difficult for a driver like Junior who has so many fans who show up any time he does an appearance. But I also think there's something to be said for showing some common courtesy as much as possible towards people who may have traveled a great distance, spent money and waited in line for a long time. Saying "hi" or giving someone a smile as they hand something over to be signed at an appearance shouldn't be too much to ask, not just from Junior but from the other drivers as well. I'm sure that most drivers would rather do just about anything than sign autographs and deal with strangers, some of whom are strange or demanding, but there are definitely some drivers who are better than others about giving the appearance of wanting to interact with the fans.
Of course there's another side to things as David Poole brought up on The Morning Drive on Sirius this morning. There are a lot of fans who don't understand that when the drivers are at the track their focus is with their race teams. There can't always stop to sign autographs because they may have obligations to their team or somewhere to be. Just like anyone else the drivers also have bad days or get distracted. There are also fans who don't know how to behave appropriately whether it's asking for an autograph at a clearly inappropriate time or doing things like invading a driver's personal space. I've been lucky enough to have hot passes a few times and even when the garage is hot I've been appalled by how crowded it can be and how many fans will chase down drivers and crew members for autographs even when they're in the middle of working on the cars. Poole suggested that NASCAR enforce the policy of not letting drivers sign autographs in the garage area, and I guess because I've never been into autographs myself, I would have no problem if they reinstated that rule. As much as I think the drivers need to do their part to engage the fans, I also think there needs to be some boundaries.
The bottom line though, is that the drivers - Junior included - and the sport would be nothing without the fans. The sponsors pay the bills and are essential to the teams and drivers, but they are on the cars because they want to race the fans. The fans not only cheer for the drivers at home and at the track but also buy tickets and merchandise. If there are no fans there is no profit, not just for the tracks and the teams, but also for the drivers since they get a cut of merchandise sales. The sport really can't survive without the fans and it's not just the responsibility of the tracks to make sure that people remain fans of the sport and show up at the track.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:34 AM | Comments (2)
February 02, 2009
Michael Waltrip Visits Texas, Gets His Own Day and Talks About the Economy
Michael Waltrip visited Odessa, Texas for the second part of the Fan Swap promotion that Best Western did last year. The winning bidder of an auction to benefit a charitable cause got to switch jobs with Michael. Last Fall Murray Erickson spent time at Michael Waltrip Racing experiencing what Michael does on an average day, so last Thursday Michael visited Odessa where he saw Erickson's race car collection and presumably experienced other parts of his daily life. In addition, the mayor of Odessa made a proclamation that January 29 was Michael Waltrip Day and according to what Michael said in the video that was posted on Facebook, it was the first time he's ever had a day named after him. Kind of hard to believe that even after winning the Daytona 500 twice no one has given him an honor like that before!
While he was in Texas Michael gave interviews to some of the local media outlets. He addressed what is on many people's minds - the economy and the effect it's having on fans and the sport. Michael said,
"We understand the challenges our fans are faced with. We know one thing for sure, in the history of the world, when there was the gas crisis in the 1970s and where there is war, people need a break. They need to be able to turn on the TV and see something they like and pick them up a little bit."
Michael is 100% right. Fans are tuning in to NASCAR and other professional sports partially as a way to be entertained and escape from their problems, some of which are heightened now due to the economy. There seems to be some that don't understand that concept. While some in the media and some fans are relentless in their negativity about the dire effects the economy is having on NASCAR and how the sport may not survive for much longer, there are quite a few other fans who while still concerned about the issues facing the sport, just want to cheer for their favorite drivers and enjoy some good racing.
Media day is Thursday at Daytona, and I have to wonder what the tone of the day is going to be. Will it be the usual optimism that most drivers express at the start of the season that this will be their year and that they'll not only contend for the win in the Daytona 500 but maybe even for the Championship. Or will the topic of the economy dominate to such a degree that doom and gloom will prevail? Of course the problems related to the economy that the teams and the sport overall are facing shouldn't be ignored but those issues shouldn't overshadow what the drivers are in Daytona to do - race. Other than those fans who are perpetually pessimistic, most fans are very excited for the start of the season and very much looking forward to the cars taking the track for the first time. The last thing the sport needs right now is for that enthusiasm to be discouraged or dampened.
Posted by silverdsl at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2009
Everyone Passes Preseason Drug Testing in NASCAR
Last week NASCAR announced that after drug testing was administered to all their drivers, officials and crew chiefs there were no positive test results. Of course there weren't - NASCAR made a point of announcing exactly when the January test would be conducted which gave anyone using something on the banned list ample time to prepare to take the test. Don't get me wrong - I don't think that drug use is rampant throughout the garage area but I agree with Ryan Newman who said,
“I might be opening up a can of worms when I say this, but why would you announce you’re going to have a drug-testing time? I mean the whole idea of announcing it kind of takes away from the people that know how to cheat the system."
NASCAR can boast about how there were no positive test results but I think this particular round of testing was pretty meaningless. The important tests are the ones that will supposedly be random administered each race weekend. That may be where some users are busted if they think that the odds of them being selected to be tested are low. Again, it's not that I think there is a tremendous amount of drug use among those in NASCAR but I'm realistic enough to realize that just as there is a segment of the population outside of NASCAR that uses drugs, there likely are some in the garage area who do as well. In addition, I've long thought that performance enhancers are likely used on pit road - and maybe by some drivers as well - in an effort to try to help them get an edge over their fellow competitors. If there is anyone taking performance enhancers they may not even think they're doing anything wrong since some of them could be taking drugs like amphetamines which can be prescribed legally.
My hope is that there are no positive drug tests whenever NASCAR does their testing but I'm not sure they're going to be so lucky.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)