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March 31, 2009
New Forum and New Design For michaelwaltrip.com
For the past four or five years there's been a fan forum on michaelwaltrip.com that's been the online home for the Wal-Nutz, aka Michael Waltrip fans. But for the past two years even though many fans have wanted to join the forum, registration has been closed to new members - until now that is. A re-design of michaelwaltrip.com has brought with it a brand-new fan forum that is open to any fan who wants to be a part of the fun! The forum has been open for less than 24 hours and there's already been an influx of new and returning fans - not just Wal-Nutz but also fans of the other Michael Waltrip Racing drivers, and hopefully a lot more fans will join!
The Wal-Nutz are essentially Michael's fan club members. Really though any fan of Michael can be considered one of the Wal-Nutz since all of Michael's fans are Nuts about him! Sometimes people are surprised by just how many fans Michael has but he really has a huge fanbase. The Nutz are very active when it comes to supporting Michael - there are projects for his birthday, holidays, at other special times and sometimes just because. The Wal-Nutz write weekly messages for Michael that are delivered to him at the track. One of the Nutz puts together a monthly newsletter with news and information about Michael and MWR. In addition, over the past three years, the Nutz have raised a total of $10,000 for two different charitable causes that Michael supports. Of course the Nutz also cheer loudly and proudly for Michael and his drivers, buy merchandise and support NAPA Auto Parts and all of the MWR sponsors.
Prior to the formation of the Wal-Nutz I was never into organized groups of fans that named themselves. In some cases it seemed like some fans got a sense of elitism or entitlement as if those fans in some groups thought they were better than other fans or some would use it as an excuse to bully other fans. But that's none of that is the case with the Wal-Nutz. They're a fun group who welcome everyone! They are friends to each other and friends to Michael as well, never wavering in their loyalty even when times were tough. It's really a pleasure to be one of the Wal-Nutz and I hope that now that the forum is open to new members again, we'll gain a lot more Nutz!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)
This Week in NASCAR with Michael Waltrip and Greg Biffle (3/30)
Not only was Michael Waltrip on This Week in NASCAR last night, he was also in the booth for the truck race earlier in the day on SPEED. Steve Byrnes called Michael a media animal, and I'd say it's just that Michael isn't about to turn down an opportunity to do something he very much enjoys - call the truck race, nor did he want to miss TWiN (nor would SPEED want him to miss TWiN since he is the show). Michael said that if they want him to talk about racing, sit him down, sign him up and he's in! Which is a very good thing for all of us fans of his! I liked that TWiN didn't ignore the fact that the Truck race just took place even though it's a lower series and started off with a brief discussion of that race - Michael thought it was awesome, a great race between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.
After touching on the truck race they started talking about the Cup race. I've seen some criticism that this show doesn't cover the Nationwide or Truck Series enough and I agree somewhat since the title of the show is This Week in NASCAR, not This Week in Cup. However, the reality is that the majority of fans tuning in care far more about what happens in the Cup race and the panelists are either Cup drivers or crew chiefs. So focusing on the Cup race and then only briefly discussing the other race(s) each weekend seems appropriate to me.
Greg had another bad race. Though they tested a lot at Rockingham Greg felt that not having much practice really hurt his team and they were never able to get the car where they needed it to be. His brakes were great he's not sure he ever got going fast enough to use them! Some of Michael's fans were probably worried based on the first practice as to how he was going to do at Martinsville since he was slow but all the MWR cars felt the way they were supposed to feel when they unloaded. He said they never made any qualifying runs in practice (probably because they knew qualifying was going to get rained out), just focused on their race set-up and were confident that they would be where they needed to be for Sunday and they were.
Michael said it was a great battle between Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin for the lead and that Jimmie did an amazing job. He tried to stay off Denny, lost his car, hit the curb, hits Denny and still was able to drive off with the lead. Both Greg and Michael agreed that if you're going to hit someone you better make sure that you can drive away at least until they calm down. Michael thought it was an amazing display of car control and determination by both drivers. There was some video from Chad Knaus in which he said how things looked bleak for their team at the beginning and they had to make a bunch of pit stops to get the car where it needed to be which shows why a team, driver, and the fans should never give up because you never know what might happen. Michael brought up how it was the 25th anniversary of Rick Hendrick's first win at Martinsville and how everyone loves Mr. Hendrick because he's a special person. Everyone in the garage area that is - there are still quite a few fans who can't stand Rick Hendrick and probably never will like him.
Steve pointed out that organizationally Hendrick Motorsports has it figured out at Martinsville and Greg said that Michael's cars also ran well there. When an organization has it figured out they share among all the teams. Next week Michael said they're going somewhere - Texas - where Roush has it figured out. He thinks it's strange that Roush can't get short tracks figured out so far. During a discussion of the points standings the panel noted how well Clint Bowyer is doing in spite of being with what is essentially a brand-new race team and Michael said that again, it points to the organizational strength and how Clint is able to lean on his teammates. Maybe on Kevin Harvick, but (surprisingly to me) the results haven't been too good for Casey Mears at Richard Childress Racing so far. Michael said it's also because Clint is an awesome race car driver which is true, but I can't help but think Michael is way too charitable towards Clint no matter how true his comments may be considering what Clint's said about him in the past.
There was some discussion of the penalty give to Matt Kenseth when the tire got away and out of his pit box during a pit stop and how upset his crew chief was about it. I had a hard time following what they were saying but Greg and Michael were unsure of the rule so Steve clarified that the team was penalized because they lost control of the tire and that rule is in place so that guys don't run into tires on pit road. I was surprised that Greg and Michael seemed confused about the rule since I would have thought that the drivers would be familiar with everything in the rule book, even things that relate to pit stops.
Steve said that he had written down at that point in the race "Almirola spins again" and Michael commented that isn't what you want written by your name. He had told Macy before the race that he just wants to make sure he's not involved in any cautions all day long. So after the race Macy said that he brought out the first caution all on his own and that it was an example of 11 year olds brutal honesty. Maybe Michael didn't want to be involved in any cautions but as it turned out things worked out fine for the #55 team and he was able to race his way to a fine finish!
During the segment where they play the audio from the drivers, they played the heated discussion between Kurt Busch and Roger Penske that's gotten some attention. Kurt was complaining about how bad the car was, how the cars have regularly been bad and how nothing they do seems to make it any better. Roger basically didn't want to hear it, saying that "we don't need a lot of rhetoric that's always negative." I can't help but think that maybe if Roger doesn't want to hear so much negativity from his driver he should be sure he's doing everything he can to ensure he has competitive cars to race on a regular basis. Kurt is complaining because he's not going to be satisfied unless he's contending for and winning races every week. The panel agreed that it was heat of the battle emotion. Michael said that the team dominated at Atlanta so obviously they can get it right. The intensity at Martinsville is turned up more than at some other tracks. You're looking for 1/100th of a second to keep from people running you over. It's very hard to find and it's frustrating. Greg seemed to understand where Kurt was coming from (maybe because I've heard that he's also been known to lash out at his team/owner during bad races). He said that when it's a bad day sometimes there's no way to make it better and it's frustrating. You don't always want someone to be a cheerleader, especially when you're already giving 110% and you know it's not going to matter.
There was another brief review of the truck race and an explanation of why Kyle got penalized at the end of the race. The panel agreed that no matter why Kyle crossed the commitment line, he's deserved the penalty he got because a rule is a rule. It's like at a basketball game if you step out of bounds you can't claim that you didn't mean to do it and get away with it. I may have missed them talking about it but I was happy that TWiN kept the focus on the racing and didn't bring up Kyle's temper tantrum (which has been made into a bigger deal that it warrants, imo).
There was a preview of Texas but I usually don't pay attention to this part of the show as it often repeats whatever they've said in past previews for that track. I did hear Michael say that the fun thing about Texas is the fans, how they've started showing up already and how the teams feed off of the fans excitement.
One of the fans questions was whether drivers wear mouthpieces and Michael said no, but they showed some video of Kyle Busch taking out a mouthpiece. Michael referenced his wreck at Michigan in '92 that resulted in him getting eight stitches when he bit through his lip and then showed off his scar.The next question was what the blue flag with the yellow diagonal stripe means - Greg said that's the flag they were giving him at Martinsville and that it means you're too slow, faster cars are coming up behind you, get out of the way. Michael said that no one pays attention to it even though it's displayed all the time during the race.
Though I prefer when Chad's on, overall it was a good show!
Posted by silverdsl at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2009
Fans Upset With Kyle Busch... Again
I can't really comment too much on the Truck race today since I only got to see bits and pieces of it via an online feed of the SPEED broadcast on justin.tv since I'm at work but I did get to see the last few laps of the race including what Kyle Busch did after the race was over. Some fans are freaking out like Kyle did some horrible misdeed and I'm wondering what I missed because I can't figure out what he did that was so horrible. Yes, he threw a temper tantrum and I'd always prefer that drivers handle things like the adults that they are but on the other hand all Kyle did was throw his helmet into his truck and storm off in a huff. Is that really that terrible? It's not like he threw a punch at another driver or a crew member - something some other drivers have been cheered for doing - nor did he lash out in an interview with a bunch of insults. Kyle was disappointed about the late penalty that might have cost him a win. He was angry and upset and let it show - what's so bad about that?
Fans say that they want the drivers to show more emotion but every time a driver does those same fans act like that driver did something criminal. I don't always agree with the things that the drivers say or do. I don't like when they insult each other or get into physical confrontations with each other. But I can't get too worked up about a self-contained temper tantrum that doesn't hurt anyone. Thing is if Kyle had stuck around and given SPEED an interview - something he was under no obligation to do given that he finished 17th - he might have said something inappropriate that would have upset the fans worse or given a PC interview that fans would find insincere. So really there's no winning for Kyle with the fans.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:08 PM | Comments (2)
March 29, 2009
Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann on Their Finishes at Martinsville
After the race both Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann commented on the way they finished at Martinsville. Not surprisingly Michael was a lot more positive and happy about his finish than David was.
Michael said about battling back to get the lucky dog three times after spinning on lap 21,
"[The team] did a great job. To battle back from being down a lap three times and race back on the lead lap was great. I am so proud of my team. They prepared a good car for me. That’s how this deal works – I want top-10 finishes bad."
The team from driver to crew chief to pit crew did indeed do a great job! The competitiveness of the cars that Michael is racing has improved a lot but so has the performance of the team as a whole. They work much better together and I think they are much stronger on pit stops than they used to be. A lot of that probably has to do with good leadership from Bobby Kennedy to Bootie Barker to Michael himself and others, the #55 team has really started to gel into a solid team that's capable of good results on a regular basis! I want to see Michael get those top ten finishes as badly as he wants them! He came close today!
Post-race David wasn't pleased with getting spun by David Stremme. He said,
“We just got run over by a lapped car that had his eyes rolled back in his head and ran over us for no reason. It’s disappointing when you run top-10 all day and you don’t really touch anybody all day for Martinsville and then have somebody spin you out. That’s hard to take, but we’ll just move on.”
The truth is that David did touch someone since contact between he and Carl Edwards much earlier in the race resulted in a cut tire for the #99 which sent him to the pits and ruined the race for him. But I can definitely understand being upset about getting run over by Stremme. I would still like to know why David lost so many spots after that pit stop since that was what put him in position to be racing Stremme there.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)
Good Day for Michael Waltrip Racing at Martinsville; All Three Teams Finish in the Top 20!
Solid day for Michael Waltrip Racing at Martinsville - all three teams finished in the top 20! It's funny how things turn out - in the first half of the race it looked like David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose were in line to finish in the top ten and that Michael Waltrip might have a poor finish but by the end of the race Michael was the top finishing MWR car in 13th!
Michael and the #55 team did a really outstanding job of rebounding from an early spin that put Michael as deep in the field as 42nd at one point to finish 13th! Michael was very down on himself when he spun, saying that he made a mistake, then after he got back on the lead lap he went down a lap, had to race his way into position for the lucky dog a second time, got a cut tire and still raced his way into the top 15! If I had to pick one word to sum up the day for Michael and his team it would be perseverance. No matter what happened Michael and his team didn't let it defer them from a good finish! Michael said after he spun that he was going to put it behind him and finish in the top ten, that's almost what he did, in fact if not for that late cut tire he probably would have had the time to race his way into the top ten. After a couple of weeks in which the #55 team struggled it was good to see even though there were a few problems that things came together for them. Michael had a competitive car with speed and was able to race with it and Bootie Barker and the rest of the team did a great job of making the right changes so that the car stayed good and even got better as the race went along. Bootie also did a terrific job of complimenting Michael and giving him encouragement. Although it might not be the top ten finish that Michael wanted, I still think it was a finish to be happy with!
David spent most of the day in the top ten but during a late pit stop he lost seven or eight spots, restarting the race in 17th. Not long afterwards he spun which put him a lap down. Ultimately though David made up a couple of spots he wasn't able to finish any better than 20th, a disappointing finish considering how well he had raced for the majority of the race. I'm interested in finding out what happened on that pit stop because there must have been something that caused him to lose so many spots. Even though David didn't finish as well as it looked like he was going to early on, I'm not that upset because yet again David raced up front and looked to have an extremely competitive car. It's only a matter of time before he wins a race!
Marcos also spent a lot of time in the top ten before losing some spots as the race went along. Even though he wasn't able to hang on for a top ten, finishing 14th is still a finish to be extremely satisfied with considering how limited his Cup experience is. I'm so impressed with Marcos! Seems like just about every week he shows he can race competitively at all kinds of tracks, including tracks like Martinsville, where as far as I can tell he's never raced on before in Cup or even in the Nationwide Series.
Today was a very good points day for the MWR teams. David remains in 11th in the points which means that he would be in the Chase if the season were to end now. By finishing 13th Michael moved himself up four spots in the points to 17th - might not seem very good to some but considering the way he's finished in the points the past few years I would be very happy if Michael finished the season in the top 20 in points. Marcos also moved up a few spots to 21st - that's very good for a driver in his first full season in Cup!
I'm not sure what to expect for MWR next weekend at Texas, but hopefully it'll be another good weekend where all three teams race competitively and finish well!
Posted by silverdsl at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2009
Fans Will Be Able to Listen in to Driver's Meeting at Martinsville
For the first time fans with Sprint phones or who rent a FanView at the track will be able to listen in to the driver's meeting this weekend at Martinsville. Sprint is naturally hyping it like it's an earth-shattering event but in reality fans who listen may be disappointed by what they hear because the meetings are actually pretty boring. From what I've heard in the past the drivers used to cut up and joke around a little, particularly towards the end of meeting when the floor is opened to the drivers to ask questions. But as Michael Waltrip once said, as the years have gone on the meetings have become more formal and professional. I'd add stiff and uninteresting too. I've been to three driver's meetings and to me the best part is seeing all the drivers assembled in one place but unfortunately those who are listening via their phones probably won't get to see that. I applaud Sprint and NASCAR for trying to do something for the fans but I suspect some who listen in may be disappointed by what they hear.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:57 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2009
Kerry and Jeffrey Earnhardt Both Get a Ride with Rick Ware Racing
How often does it happen that a father and son both race for the same racing organization in the same series in the same season? I'd think not too often but that's exactly what's going to happen this season - Rick Ware Racing announced today that both Kerry Earnhardt, and his son Jeffrey, will race a limited Nationwide schedule for them this season. Kerry, who hasn't raced much the past few years and has instead worked on the management side for DEI, will make his first start for RWR at Texas on April 4. Jeffrey, who won't make his first start for the organization until May, will only race for them in seven races so that he will still be eligible for Rookie of the Year next season when he will presumably race the entire Nationwide schedule. There are already several other drivers who split time in RWR's two Nationwide cars including Stanton Barrett, Derricke Cope and Tim Andrews. Given that RWR isn't among the most competitive teams in the garage area I wouldn't expect that the results will be all that good for either Jeffrey or Kerry but it's neat that they'll both be racing for the same organization this season.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)
"This Week in NASCAR" With Michael Waltrip and Chad Knaus
Not a transcript of every comment that was made on the show or anything but a recap of some of the things that jumped out at me for those who weren't able to watch last night's This Week in NASCAR on SPEED. Tonight's panel featured Michael Waltrip and Chad Knaus - they have evolved into a great team and as much as I like Greg Biffle, I look forward to the shows that Michael and Chad do together since those are usually the funniest, most informative and most fun. Last night's show definitely lived up to the promise!
As usual Steve Byrnes started out by asking the panel members about their race weekend and he specifically brought up the fine performance by Marcos Ambrose who spent the entire race up front, including quite a few laps in the top five. Michael said that he loved watching what Marcos did - so did all the Michael Waltrip Racing fans! Both Marcos and David Reutimann had cars they loved at Bristol, Michael not so much. He never had a car that handled right and he wiped one out - unfortunately the second car was even worse. He said that it's confusing as a driver-owner when he's out there battling and his car won't do what he wants it to do but then he has a couple of cars he owns in the top five and top ten. I'd think that must be confusing and frustrating for any driver, not just one who is also an owner, to see teammates racing well with a competitive car when they have an ill-handling car. Michael said that he wouldn't trade if if he could and that he's very proud of everyone at MWR. One thing Michael never mentioned unless I didn't hear it is the cut tire he got which put him a number of laps down. Maybe he didn't want to make any excuses for finishing 32nd but a lot of fans were wondering what happened since it was never mentioned during the broadcast of the race on TV and not everyone has Trackpass to listen in on the team's radio communications.
Jimmie Johnson finished 3rd at Bristol, his best finish of the season so far, so it was no surprise that Chad said that this past weekend was the best weekend they had all season from start to finish. They had a lot of fun all weekend - I guess that's what happens when a team has a great car that they know is going to be competitive and fast on race day. It was the first time at Bristol that they enjoyed the race. Chad was proud to take home second.
Next they went to some video of Greg Biffle in his hauler talking about his weekend which unfortunately didn't go as well as Chad's did. First Greg went fishing at night last weekend - and I too wonder like the panel what he was fishing for at night - and he slipped on the deck and hurt his ribs which meant he couldn't race in the Nationwide race. Then he was racing in the top ten or twelve all night in the Cup race and his engine failed. Greg said that in relation to his ribs at that point it was the best he felt all weekend but that the next morning it might be a different story. I like that they're checking in with the other panel members post-race even if they aren't on that week's show in the studio.
Chad commented that there's been quite a few engine failures like they haven't seen in the past and he thinks it has to do with how the teams haven't been testing. He said that the teams aren't able to take the engine packages they're using to the track and run miles on them. While I think he has a good point that the teams aren't fully able to test the engine packages they're using this season on the tracks where they'll be racing them, all the teams are still testing, they're just not doing it on NASCAR sanctioned tracks. Does it make that much of a difference when it comes to the engines what track they're testing them on?
Of course the discussion soon turned to Kyle Busch and they joked about how "Y'all better watch him because he has the potential to turn into something." Much to a lot of fans dismay, Kyle is definitely "something" all right! Michael said that Kyle showed up good. He said that you can't learn this stuff, it has to come natural, which to me is what makes Kyle so impressive (and may be part of why so many fans can't stand him) is that while there are many talented drivers, I think there's something a little extra special about Kyle's ability and how he often makes winning look easy. Michael remembers Kyle racing Joe Nemechek's Nationwide car at Darlington in one of his first starts in that series ever, how it was five laps to go and Kyle was in 2nd right in front of him and Michael couldn't do anything with him even though he had a competitive car (and Kyle was new).
Michael said that Marcos Ambrose also got to NASCAR and knew how to drive the cars meanwhile some from other forms of racing don't get it and never do. However, like Kyle, Marcos got it right from the start. Even the fans noticed pretty quick that Marcos in spite of limited Cup experience knows how to race the cars. What's impressive to me is that Marcos is able to race well on a variety of tracks, not just road course races. As he gains more experience we could see some great things from Marcos!
In the past some have felt that Michael doesn't like Kyle (or his brother Kurt) much but Michael was very complimentary of him last night saying that he's fun to watch, though it would be a lot funner if everyone wasn't getting beat by him. The panel pointed out that the Busch family is undefeated for like a month or as Michael put it no one's "beat the Busches."
Just about every week so far this season there's been some talk about how packed the stands have been despite the economy, even at tracks where ticket sales have been soft. Michael said that Bristol is an economy buster and that people need their Bristol. Steve Brynes pointed out that Bristol sold out for the 54th time in a row. I understand that they're trying to put a positive spin on things but let's get real. Bristol wasn't sold out until the day before the race which is in sharp contrast to previous years when it was impossible to get a ticket and fans put their season ticket rights in their wills. My guess is that the reason that Bristol was able to say that it was a sell out was due to giving away or offering deep discounts on their remaining tickets, just like every other track has been doing. What gets me is that I've seen it said that supposedly one problem for Bristol was that they had sold out for so long that they had no idea how to go about selling tickets. That really amazed me because it's essential whether it's a track or a retail company to be prepared not just for when things are going well and sales are strong but also for when things go bad, because eventually they will. I can't help but wonder how many others involved in the sport always assumed that because the money was flowing freely in the sport whether from fans or sponsors, it always would be and weren't prepared for the effects of the poor economy and other issues the sport is facing.
In relation to the incident between himself and Todd Bodine, Michael said that all he heard was "clear, clear." Oops! He said that he trusts Ty (Norris) his spotter because he's been his spotter for years and never lets him down. Well, usually doesn't let him down. Just like to race on the Cup level you have to have a lot of ability I think the same is true for the spotters in Cup as well but of course just like the drivers sometimes make mistakes, occasionally the spotters do as well. Michael said that Todd got his nose in there and he (Michael) wasn't aware of it, that if you're out there racing you better know that the guy you're passing knows you're there. Michael said he had his nose in several holes but realized he might not quite fit (why does that sound so dirty to me? LOL!) You have to be very defensive he said, especially early. Michael shouldn't feel too bad about wrecking Todd since Todd's done it to him. Chad said he noticed that there was no give during the race, that no one would give up a spot and that they were racing for every inch.
Something interesting that Michael mentioned is that apparently the Toyota engineers give their teams big reports with the history of the race which includes information about trends when it comes to cautions, the way times fall off, pit road strategy, etc... and that it's amazing how well they can predict what's going to happen. I would have thought that every manufacturer would do similar reports but according to Chad they don't get anything like that from GM and he jokingly asked Michael if he could get it. Michael's response naturally - "Can't work with you on that!"
They talked about how it was a tough day for the Roush-Fenway Racing teams which shows how set-up sensitive organizations can be as a whole.The Joe Gibbs Racing teams and Hendrick Motorsports teams mostly had their packages together but not Roush, who have had a lot of success at Bristol in the past, whose best driver on Sunday was Carl Edwards who finished 14th. So according to the panel when an organization gets on it they spread it among the other cars but it works the other way too - when they miss it, that too can spread among the other cars.
After some discussion about how important pit crews are and that there's so much emphasis these days on the pit crews because if they're off by even a 1/16th of a second on something it can throw everything off, they turned their attention to the photo of Kyle and his car behind them, specifically how it said "satisflying" on the side of his car. None of them had any idea what that meant. Michael being Michael got silly and stuck his face in the shot with a goofy smile on his face. Michael never misses an opportunity to try to get a laugh and that's one of the many reasons his fans love him! Later in the show Michael got a text from Kyle explaining that "satisflying" was part of a Snickers promotion and that it was hard to understand if you haven't seen the commercial - no kidding! On one hand if it gets people talking and prompts them to do a Google search for what satisflying means, it's a successful promotion, but if it just confuses people and they don't take the time to find out what it is or watch the commercial maybe it's not such a great promotion after all.
After they listened to the audio highlights from the radio communication, Michael once again said how much he enjoyed listening to that segment. He said that he lives in that world, where you push the button and can say all these words and no one can beat you up about it. It's like you're on an island so you feel pretty invincible. Gee, I wonder if he's read some of the criticism of late of Kyle and some of the other drivers for lashing out over their radios? Michael would love to see a whole show with highlights from the different drivers. He thinks it would be entertaining to hear the emotion and hear where the drivers are mentally. I think it would also give extra insight into what went on with the teams and drivers in a way we don't normally get during the TV broadcasts since they only play a limited amount of audio clips from the team communications.
Next there was a lot of discussion previewing Martinsville, about how important brakes are and all. I admit when they preview the next race, I often don't listen as closely as I do to other segments in the show since it seems like there often isn't any new information that's given since they've been down this road with previewing races at these tracks in the past.
The Legends race at Bristol was briefly discussed and Steve did a spot-on imitation of Sterling Marlin who won the race. Michael said that one thing he loves the most about the sport is that there's a lot of living history. He can go up to Richard Petty or Harry Gant and they race at a track like Martinsville. Thing is, sometimes I think NASCAR could do a better job when it comes to the history of the sport which might happen once the Hall of Fame opens. I think there are a lot of fans - and some of the young drivers - who don't really know anything about the history of the sport or of the accomplishments of the drivers who came before those who are currently racing. I couldn't help but think of last year's Old Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium and how cool it was to see all the former Yankees who came to put on the pinstripes in the old stadium one last time.
The panel answered a couple of questions from fans including one about the treaded tires that teams have in the garage area. Michael said those are used tires that Goodyear grooves and returns to the teams for them to tow the cars around on but that they can't race on them. I had no idea that there were special tires for that use - one cool thing about TWiN is learning things I never knew before!
Good show last night!
Posted by silverdsl at 08:00 AM | Comments (1)
March 23, 2009
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Blames the Media
After yesterday's race in which he finished a disappointing 14th Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said,
"It's not that hard to stay positive until you get around the media. You guys have got to take a little responsibility for being so hard on everybody. Some people are going to argue that you all are just calling out to the reality of a situation, but we're trying to work hard and trying to do our job and that's what we do every week."
As David Poole said this morning on Sirius, and I think it was an excellent point, (paraphrasing) it was Junior who said that now that he was at Hendrick Motorsports he was going to be able to win races and contend for Championships in a way that he wasn't able to do at DEI. It's Junior himself who set the bar pretty high for himself and his team, not the media. Fact is, Junior is now racing for the best organization in the garage area. There are no more excuses about non-competitive cars, subpar motors, or a step-mother who is supposedly out to get him. Of course it's hard to win races and even harder to win Championships because all the pieces have to fall in place perfectly in a very competitive environment where he's racing against some extremely talented competitors. But the results for Junior - and especially so far this season - while far from horrible, are less than impressive for a driver who is at a top-tier organization who is supposed to be one of the elite drivers in the garage. As negative as it may seem to Junior that is indeed the reality of the situation and his relative lack of success so far for HMS is a storyline worth reporting on.
There are countless fans and some members of the media who are calling for Rick Hendrick to make changes to Junior's team, that his crew chief and cousin, Tony Eury, Jr. should be replaced immediately. Something tells me that a crew chief change isn't going to magically make Junior into a Championship contender. In fact, given what a spectacular failure it was when Eury, Jr. was replaced with Pete Rondeau in 2005 when Junior was still at DEI, I'd say that it may even make matters worse.
Junior is a talented driver - any driver who has won 18 races on the Cup level has talent behind the wheel. But I can't help but wonder if there's some truth to what Kyle Busch said yesterday that upset so many of Junior's fans about how there's too much pressure on one driver's shoulders - seems to me that the belief by some that the sport's future is riding on Junior might be something that even the strongest person might have trouble dealing with well. I would also add to that something that Teresa Earnhardt was criticized for bringing up in the past, how many off-the-track distractions there are for Junior. Sure, Junior has his sister and a lot of other hard-working people to handle things for him, but there is still a lot of responsibility and time consuming decision-making no matter how many people he has helping him that comes with being the owner of multiple Nationwide teams, a nightclub, a part-owner of a racetrack, not to mention all the other business and media ventures he's involved with. Problem is that neither the pressure nor the responsibilities related to things beyond the #88 team aren't going away any time soon.
So it seems to me that there may not be quick or easy solutions to what's ailing the #88 team. The reality is that maybe this isn't going to be a good season for Junior. Maybe he won't win many races, or any at all. Maybe he won't make the Chase. In fact, even if he makes the Chase in the future, maybe he won't ever win a Championship. I think that might be very difficult for many of his fans to accept because to many not only is Junior their favorite driver but also the greatest driver in the world. But maybe he's not. Maybe Junior is just a very talented driver who has won 18 Cup races (and will likely win more) and has had a successful NASCAR career - it just may not be as much success as his fans envision for him.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
Nationwide Team Found to have Fuel that Doesn't Meet NASCAR's Specifications
Benny Gordon and North South Motorsports were attempting to make their first Nationwide race at Bristol this weekend and not only didn't they get to race but they were found to have "irregular" fuel that didn't meet NASCAR's specifications. The team had their qualifying time disallowed which meant that they had to pack up and go home since they weren't in the top 30 in points which would have guaranteed them a spot to race. In addition, they may face further penalties. I would guess that not only might they face further penalties but they will most definitely receive additional penalties.
If there's one lesson that should have been learned by every team in NASCAR on every level from the fuel-gate mess at Daytona in 2007 that involved the #55 team it's that fuel irregularities are taken very seriously by the governing body of the sport. I've seen some say that NASCAR should let this team off easy since they're a small team for which a harsh penalty could deal a crushing blow and that NASCAR should do everything they can to encourage small teams to attempt races. I agree that encouraging teams to be involved in the sport is something that NASCAR should do but not at the expense of the rulebook. If NASCAR looks the other way for this team then they'll have to look the other way for other teams and they might as well toss out the rulebook entirely. Besides, NASCAR showed no sympathy for the #55 team when they were just starting out in Cup. They may not give this team as harsh of a penalty as they gave the #55 but I would still expect that the penalty will still be something severe to discourage other teams from getting any ideas.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:36 PM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2009
Michael Waltrip Finishes 32nd at Bristol Due to a Cut Tire; Other MWR Teams do Well
I always prefer to start out with something positive and there definitely were positives today for Michael Waltrip Racing but since the TV broadcast never mentioned why Michael Waltrip ended up six laps down and a lot of people were wondering, in case anyone stops by this space looking for an explanation, I'll start off by saying Michael finished 32nd because he had a tire go down and had to pit under green and then had to come back in because of a loose or missing lugnut. It was unfortunate timing because just after he got back on track for good the caution flew when Brian Vickers got a blown tire. Michael didn't have as good of a car as his teammates had and was a lap down when his tire went down so he wasn't going to finish up front but he did seem to be able to make forward progress so odds are his finish was going to be significantly better than it was.
Very disappointing that Michael struggled for the second race in a row after starting the season so well. He's 21st in points which is much better than he was at this time the past few seasons and he doesn't have to worry about having to race his way into races which is definitely something to be happy about but I'm sure he was still hoping to be able to continue his strong start to the season.
Before I get into talking about the other MWR teams I have to express my frustration that the TV broadcast never mentioned that Michael cut a tire. I think that does a tremendous disservice to the drivers, the teams and their fans when they have problems - or when things go right - and it's never mentioned. It's said that a teams needs to make themselves part of the story of the race to be talked about on the broadcast but it seems to me that when something happens like a cut tire and the driver ends up multiple laps down it's part of the story of the race. I knew what happened to Michael because I was listening to his radio via Trackpass but a lot of fans don't subscribe to Trackpass so many are probably still wondering what happened to him. Not only are some of Michael's fans in the dark but some of those who don't like Michael, who look for any excuse to insult him will make him finishing laps down to be about his lack of talent when in reality the issue was something completely out of his control, that had nothing to do with ability behind the wheel. As I've said a million times, not every team can be mentioned all the time, but maybe if the TV broadcasts made more of an issue to cover when something does happen to a team that's worthy of being discussed then more fans would be tuning in each week.
If the #55 team was disappointed, the #00 and #47 teams surely weren't! In a surprise to almost everyone Marcos Ambrose spent almost the entire race in the top ten, including quite a few laps in the top five. Finishing 10th isn't a career best for him since he finished 3rd at Watkins Glen last year but it's his best finish on a non-road course track and I think it's a sign that Marcos is going to be able to race well on a variety of tracks which means he may end up developing into a very good Cup driver once he gains more experience on this level. That would be outstanding for both JTG-Daugherty Racing and MWR - I'm very happy that so far their alliance is working out extremely well! With his 10th place finish Marcos moved into 24th in points.
David Reutimann also spent quite a bit of time in the top ten, only losing some positions towards the end of the race. I suspect he may be a little disappointed to "only" finish 12th but it's good enough to move him up to 11th in points. I can't help but notice that once again David Ragan was a non-factor in this race and his 27th place finish drops him to 26th in points. I wonder what UPS is thinking now? Sure, it's still early in the season and things can change in a hurry but the longer MWR's David stays in Chase contention and the longer Roush's David looks like he may not live up to the hype - this season at least - the more I have to wonder if UPS has any regrets. Aaron's has to be thrilled with the amount of exposure they're getting since the #00 has been shown and talked about in every single race. Meanwhile the #6 is almost invisible on broadcasts.
Hopefully next weekend in Martinsville the #00 and #47 teams will race as well as they did this weekend and the #55 team will be up front with them!
Posted by silverdsl at 06:44 PM | Comments (0)
Travis Kvapil Out of a Ride After Bristol
Due to a lack of sponsorship Yates Racing has no choice but to suspend operations of the #28 team after this weekend at Bristol which means that Travis Kvapil is out of a ride. Although the organization, and Roush-Fenway Racing who work with Yates are trying to find positions for the members of the #28 team elsewhere within the organization(s) it sounds like some may also lose their jobs as a result. Really an unfortunate situation for Travis, who has done a terrific job for Yates even though the cars he's been given to race often haven't been among the most competitive on the track, and also for any others who lose their jobs. However, after fielding two cars that weren't fully sponsored all of last season, Yates couldn't afford to do the same this season.
A lot of fans, particularly Travis's fans, are blaming Paul Menard and/or Bobby Labonte, but both of those drivers are in cars that are fully sponsored. Yates isn't going to get rid of Paul no matter how poor the results might be at the moment when he brought sponsorship with him and all the bills for that team are paid. Maybe part of the "blame," and I'm not really sure there's blame to be placed as much as that it's just bad circumstances, goes to Roush who are apparently responsible for helping Yates with sponsorship. Seems to me some of those companies they're talking to about buying some of the races that AFLAC wants to sell off could end up on the #28, likely for less money. Though of course odds are companies would prefer to be affiliated with Carl Edwards than Travis - Travis is a nice guy and a talented driver but he doesn't seem to have the same appeal in terms of companies believing that he's marketable as some other drivers.
What's most unfortunate for Travis is that there doesn't seem to be any open rides right now and might not be for quite some time on any level since every organization is dealing with sponsorship and financial issues mostly due to the economy.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2009
NASCAR's Success Hinges on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?
Long but interesting article on nascar.com entitled "Companies Clamor for Earnhardt's Magic Touch" that discusses how many entities, both within and outside of NASCAR, are anxious to use Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in promotions and to generate revenue. In fact, at a time when the sport is struggling due to the economy and other factors, some believe that Junior is key to the survival - and revival - of the sport. Eddie Gossage, President of Texas Motor Speedway said,
"He's the single most important icon in this business, and whoever is No. 2 -- and you could argue that about a few other guys -- the gap between them is long. He's it, and everybody else is eating his dust in a big way. That's why it's so important that he have a good year, that he win races, that he contend for the championship. The quickest fix for whatever ails our sport is Junior winning races."
I think this speaks to just how deep the problems are in NASCAR if the future of the sport and it's success rests on the shoulders of one driver. Maybe Junior isn't going to win any races this season or maybe he won't even make the Chase - the sport needs to be compelling even if he's a non-factor. What happens if something happens to Junior and he can't race anymore? What happens when he retires?The idea that Junior winning some races is going to magically fix all the problems in this sport is ridiculous. Junior ending up in Victory Lane is going to do nothing to solve the sponsorship woes that numerous teams face. It's going to do nothing to ease the frustration of the many fans who are unhappy with the direction the sport is taking, the displeasure with the quality of the racing or the decisions that the governing body has made. It's going to do nothing for the many fans who aren't part of the Junior Nation whose own favorite drivers may not have won a race for a long time.
Contrary to popular belief, while Junior is indisputably the sport's most popular driver, there are many fans who aren't part of the Junior Nation. Like me for example. Michael Waltrip is my favorite driver. I don't dislike Junior but I don't cheer for him either. Seeing Junior win a race won't encourage me to buy tickets or otherwise spend money on NASCAR. The article also talks about how tracks can use any of the driver's likenesses in any way they choose without their permission - something I didn't know - in promotions in an effort to sell tickets. Many of them opt to use Junior - no surprise there. But what about fans who don't like Junior or have other favorite drivers? Shouldn't there be more of an effort to target those fans?
Fact is that one reasons some fans are unhappy right now is because they feel that their own favorite drivers are ignored during race broadcasts and otherwise by the media, and that they as fans aren't valued unless they cheer for Junior or some of the other big-name drivers like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards or Jimmie Johnson. It's hard for some to believe but every single driver in the field has fans, sometimes very large fanbases and just as how Junior fans pay more attention to promotions that feature him, those fans would be more enthusiastic about things that featured the drivers they like the most. Maybe one way for NASCAR to keep their fanbase from dwindling any more than it has is if there was more of an effort to feature a wider variety of drivers in promotions, in the media, and in general, but at the same time still targeting the Junior Nation and the fans of the other popular drivers.
From a business standpoint it seems to me there's a danger in being so reliant on one driver because when he's not around anymore all these companies that are so interested in being affiliated with him may go away unless there's a reason for them to remain in the sport. These companies need to believe that there are other drivers that they can be successfully paired with beyond Junior. Sometimes it seems like even other top drivers like Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson are afterthoughts in comparison to Junior, this in-spite of both of them having won Championships that Junior has not, and also having large fanbases of their own.
To me, as much as I understand and expect a lot of the promotions, merchandising and media attention to be centered on Junior and a few other drivers, it gets tiresome after a while to see and hear about nothing but Junior, Kasey, Carl, Jeff and Jimmie all the time. Especially Junior - my world most certainly doesn't revolve around Junior even if this sport seems to at times.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:11 PM | Comments (2)
March 17, 2009
Random NASCAR Thoughts on Random Thoughts (3/17)
There's still not much going on but I figured that if I don't post some new content anyone who drops in won't stop by again.
*Mark Martin, through markmartin.com, is going to be the first sponsor to take part in Tommy Baldwin Racing's sponsorship program, Support Small Businesses of America. Companies that participate in the program get a logo on the #36 car as well as two VIP passes for the race and TBR gets some sponsorship money. I would guess that they're hoping they'll be more successful getting sponsorship dollars from multiple small businesses rather than one big one. Martin said, “I just wanted to help a fellow racer. I think this is a great opportunity to get involved, and I encourage others to follow my lead, including other drivers.” It's pretty cool that he's helping out TBR and Scott Riggs and it'll be interesting to see whether other drivers follow his lead.
*If Germain Racing was going to field a truck for Todd Bodine at Martinsville, they were going to have to find sponsorship and according to Jayski they have. Reportedly Whelen will be on the truck and that's a good thing since it will allow Bodine to continue racing at least for one more week. Maybe Whelen will sponsor the #30 for multiple races or another company will step up.
*Another driver in need of sponsorship is Travis Kvapil and something tells me it's not too likely that Yates Racing is going to have the success that Germain Racing did in finding sponsorship for Bodine. This morning I visited Travis's official fan forum to see what the latest was on the sponsorship hunt and I saw that a number of fans had emailed Yates Racing to plead with them to continue to field a car for Travis. One fan got a lengthy reply from Jon Sands, Yates's Vice President of Business Development. Unfortunately the thread in which this email was posted appears to have been removed, but among other things Sands blamed his organizations failure to secure sponsorship for the #28 on President Obama, saying (paraphrasing) that companies throughout the world had been scared off from spending money by the Obama administration and because everyone was about to be taxed "to death."
I respect everyone's right to have whatever political beliefs they so choose, but just exactly how is that kind of political statement appropriate for an email to a fan? I would also guess that due to the poor economy (that started before Obama took office) it wouldn't matter if John McCain had won the election, companies still weren't going to have money available for multi-million dollar sponsorships. I found his comments so inappropriate that I emailed him and suggested that perhaps being openly critical of the Obama administration isn't such a wise idea considering as hard as it might be to believe some of those at the companies he's speaking with may in fact support Obama or may wish to target those who do. Perhaps Yates should consider looking at their own issues such as the fact that they haven't won a race since 2005, that their cars aren't among the most competitive on the track and that as talented as he might be Travis isn't as marketable as some other drivers before they start blaming others for their problems.
*Yesterday it was announced that Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Scott Wimmer, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would split time in the #5 Nationwide car for JR Motorsports over the remainder of the season. For some reason instead of being happy for Junior that he was able to put together sponsorship and and an All-Star driver line-up for the #5 car, some fans are unhappy. Apparently for some reason a lot of Junior fans dislike Newman (likely due to some on-track incident between Junior and Newman that they likely got over long ago) and other fans are upset that Landon Cassill isn't getting time in the #5 car. At a time when even the good teams are having sponsorship issues, Junior needs to do what ever is going to get his team sponsorship and apparently this line-up is it. It's unfortunate that Cassill, a promising young driver, doesn't have a ride but teams can't afford to field cars without sponsorship.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2009
Not Much Going On...
Yes, there haven't been any new posts in this space since last week. That's both because things have been very busy off-line with work but also because there just hasn't been anything much to blog about with it being an off-weekend for the Truck, Nationwide and Cup Series. Hopefully there will be more to discuss this week since the teams are heading to Bristol. It's going to be an important weekend for several Cup teams in relation to the top 35 and there will likely be other storylines to follow as well.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2009
Nationwide Crew Member Suspended for Violating NASCAR's Substance Abuse Policy
John Boyd, who most recently worked as a crew member for R3 Motorsports in the Nationwide Series until he was released, has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for violating their substance abuse policy. There are no details given as to whether he was busted via the random drug testing that NASCAR started doing this season each race weekend or whether they suspected there was a problem and tested him separately. So far since the stricter drug testing policies were put in place, two teams had crew members who tested positive, and NASCAR has caught two crew members using their own methods. One has to wonder just how many positive tests there might be if the testing wasn't random each weekend but instead everyone had to be tested.
When NASCAR announced the new drug testing policy some felt that it wasn't necessary, that everyone in NASCAR are such sainted angels that they would never touch any substance on the banned list - sure isn't looking like that's the case.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2009
Jimmy Watts from JTG-Daugherty Racing Suspended Four Races
During Sunday's race at Atlanta Jimmy Watts, the gasman for the #47 team of Marcos Ambrose at JTG-Daugherty Racing ran onto the front stretch grass while the race was under green in pursuit of a tire that had been knocked out of the #47 pit (reportedly either by a car or crew member from Yates Racing). NASCAR was forced to immediately throw a caution for safety reasons since a car spinning onto the grass towards Watts could have been a disaster. Although NASCAR would have thrown a caution anyway for the tire, had Watts not ran after it odds are they would have waited until the pit stops had cycled through so that most of the field didn't end up trapped a lap or more down, which is what happened when they had to throw the caution for Watts. To express how displeased they are with what he did, even though it was an honest mistake, Watts has been suspended for four races and the crew chief of the #47, Frank Kerr, has been placed on probation until December.
I think this penalty is ridiculous and excessive. I understand that NASCAR felt they had to send a message that crew members can't run onto the track or the grass for any reason, even if they aren't thinking and make a mistake like Watts. But four races? Placing Watts on probation or at most suspending him for a race seems appropriate, this seems overboard. Dave Moody from wondered on his Facebook page and on Sirius how NASCAR was supposed to prevent other crew members from doing what Watts did if they didn't penalize him. Well, considering I don't recall any crew member doing anything similar to what Watts did, it seems to me that the vast majority of crew members understood that they shouldn't run onto the track without Watts being used as an example. Moody also brought up the possibility of teams getting the idea to use their crew members to deliberately cause cautions by telling them to run onto the track - I think it's a stretch to think that a team would put a crew member in danger to draw a caution.
When NASCAR doesn't do anything when drivers deliberately cause cautions and only rarely penalize for drivers deliberately retaliating by using their cars as weapons against each other, a clear safety issue should something go wrong, it makes a four race penalty for being in the wrong part of the track seem over-the-top, as wrong as his actions might have been.
Update: Just saw that there's the possibility that the Yates Racing crew member who kicked the tire sending it into the grass might have did so deliberately. Where's his penalty? If NASCAR feels they need to send a message that crew members running onto the track won't be tolerated why don't they also want to send a message that deliberately trying to sabotage another teams is just as wrong?
Update Two: ESPN.com has a video interview with DJ Cobb from the #47 team in which he says that reportedly (he didn't see it himself but says that many others did) that a crew member from the #98 team that was pitted behind them actually pushed the tire off the wall where it had been placed by someone from the #47 team. From the sounds of it the #98 team was miffed because Marcos pitted in such a way that he was somewhat in their box. The actions by the #98 crew member should be immediately addressed by NASCAR as well.
Posted by silverdsl at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)
This Week in NASCAR on SPEED With Michael Waltrip and Greg Biffle (2/9)
The best episodes of This Week in NASCAR on SPEED are those in which the panel spends a lot of time offering insights in the events of each race and discussing various issues that are raised by what happens each race weekend or in the sport in general as opposed to just recapping each race. Last night's show was a strong one and not only were there some interesting things said by both Michael Waltrip and Greg Biffle but there were things that were talked about that I wouldn't have known about without watching the show.
There was a lot of good discussion and explanation about the issues that most teams faced in regards to handling. It definitely wasn't just Michael who was struggling with an ill-handling car, many of the other drivers were as well. Greg said that he had a "humbling day," that his car was very loose and that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Michael said that every driver out there was sideways other than Kurt and that his car was unmanageable. He sounded happy to have finished 25th, saying that they "minimized the damage." He said that he messed up at Vegas by "hopping the cushion" and getting into the wall when his car got tight so he told his guys that he was going to be smart this week and not screwup so I took that to mean he drove like a little old lady who can't see over the steering wheel to be sure he didn't wreck. I'm not sure that a lot of fans realized how many teams were struggling with handling issues during the race and that the time when drivers wiggled and got sideways wasn't a reflection of a lack of ability or a mistake on that driver's part but was a product of the conditions under which all the drivers were racing.
Greg said that the handling problems might be partially his fault because he took part in the tire test that Goodyear had at Atlanta and the tires during the test were great. However, they went back for the race and the first run off the truck and they couldn't drive it. It's difficult for Goodyear to do the tire tests under the right conditions. Steve pointed out that the test was done when it was 30 degrees out and it was the high 70's during the race. Michael said that no one should hop on Goodyear's back, the track's worn out (which I guess contributed to the issues). He likes a worn track but would have liked to have had more grip during the race. I had absolutely no idea that the tire test took place under such radically different conditions, and wouldn't have known if they hadn't talked about it last night. It highlights a problem with testing in that Goodyear may get great feedback from the drivers who take part in their tests and may develop the perfect tire on the basis of that information but if the track conditions are different when the race is run the "perfect" tire may not be so perfect anymore and there may not be much that can be done about it.
In relation to the incident with the crew member from the #47 running out to get the tire, NASCAR would have had to throw a caution for the tire regardless of whether the crew members chased it but they would have waited until the pits cycled through had the crew member not gone after it - him doing that meant they had to throw the caution immediately. Michael (who may be biased since this crew member is kind of a Michael Waltrip Racing employee given the close alliance between JTG-Daugerty Racing and MWR) said that incident didn't really matter as it was early enough that if you had a good car you could recover - there are many drivers and fans who would disagree with him on that! I also think that when there's only six cars on the lead lap and most of the field is one and two laps down, it's hard for a team to salvage a lead lap finish up front at that point, especially considering the handling issues many of them were dealing with.
There was some video shown of Tony Stewart getting into Joey Logano and to the credit of the panel no one harped on it or tried to portray it as Tony sending a message to the driver who replaced him in the #20 as I suspect some fans are thinking. Based on some of his comments in the past Tony doesn't seem to always have a lot of respect for rookies so I would guess that bumping Joey was more about not having much patience for a rookie racing in front of him rather than it being about the team he used to race for.
I thought it was interesting that Greg more than once brought up how he thought that David Ragan would give him a break and give a little more in light of them being teammates than he did. Greg excused him by saying how much the cars slide around and all but since Greg mentioned it more than once the way David raced him was clearly something that bothered him and I wonder if there's going to be a discussion at the shop about it between them?
There was some discussion about the pit crews and how much pressure they put on themselves, particularly in relation to trying to gain positions on pit road. That means they they're trying their hardest to be perfect on multiple stops during the race but anything can happen. Michael said that there are 20 lugnuts on every stop and that it's amazing that there aren't more lugnuts that fall off - that is amazing! Fans get upset and rip their favorite driver's pit crew when they leave a lugnut loose but in reality the vast majority of time more than a hundred lugnuts per team per race get put on the car perfectly.
Michael joked that Kurt's backwards victory lap was like his car felt going forward!
Every week on TWiN they play some of the audio from a variety of drivers and some of the audio they played this week was between Carl Edwards and his crew chief, Bob Osborne, when Carl took the lead out of the pits late in the race. Carl expressed some doubt that he could hang on for the win but Bob said something along the lines of "I believe you can do it, you're a wheel man, you'll make it happen." I was reminded of the way that "Bootie" Barker talks to Michael (and Tony Eury, Jr. in the past) and how much confidence Bootie always expresses in his driver. You don't hear that from every crew chief in relation to their driver but I think it's important for a driver to hear that kind of positive reenforcement and know that their crew chief believes in their ability behind the wheel.
I admit that I often don't pay close attention when they preview the next race on TWiN. It often comes off as a promo for that race and there often isn't a lot that's said that can't be found elsewhere. But Michael made note of how many interesting stories there are "back there" in relation to the top 35, how the #71 team is in, Mark Martin is just barely in, and how unless something really good happens for him at Bristol it looks like Scott Speed is going to start having to qualify for races on time. It's true that there are a lot of interesting stories to be told about those teams and I hope that FOX agrees with Michael about that and gives some of those teams some coverage.
Michael said that winning at Bristol is a big deal, that he won with his Nationwide team based out of his backyard there a few years ago and it meant more to the guys on the team than if they won the Daytona 500. Michael likes the changes that have been made to Bristol because he likes to race and doesn't like all the caution flags - I know a lot of my fellow fans feel that it makes for boring races, particularly since as Greg noted it's still hard to pass, but I also don't love all those caution flags. I don't watch racing to see carnage, I watch racing to see... racing!
Greg has a quiet off-week planned but it's going to be a busy week for Michael. He's testing at Rockingham (with David Reutimann, a test that's allowed because the Rock no longer hosts a NASCAR race), he's going to Washington D.C. (for something for NAPA which is apparently going to involve a reception with some members of Congress), and then he's going to California to tape My Name is Earl. Hope Michael gets to do some relaxing during his "off" week/weekend at some point!
Posted by silverdsl at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)
Michael Waltrip to Appear on "My Name is Earl"
I can't believe it took me this long to mention in this space that Michael Waltrip is going to be on My Name is Earl! That piece of news was posted on Michael's Facebook page recently and I immediately got very excited - it took me a while, but Earl has become one of my favorite sitcoms and it's crazy sense of humor is perfect for Michael! What's really great is that apparently Michael will be playing himself and will have a decent sized speaking role! According to what was posted in "his" (clearly not written by Michael but instead a reworked version of what he says on TWiN each week with some occasional extra material) blog on the NAPA Auto Parts site, the episode that Michael will be on will be shown on Thursday, April 30 - Michael's birthday! How cool is that? From what he said on TWiN last night he's going out to California at the end of the week to tape the show - good thing it's an off-weekend!
I wonder how often Michael gets asked to appear on non-NASCAR TV shows and especially on shows like this? I suspect he gets a lot of requests in general and that they only pick the ones that will create the biggest opportunity for exposure on a National level for NAPA. It's probably tough to fit a lot of appearances on TV shows into Michael's schedule particularly since many shows tape in California. Might not even be easy to get to a taping for a show that films in New York either depending on where he's racing that particular week.
I've always thought that Michael has good acting skills. He's naturally funny and seems to be able to slip into whatever role is required of him. If the Earl writers "get" Michael and write his lines to fit his personality and the way he normally is, I think his appearance on that show is going to be great! I can't wait!
Posted by silverdsl at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
Ron Capps is in the Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Commericals
When I checked my site stats a little while ago I discovered that numerous people had ended up on my blog while searching for some variation of "who is in the new NAPA commercials with Michael Waltrip?" Presumably those people are talking about Ron Capps, who NAPA Auto Parts sponsors in the NHRA. I'm trying to remember whether either Michael or Ron is named in the new commericals that have been airing this season but if they haven't been seems like at least Ron needs to be addressed by name because quite a few people apparently have no clue who he is. Which is very unfortunate because Ron won the first two NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events this season and has 27 wins overall on the national level so he's a talented and successful driver in that series.
I wonder if NHRA fans are asking who is in the NAPA commercials with Ron Capps? Some how I doubt it. Everyone seems to always know who Michael is and as much as NAPA may be trying to create a campaign around Ron that goes beyond the NHRA the star of those commericals is Michael and always will be no matter who else is in the commericals. If at some point NAPA does commericals without Michael they will never get the same kind of attention that commericals with Michael get - he's just that good and that funny. Ron may have won more this season but Michael seems to get more attention - as I've always said whether people like Michael or not everyone seems to pay attention to him.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2009
Sponsor Woes May Sideline Two Drivers
Todd Bodine is second in points in the Truck Series, won the first race of the season at Daytona and is the 2006 series Champion but may not race in the next race in Martinsville because Germain Racing isn't likely to field a truck for him without sponsorship. Another former Truck Series Champion who is sitting on pins and needles hoping that some sponsorship is found for him is Travis Kvapil - if Yates Racing doesn't find a sponsor for his Cup car they will likely stop fielding it at the end of the month. Both are talented drivers but both may find themselves on the sidelines sooner rather than later.
It's particularly unfortunate for Bodine. He's a recent Champion of the series who has shown each week this season that he can still race competitively. Any sponsor that's aligned with him is almost guaranteed a trip to Victory Lane and a lot of exposure. Unfortunately the level of exposure for a sponsor in the Truck Series pales in comparison to the exposure on higher levels, particularly in Cup so in such difficult economic times it's hard for sponsors to commit to spending money to sponsor a truck. Apparently Germain is trying to convince The Tilted Kilt, a chain of sports restaurants, who were on the truck in Atlanta to sponsor the truck for Martinsville and beyond. Problem is, the Tilted Kilt doesn't have restaurants in all parts of the country and one area they don't have any is around Martinsville so it might be a tough sell. Perhaps they can make a sponsorship package for the truck more attractive by also offering an associate sponsor decal on Max Papis's car in Cup or figure out another creative way to lure The Tilted Kilt or another sponsor to sign on. It would definitely be a shame for Bodine to lose his ride when he's doing so well.
It may be harder for Yates to secure sponsorship for Kvapil. Last season he did a lot with a little and impressed a lot of people but this season Kvapil and the #28 team have struggled, failing to qualify for the race at Las Vegas and experiencing engine woes at Atlanta which has put them outside the top 35 in owner's points. Unfortunately the #28 had to be almost perfect in these first five races to really impress a company to sign on but after some early success the past two weekends have been dismal for the team. Add into that the fact that Kvapil isn't as marketable as other drivers and it may be difficult to convince a company to sponsor the #28. I wouldn't be surprised if Bristol was the last race for Kvapil and the #28, though maybe Yates would keep Kvapil on contract and field a car for him in selected races for the rest of the season if sponsorship turned up.
On the other side of the coin is Roush-Fenway Racing. They're also looking for additional sponsorship for their teams but not because they have unsponsored cars. Instead it's because the existing sponsors on their Cup cars would like to sell off some of their races for economic reasons. Since Roush is supposed to be helping Yates find sponsorship for their teams that means that Roush may take sponsorship for their own organization that if circumstances were different might go to Yates. That Roush is looking for sponsorship for their teams actually hurts any of the smaller teams that are also hunting for sponsorship themselves because if given the choice between sponsoring someone like Scott Riggs for a full season or a Roush driver for a handful of races a company is likely to choose Roush if they can afford it given that they'll get more exposure with Roush than with the smaller team.
Something tells me that the sponsorship picture may get worse in NASCAR before it gets better and that there may be other talented drivers on the sidelines due to a lack of sponsorship.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)
Not a Good Weekend for Michael Waltrip Racing at Atlanta
Michael Waltrip Racing started off the season very strong but this weekend in Atlanta was the first weekend all season in which all three teams performed poorly. Both the #00 and #47 teams experienced engine woes, in the case of the #47 a terminal engine issue, a crew member from the #47 was involved in a pivotal race changing incident on pit road and the #55 was so ill-handling that Michael Waltrip could barely race it. Although every team and organization is going to experience problems and weekend when they're off-their-game, I was pretty disappointed that it happened to MWR in Atlanta since three of their sponsors - Aaron's, Coca-Cola and NAPA Auto Parts - are based there. It was particularly important for the #55 to have a good race considering that NAPA is only signed through the end of the season.
To their credit, the #55 team did the best they could with a bad car and rallied to finish 25th. In the past an ill-handling car meant that Michael would have spent the entire race riding around in 35th and would never have made any progress. Instead, with the help of some excellent pit stops, Michael was able to finish 25th - might not be great but could have been a lot worse. Even after Michael took a ride through the grass while avoiding a spinning car which caused damage to the splitter, the team did a great job of working together to make repairs and Michael never lost any positions. Still, it had to be a downer for Michael and the organization that his 25th place finish was the best of all three MWR teams.
Ill-handling race cars and missed set-ups can be fixed, but what concerns me is that there continues to be engine woes for the MWR teams. Since they don't build their own engines in-house MWR is completely dependent on the engines that Toyota Racing Development provides to them. It didn't seem like the engine issues in this race were related to the engine issues that the Toyota teams experienced in California and Las Vegas but it doesn't speak well for their reliability that one engine developed an issue that caused the #00 to have to spend time in the garage making repairs and the engine on the #47 went completely. There are always going to be mechanical problems and engine failures but TRD and MWR have to try to minimize them so that their finish is determined by how they race not whether the engines hold together.
What changed the course of the race for many of the teams was an unfortunate incident in which a tire got away from the #47 on pit road and Jimmy Watts, the gas man for the team, chased it all the way across pit road and into the grass. That resulted in a caution which trapped many teams - the #55 included - two laps down and earned Watts a suspension for the rest of the race from NASCAR for chasing the tire as far as he did. Being suspended and told to leave the track may not be Watts only punishment as NASCAR has indicated they may give him an additional penalty when they review the incident later in the week. I feel bad for Watts because many are blaming the way the race played out on him, not realizing that NASCAR was going to throw a caution for the tire regardless of whether Watts chased it or not.
Although it wasn't a good weekend for the MWR teams, things could have been worse. David remains in 12th in the points and Michael in 16th which is far better than than they've been after four races the past two years. Even Marcos Ambrose in 28th isn't bad considering his lack of experience in Cup. Although David, Michael and Marcos, are surely not very happy about the drop they've taken in the points, they still have to be relieved that there will surely be no worries about whether they're going to be in the top 35 after the first five races. This weekend is an off-weekend and then in two weeks they head to Bristol where they'll hopefully go back to racing as well as they did in the first three races.
What bugs me is that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 11th, a finish that any of the MWR teams, as well as many other teams, would be very happy with but the Junior fans are complaining as if Junior finished last. To be fair the #88 teams hasn't performed up to expectations this season and I don't blame fans for not being entirely happy with some of the issues that have plagued the team so far. However, the way some fans are complaining it's as if Junior's season is already a failure and the world is going to end because he hasn't won a race yet. Get a grip. There is room for improvement for sure but expecting that Junior is going to finish top five or win every race is expecting too much. Maybe this just isn't going to be Junior's year and he's going to miss the Chase - or maybe the #88 team will right themselves at Bristol and go on a tear which will put them back in the hunt for the Chase in a few weeks. It's understandable to be concerned and to wish things were going differently for Junior and his team but it's extreme to call for Tony Eury, Jr. to be fired immediately because Junior finished 11th.
Kurt Busch won the race which was well deserved considering how good his car was throughout the race. I was hoping that Brian Vickers was going to pull out the win, but I'm not upset that Kurt ended up winning. Kurt won a race last season but he and his team aren't usually among those that most pick to race up front and win on a regular basis these days so it's good to see someone who is perhaps a little unexpected end up in Victory Lane.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
March 05, 2009
Lots of Positive Media Attention for Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann and MWR!
Just about every day recently there's another positive article or commentary on Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann or how improved Michael Waltrip Racing is as as a whole and it's great! For the past few years either there hasn't been much media attention given to Michael and MWR or when there was it was often negative, dismissive of the improvements they were making or predicted that the organization was in such trouble that they wouldn't make it to the following season. Things have really changed! Instead of stories about tainted fuel, misplaced sway bars or poor results, the focus is on how competitive the MWR cars are this season and how Michael and David are both in Chase contention right now. Every time I read one of these articles or hear positive things being said about MWR on Sirius or elsewhere it makes me smile!
Today there was a great article by David Caraviello on nascar.com about how MWR wants to show their strong start to the season isn't a fluke. In the article, Ty Norris, MWR's Vice President and General Manager said,
”We have said as an organization that we think we will win three races this year. People look at us like, that's crazy with Kyle Busch winning all these races, you've got Jimmie Johnson, you've got Jeff Gordon back on his game. I said, look at the lap speeds. If you just watched the lap speeds at California, if you watched them at Las Vegas, even back to last year. We started gaining a tremendous amount of momentum last fall, and you started seeing David Reutimann in that mix all the time. We would make a mistake on pit road or make a mistake somewhere else, but the lap times were always there, very, very fast. So that's what tells us that we can win races, and what tells us that we're not a fluke. It shows us that David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip have a legitimate shot at the Chase this year."
I don't think it's crazy at all to think that MWR could win three races this season and I thought that even before they started the season so well. What I think is one of MWR's biggest assets is that they have drivers who are strong on different kinds of tracks - Michael is a master on restrictor plate tracks and has shown that he can race well on many other tracks, Marcos Ambrose will contend for wins in road course races and David is capable of winning at just about any track. That makes MWR a threat to win just about every race weekend as long as the cars they show up to the track with are fast. So far the cars have certainly had speed and been competitive so if the pieces fall into place in the right way, I definitely think MWR could have more than one win this season!
I agree with Ty that David and Michael have a legitimate shot at the Chase by starting out the season so well though I think making the Chase will perhaps be even harder than winning races since it will necessitate racing competitively on a weekly basis which may be a tall order for an organization in just their third year, as improved as they may be. But it sure would be awesome if David and/or Michael did it!
Another article by Monte Dutton highlights how it's David's time to shine. In the article David says, speaking of flukes,
"You're out there, and things are going well and you get that confidence built up, but you also want to know in your own heart that it's not a fluke. That we're not just 'lucking' into this deal. I think that's what some people think from time to time."
Although how well MWR has started the season has quieted many of their harshest critics, I think there are still some who are convinced that things are going to fall apart for MWR and that they're going to revert back to finishing poorly every weekend. Without question there are going to be problems, bad races and issues because there are for every single team and organization, even the best of the best, but MWR has made real progress since 2007 and it's not likely that they're going to go back to being an organization that struggles to qualify for races any time soon. My hope is that Michael, David and Marcos continue to race well and show that it's not just luck - it's that MWR has developed into a competitive organization that fields fast cars.
Yesterday, Michael and David were guests on NASCAR Now on ESPN to talk about their success so far. Surprisingly Michael was holding a bottle of Coke during the interview and not the Vemma Energy Drink he plugged numerous times on Facebook yesterday. What I liked hearing is that when Michael was asked about his retirement comments he made prior to the start of the season he seemed to back away saying that he was racing well and that he hoped to continue for a year or two more because racing "provides something to his soul that he needs" - which is something that I don't think many fans outside his own always understand.
Michael may play the clown a lot and make it seem as if plugging his sponsors is more important than anything else but the reality is that he's just as serious about racing as any other driver. Racing is all he's known for most of his life, it's a part of who he is and the competitive fire burns just as strongly in his blood as it does for any other driver. Michael said that he made the comments that he did so that people would pay attention to what he did this season - that definitely worked! In addition, he wanted it known to any "star" drivers that might be available that if things didn't work out and he didn't race well that there might be an open ride next season at MWR. Something tells me that if Michael keeps racing well there won't be an open ride in the #55 but MWR might add another car for a "star" driver if they were interested in joining the organization and sponsorship was available.
Last weekend at Las Vegas Michael met with the media and he said that he was committed to doing everything he could not just as an owner but as a driver as well to ensure that the results were the best they could possibly be. He said,
"I have also made sure I didn't leave anything on the table," Waltrip said. "I work out every day and I'm very dedicated. I pushed all in for 2009. I want to run well and I want to race my car. I'm going to put everything I can in from my end. When the owner was talking to the driver, the owner said, 'We need to go faster,' and the driver said, 'Well, you all need to give me better cars.' Luckily, I agreed with my driver and we have improved our team. Having those conversations with myself is something that is not unusual, by the way, and generally there's more than just two people having them with me."
Michael jokes a lot about his multiple personalities, the many voices in his head or the conversations he has with himself and many take it as a sign of how eccentric he is. I always find it interesting when he makes comments like that because I would guess that he might seriously talk to himself. Michael has always struck me as someone who is a lot more intelligent and creative than he's ever given credit for and sometimes those types of people have conversations with themselves as a way to work out problems and come up with ideas. Michael's definitely full of a lot of great ideas!
Michael credited having the right people in place at MWR for the improvements they've made. He said,
"The hardest thing is having a plan and getting people to follow along with your plan and influence the direction of the team by getting folks that will sign up and follow your road map of success that you feel is necessary. We've got a group of people now that are talented and driven and focused who are coming together and allowing us to build better cars."
Another thing that I think some fans - and some in the media - didn't really understand is that it takes time for an organization to find the right people who share in Michael's vision and even more so considering the difficulties for MWR in 2007. In addition, Toyota wouldn't let their Cup teams hire people away from other organizations when they were first starting out so that dramatically limited the talent pool they could hire from. But as time has passed MWR has been able to hire a terrific team of people who are helping MWR made even more progress every day.
I hope that Michael, David, Marcos and the MWR organization as a whole continues to give the media reasons to give them positive attention!
Posted by silverdsl at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)
Camping World East Series Schedule Still in Flux
The first Camping World East Series race this year is just over a month away and the schedule of races for this season still isn't set due to the need for NASCAR to try to find a track to replace Nashville which was supposed to host an East Series race in July. However, track ownership changed and those who are running the track now no longer want to host any NASCAR sanctioned events. Apparently Joe Matiolli III, the owner of South Boston Speedway, who also promoted the East Series race at Nashville, would like to bring the race to Mansfield Motorsports Park, where he will be presenting an ARCA race. But nothing is set in stone and from the sounds of it the East Series schedule may only be 11 races this season.
Also still unknown is whether any of the races will be carried on TV. There's been conflicting information given with some affiliated with the series saying that races will be broadcast but others saying that NASCAR has been unable to find a TV partner willing to show the races, not even on tape delay. I really hope that NASCAR is able to secure a deal for the races to be broadcast since I'd love to be able to see Steve Park and Matt Kobyluck among others race this season.
However, I wouldn't be surprised if NASCAR isn't able to get the races broadcast or find a replacement race for Nashville. The East Series doesn't draw like some other series do, and it may be an even harder sell this year to get fans to buy tickets or be interested in the series given that there are less Cup-backed teams and less big names now that Ricky Carmichael has moved on to the Truck Series. If SPEED or another potential TV partner thinks there's no audience and that they might struggle to sell ads, it may take a lot of doing to convince them to show races. Even though Matiolli is interested in bringing an East Series race to Mansfield there's no telling if it will work out.
I just wonder what we're going to see from this series this season and what the future holds.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2009
This Week in NASCAR on SPEED with Michael Waltrip and Chad Knaus (3/2)
This week's panel on This Week in NASCAR featured was Michael Waltrip, Chad Knaus and Ralph Sheehan, filling in for Steve Byrnes who was still stuck in Las Vegas. Even without Steve this was a pretty good show, though there were audio problems for part of the show when they showed video in which the music was so loud that it was impossible to hear what the panel was saying. As always, this is by no means a full recap, simply some comments and discussion that I thought were highlights or found interesting.
First, Ralph asked MIchael about how the race weekend went for him. As all of us fans know, although Michael seemed to have a fast car he ended up going for a spin during the race which resulted in some damage when he got into the wall and he finished a disappointing 27th. Michael said that he was happy with the speed the car had but they had a lot of problems beginning on Friday. I didn't quite understand all of what he was saying but it sounded like even though it was a fast car there was some sort of issue that they couldn't quite figure out and as Michael said, it all went to pieces on Friday. It was all bad on Saturday but really good - at least in the first part of the race - on Sunday. However, Michael said he "jumped the cushion," which is a racing term I had never heard before but I assume means that he wrecked it or otherwise made a mistake. Instead of explaining what happened Michael then proceeded to go on a tangent and asked Chad if his driver had ever "jumped the cushion." Perhaps Michael was trying to illustrate that even the best of drivers like Jimmie Johnson have bad races or make mistakes which is very true.
Chad said that the race was similar for the #48 team as it was for the #55 team. They were fast, qualified well and got the car dialed in for Sunday and were fast during the race. However, it seemed like every time they came down pit road something happened and they got bunched up behind someone or there was some other issue. Michael said that people don't understand how circumstantial winning a race is, things happen and suddenly you can't overcome it. I definitely think a lot of fans don't understand that at all - some drivers and teams make it look easy because they're always racing up front and contending for wins - the #48 team is usually one of those teams like that. However, it's not easy by any means - one issue, even a small issue can ruin a race for a team even if they have a fast car.
Michael brought up how much doom and gloom there had been heading into California but the infield was filled and the stands looked good too. The stock market is in the toilet again but the racing in Vegas was over the top - Michael said it feels good to look up at the stands and see all the people. I think his point was that in spite of the problems that the economy has created for everyone - the sport and fans alike, there are still a lot of people attending races and they're seeing some great racing. He's right. Although the sport is being effected greatly by the economy and one of the biggest ways is that there's a decline in ticket sales, perhaps things aren't quite as bleak as they were made out to be by some heading into the season. I can't help but note despite predictions that the entry lists were going to shrink dramatically to the point where the fields would be very short after Daytona, that still hasn't happened.
Chad made what I thought was the comment of the show, at least from him, when he said that he wishes there were no rules and that they'd just get rid of them all. Gee, who would have ever guessed that? Given how many times Chad has been busted for rules violations because of his creative thinking that leads him to push the rules in an effort to gain a competitive advantage, it's no surprise that he wishes there were no rules. It's probably a good thing for the competition that there are so many rules otherwise the #48 team would probably be even more unbeatable than they are now.
Michael thinks the save Jamie McMurray made was amazing. If you're one of the 43 guys who make the race you have more skill than anyone in America because it's the pinnacle of racing but Michael thought that Jamie did a better job than anyone in the history of racing... at least since they started using radial tires. It's so true that contrary to what some fans think that if you make a race on the Cup level you have a considerable amount of talent, and Jamie showed just how much talent he has by making that great save on Sunday.
Everyone thought Jeff Gordon blew the whole race with the blown tire but he still finished in the top ten despite the fact that he was missing his right front fender. However, Chad said that Jeff benefited by a lot of good cars taking themselves out of contention and that's why he was able to finish so well. Had those cars not had problems he wouldn't have been able to finish as good as he did with that damage. I think the same is true for Robby Gordon who finished 15th but had a lousy car - he finished so well because other better cars had problems. It's great for Robby that he finished better than he had in the prior two races and it should give his team some much needed confidence that sometimes things will go their way, but it should be a concern for them that the car wasn't very good. Michael said that had he not "humped, hopped (or jumped) the cushion" he would have been up there too - considering how fast his car was he probably would have finished in the top 15 again if not for the spin.
Of course Michael was very complimentary of his driver, David Reutimann, for finishing as well as he did. He said they believe David can win for them - he sure can! Chad said that the whole Michael Waltrip Racing organization has elevated themselves - it's good to hear others in the garage area notice how well MWR is doing! Ralph brought up that it was David's birthday and asked whether Michael got him anything. Michael wished David a Happy Birthday and said that no one else probably wished David a happy birthday on TV.
One of the fan questions was whether the cars that go to the back are lined up in a certain order. Michael said that it's supposed to be that the car that qualifies first that has to go to the back lines up in front of those that have to go to the back that qualified worse but in reality they all just sort of work it out because they're all last anyway. That's probably very confusing to a lot of fans who can't figure out why their driver is starting in a particular spot when he gets sent to the back, but as Michael pointed out when they're all back there it really doesn't matter much exactly which spot they start from.
The other question was about the red stripe on new tires and Chad said it's where the stud penetrates, the stripe lines up with the hole so the tire changer gets a good visual for where it goes.
Usually I don't notice the sponsor plugs too much but if I'm being honest Michael was really pushing Geico hard, reading the voice-overs of their bit in his "TV-voice" - of course Geico is a sponsor that's affiliated with MWR via the alliance with Germain Racing so that may be one reason why he was over-emphasizing Geico as much as he did. Chad also got into the act emphasizing how the #48 team was bringing the Kobalt Impala to the Kobalt Tools 500. Of course it's understandable and to be expected that the panel members are going to plug their sponsors - and in Michael's case a lot since that's part of his shtick, however, it seemed to jump out at me more than usual last night.
Next week's panel will be Michael and Greg Biffle. As much as I like Greg in general I wish it was going to be Chad again since he and Michael are so good together on this show.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:47 AM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2009
David Reutimann Finishes a Career Best Fifth at Las Vegas!
Michael Waltrip had a tough race at Las Vegas but he was probably still happy at day's end because it was still an excellent day for his organization since for the third weekend in a row Michael Waltrip Racing fielded good cars that were able to race competitively. In fact the #00 was so fast that David Reutimann was able to finish fifth - a career best in Cup!! That finish came in spite of the #00 having to make an engine change which forced David to start the race from the back. Although there was some concern early on about an oil leak, his car ended up being so good that he was able to race his way though the field into the top five - outstanding! Not only did David finish fifth in the race, he's now fifth in the overall points standings. It may only be three races but it's still great to see an MWR driver so high in the points!
Unfortunately Michael's day didn't go as well as David's though in the first part of the race it seemed as if he was on his way to another strong finish as well. However, on lap 163 Michael spun and got into the wall causing damage to the back end of the car. The #55 team made repairs and Michael was able to keep racing but he ended up finishing 27th, two laps down which is kind of disappointing considering that he was racing pretty well prior to the spin. Still, as disappointing as the finish might be it was still great to see Michael qualify well this weekend and have a pretty good car. He dropped to 12th in the overall points but that's still light years ahead of where he was at this time the past couple of seasons so I continue to be optimistic about how Michael's going to do this season.
As for the teams that MWR is affiliated with Marcos Ambrose had a solid day for a driver with so little Cup experience, finishing 20th, one lap down. That moved him up a spot in the points to 20th which means that all three of MWR's primary drivers are in the top 20 in points. Sure hope that continues! Max Papis was the innocent victim of another driver's wreck early on which made for a difficult day since he was on and off the track and could finish no better than 36th. As much as Max must have been disappointed about how the race went for him I'm sure he was still thrilled just to be in the race since it was his first career Cup race ever. It definitely won't be his last and hopefully the results will only improve from here.
I'm hoping that next weekend in Atlanta MWR will continue to race as well as they have so far this season. NAPA Auto Parts is based in Atlanta and I believe Aaron's is as well so if David and Michael were able to race competitively up front next weekend it would look really good to both sponsors. It sure would be awesome if Michael or David won next weekend - I think that would convince both sponsors to stick around long term!
Posted by silverdsl at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)