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April 30, 2009

Michael Waltrip Celebrates His Birthday With an Appearance on "My Name is Earl"

Today is Michael Waltrip's 46th birthday - hard to believe he's 46 since he seems so much younger to me! A nice birthday present for Michael is that the episode of "My Name is Earl" that he appears on debuts tonight at 8 p.m. (EST) on NBC. Apparently Michael plays a fairly large role in the episode and although he's appeared on other shows and in some very funny commericals for NAPA Auto Parts and Aaron's Michael has never done this much acting before. He said,

"I think this is the first real TV show I've ever done. I've done a few spots, cameos on different things, Comedy Channel stuff, but this is real. 'Earl' is an instant classic, and I promise you that the demographics for an 'Earl' fan and a NASCAR fan--and racecar drivers, too, as far as that goes--lay over top of each other perfectly."

Interestingly enough though Michael notes that the demographic for "Earl" fans and NASCAR fans is similar and there are indeed many NASCAR fans who also like "Earl" I've seen a surprisingly large amount of Michael's fans say that either they don't like the show or that when they watch tonight it will be the first time they've ever seen the show. Regardless, I'm really looking forward to seeing the show - I've thought for quite some time based on his performances in the NAPA and Aaron's commericals that Michael has some excellent acting skills, particularly when it comes to comedy, so I'm glad that someone else recognized that and put him in a show! I have a feeling his appearance is going to be hysterical!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)

April 29, 2009

This Week in NASCAR With Michael Waltrip, Chad Knaus and Greg Biffle (4/27)

Yesterday I had started writing this entry about This Week in NASCAR when I heard the news about David Poole passing away. In some ways it was fitting that I was about to blog about a discussion regarding the issues at Talladega since David had been particularly worked up about what happened and had made his strong opinions known both on The Morning Drive and on thatsracin.com. He felt so strongly about the wrongness of it all that he said more than once that they should go in with bulldozers and rip up the track. Perhaps their opinions weren't as strong as David's were but the discussion between Chad Knaus, Greg Biffle and Michael Waltrip was just as passionate...

So much to discuss after the events at Talladega that This Week in NASCAR had to expand the panel for last night's show! Michael Waltrip, Greg Biffle and Chad Knaus all took part in a spirited discussion of the issues surrounding what took place at Talladega this weekend and I thought it made for an outstanding and interesting show. Each panel member had different opinions about what was seen at Talladega and each also had different ideas about how to address the issues. That made for a fascinating discussion and exchange of ideas that I wish could have gone for even longer than it did. In fact I thought it was one of the best editions of TWiN that I've seen in a long time.

So it was with much surprise that I discovered this morning that many fans strongly disliked the discussion so much so that few seemed to have paid much attention to it. Apparently a lot of people thought that Michael talked too much and that he interrupted too much as well. Of course as a die-hard fan of Michael's there's admittedly a bias there - I wouldn't mind if Michael talked for the entire hour just himself! However, I'm a little puzzled about why so many people had such a problem with Michael last night. For one thing, it seemed to me that Steve Byrnes and the panel had prepared some before the show and that Steve directed questions at each one based on what he knew of what their opinion was - should Michael have not answered those questions? In addition, the reality is that Michael has a lot of experience and knowledge about Talladega and that style of racing so that may be why he talked so much. It's true that a time or two Michael did interrupt but I think it's unfortunate that some are choosing to focus on that rather than the content of what was being said by Michael, Greg and Chad, all of whom had excellent points and interesting opinions.

Michael kicked things off by saying that what happened had nothing to do with the yellow line as many believe and everything to do with the way the leaders were racing. His belief is that if Carl didn't get wrecked where he did it would have happened somewhere else once Carl decided to block. He feels that you can't expect to not get run over if you're going to cut off another driver. While I don't think that was the only reason why the wreck happened I tend to agree that the actions of the drivers involved and the style of racing overall right now in the sport lends itself towards incidents like this. While I don't really think either Carl or Brad did anything wrong since both were simply doing what they felt they needed to do to try to win, I also think there needs to be some sense of responsibility on the part of those involved in terms of what role they played if wrecks like that are going to be avoided in the future.

The next panelist to comment was Chad who said that a car flying through the air and into the catch fence with the possibility of fans getting injured - which is exactly what happened - is their biggest fear. Chad said that's the most terrifying thing that you can see. He said he hopes that those who were injured get well soon, that he apologizes on behalf of those in the sport and that they appreciate all that the fans do. I have to admit that I wondered how much of what he said was suggested to the producers by NASCAR. That may not have happened but I felt like Chad had been asked to convey a message to the audience.

Steve then noted that they needed to have a "big-boy" discussion about what took place, which I guess meant that they were going to discuss things in a more serious and more in-depth way than they usually do. I'm very glad that they did so! Michael said that he was disappointed with Carl's comments following the race in which he said that NASCAR's going to get someone killed ad only then will they change something. But in Michael's opinion, the drivers sign up to race the cars and no one was forced to start the race. In addition, when you cut someone off, you sign up for the other driver to hit him if he wants and that's what Brad did. Besides not racing at Talladega, Michael doesn't know how to change the racing there - you can't slow the cars down anymore, you can't make it any easier to drive on the track, they're racing a safe car. In these tough times, he said, with everyone talking about ticket sales and TV ratings being down wasn't it refreshing to look up and see over 170,000 people in the stands who were anxious to see what would take place? He feels they owe that (exciting racing at Talladega) to their fans. It's true that fans want to see exciting racing and one reason why fans go in such numbers to Talladega is because the racing is very unpredictable and exciting there. However, there are a lot of fans who don't need there to be wrecking for them to find the racing exciting and most certainly don't want to see cars flying through the air and almost over the catch fence and into the stands.

Next TWiN made a terrific decision and replayed a clip of comments that Greg made on the show last year following the controversy over Tony Stewart being awarded the win over Regan Smith in the Fall Talladega race. At the time Greg said that what he (Regan) needed to do was wreck Tony in front of the entire field in the tri-oval and collect all the cars, that was the message sent (by NASCAR in relation to the yellow line rule) - don't give him position, turn him sideways and make him go on his roof. Greg continued by saying that's what's going to happen from now on, that if he was in that situation he was going to wreck him (the driver in Tony's position) if NASCAR's not going to do what they say they're going to do.

On Monday night's show Greg picked up right where he left off last year. He said that not many times have we seen the guy forcing the block be penalized. NASCAR says if you force a guy below the yellow line you may be penalized but if you go below the yellow line you will be penalized. There's a difference there. If you go below the yellow line to to advance your position you'll be penalized. Greg said that Michael said it wasn't about the yellow line but it was going to be about the yellow line if he (Brad) went as low as he could go and held his ground. In spite of Carl being his teammate, Greg said that the reality is that you can't block and that Michael had it exactly right. Which makes the second week in a row in which Greg didn't exactly defend his teammate or stick up for him.

Michael then continued the discussion by clarifying his earlier comments by saying that he doesn't like blaming the wreck on the yellow line because even if the yellow line wasn't there Brad was eventually going to have all he could take, hook Carl and they were going to crash. Michael feels that Brad understood where his boundaries were and that Brad decided it was the end of the road. The yellow line is the end of the road, you can't go over it. If you're there and there's no choice you're going to get crashed.

Steve then asked Chad about how there were a lot of torn up race cars. Chad said that it's great for the drivers how safe the cars have become. However, in his opinion the problem is with superspeedway racing is that the more you slow the cars down the more they're going to run in a pack. When they were running unrestricted they were strung out more but obviously they can't go back to that. But somehow they need to separate the cars. He said no one wants to hear knock the banking down or put a chicane in but that's the only way to do it. Obviously, Chad said, they aren't going to knock the banking down but they could easily put a chicane in on the backstretch. It will help the racing because it would separate the field but the catch is that it's not going to be as fun for the fans. Which in my opinion is why nothing like that will ever happen. As Michael said earlier in the show there were 170,000 fans in the stands at a time when most tracks are struggling to sell tickets. NASCAR isn't going to do anything that may lead to a reduction of ticket sales and interest in the racing at Talladega. Michael said that it's a tough question to answer - it's fun racing for the fans and the drivers enjoy it... until something goes wrong that is. What happened to Carl is a reality check.

Steven then asked Michael about why he took issue with Carl's comments after the race. I'm surprised that of all the things that people have gotten upset about so far I've not seen a single person get on Michael's case for being critical of Carl. I have to wonder if anyone actually listened to what he had to say or whether they simply dismissed him - and maybe the entire discussion - before even listening? At any rate, Michael said if you've got a suggestion or something you want to tell people, tell them. Michael feels that until there's someone who has an answer or suggestion that makes sense they should leave the racing like it is. In his opinion the racing at Daytona is fine, it's a different animal at Talladega a little because the track is so smooth and the cars run so close together but the last lap was a choice that Carl made. Carl choose to try to block the guy who was trying to win his first race. In hindsight, according to Michael, it might not have been the best idea that Carl ever had. Which may be true, but how many drivers would do the exact same thing as Carl? We see blocking by drivers all the time and not just at Talladega.

Unlike Carl, Greg did have a suggestion to change something and make things better. He feels that NASCAR should more aggressively penalize guys for aggressive driving. That if they see one driver touch another in a corner where they shouldn't or if they see a driver force another below the yellow line that they need to send them to pit road. I agree with Greg 100% - NASCAR needs to police aggressive driving more, particularly in situations where they've warned drivers they're going to do exactly that such as in regards to bump-drafting or with the yellow line. In response to the events at Talladega NASCAR said they're going to do exactly that but I tend to believe it when it see it. After all, some of these rules are already in place and warnings have been given but NASCAR only seems to follow through selectively when it comes to enforcement.

Michael also offered up an idea that he's mentioned in the past which involves modifying the bumpers of the cars so that if the drivers run into each other it would break the cars. He said he made this suggestion two years ago and they looked at him like he had two heads - I wonder why? One of the many reasons I like Michael so much is because he has a lot of ideas but that one doesn't sound like it's as well-thought out as some of his other ideas. Chad's suggestion was that the cars can't take gas under caution which would force the cars to pit under green and thus separate the field. Sorry Chad but that idea doesn't sound any better than Michael's idea that he disliked so much. I think Greg's idea was the best and most realistic. Michael ended up finishing off the discussion by joking that his other idea is that they should put spikes on the car and that would really fix the problem of the drivers running into each other.

It was cool to see that Michael's awesome save was selected as the Castrol Smart Move of the Race, though Michael commented that it wasn't very smart to get in that position in the first place. I think he's being a wee bit too hard on himself considering driver make mistakes all the time - at least he was able to correct his mistake in fine fashion. He said that you never give up when you're driving and you always think you're going to save it the whole time and sometimes it works out. But when Chad asked him if he thought he was going to hit, Michael responded that he did because in the past when he's been in that kind of situation before he's always wound up hitting something. So glad he saved it! He got himself some nice airtime, showed off his driving ability and almost ensured that he could continue racing.

Some of the fans who take issue with Michael complains that he never criticizes NASCAR but if they were paying attention to Monday's show you would have heard him do exactly that, though it was more that he was questioning their decision-making as opposed to being critical. He said that two cars shoving each other around the track can get out front, away from the pack. It's new and they've never seen it before. Now they need to figure out to deal with it and is it okay? There's a no-bump zone all the way around the track (as per NASCAR) but everyone bumps each other anyway. But that's how they get out front - what should be done about that? Both Chad and Michael pointed out that NASCAR tells them in the driver's meeting that there's a no-bump zone. Michael said that he's a big fan of everything they're doing except understanding when bump drafting is okay since he got bump drafted into the wall on Saturday during the Nationwide race. Which I think goes back to what Greg brought up earlier in the show in that NASCAR says that they might penalize drivers for aggressive driving or forcing other drivers below the yellow line but they don't always follow through. And they apparently also don't follow through on enforcing the no-bump zone either.

The rest of the show was mostly a preview of Richmond and some email questions were answered but what they said was far less interesting than what they said in the rest of the show. Overall, it was a great show and I hope they have other serious "big boy" discussions on future editions of TWiN!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2009

RIP David Poole

I was in the midst of working on an entry about last night's episode of This Week in NASCAR but I've just heard the shocking and extremely sad news that David Poole, the veteran motorsports reporter, who covered NASCAR for The Charlotte Observer and who was the co-host of The Morning Drive on Sirius has passed away from a heart attack at 50. Apparently he was found this morning in his home by his wife just after he completed this morning's edition of TMD. It's almost impossible to believe. I listened to the TMD today as I did every day - he was still fired up about the events this past weekend at Talladega as well as having seen way too many manfeet (men in sandals) on his way back to North Carolina from Talladega. I can still hear him saying "Hooves to the left of me, hooves to the right of me!"

Poole was highly opinionated and said exactly what he thought all the time in his own way. He loved to debate with his callers, those who emailed with him and apparently just about everyone he encountered. I didn't always agree with him, and at times I felt he complained too much but I always enjoyed hearing his opinions. I learned from him and he made me think. It's a major loss to the motorsports community in so many ways - I will very much miss hearing his opinions every morning on my way to work and reading his articles. Thoughts and prayers to his friends and family. RIP.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2009

Michael Waltrip Survives a Wild Talladega Race to Finish 21st

I suppose I should be upset that Michael Waltrip got swept up in the second "Big One" at Talladega yesterday and could finish no better than 21st due to the damage to his car. But I'm not. I guess it makes me a bad fan but after seeing Carl Edwards go flying through the air at the end of the race I'm glad that Michael wasn't up front at the end of the race because that could have been him. Michael said something about karma during the race and as much as he surely wishes that his finish was better, maybe it was good karma that kept him from being a part of that mess on the last lap. What I am happy about is that Michael did get to spend some time up front - he got NAPA a lot of great airtime and he also made an outstanding save - that save was probably the highlight of the race for me.

Before I discuss the way the race went for Michael any further I have to express just how disturbed I was at the events on the last lap that saw a car nearly go over the fence and into the stands. I agree completely with what David Poole said this morning on Sirius - that crossed a line. I've seen fans say that yesterday's race was one of the best and most exciting races they've seen in a long time and I feel completely the opposite - to me yesterday's race was one of the worst we've seen because there were eight injured fans and a major disaster was only narrowly averted. Had Carl gone over the fence it would have not only been the end of racing at Talladega, but quite possibly the end to NASCAR racing as we know it. I also don't like the attitude that some seem to have that because the worst injury is "only" a broken jaw and "only" two people got airlifted out that the injuries aren't a big deal. Even one injury, significant or not, from a piece of debris flying over the fence into the stands is one injury too many.

Some fans want to see big wrecks but this fan wants to see racing, not wrecking. I want to see the race decided because a driver outraced their competitors not because they were one of the few who managed not to get caught in a wreck. I don't need to see cars flying through the air to be entertained and I think it's pretty sad that some fans think seeing that and a bunch of wrecks makes for a great race. There will always be an element of risk involved in racing and I don't know what the solution is to prevent situations like yesterday but it's essential that NASCAR looks at making changes and that they do it before someone, either a fan or a driver, gets killed because a car went over the fence into the stands.

As for Michael, although he wasn't happy with his car and said that it hadn't been very good from the time they unloaded, it was still good enough for him to be able to race it into the top five. It was really awesome to see him mix it up with the leaders and that he was able to do so with a car that may not have been as good as some of the cars he's raced at Talladega in the past shows that he's just as good at restrictor plate racing as he's ever been. However, what was really a testament to Michael's ability, not just at plate racing but as a driver overall was the save he made after he came across the front of Marcos Ambrose's car. That was an incredible piece of driving! I think anyone who doubts Michael's ability as a driver should be shown that video - it's a clear indication that he very much still has ever bit of skill behind the wheel as he ever did. Michael's save, and that of Kurt Busch not long afterward show how amazing the driver's reflexes and reaction time is that at in mere seconds while traveling at such a high rate of speed they're able to take evasive action to save themselves and their cars. I hope that whoever is going to be involved in the decision-making process about whether Michael continues racing next season or not was paying attention to that save and to what Michael did yesterday overall - he not only raced up front as is expected at Talladega, he got NAPA Auto Parts a significant amount of airtime.

One of the most interesting conversations over Michael's radio during yesterday's race was early on when Clint Bowyer was involved in the "Big One" on lap seven. On Saturday Michael had gotten bumped by Joey Logano during the Nationwide race which sent him into Clint Bowyer, wrecking them both. Clint's response over the radio was to yet again blame Michael, who was a completely innocent victim just like Clint was. So after yesterday's wreck happened Michael wondered who Clint was going to blame since he (Michael) wasn't in the wreck, to which Bootie Barker, Michael's crew chief responded by saying that Clint would probably find a way to blame it on him anyway. Michael continued by saying that he believes in karma and that good things happen to good people. He knows, he said, that he's a good person but that Clint's a prick, so he was basically saying that Clint got wrecked because karma bit him in the rear end for being a jerk. Bootie replied that Clint is indeed a prick. Based on what Michael said next about how one day he was going to "lose his mental focus" it sounds like if the opportunity presents itself there's going to be a little payback for the way Clint has treated him. Which is exactly why Clint and others who are so quick to lash out at their fellow competitors should put a sock in it - ripping on each other only creates animosity that can lead to problems on- and off-the-track. Michael isn't just a driver, he's also a car owner and maybe Clint won't be at Richard Childress Racing forever - I doubt that Michael would be inclined to ever offer him a ride. What I loved hearing was Bootie say that the team will fight with him if need be and how he clearly has Michael's back. Maybe the results haven't been quite as good as they'd like but I think Bootie and Michael make a great team and I really hope that they can work together past this season!

Unfortunately later in the race, just as he was starting to race his way forward again, Michael got swept up in the second "Big One." He was actually luckier than some others who were wrecked out completely since after his team made some repairs he was able to stay on the lead lap and continue to race but the damage to the car was enough to prevent him from being able to race his way back up front. If not for being caught in that wreck there no doubt in my mind Michael would have been up front with Marcos racing for the win. However, as I said above as happy as I would have been if Michael had finished in the top five like Marcos, part of me is glad that he wasn't up there at the end because I would have been beside myself if he had ended up being the one to go flying through the air instead of Carl. So maybe it was that karma thing at play in that karma dictated that Michael was an innocent victim of that wreck so that he wasn't involved in what happened on the last lap. That's a good thing in my opinion.

As for the other Michael Waltrip Racing teams as noted Marcos finished 4th which is awesome! However, Marcos may as well not have been on the track since from what I could tell he was almost never mentioned or shown during the TV broadcast. It's said time and time again that if a driver wants to get exposure and be shown on TV then they need to race up front - well, Marcos did race up front and he still got as far as I can tell very little attention during the broadcast. Just exactly what are teams and drivers supposed to do when they race up front and still get no exposure for it?

David Reutimann also appeared to be in line for a finish up front but a flat tire that led to NASCAR scoring him a lap down resulted in a 26th place finish. I still have no idea exactly what happened to David because the TV broadcast chose not to mention it. So here we have a driver who races up front for virtually the entire race but when they experience a problem it's not worthy of being discussed? It seems to me that's part of the story of the race, especially for David's fans who had no idea why he was suddenly at the back. If I understand correctly the team was upset about them being scored a lap down and tried to argue it with NASCAR to no avail. However, since TV never mentioned it I have no clue how David came to be a lap down and why the team felt that it was the wrong call.

By the way, speaking of invisible teams - did anyone notice that Max Papis finished 18th? Did anyone even know he was in the race? If you knew that Max was in the race it wasn't by watching the TV broadcast which barely or never mentioned quite a few drivers which actually makes it all the more impressive that Michael was able to get so much TV time for NAPA.

Talladega was certainly an eventful race but was it really a good race? Is any race in which numerous cars are taken out of contention by big wrecks and where a car goes flying through the air a good race? Not in my opinion. Sad to say I doubt I'll see much of anything different at the next race at Talladega though hopefully all the cars will stay on the ground and there will be no injuries.

Update: I didn't know until I read Michael's post-race report that by finishing 21st Michael moved up a spot in the points to 24th. Still not where he wants to be in the points I'm sure but any gain in the points is definitely a positive!

Update 2: Michael was among the many drivers who commented on the last lap in yesterday's race. In his opinion what happened was a result of Carl's decision to block Brad, which comes from a difference in the way the drivers race each other as compared to the past. He said,

“Back in the day, if somebody was faster than you, you didn’t cut them off. Nowadays you’ve got to fight for every inch. Don’t blame it on the yellow line, blame it on the two guys racing. It’s Carl’s fault. There was a time in history when you could protect your area, but those days are over. If you want to block, that’s fine. But be willing to pay the price. We went through this time when you respected each other. Now we’re more like daredevils.”

Some of Carl's fans are furious that Michael said it was Carl's fault but Carl himself pretty much said the same thing that he put himself in that position by the way he raced Brad. I think Michael has an excellent point that the style of racing has changed over the years and that the drivers have less respect for each other which contributes to some of these incidents.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:03 AM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2009

Eventful Talladega Race

Haven't had much of a chance to write in this space for a few days because of how busy I've been so there's a lot to catch up on but I did have to comment that I was really disturbed by the events on the last lap of today's Cup race at Talladega. It's not because I think Carl Edwards or Brad Keselowski did anything wrong, it's because Carl's car nearly went over the catch fence and into the stands which would have been a disaster of epic proportions. As it is debris flew into the stands and eight people were injured, including one woman who apparently suffered a broken jaw. I've seen some fans refer to this race as the best and most exciting race they've seen in a long time but to me an incident like that in which multiple fans are injured by parts off a car and/or pieces of the catch fence takes all the excitement out of it for me. More to come...

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

April 22, 2009

Richard Childress Racing Swaps #07 and #29 Crews and Crew Chiefs

Reportedly after this past weekend's race in Phoenix Kevin Harvick was extremely upset with his teams. I don't know why Kevin was so upset but apparently his owner, Richard Childress, indicated that they would meet on Monday and talk about things. Well, Richard Childress Racing didn't just talk, they took action. After this weekend's race in Talladega, Kevin's entire team and crew chief will be swapped with that of Casey Mears, who has struggled even more than Kevin so far this season. So Kevin's crew chief since 2003, Todd Berrier will become Casey's crew chief, and Gil Martin, who was Kevin's crew chief in 2002, will work with Kevin once more.

I guess if you're a driver that's expected to make the Chase like Kevin then there's a rush to make changes before it gets too far in the season and it's too late but it seems to me that eight races into the season is too early to really know how the season is going to shake out. I guess there wasn't much choice but to change crew chiefs between the #07 and #29 because RCR wasn't about to do anything to shake up the #33 or #31 teams that are Chase contending teams right now, but it doesn't seem quite right that Casey, who is at a new organization this season to begin with, is going to have to start over from scratch when it comes to working with his crew chief. Maybe this change will end up benefiting both teams but there's going to be a period of adjustment during which the results may not be much better.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:26 PM | Comments (2)

This Week in NASCAR With Michael Waltrip and Greg Biffle (4/20)

About time I got around to doing an entry on this episode! Ratings for Monday night's show were probably pretty high since a lot of people likely tuned in to hear what Michael Waltrip would say about the incident with Robby Gordon. Well, they wouldn't have been disappointed because Michael had a lot to say.

It didn't take long for that incident to come up - Steve Byrnes asked Michael about how the race went for him right away and Michael said that it's really hard as an owner/driver, more difficult than he thought it would be - David Reutimann is continuing to race for wins or in the top five, Marcos Ambrose is racing in the top ten and his night was bad. Thing is as much as Michael may not like when it happens it's not unusual that even when an multi-car organization seems to have a track figured out for one of their teams to miss on set-up or otherwise have issues. Those who think Bootie gave him a bad car take note - Michael said that he had a good car and that they were running well until he got loose under Robby and wrecked them both.

Michael said that he saw Robby after the race but gave no details about what they talked about - wouldn't you have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation? Said he heard Robby made some comments about him on TV, a reference to Robby's comment about how he looked forward to a new driver in the #55 next season. Turns out Steve was the one holding the mic and what I thought was pretty telling that Michael asked Steve why he didn't hit him with it and joked that he should have gone "boom" and bop him right in the head with the mic because Michael is his (Steve's) friend. To me, that sounds like for as apologetic as Michael was for the incident and for as much responsibility as he took for making the mistake that caused it he still didn't appreciate Robby's comment. Biffle said - and he's 100% right - like Robby's never wrecked anyone? Some of Robby's fans are ripping Greg for making that comment but what's the big deal? The reality is that Robby and every other driver on the track have wrecked other drivers, many of them in very similar ways as what Michael did. Robby has definitely made his share of mistakes on the track - as his fans are always quick to point out when things don't go well.

Michael continued by saying that Robby didn't deserve to get wrecked which is true - contrary to what some fans believe no driver deserves to get wrecked. That said, I wonder if he'd still feel that way if he knew that one of the comments Robby made after the incident on his radio was "he couldn't drive a nail into a frog's a**" and that wouldn't be the first time Robby has made a disparaging comment about Michael over his radio. Michael said that the wreck was his fault, that Robby is teetering on the line for the top 35 and he knows what the world is like and that he was sorry that it happened. Michael does indeed know exactly how difficult it is to race knowing that one small mistake or problem could result in a poor finish that would drop him out of the top 35. Thing is Phoenix is one race. Robby being so close to the top 35 cut-off isn't because of anything that Michael's done and staying in or falling out of the top 35 is entirely up to Robby and his team.

Apparently the incident with Robby changed Michael's attitude towards Carl Edwards in relation to how Carl wiped him out in Friday night's Nationwide race. Friday night he was racing up front and Carl wiped him out. He thought that was the dumbest thing he'd ever experienced at the time but on Saturday Robby's riding along (actually moving backwards at the time) and he's passing Robby and he wipes him out. So he can't be mad at Carl. Greg asked whether Michael ran into his back bumper (which is what Carl did) and Michael said that no, he ran into the side of Robby. IMO, Greg was pointing out that what Carl did was worse which was interesting considering Carl's his teammate. Michael said that he made a mistake and Carl made a mistake. It's so hard he said, it's a tough job and sometimes things don't go right and it makes him sad. It makes me sad too when things don't go right for Michael because at times he seems to get so down about it. Racing is his life and his passion and he wants to be successful at it as much as any other driver on the track.

Greg said he had a good car and ran a little better than where he finished (top five) but overall he was happy with his finish even though it wasn't quite where they needed to be. I'd say if they keep racing in the top five then eventually he's going to end up in Victory Lane so they aren't too far off from where they need to be! Michael asked him when he got his braces and Greg said he got them the Monday after Texas. They joked about Greg refining himself as he gets older and Greg noted that he was starting to wear makeup (the makeup they wear on the show). Greg said he has to impress the ladies and that there's a lot of girls out there - I wonder what his wife thought about that comment?

Mark Martin's 36th career win is Hendrick Motorsports 5th straight win at Phoenix. Greg said that Mark is an amazing driver and that he was excited to see him back in Victory Lane. Michael said it was so cool to see one for the old guys - since Michael is turning 46 in a week he probably considers himself among the "old" guys (they really aren't that old) and Mark's success probably makes him feel like he can be still win as well. For a while everyone was making such a big deal out of age in the sport but Michael never really saw it. There are good young guys in the sport who came along, guys in their 30's and 40's that could still do the job. Mark just took it to a new level. Greg noted that he didn't luck into that win, he had a good car.

There was some discussion about David continuing to race well. Michael said it's awesome to see, that David is so thankful and just wants to race his car. He joked about how he told David that not only was he "The Franchise" he was also "The F-Bomb." :lol: There was some joking about how being The bomb is good but not when the F is in front of it!

Steve made note of how Michael stayed out to lead a lap and Michael said that because they just avoided being the (un)lucky guy (avoided getting passed by the leader so they were the last car on the lead lap) and they were going to make a spring rubber adjustment on pit road and wouldn't be passing anyone on pit road there was no price to pay for staying out to get the five bonus points. Michael said it was a great call by Bootie and the guys because you never know how important those five points might be some day. Michael called Bootie "The Boot-meister." He seems to really like Bootie - there are some fans who are already calling for Bootie to be replaced but other than at Texas when he was a little testy with Bootie over the radio, Michael seems very happy with him and seems to work better with Bootie than he has with any crew chief since Tony Eury, Jr.

The #48 team had a slow pit stop due to a lugnut issue and Greg noted that the lugnuts have been a problem for all the teams. However with the #48 they were slow on that stop but fast when it counted. Even on the slow stop they took their time, got the lugnut secure and only lost nine spots. When it happens in the middle of the race it's fine but when there's a problem on the last pit stop you can't make it up. Michael said the #48 team made the slow pit stop a footnote. Which is why they've won the Championship so many times - the #48 team has shown the ability to minimize the damage from mistakes and overcome most challenges.

There was more discussion about the incident between Michael and Robby - Michael said it's a shame it had to happen. They were both on the lead lap and running well. He didn't have an excuse other than that he messed up and he hates that. When the #44 spun out (earlier in the race) he only hurt himself but he spun out and took out another guy. There's no excuse for it, that shouldn't happen and he's bothered by it. Michael said that Talladega's a big track and there's plenty of room there so he should be alright. While I think Michael said all the right things and handled himself really well on the show in relation to what he said about the incident I also think he was a little too hard on himself in that he kept saying that he made a mistake and how much it bothered him. Fact of the matter is that mistakes are going to happen. While it's unfortunate when it results in others getting wrecked no one is perfect, not as a driver and not overall. At times Michael seems to lose confidence in himself and it sounded as if this was one of those times. But he shouldn't. He didn't do anything that other drivers haven't done before - including Robby.

There was some brief discussion about Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s woes and the incident with Casey Mears. Once again it seemed to me that they kind of glossed over what happened to Junior, maybe because they don't see it as big of a deal as many fans and the media do. Michael said that what happened with Casey was kind of what happened with his car. Casey was on the inside and just couldn't hold it. Both Michael and Greg completely dismissed Junior spinning Casey and Casey bumping him back after the race as no big deal. Greg said that they kept it on the track and it wasn't on pit road where the pit crews are so it won't be an issue (with NASCAR). As it turns out they were right since NASCAR put Junior and Casey on probation for six races which is a meaningless, nothing penalty.

Next there was some discussion about Talladega. If you've heard one preview of Talladega, you've heard them all. Close racing, one wiggle, big one, yadda, yadda, etc, etc.... Greg joked that the only way to avoid the big one is to stay on pit road but something tells me that even that might not be a safe place if the "Big One" was big enough! Michael said he's been in second and been in the Big One and been in the back and been in the Big One. Steve brought up how one time Carl wrecked Greg and Michael said to him - "Carl hit you to?" To which Greg slyly said "He didn't mean to." Maybe I'm reading into things but I took that to refer to how Carl acts out and then smiles that big smile, apologizes and says that he didn't mean to do it which some drivers and fans are getting tired of.

The questions of the week - First, was what is a sealed engine? Greg gave a technical explanation but basically there's a wire in there that you can't cut so you can't take the engine apart. NASCAR wants them to use the engines for four races to save money. Greg said he couldn't do a burnout because of his sealed engine since they had to use it again. Next question was what is the entry fee? Michael said that the entry fee is $3650 and that's what each team has to pay (not sure if that's just Cup or the same amount in N'wide and Trucks as well). NASCAR calls it an inspection fee. If they go to a back-up car they have to pay that fee again - that must make some of these small teams with limited financial resources extremely careful during practice and qualifying because for them $3650 is a lot of money.

To wrap up the show, Greg promoted his online radio show that he's started doing each week on gregbiffle.com. Michael is going to Atlanta this week to sign autographs for NAPA employee appreciation day. He's taking Macy who just got a new dog, Darla that speaks freaky-deeky Dutch so you have to give it orders in a weird language. He said that him and Darla - and presumably Macy - are loading up in the Lexus and are heading to Atlanta. Something tells me that car ride from NC to Atlanta with a new dog that only takes orders in a foreign language might be an eventful one! Maybe the next video for Facebook?!

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

Michael McDowell in the #66 for Prism Motorsports at Talladega

Michael McDowell returns to the Cup Series this weekend at Talladega in the #66 car for Prism Motorsports taking the place of the usual driver, Dave Blaney, who apparently had a family event he wanted to attend (according to Jayski). With McD already going to be at the track anyway since he's racing the #47 for JTG-Daugherty Racing in the Nationwide race and both Prism and JTG being under the Michael Waltrip Racing umbrella - the organization McD raced for last season in Cup - it makes sense that he would be in the #66 this weekend. Since Prism has been purchasing old MWR cars to use this season McD could even end up driving a car he raced last year.

Of course the question is whether this will be a start and park or whether Prism will actually let McD race in this race if he's able to qualify for it. They did race the full Daytona 500 with Terry Labonte but they had a sponsor on the car for that race and I haven't heard anything about there being a sponsor on the car for this race. I'd hope that if they were going to put a young driver with talent behind the wheel they'd actually let him race but McD parked one of their Natiowide cars for them last season. Odds are given that it's so easy to get swept up in a wreck at this track and they may not want to risk losing a car, I'd think that Prism will probably have him park it by 60 laps in. It would be interesting to listen to the radio communication between McD and the team as to whether they'll let him go all out and race it as hard as he wants or whether they'll have him dial it down and just ride around.

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

April 21, 2009

NASCAR Decides to "Penalize" Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Casey Mears After All

After Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Casey Mears tangled post-race on Saturday night NASCAR immediately said that no penalties would be given to either driver. On Monday Mike Mulhern reported on his website that contrary to what was said over the weekend NASCAR would in fact be penalizing the two drivers. That report was denied by NASCAR's spokesperson Ramsey Poston in a Tweet which called Mulhern's story "irresponsible." Turns out Mulhern was onto something - today NASCAR announced that they were putting both Junior and Casey on probation through the next six Cup races so "the situation wouldn't escalate."

Apparently the decision to reverse course was reached during NASCAR's weekly competition meeting and I have to wonder how much of the discussion focused on a need to ensure that things between Junior and Casey didn't escalate as much as whether they needed to respond to the fans and the media, many of whom questioned why there were no penalties and whether it was because favoritism was being shown to Junior. Of course placing Junior and Casey on probation is just for show. Drivers on probation can seemingly race and act exactly as they did prior to being placed on probation without any fear of there being additional consequences though NASCAR has claimed that's not the case. I have to wonder whether NASCAR even knows what behavior would cause them to take action against a driver (or crew chief) already on probation and what further penalty they would give out?

What gets me is how ridiculous NASCAR made Ramsey look by having him twice deny that there would be any penalties handed out to the point only to have exactly what he denied happen. That makes it hard to know whether to trust what Ramsey says. A better course of action would have been to say on Saturday night that NASCAR wouldn't be making a decision until after they discussed it at their competition meeting today. Though perhaps they didn't plan on discussing it until they realized that it wasn't just going to blow over.

In addition, I think Ramsey would have been better off addressing the rumors without mentioning Mulhern specifically. I would consider some of Mulhern's past reporting irresponsible since in the past he's reporting things without much sourcing and doesn't appear to check with teams, drivers, sponsors or NASCAR to give them an opportunity to confirm or refute what he's reporting. I don't consider him to be a very reliable source of news about the sport. However, there are times when he does get the story right and this happens to be one of them.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:43 PM | Comments (2)

April 19, 2009

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Woes Continue in Phoenix

Yet again Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and the #88 team show that they're far from a Championship team. This time during last night's race in Phoenix there was a missed lugnut on a pit stop which put Junior deep in the pack unable to pass and in danger of being lapped due to a non-competitive car. During the caution for the Robby Gordon-Michael Waltrip incident Tony Eury, Jr. made the decision to keep Junior out when most of the rest of the field pitted, always a risky decision but for a while it worked out as Junior was able to twice lead laps for a total of 62 laps. After he was passed by teammate Mark Martin, what seemed like a good decision proved to be a very bad one - Junior rapidly dropped back and appeared to be in desperate need of a pit stop, which had it come under green would probably have put him a lap or more down.

But Junior never got a chance to pit - Casey Mears made himself public enemy #1 to the Junior Nation by running him over on lap 300 which put Junior into the wall. At the end of the race on the cool-down lap Junior made his displeasure known by spinning Casey, which appears to be completely acceptable to everyone including NASCAR who didn't even bother to call Junior in for a chat after the race, but is unacceptable to me. While I understand that drivers sometimes feel the need to send a message to each other or let their emotions get the best of them and lash out, I don't think there's ever an excuse for drivers to use their cars as weapons against each other. It's disappointing to me that NASCAR, likely in the spirit of trying to appease fans and encourage more emotion in the sport - didn't take issue with what Junior did.

Junior is lashing out at the wrong person - Casey isn't the cause of his woes this season. Neither Junior nor his team seems to have their heads in the game as there are constant mistakes and bad decisions. What's a bad sign to me about the #88 team is that there were changes made to his pit crew in an effort to improve their performance on pit stops and there was still a problem. And what makes their issues even more glaring is that the other three Hendrick Motorsports teams are performing at an extremely high level with all of them winning a race this season. If the performance of the #88 team continues to be as bad as it has been not only will they miss the Chase but I can't see them ending up in Victory Lane either.

There's a lot of speculation that Tony Eury, Jr. is going to be replaced as Junior's crew chief - if Rick Hendrick does that he would only be giving in to pressure from the fans and the media not necessarily doing what's best for the #88 team. Junior has stated over and over his preference to work with his cousin and crew chief changes haven't worked out well for for him in the past. So if a change is made and Junior's not in favor of it I can't see the performance of the #88 team improving much. Junior is a talented driver and the #88 team is made up of some of the best people in the garage area but I think they're letting the pressure get to them. So I think the only way for them to improve is going to come from within - they need to somehow block out the distractions and focus on their task at hand - eliminating mistakes, making better decisions, working together well as a team and getting the best possible results.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:28 PM | Comments (5)

Tough Weekend for Michael Waltrip in Phoenix

Really tough weekend for Michael Waltrip in Phoenix - first he gets run over by Carl Edwards in the Nationwide race on Friday night while he was battling to stay in the lead and then last night in the Cup race he got loose and wrecked both Robby Gordon and himself.

Last night Michael had complained about being loose for virtually the entire race but he had still been able to make forward progress which came to an abrupt halt when he got loose under Robby, the worst possible person to get into an incident with considering their past history. While Michael got enough damage to cause him to have to go to the pits for repairs and limp around the track for the remainder of the race, the damage was much worse for Robby and he spent significant time behind the wall before returning to the track. Naturally he was angry and said during an interview with FOX that he "couldn't wait until there was another driver in the #55 next season." Seems to me that Robby needs to spend more time worry about his own team than about whether Michael or someone else is going to be racing the #55 next year. For one thing Robby is a giant hypocrite to get on another driver for wrecking, when Robby has caused plenty of wrecks and otherwise brought out the caution numerous times himself. In addition, it's not like Robby has done anything impressive of late on the track himself. So maybe if Robby thinks that Michael shouldn't race anymore he should also consider replacing himself?

Michael took complete responsibility for wrecking Robby, not just once but twice over his radio. What was sad to hear was how upset and down he sounded at the end of the race. He said how he had screwed up and that he needed to "get my brain working," that he gets nervous and that it's overwhelming - I would assume that's a reference to the pressure he feels to finish well and how it gets to him sometimes. There are some who think that Michael's ready to retire but he said that he wants to be able to race hard and wants to be able to drive. So there's no doubt that Michael still very much feels the desire to race - if he didn't then what happened last night wouldn't have been so upsetting to him. He continued by telling Bootie that he was a good man and that he deserved better. Bootie's response was great - he told Michael that it was just a bump in the road and that there were a lot of positives in the race, and that he wasn't bullshitting him.

As strange as it may sound I have to agree with Bootie - the team was able to make the car better for Michael as the race went on and he was able to pass for position to the point where he had raced his way into the top 25. Had he not gotten into Robby he probably would have been able to keep moving forward. In addition, the team had at least one excellent pit stop so it was also a good day for the team on pit road which is important since these days a lot of drivers have good runs ruined by issues on pit road. Still, I can understand why Michael's so down about last night - if he doesn't finish well this season NAPA may opt to either ask for a new driver in the #55 next season or leave Michael Waltrip Racing all together. I think both options would be a mistake for NAPA right now but they may not see things the same way I do. Michael is a talented driver, if he wasn't he wouldn't have lasted in Cup this long no matter how well he can plug his sponsors and I hope starting next weekend at Talladega he can get back to the way he was racing at the start of the season.

What probably bothers me as much as anything is that the incident with Robby is going to set off a whole new round of bashing and negativity directed towards Michael, particularly by Robby's fans who seem to be some of the most negative fans around, some of them even about their own driver. That's what's so amazing about Robby's fans is that many of them believe that "keeping it real" involves insulting their own driver and giving the impression that he's incompetent as a driver and owner. So unfortunately this incident is going to give those fans reason to direct their negativity towards Michael - again. All because of what's nothing more than a racing incident. Yeah, it stinks when your driver gets wrecked but sometimes things happen - it's not like Michael intended on wrecking Robby. Of course if Robby was in Michael's position they'd not only defend him but celebrate him wrecking Michael. Odds are Robby's comment will be a big topic of discussion not only on the various fan forums but also on Sirius though it's lucky that Junior had such a bad race because that may take some of the focus away from the incident between Michael and Robby.

As for Friday night Michael had stayed out when everyone else went to pit road to get track position and lead laps. Unless there was a quick caution he was going to lose the lead because those behind him were on newer tires. Well, Carl Edwards apparently didn't have the patience to pass Michael cleanly he ran him over and wrecked him out of the race. Carl's excuse was that Michael ran him up into the wall and maybe from Carl's viewpoint that's what he thought but in watching replays it's hard to see anything that Michael did wrong - he got run over plain and simple. Which is really a shame since Michael not only seemed to have a good car that he was going to be able to race up front with but he was surely hoping to get Best Western a top finish or even a win since they're based in Phoenix.

During his post-wreck interview Michael commented how Carl would just say he's sorry like he always does. It's true - Carl always flashes that big smile of his and apologizes as if it makes it okay that he ran someone over or otherwise did something to anger another competitor. But I don't think only Carl should be singled out for insincere apologies. I really wonder how many of the drivers actually mean it when they say they're sorry. I'm sure some of them do feel bad when they wreck another driver but for some drivers they probably don't care all that much when there's no consequences for them, they're able to advance their position or they don't like the person they wreck. What says it all to me about the sincerity level of the apologies is that last year Michael said that these days many drivers don't bother to even pick up the phone to call to apologize, they just send a text message with an "I'm sorry." Seems to me that if a driver is really sorry that it would be important enough for them to call the other driver or even better apologize face-to-face.

The good news is that Talladega is next weekend. Michael's won on that track before and is capable of winning there again - he almost did last year if not for his engine blowing on the last lap. So it's the perfect track for Michael to jump start his season and get things going in the right direction again. Hope to see a great finish for him and all of MWR!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:46 PM | Comments (2)

April 17, 2009

A.J. Allmendinger Extends Deal With Richard Petty Motorsports Through 2010

It had been rumored that Joe Gibbs Racing might be interested in A.J. Allmendinger for a possible 4th team in 2010, but if there was any truth to that rumor they'll have to look elsewhere for a driver - Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that they have signed Allmendinger to race for them in 2010. Tom Reddin, RPM's chief executive officer said,

“This was an easy decision for Richard Petty Motorsports. AJ has done a superb job, both on and off the track in 2009. We want to let everyone know that he’s going to be a vital part of Richard Petty Motorsports for what we believe will be a long-term, winning relationship.”

Allmendinger has indeed been very good for RPM. Although he's only 20th in the points, he's RPM's second best driver behind Kasey Kahne and will likely only improve as he continues to get additional experience in Cup. After being released by Red Bull Racing last season and having to worry about sponsorship and whether he'd be able to race past the first few races this season, it must be a relief to Allmendinger to have some long-term security.

The only problem for Allmendinger and RPM is like it is for so many teams, sponsorship. So far there's only sponsorship from a variety of companies for 26 races this season for Allmendinger so RPM still has ten races this season they need to find sponsorship for. It would be a shame for Allmendinger when he's racing well if he had to miss some races due to a lack of sponsorship. However, by signing Allmendinger so early, RPM has given themselves plenty of time to work on finding sponsorship for him for next season. If he continues to race well and I think he will, he likely will continue to attract sponsors.

If RPM can't find sponsorship for Allmendinger for 2010 both Reed Sorenson and Elliott Sadler should be extremely nervous about their long-term future at RPM because I suspect if the performance doesn't improve for both of those drivers one or both of them may find themselves out of a ride at RPM. That would mean that sponsorship from their cars could be shifted to Allmendinger. While Sorenson just signed with RPM prior to this season, the results for him so far this season have been just as poor as they've been for the rest of his Cup career and he's 30th in points. It would seem like a waste to release him after just one season but if he's not going to show any signs of getting better finishes his tenure at RPM might be short. That said, Sadler may be in an even more precarious position since he had to threaten to sue to keep his ride at RPM. I can't see them keeping him any longer than they have to so if there's a way for RPM to get out of his contract without getting sued I think they'll do it. I really don't expect the results to get any better for Sadler given the circumstances under which he's still racing for RPM which can't make for a very good working environment for anyone so I don't think he'll be racing for RPM for much longer.

Reddin said that he believes that Allmendinger will win for RPM and while it's hard for teams that aren't among the powerhouses in the Cup garage to visit Victory Lane I definitely think Allmendinger has the ability to win if he's given competitive cars to race. Sure would be great to see it happen!

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

Steve Park Finishes 3rd in Phoenix!

Steve Park raced extremely well in his Camping World West Series debut last night in Phoenix, finishing 3rd. For a while it appeared that Steve had a good chance to win the race as he was out front with just one lap to go. But ultimately a decision by the #35 team to not pit for tires when everyone else did, which put Steve in the lead, was costly as Jason Bowles and Eric Holmes, both with fresher tires were able to pass Steve on the last lap. Jason's win was the first of the season for him and his 7th overall in the West Series. It's hard to tell when the only way to follow the race is online but it seemed like there was some great racing in this race so I'll have to check out the edited version that SPEED will show next Thursday at 3 p.m.

I was interested in how Eric would race Steve since he had raced the #35 in 2007 and parted ways with the team on what seemed to be bad terms given his comments last year about the team in which he said the cars weren't very competitive and implied that the team didn't know what they were doing. But based on the comments Steve made in the post-race press conference both Eric and Jason raced him very cleanly and Steve seemed to enjoy racing with them and with the West Series drivers overall. Given the time constraints of having to go from Greenville-Pickens this past weekend to Phoenix for last night's race and then be in North Carolina to race next weekend, the team is surely putting in a lot of time and effort right now so it's good that Steve enjoyed himself and was able to finish so well!

In fact, perhaps Steve enjoyed racing with them even more than he does his fellow competitors in the East Series who apparently have a different style of racing. According to Steve instead of actually racing, they just "dive-bomb" each other on the last lap. He then proceeded to say how much he liked racing against "real" racers and I have to wonder just exactly what he meant by that? Is he referring to the style of racing being an old-school type of gentlemanly, clean at all times racing? Or is he making a commentary on the his fellow drivers in the East Series and that they are only pretenders when it comes to racing? That wouldn't be a very flattering assessment of the ability of some of those he races against. It may be true that some don't have the same kind of ability he does but seems to me that someone like Matt Kobyluck and some of the other drivers who finished ahead of Steve in the points and won races - which he didn't - last season are "real" racers.

In any event, Steve's next race is an East Series race on April 25 at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, NC. Hope he can match or even better his results from last night!

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

April 15, 2009

Patrick Carpentier To Race the #99 for Michael Waltrip Racing at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

Today it was confirmed as had been rumored in a Canadian newspaper a couple of weeks ago that Patrick Carpentier will race the #99 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota in the Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in August for Michael Waltrip Racing. Robert Hattem, the president and COO of UAP Inc., the Canadian arm of Genuine Parts Company, NAPA's parent company said,

"Patrick was our first choice and we are undoubtedly very happy with this agreement. Not only is he from the region but his name is synonymous with talent, perseverance and sportsmanship wherever he performs. It was a natural fit for us to offer Patrick the wheel for this event and allow the public to witness his unique know-how.”

Based on the announcement the decision to put Patrick in the #99 sounds like a decision that was completely NAPA's which isn't a surprise since not only are they sponsoring the #99 for that race but they're also the title sponsor of the race itself. Patrick is a good choice.

Patrick said,

"By being the official race sponsor, it is clear to me that NAPA wishes more than anything the success of this important event for the City of Montreal. It is an honour to partner with such a talented team like NAPA. My greatest desire is to give the spectators and viewers a great performance that meets their expectations.”

Although he only has 12 Nationwide starts and didn't have much success in his limited stint in Cup, Patrick excels at road course races. In fact, in last year's race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve Patrick finished 2nd so if he has a competitive car he can most definitely give a great performance! Sure would be outstanding to see him better that this season and win this year's race for NAPA and MWR!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park Finishes 7th at Greenville-Pickens; Michael Waltrip Finishes 15th in Nashville

I realized I never said anything in this space about either the Camping World East Series race at Greenville-Pickens or the Nationwide race in Nashville this past weekend even though Steve Park and Michael Waltrip raced, Steve in the East Series race and Michael in the Nationwide race. Fact is as much as I wish I could say different, neither race was particularly memorable for either driver even though their respective finishes were pretty good.

In the East Series race Steve finished 7th, a spot ahead of last year's Series Champion, Matt Kobyluck. Brian Ickler dominated the race, leading every lap except one. I had expected a top five finish or even a win from Steve since he had qualified 4th and practiced well but someone who was at the race said that he had some issue with his brakes. Ryan Truex was 15th in his debut for Michael Waltrip Racing - I'm not sure what happened to him since he had also qualified in the top five and raced up front during the first half of the race. Apparently both Ty Norris, MWR's general manager and Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan's brother were there to see how he did in his first race for MWR. In general, it's very hard to know much more than the basics about what happens with any team or driver during the race since there's no live coverage of the races on TV so the only way to follow along is via lap-by-lap coverage on NASCAR's website or eastseries.com for the few races they'll be covering, unless a team makes a post-race report available and many of them don't.

Even though Michael was able to finish 15th at Nashville it seemed like he had a difficult day. Aside from a late race spin into the grass, he was never able to race up front at all even though his last win in this series came at Nashville just a few years ago. As others have noted it seems like while MWR's Cup teams have made a lot of progress the past few years, their Nationwide program has regressed. I had expected David Reutimann to contend for the Championship in his second full year in the Nationwide Series and not only didn't he do that, he didn't really contend for any wins either. Things haven't improved this season with Michael and Scott Speed. Perhaps it's to be expected that while the focus has been on making the Cup teams more competitive that maybe more resources have gone towards that goal. An additional problem this season is likely that there isn't full sponsorship for the #99 for the entire season so far so that may mean that there are less financial resources to put into the team. It's unfortunate because a few years ago when the team was based out of Michael's backyard they were one of the best teams in the series. Hopefully they can get back to that level of competition.

Joey Logano won the Nationwide race and engaged in a good battle with his teammate Kyle Busch for the win. It was good to see Joey in Victory Lane and perhaps that will quiet some of his many critics who think he's lacking in talent because his results in Cup have been far from impressive so far. Joey does have a lot of ability behind the wheel otherwise he wouldn't have been able to beat Kyle or anyone else for the win on Saturday. It's a challenge to begin with to be a rookie with very little experience in Cup and even more so for Joey (and Scott Speed) this season since NASCAR won't let the teams test (on NASCAR sanctioned tracks) anymore.

Steve's next race is tomorrow in the Camping World West Series race in Phoenix. I admit I'm a little surprised that Steve and his team are making the trip to Phoenix. Other East Series teams have entered the race in the past but apparently some of those who raced in it in the past opted not to this season because there's been a change in the schedule that eliminated an off-week. With just ten races on the East Series schedule I can understand why Steve and his team might look to add races but they don't have much turn-around time to get to Phoenix and then on to the next race at Tri-County on the 25th. Michael is racing in both the Nationwide and Cup races in Phoenix (I wonder if they'll get together in Phoenix - they probably aren't at the track together too often anymore) - sure hope Michael and MWR has a great race weekend at Phoenix!

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

April 14, 2009

Michael Waltrip Takes Part in Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am

Not much going on in the way of news since it was an off-weekend for the Cup Series but I did come across an article about the 15th annual Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am, which took place in North Myrtle Beach, Florida yesterday. How I wish that Michael Waltrip still did Michael Waltrip Out Loud on XM because Michael golfed in this and based on the photos it looks like he had a lot of fun so it surely would have been a topic of discussion during the show. Unfortunately there is no XM show anymore much to the dismay of the many fans of Michael's who used to tune in each week to hear about each race weekend and his other adventures. Without the show we don't hear much about Michael golfing, something he surely is still doing a lot of. Something else I haven't heard Michael mention lately is Darius Rucker, the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, but he and Michael must still be friends if Michael took part in this. Apparently Kyle Petty also golfed yesterday in this but I didn't see him in any of the photos. Seems like a fun event - sure wish Tommy Baldwin still did the charity golf event on Long Island I went to a few times. That was a great event, especially the time Michael took part!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2009

Kyle Busch Not Happy With Fans at Nashville

Nashville Superspeedway had a promotion this weekend for the Nationwide race in which fans could purchase an all-access package which gave fans pre-race access to the garage area and the driver's meeting, which of course meant that they were able to get closer to the drivers than they might have been able to in the past. Kyle Busch wasn't too happy with all the fans who took advantage of the promotion. He said,

“There were a lot of people with a lot more access than typical. Some fans need to respect the drivers a little more because they’re bringing suitcases of diecasts for us to sign. Yeah, it’s our job to sign for the fans and to treat them nice, but when they have three suitcases, that’s a little ridiculous.”

Kyle's getting criticized for his comments on the SPEED forum and probably elsewhere but he's right - there are some things that fans do when they're around the drivers that are ridiculous, including having multiple items that they want them to sign. Odds are Kyle isn't the only driver who feels the way he does either.

Fact is, as I've said in this space many times, there are some fans who don't know how to act appropriately. Yes, the drivers have a responsibility to the fans. Yes, if they can they should sign some autographs and acknowledge the fans. And yes, the drivers should treat the fans with courtesy and respect. However, there is a segment of fans who take advantage of the access that they get, whether it's by bringing suitcases of things for the drivers to sign, asking for autographs at inappropriate times, being rude to the drivers, invading their personal space or otherwise behaving badly. The unfortunate thing is that every time a fan doesn't act the way they should, they ruin things for the majority of fans who do know how to act right because those fans that do ridiculous things sometimes stand out more than the fans who behave appropriately. Then fans wonder why some drivers run by without acknowledging the fans or seem to hide all together when they're at the track.

Kyle's also getting some criticism this morning on Sirius for his post-race comments. Apparently he didn't say anything about his teammate, Joey Logano, beating him to win in his TV interview after the race. For one thing ESPN was rushing to get off the air so the interview was probably very rushed but beyond that, it seems as if Kyle can't win. Instead of running off like he's done in the past, Kyle gives an interview. Not only that he didn't say anything controversial. But to some fans he still didn't say the right thing. For some fans no matter what Kyle says or does it's always going to be wrong. No wonder he says he doesn't care what the fans think and just acts the way he wants because even if he's on his best behavior some fans are still going to rip him.

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

April 09, 2009

JTG-Daughtery Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing Benefit From Technical Alliance

Outstanding article on nascar.com that details the technical alliance between Michael Waltrip Racing and JTG-Daugherty Racing and how it came to be. The roots of the partnership were planted last July at Indianapolis as Michael Waltrip watched JTG attempt to make their first Cup race. Knowing how hard it could be to try to do what JTG was going to attempt, Michael decided that he was going to see if he could help them. He said that he sent Ty Norris to find Tad Geschickter because he could save him two years of trying to figure out how to survive in Cup. Michael said,

"I was a year and a half in at that point and I knew that when he started in '09 [as a Cup owner], we'd be two years ahead of where he was going to be if he tried to do it himself. My car was locked in the show and I had lived the hell of 2007 in missing race after race and just struggling to get our legs up under us as a team."

Of course Michael wasn't just thinking about how he could help JTG but about how an alliance could help MWR since the organization wanted to continue fielding three teams in 2009 but didn't have the necessary sponsorship to do so. Michael said,

"We didn't have sponsorship for our third car for '09, and definitely wanted to continue at a three-car level. We began talking right there, that day at Indy, about how we might partner, provide him cars, provide his equipment and he'd essentially be a part of MWR -- and that's exactly what we did. I think the benefits are endless for both groups. But I think for Tad, it gave him a chance to get up and running immediately. ... He has manufacturing support not only from MWR, but also Toyota support as well.

The benefits are indeed tremendous for both organizations. There's no question that the results for Marcos Ambrose and JTG are significantly better because of their alliance than MWR than if they were competing on their own. And MWR not only fulfills their desire to field three teams but are doing so with a driver who appears to have the potential to have a lot of success in the Cup Series.

What's interesting is that JTG had spoken with Ford about being affiliated with them but were told that there was no place for them on the Cup level even though Marcos had previously been associated with Ford. I wonder if Ford has any regrets about that decision? Toyota was more than open to having JTG become one of their teams which opened the door to the alliance between JTG and MWR. The other interesting thing which I think has led to some confusion among fans is that even though JTG's Cup operation is housed in the MWR shop and they share information and as the article notes even tools, even though Michael often talks about the #47 team as if it's one of his own, once they're at the track the JTG and MWR teams are separate entities. In the article Brad Daugherty says that sometimes these alliances don't work out, that an owner will just take a team's money but will provide them with inferior equipment. That's not the case here - JTG has access to everything that the MWR teams have access to from parts to engineering to personnel, which is why the alliance has been so successful.

Brad said of Michael,

"One thing about Michael, we all see him as the affable television character, kind of off the wall. But he really is a passionate, passionate racer. He loves racing. I think that gets overshadowed sometimes because we're always looking at some of the off-the-wall things he may say or do -- but he's a passionate racer. He thinks about things. I've really been impressed with Michael. When you sit down and have a conversation with him, he's got a lot of great ideas and has put a lot of thought into the business structure of his organization. I mean, they tried to eat an elephant here in a couple of bites and it was hard. But they learned a lot from it. That organization is going to survive and be a strong, strong operation going forward because of their resiliency. Michael's got a real passion for this sport. He's not just there, hanging out. He wants to run well and be successful. He wants to win and build a great organization. We're lucky to be a part of it."

I love it when people, especially those in the garage area, recognize that Michael is a lot more than just the goofball he sometimes portrays on TV. As I've detailed many times in this space before it irks me sometimes that some don't think Michael is serious about racing or dismiss him and his opinions because he plugs his sponsors a lot or like to be funny all the time. But the reality is that there is a very serious side to Michael that is, as Brad points out, that is passionate about racing and determined to be a success. Michael does indeed think about things and that's a very good thing because he's come up with some terrific ideas such as this alliance with JTG.

It's really wonderful to see Michael and MWR continue to get so much positive media attention!

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

April 08, 2009

Steve Park on Sirius (4/8)

Seems like it's been a really long time since Steve Park has been on Sirius or given any kind of interview for that matter. So I was excited when I heard that he'd be on Tradin' Paint on Sirius today! It was good to hear Steve after so long!

The Camping World East Series kicks off their season this weekend at Greenville-Pickens so Steve started out talking about that track and how it's a great place to race. I had sent the show an email about Steve racing in Phoenix in a couple of week and if they could ask him about that, which they did - he said because the schedule is only 12 or 13 races they're going to go to Phoenix and they will also race in the West race in Iowa later in the season (I think that race is in September). It may come as a surprise to Steve to find out that the East Series schedule isn't even 12 or 13 races - they dropped two tracks so it's only ten races now. He and his team wanted to add a few races because they enjoy racing. Last year he and his team didn't have the success they wanted. He said that last year the team was new (I assume he meant there were new personnel because they weren't new to the series) but this year the team is the same (so hopefully after working together for a year they'll have more success).

Before Steve came on there was some discussion about Sam Hornish, Jr's struggles and that of the open-wheelers in general. Steve said that he raced his entire life in stock cars to get to Cup and he still found it tough to race Cup. The open wheel guys only have a couple of years to prove themselves. It's hard to learn a different car that you haven't really run - it's hard for Sam Hornish to adapt. Thing is though I think some drivers do adapt easier - Juan Pablo Montoya for one and also Marcos Ambrose.

A lot of young guys asked him for advice last season. There's an extreme amount of talent in the East Series. He never had a series coming up for drivers to be groomed. NASCAR has given 16,17, 18 year olds a great series to groom themselves. The competition level is great every week. There are a lot of fans who don't like that the East Series has turned into a developmental series but I agree with Steve that it's a great place for young drivers to groom themselves and gain experience. I think it's important that there are lower series for these young drivers to race in so that teams aren't throwing those 16, 17 and 18-year olds into a truck or Nationwide car without any experience on a lower level.

Last season was disappointing to Steve - I think a lot of people were pretty disappointed by the results for Steve in the East Series whether they'd admit it or not. I was just glad that he was racing and I wasn't too wrapped up in how he finished in the points as long as it was pretty good which it was. But the truth is that Steve has far more experience on higher levels and in racing overall that just about everyone he was racing against and the expectation from many was that he would win multiple races which didn't happen. I would guess that will happen this season given that he and his team are better used to racing together and a number of teams from last season that bested Steve in the points and in terms of contending for wins won't be back. So I expect not only some wins from Steve but also that he'll be in contention for the series Championship. Wouldn't that be cool if he won the Championship? Steve said the competition is so close in the East Series - he went into the last race 15-20 points out of 6th, dropped out of the race with brake issues and finished 8th in points. Because there's a limited amount of races every race is important. You have to race smart and finish every race. Earnhardt told him to get the best out of his car, put it on the trailer, go home and get better. The young drivers need to learn that if you have a 4th place car you take 4th place.

Earlier in the interview Steve was asked about his future in the sport and he gave his standard answer. Doesn't see himself back in Cup because he doesn't want to be away from home and have his whole life be racing. But when the economy turns around he hopes to find a Nationwide or Truck ride. Apparently someone had called in before Steve came on and wanted to know if he had turned down rides. Steve didn't say yes or no, just said that he had talked to numerous teams and that the economy is an issue for everyone. However, it's not doom & gloom and the world isn't going to end so the media needs to leave it alone. Companies will come back to NASCAR. When an opportunity comes he would love to go back to Nationwide or trucks. Will see what happens in the next few months.

As much as it pains me to say it because I would love to see him in Nationwide or Trucks I don't think the chances of Steve going back to Nationwide or Trucks, let alone Cup, aren't very good even if the economy gets better. There weren't any companies who wanted to sponsor him when the economy is good and now Steve is a few years older and more removed from having raced a Truck or Nationwide car. In addition, if given a competitive car or truck I think Steve could definitely win some races but I just don't see Steve being offered an opportunity with a competitive team given that it's been so long since he's been in either of those two series - I think there are quite a few drivers who have moved ahead of him on the list of drivers who would be in demand by the better teams that he would consider racing for. But I don't see why he can't continue racing in the East Series or some other series as long as it's still fun for him.

Steve ended the interview by saying that there would be an autograph session at Greenville-Pickens and that fans could come by to say "hi."

Posted by silverdsl at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

Earnhardt-Ganassi to Suspend Operations of the #8; Future Uncertain for Aric Almirola

Due to a lack of sponsorship Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing has decided that they will suspend operations of the #8. That move was expected since EGR had said from the start of the season that they wouldn't be able to field the car for the entire season unless additional sponsorship was found. I feel bad for the EGR employees who were laid off as a result as well as for Aric Almirola who now finds himself without a ride at a time when there are many other opportunities available because virtually every organization is in the same position as EGR in that sponsorship is scarce these days. Aric said last week,

“I’ve put so much in my heart and soul and focus that I have going on right here, I don’t have a Plan B. I haven’t walked around and worked on a Plan B yet because I’m so focused on Plan A. That’s what I’m really worried about and concerning myself with."

Plan A hasn't worked out so unfortunately Aric's going to have to find himself a Plan B in a hurry which isn't going to be easy. Although Aric hasn't done much on the Cup level, I like him and I'd like to see him get another opportunity. Some don't think he'll ever amount to much in NASCAR but I doubt he's really ever had truly competitive cars on the Cup level to race. I was extremely impressed with him when he was a guest on This Week in NASCAR - he seemed to be very well-spoken and intelligent so I think he would represent any sponsor extremely well. I hope that EGR or another organization can find some sponsorship for him, if not in Cup then in Nationwide or the Truck Series because I'd hate to see him just disappear.

A lot of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans are freaking out over the fact that the #8 isn't going to be on the track anymore but this should come as no surprise. Many of them think that Junior should get the #8 from EGR and field it through JR Motorsports but that's pretty unrealistic. Junior had a hard time finding sponsorship for his Nationwide program this season, where is he going to find a sponsor willing to pony up $20 million for a brand-new Cup team in the middle of the season? I would also think that JR Motorsports isn't at all prepared to start racing on the Cup level yet - it kind of amazes me that some fans think it's easy to race Cup, as if JR Motorsports can just show up at the track and be successful because the team is associated with Junior. But the struggles of the #88 team shows that it's not always easy for established organizations let alone teams that are new on the Cup level.

I also think that some fans need to let go of the past. That's always been hard for fans to do - some seem to hold grudges over even the smallest of perceived injustices against their favorite drivers for years. But Junior raced the #8 when he was at DEI and those days are over. There's no way to undo Teresa Earnhardt not giving Junior the #8 or anything else that happened between them. Junior's moved on and started a new chapter of his life at Hendrick Motorsports but some of his fans seem stuck in the past. Some fans - and this goes for all fans, not just Junior fans - might enjoy their experience as a fan a little more if they weren't constantly getting upset over small issues and things that can't be changed.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2009

Michael Waltrip Racing Pairs With Ryan Truex in Camping World East Series

Today Michael Waltrip Racing announced what had been rumored among those in the Camping World East Series for a while that they would be partnering with Ryan Truex to field a car for him in the East Series this season with sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts. When I heard about this I have to admit that I wasn't exactly jumping up and down about it because the person who first discussed it also speculated that this was because MWR hoped to sign Ryan's older brother, Martin Truex Jr., for next season to replace Michael Waltrip in the #55 - I'm not exactly thrilled to hear talk about Michael not racing past this season and if MWR is going to be looking at a replacement for Michael, Martin wouldn't be very high on my list of drivers that I'd want to see in the #55.

That said, I'm going to put that aside and be happy that MWR is going to be fielding an East Series car! For one thing it gives me another driver besides Steve Park to cheer for in the East Series. Beyond that I'm glad that MWR is working with another young driver since it's important for them to develop some young talent for the future. Sponsorship hasn't worked out for them to be able to field a Nationwide car for Josh Wise unfortunately and Michael McDowell lost his Cup ride with MWR due to a lack of sponsorship as well. It's also likely a lot cheaper to field an East Series car, particularly since it's only for ten races and the Truex's are bringing some resources of their own into the partnership. So this is very definitely a good thing for MWR and I certainly have no complaints about them giving a driver from New Jersey an opportunity!

Ty Norris said,

“In essence, Ryan was ready to move to the next level. The Truex's had the cars and the engines, but needed someone to house, employ the staff and operate the team. I've known the Truex's since we approached Truex Jr. about driving for DEI's nationwide team in 2003. Ryan has the bloodline and needed the opportunity, so we partnered in this entry. We heard he was aggressive and fast and we can’t wait to see him compete.”

I guess it surprises me that MWR is entering into this partnership without having seen Ryan race if I understand what Ty is saying correctly but maybe that's common when it's a partnership as opposed to putting a driver in a car that they're fielding for him completely as their own entry. Or maybe that happens with young drivers on lower levels where there isn't as much money being put in so there's not as much risk of losing a lot if things don't work out. Regardless I hope this works out great for MWR and that Ryan has a lot of success - sure would be great if he won a few East Series races for them this season!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:31 PM | Comments (0)

Camping World Denies Rumors That They're Leaving the Truck Series

Rumors recently surfaced that Camping World would be leaving the Truck Series after just one season as series sponsor and that NASCAR had already started the process of looking for a replacement. However, according to Camping World, the rumor is mostly false - they are staying the sponsor of the Truck Series but are helping to look for a replacement sponsor for the East and West Series which they currently also sponsor. This is very good news for the Truck Series that they aren't in need of a new series sponsor but terrible news for the East and West Series, though most knew that it was likely that Camping World wouldn't remain affiliated with those two series once they started sponsoring the Truck Series.

Although the East and West Series features some terrific young drivers who could be the future stars of the sport as well as some talented veteran drivers, I think NASCAR is going to have a very hard time finding another sponsor to take Camping World's place unless it's at a deeply discounted price. The poor economy is a big factor but there are other issues as well, the biggest one to me being that both series, and the East Series in particular, get next to no attention or exposure. A couple of weeks ago in Martinsville NASCAR held a press conference to promote the East Series opener in Greenville-Pickens, which is this weekend and from what I can tell there wasn't a single article or any kind of media coverage what-so-ever generated by this press conference. Not good. In addition, HDNet has dropped live coverage of the races so the only TV broadcast comes in the form of a condensed one-hour version that will air a week or more after the race is run on Thursday afternoons when most fans aren't around to watch. Reportedly ticket sales weren't always great for races last season and sales could be even worse this season due to the economy. Just exactly what sponsor is going to sign on as Series sponsor if no one is going see their logos?

Posted by silverdsl at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

This Week in NASCAR with Michael Waltrip and Chad Knaus (4/6)

Sure wish I was able to capture the humorous moments in my recaps since Chad Knaus, Michael Waltrip and Steve Byrnes joke around with each other a lot but sometimesyou just have to see and hear it to understand why it's funny. But they were definitely very entertaining last night!

Michael started out by talking about Michael Waltrip Racing's performance at Texas - he was a lot more positive about it during the show than many fans have been but I suppose that's to be expected, and to be fair David Reutimann winning the pole for the race was definitely something for the organization to celebrate! It was a big deal for David to be on the pole for himself and MWR. Michael said you have to be impressed by Marcos Ambrose - I know I am! Marcos just showed up and is doing it. Tad and Jodi Geschickter put their heart and souls into NASCAR for years and Michael is happy for them that they're delivering for their sponsors, it's a great story.

Michael then proceeded to whip out a drawing that I thought when I first looked at it was a pair of boobs and I wondered why he drew them and why SPEED didn't have a problem with showing it. Turns out it was meant to be a drawing of the eyes on the stack of money from the Geico commercial! I don't know whether that's a commentary on me thinking Michael's mind is in the gutter or whether I'm right there in the gutter with him! The drawing was shown several more times throughout the show and luckily the commercial was shown as well which made it make a lot more sense.

The #48 team finished second at Texas but Chad said it wasn't an easy day for them. The car was fast on Saturday but once the green flag dropped on Sunday the car wasn't handling right. At one point they were as far back as 25th, which to me isn't really that far back in comparison to some teams that find themselves mired back in 30-35th place when things aren't going well. Jimmie did a good job of hanging on to the car and keeping it off the wall and they just kept working on it. By the end of the race they started getting it and the car was fast. This is why the #48 team is one of the best in the garage area - they're able to make the right changes to make an ill-handling car into a good one and contend for wins even in races that look like it's going to be an off-day for them early on.

A lot of people weren't too thrilled with the racing at Texas but Michael seems to have liked it. Said that there always seems to be drama at Texas and you don't know how the race is going to play out until the end. Later in the show Michael said the great thing about the race was that you had guys that came out of no where and also guys who had been there all day and that the suspense of how the race is going to play out is as fun as anything. I think for me that's true for every race that one reason I watch as much of every race as I can is because anything can happen and you never know what you might end up seeing on any given race weekend. However, my sense is that many of my fellow fans don't feel that way and perhaps that's part of the problem facing the sport. Many fans don't feel that the racing is exciting and they feel that it's not very interesting to see the same handful of drivers who are mostly from the same four organizations win almost every week, sometimes in dominating fashion.

After Jeff Gordon's win at Texas Hendrick Motorsports now has 177 total wins. Chad said they have a wall at the team center with an "H" for every win, when the wall is completely covered they'll have 200 wins. There was some joking about whether Chad would let them see his notebook if they went to HMS to see the wall and how protective he is of it. Gee, I wonder why?

Michael said he had been optimistic about his car for Sunday and thought it had potential but at the wrong times they didn't have the car running right. Late in the going they made adjustments that didn't work but at the end of the race the car was fast and he was happy with it - um, really? To my ears Michael seemed pretty unhappy with his car the entire race but maybe he just didn't express it over the radio when he was happier about the car since he was so upset with how bad it was at other times during the race. Segments of the race the car wasn't very good. He said you can fall off the pace a couple of times if cautions fall right or if you get the free pass - like the previous weekend at Martinsville when he was able to rally to finish 13th - but other times you better be dead on or you can't make it up - like this past weekend at Texas.

Steve announced that Michael would be getting his wish, that they would be expanding the radioactive segment of the show, at least one time, and that Monday at 8 p.m. there would be a half hour show with Michael that was and expanded look at the radio chatter from Texas. How cool for Michael that SPEED liked his idea and that they're going to give it a try, at least for a week? Sure hope it goes well and that they get a lot of positive feedback about it so it can become a new series. Although some teams and drivers don't like what they say over their radios being made public, I think it gives a lot of insight into what happens for the teams during races in a more in-depth way than what's possible during a TV broadcast.

The panel reviewed the points standings and Chad said that he wouldn't think that his team would be second in points, I guess because they're had some weekends in which they've struggled somewhat, but he's not surprised that the #24 is leading the points since there was a big effort to restructure that team. I thought that was an interesting comment since I can't remember hearing about major changes to the #24 team. A lot of fans were calling for Steve Letarte's head going into this season but HMS stuck with him and it's definitely paying off! Chad's surprised that the #2 team is so high in points after the way they raced last season. Michael said it's good to see the #00 team up in the points, as well as Kasey Kahne, I guess because like with the #00 team, Kasey and his team aren't with one of the big four organizations in the garage area. With MWR they wanted to work their way up into the four superteams that are mainstays for the Chase. They wanted to wedge one or two of their teams in there - so far so good Michael said, they've made the progress they've needed to.

There was some discussion of the penalty given to the #00 team for pitting outside his box. There was traffic when he was coming in and he didn't see his box properly. Michael said the jack should never go up if the car's over the line but that's what happened and the team got penalized for it. As crew crew chief you try to choreograph with the teams around you about when to pit and make a decision about pitting based on that. Sometimes you can't work it out but you try to come down pit road when they aren't. It can save 2-3 seconds by not having to deal with the cars around you. Chad brought up how the pit crew can get their rhythm thrown off by the car being over the line, they get confused and it throws them off.

They showed some video of Sam Hornish, Jr's spin and Michael said that Sam gives you 110% on every lap and tries real hard but when you consistently put yourself on the edge eventually you're going to cross it. Same has to figure out how to keep something in reserve. I thought that Michael was taking great pains to be delicate and nice about it but was basically saying that even though Sam puts a lot of effort in, he's not very good right now and often wrecks because he has a lot to learn about when to race hard and when to dial it down a little. I think in his second season Sam should have learn that lesson to some degree and that he hasn't probably doesn't bode well for the chances of him sticking around in Cup long-term.

After all this time of being on TWiN Michael just got to wondering last night whether TWiN was an acronym for "This Week in NASCAR." :lol: Said that "acronym" was a big word for him and that growing up in Kentucky he never needed to use that word. Some thing tells me that if Michael had been paying attention in English class in high school he probably would have had to have used that word!

I was surprised that there wasn't much discussion of the woes of the #88 team since it's such a big story everywhere else but maybe they didn't want to say anything that could potentially set off a controversy particularly since Chad would have to give an opinion on another HMS team that wouldn't necessarily be positive. They did discuss when Kyle Busch got loose and bumped Junior on the re-start. Contrary to what a lot of fans think about it being deliberate the panel just thought he got loose. Michael thought he did a great job of not crashing. Junior was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was refreshing to listen to a race review that didn't focus mostly on Junior's issues.

I don't recall exactly how it came up but Michael said he had a girlfriend named Tonya in 2nd grade that he says he still thinks about. He got to hold her hand in 5th grade and he joked that he's slow with it and likes to take his time - yeah, right! Later in the show they joked about her calling him but how the rest of the panel who knew him would warn her off, that she was smart to have stayed away from him.

When they played some video of Stremme's spin it was said that he knew he had a flat tire and that he was trying to get to pit road. Michael speculated that maybe secretly Stremme had deliberately brought out the caution by spinning himself. I thought that was an interesting observation which makes me wonder just how many spins aren't as accidental as they may look to us fans.

I didn't pay much attention to the preview of the Phoenix race since I don't have much use for the previews of the upcoming races since they seem very repetitive to me. However, they did mention that awesome race in '05 was mentioned which was the race in which Michael battled Kurt for the win and ultimately finished second. That's probably one of my favorite races ever even though Michael didn't win!

The first fan question was how larger tires and wheels effect the cars. Chad said that the new car doesn't have as much downforce and that there's a lot of stress on the tires and wheels. Larger tires and wheels would give the cars more mechanical grip and could make the racing better. The wheels and tires are very pivotal. The second question was about forward bite. Michael said it's how well the back tires stick to the road when you put the gas down and it's different from being loose.

As usual it was a fun show to watch!

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

April 06, 2009

Patrick Carpentier to Race the #99 Nationwide Car for Michael Waltrip Racing?

Jayski has an interesting item that comes from RueFrontenac.com, that apparently (the original item is in French so what Jayski has is a translation) that Patrick Carpentier will race the #99 Nationwide car for Michael Waltrip Racing in the road course race in Montreal and possibly also in the race at Watkins Glen with sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts. I had saw somewhere that MWR might possibly field the #99 for the race at Montreal which didn't surprise me since that race's title sponsor is NAPA, who of course sponsors Michael Waltrip's #55 Cup car at MWR but there was no indication as to who the driver might be.

I was thinking that driver would likely end up being one of the drivers that MWR is currently working with, maybe Marcos Ambrose or Max Papis since are known for their road course expertise. But I'm excited that Patrick might get a couple of races in the #99. Although he didn't have much success in the brief time he was in Cup he seemed like a good guy so I'm glad that he may get another opportunity in NASCAR with MWR even if it's just on a very limited basis.

I wish I remembered some of the French I learned in High School so that I could read the original article as it's possible that something is being lost in the translation between the article and what ended up on Jayski. I really hope it happens though - I think it would be really cool for Patrick to race for MWR!

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

More Problems for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at Texas

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sits 16th in the points after yesterday's 20th place finish at Texas and there are many drivers and teams who would love to be that high in the points. However, for Junior and his team it's far short of expectations. The reason he's not higher in the points is mostly because of dismal efforts like yesterday where mistakes on pit road and on the track prevented the team from finishing as well as they had raced. What makes Junior's 20th place finish yesterday look so bad is how well his teammates did - Jeff Gordon won the race, Jimmie Johnson overcame a car that was ill-handling early in the race to finish 2nd and even Mark Martin who had had a lot of bad luck this season finished 6th.

For a while it seemed like Junior would join his teammates in finishing in the top ten. He even led a few laps at one point. But on a pit stop a lugnut was left off and when Junior came back into the pits he inexplicably missed his pit stall - not the first time he's done that this season - and had to come back in. That dropped him out of the top ten to 22nd. Later in the race Junior got into the wall. Although the damage wasn't enough to take him out of the race and was able to be fixed quickly in the pits it was one more problem for a team that was already struggling.

There's some fans who are blaming Tony Eury, Jr. for making the wrong calls during the race or Kyle Busch for getting into Junior on a re-start but the fact is that neither Eury, Jr. nor Kyle were the ones who caused Junior to miss his pit or get into the wall. That Junior keeps missing his pit this season is truly puzzling. Yes, it happens to even the best of drivers occasionally that they lose track of where they are on pit road and miss their pit but it doesn't usually happen with the frequency that it's happening to Junior. Veteran drivers just don't make the kind of mistakes that Junior keeps making this season. Junior has raced under a microscope for a long time but I have to wonder whether the issues he's been having this season are a sign that he's having trouble handling the pressure that's been put on him by the lofty expectations that fans and the media have for him. I also wonder about whether Junior's focus isn't entirely where it should be - on the track.

Of course Junior wasn't the only driver who had issues on pit road yesterday - for some reason pit road problems seemed to be epidemic at Texas. But for most teams it was a rare miscue. With Junior and his team it seems like mistakes are a weekly event. Of course it's still early in the season. Junior and his team could turn things around in Phoenix make the Chase and win the Championship. But the longer they race like their heads aren't in the game, the less likely it is that's going to happen.

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

Disappointing Day for Michael Waltrip Racing at Texas

Races like yesterday at Texas for Michael Waltrip Racing are hard for me to blog about. I'd much rather only write positive entries about how wonderful everything is for MWR and how much progress the organization continues to make but other than David Reutimann's 11th place finish yesterday really wasn't such a great day for MWR. The weekend started with a lot of promise when David won the pole for Sunday's race and I think a lot of people thought that this might be the weekend when David ended up in Victory Lane for the first time in his career but it wasn't to be. In addition, it wasn't a very good day for any of the other MWR teams, primary or affiliated.

Let's start with what went right - David won the pole and raced up front for much of the race. But on lap 154 when he was coming in for a pit stop David overshot his pit stall and instead of backing him up, the team started working on the car while it was still out of the box. That resulted in David being penalized a lap. The team was probably operating on instinct - the car's in the stall so they did what they always do and serviced it but Rodney Childers, David's crew chief, should have had the team back the car up. It would have cost them time but David probably wouldn't have lost a lap. While David was able to eventually get his lap back and finish 11th, odds are without that penalty he would have been in the hunt for the win at the end of the race. The #00 is still a young team that doesn't have any experience as a Chase contending team but if they want to remain in a position to be in the Chase at the end of the season they need to minimize costly mistakes like that.

David wasn't the only MWR driver who overshot his pit - apparently the same thing happened to Michael on lap 96. While Michael put the car in reverse so that his team didn't service it while he was out of the box, it cost him a lot of time - and positions. At the time he had been one of the first cars one lap down, a position he had raced very hard to put himself in, and had a good chance of getting his lap back on a subsequent caution, but losing all those positions put him behind quite a few other lapped cars and once the handling of his car went away Michael was unable to get back to where he needed to be to get the Lucky Dog. The car really wasn't to Michael's liking and the handling was particularly poor towards the end of the race so I suppose a top 25 should be considered a decent finish considering what Michael had to race, but Michael really needs to finish better than 24th on a regular basis.

The other issue is that for the first time this season Michael gave Bootie Barker, his crew chief, who he usually works very well with a hard time. Michael was argumentative and difficult and the old communication problems which I think were an issue in the past re-surfaced. I guess it's to be expected because Michael was frustrated that no matter what was done to the car they were never able to get the handling back to what it had been to start the race, and he was probably upset with himself on top of that for overshooting his pit at a particularly bad time. Some fans are concerned that the way Michael acted yesterday is going to chase Bootie away, but Bootie seems to be able to handle Michael very well - he doesn't back down from him, he calms him down and nothing seems to bother him. It's also no secret that Michael can be difficult to deal with at times so Bootie had to know what he was getting himself into when he accepted the job as Michael's crew chief. So I doubt that one race with poor communication is going to ruin things between them. I just hope that Michael doesn't let himself fall into some of the old patterns where it seemed like to those of us listening in that he would let his emotions get the best of him, lash out and try to crew chief from the car instead of focusing on racing. Yesterday wasn't that bad and he did seem to remain focused on what he was doing behind the wheel so hopefully this was just a minor blip on the radar due to frustration.

As for the teams that MWR has technical alliances with none of them fared very well either. Initially it looked like Marcos Ambrose was going to finish extremely well but mechanical issues ruined his race. First his throttle got stuck, then his engine lost a valve and then finally his engine gave up the ghost completely. It's very unfortunate because Marcos's 41st place finish doesn't reflect how well he raced and how until the mechanical issues it appeared he might finish in the top ten. For a driver with so little experience in Cup he continues to impress. Although Max Papis was able to qualify the #13 for Germain Racing into the show, he wasn't able to finish any better than 35th and that he finished that well was probably due to some other cars dropping out. I would guess that maybe that result was due to his inexperience at Texas - Michael said over the radio prior to the race that he had a discussion with Max about how to race on that track and told Ty Norris, his spotter, that Max might need to be reminded via his own spotter if he fell into bad habits. Then there's the #66 - Dave Blaney was in the garage with after less than 50 laps due to "brake" issues - more like Prism put a "brake" on the race for Dave and called him into the garage.

As for the rest of the race, as a fan of Jeff Gordon, I was very happy to see him get his first win since 2007! Unlike some who have written off Jeff as having lost something behind the wheel, I've never stopped believing that he could not only win again but that he would likely contend for a Championship again. That may very well happen this season - he leads in the points and I doubt that this will be his last win in 2009. As happy as i was that Jeff won I thought the overall race was pretty boring. Seemed like there were long stretches in which there wasn't much passing and that doesn't lead to a very compelling race to watch. Unfortunately seems like there's a lot of that this season.

This weekend is an off-weekend for the Cup Series but the Nationwide Series is in action on Saturday at Nashville. Michael is slated to be in the #99 and I hope he's able to erase some of the disappointment from Texas with a great finish in Nashville - sure would love to see him in Victory Lane!

Posted by silverdsl at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)

Martin Truex, Jr. to Joe Gibbs Racing?

Last week, Jeff Dickerson, who is an agent for many of the drivers in addition to being Kyle Busch's spotter, was on Claire B. Lang's show on Sirius. One topic that came up was what might happen if by some chance the Chip Ganassi Racing drivers were available. Dickerson said that if Juan Pablo Montoya was available there would be a huge amount of interest in him from many teams - no surprise considering not only is JPM a "name" driver, he's also 13th in points. However, Dickerson said it would be a different story for Martin Truex, Jr. - according to Dickerson right now there is zero interest in Truex from any of the teams. Again, not a surprise since Truex hasn't done much of note on the track recently.

It's interesting to me that over the weekend rumors started circulating that if the #8 team was shut down Truex would become available and that Joe Gibbs Racing was very interested in signing him to replace Joey Logano in the #20. I'm pretty skeptical that there's much truth to the idea that JGR is going to give up on Logano just six races into the season. For one thing, once JGR committed to putting an 18-year old with no Cup experience behind the wheel of the #20 they had to also be committed to having patience and giving him time to develop. But more than that, it's hard for me to believe that Home Depot is going to be okay with a driver change in the #20 after they spent a lot of money on commercials and other things to activate their sponsorship with Logano.

I can believe that JGR might be interested in Truex for a potential 4th team, but I also can't help but wonder whether Truex's "people" might be floating the rumor that JGR is interested in him to try to make it seem like he's in demand so that teams would think they need to be talking to him because others were. I wouldn't be surprised if that might have happened to some degree last season when Truex's name was part of a lot of silly season rumors but in the end he stayed exactly where he was. I would like to be a fan of Truex because he's from New Jersey but I can't say I'm all that impressed with him so far in his Cup career even though he has won a race. Of course a driver can only make the most of the cars they're given to race and it's possible that Truex hasn't been given very competitive cars but it seems to me that he hasn't done much of anything to warrant him being as much of a hot property in the garage area as the rumor mill makes it seem.

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

April 03, 2009

David Reutimann on the Pole at Texas!!

2009 continues to be a success for won the pole for Sunday's Cup race at Texas the second pole of his career! It sure is wonderful to see David and his team continue to do so well this season! It's only a matter of time before David is in Victory Lane. I'm not sure it'll be on Sunday but I'm certain it'll be soon - all the pieces are really coming together for David and his team! I'm not only very happy for David, I'm also very happy for Michael Waltrip and everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing -They went though so much the past few years, it's really terrific to see them finally have things to celebrate! The cars are competitive more often than not, the finishes are much better and overall the organization has made so much progress!

I can't help but think "ha-ha!" in the immortal words of Nelson Muntz from The Simpsons that David not only won the pole and out qualified David Ragan but did so on this particular weekend because apparently UPS is debuting a new ad campaign and series of commercials with their David this weekend. It's very fitting to me that "The Franchise" outshined Ragan for today at least as he has the entire season putting the exclamation point on what's becoming more and more obvious - that perhaps UPS made a mistake when they opted to leave MWR to sponsor Ragan at Roush-Fenway Racing. Perhaps youth doesn't always triumph over older veterans.

The other items of interest from qualifying involved the go-or-go-homers as this was the first weekend that the top 35 and thus the locked in spots were determined by this season's owner's points. It was the first race weekend that Scott Speed had to qualify on time this season and not surprisingly he failed to make the race. I have no idea why Red Bull Racing thinks that the outcome is going to be any different if they keep doing the same thing over and over again - Speed may have some additional experience than A.J. Allmendinger did when RBR threw him in a Cup car and expected him to be success but he still doesn't have enough seat time in my opinion to be able to keep the car in the top 35 and consistently make races when he has to qualify on time. Speed - and Joey Logano - would benefit from spending at least one full season, if not two, in a Nationwide car before being put in a Cup car full-time. I can't help but wonder if RBR would have more success over the long-term if they had given Allmendinger that multi-year contract he was looking for and kept Speed on a lower level for another couple of years, even if it meant that Speed didn't race Cup full-time as soon as they would have liked?

I'm also not surprised that Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield also missed the race. I'm sad for those two drivers and their teams because I'd like to see them make races and do well but I think the challenges of trying to compete at this level with very limited budgets and few resources are probably going to be difficult for them to overcome. Hopefully they'll have the money to keep showing up at the track and both teams will continue to try to make a go of it - if the trails and tribulations of MWR in 2007 showed anything it was that an organization can come back from the brink of disaster and build into a successful organization. But it's not going to be easy for either team since they don't have the resources that even MWR did. Regardless of how things turn out, I applaud both teams for attempting something that a lot of people would be too scared to try.

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

April 01, 2009

Johnny Benson Loses a Potential Sponsor

The details are somewhat murky but apparently Johnny Benson lost a gun sponsor because either the sponsor wanted to buy an advertising package with SPEED who felt the sponsor violated their advertising standards and/or violated SPEED's standards in general and wouldn't be shown during races. Apparently the company is somehow different than gunbroker.com or Remington that sponsor teams without a problem. Originally this came to light on Monday when Johnny was a guest on Dave Moody's show on Sirius and during the interview he said that NASCAR wouldn't allow the sponsorship so fans were up in arms from the start thinking that NASCAR was at fault. However, Dave followed up with NASCAR who indicated that wasn't true, that they had never got a request to approve a sponsorship from the team, which is when it was revealed that the problem was with SPEED not NASCAR. The team could in fact likely have this sponsor on their truck, it's just that the sponsor may not be able to buy commercial time on SPEED or get exposure by being shown a lot during race broadcasts.

According to John Daly of the The Daly Planet blog, there have been other sponsors that have been on cars and trucks that were problematic to the TV partners in the past but chose to go ahead with their sponsorship deals anyway knowing that they might not be shown much during broadcasts and had limitations on the advertising they could do. That didn't stop them from being mentioned during broadcasts or otherwise getting exposure but it might come in a different way than with other sponsors. However, in this case the company chose not to go ahead with sponsoring Johnny's truck, unfortunately for Red Horse Racing.

Daly also said that other teams and drivers have lost sponsors in the past for similar reasons like Johnny did. I couldn't help but think of the situation with Steve Park a few years ago when (according to the rumor mill but never officially confirmed) he lost a truck ride with Bill Davis Racing because NASCAR wouldn't allow a sponsor. It was said at the time that supposedly this sponsor conflicted with one of NASCAR's official sponsors but what if there was more to it than that? Johnny thought that his sponsor was denied by NASCAR but that wasn't the case, could something like that have happened with Steve as well? There's no telling how many times fans hear that NASCAR is at fault when there's really more to the story and I'd think even more so when no one goes on record to give any details.

It's unfortunate for Johnny and his team that they lost a sponsor because of SPEED's standards but SPEED has the right to have those guidelines in place as well as decide what advertising they accept.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Hallam, Michael Waltrip Racing's Director of Competition on Sirius

Seems like it's been quite some time since there's been an interview on Sirius with someone from Michael Waltrip Racing to recap. David Reutimann is a guest on Dave Moody's show every Tuesday but as much as I like David it seems that he doesn't often have much to say of substance that's recap worthy. So I was happy to hear that Steve Hallam, MWR's Director of Competition, was going to be a guest on "The Morning Drive" on Sirius this morning, particularly since I've never heard an interview with him before.

One of the first questions for Steve was about the differences between F1 (where he worked for many years prior to joining MWR) and NASCAR. Steve seemed to be trying to show how it's similar - said racing is all about the people that make up the team and that no matter what form of racing it is, the cars are difficult and that there are no perfect cars. There's always limitations and it's up to the people to extract the maximum performance from the cars. How you go about that is dependent on the boundaries and regulations in that particular series. That led to him being asked about the differences between the boundaries - in F1 the material constraints are defined but less, they can have on-board data systems in F1 but can't in NASCAR. The challenge is still the same though. He didn't say it but I have to wonder whether the challenges are greater in NASCAR because they don't allow the on-board data systems and because they aren't as technologically advanced in some areas as they are in F1.

Steve said that the attention to detail at McLaren where he spent the last ten years was the key to their success. They had a really detailed approach to racing which became embedded in his DNA and that's what he brings to MWR. What he's been doing is looking at where at MWR that attention to detail can be applied. .He repeated that it's about the people, that if they have the will to win they'll be successful - Michael certainly has the will to win and so do his drivers!

David Poole brought up how the public perception of Michael is often that he's just a big goofball jokester but when you understand that he built a race team from the ground up and got it to this point you realize that he has to be very dedicated and that maybe not a lot of people see that part of him. Steve agreed and said that Michael is very charismatic. That he inspires a lot of loyalty from the people at MWR and that there's a lot of passion - people really want Michael to succeed. The way Michael is perceived as opposed to what the reality is (and the same for other drivers) is a topic I've touched on in this space before so I won't get into again other than to say that I think it's unfortunate that because Michael likes to entertain people he's often dismissed and not given the respect he deserves.

The next question was about whether there's a culture clash that Steve has to deal with coming to NASCAR. Steve said there can be. Basically he said it was about attitude. If you're arrogant and act like it's better somewhere else it won't work. So have to have a common sense approach. The focus is on the cars, finishing races, listening to the drivers and adjusting the cars to their needs, as well as on making the cars better, more consistent and marshaling the resources at MWR each week. Basically he's trying to work with everyone at MWR as a team and not impose himself and his way of doing things on them in a way that's going to rub people the wrong way because that wouldn't be productive.

He and his wife enjoy living in Charlotte - they used to live on the outskirts of London. He looks forward to going to work every day. They just got a rescue dog and his wife is spending a lot of time imposing the family will on the dog.

The interview ended with Steve saying that racing never stands still, what's good one day might not be the next and the important thing is to keep the development going. Which I have to think is one of the biggest challenges in racing is that your work is never done - the other teams are always trying to make gains so you have to as well to keep up. Those gains might be measured in the tiniest of fractions but they can end up making a big difference.

I'm glad that MWR was able to hire Steve - odds are that he's a big part of why they've made so much progress and are racing so well this season.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)