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June 23, 2009
Good Day for Michael Waltrip Racing at Infineon and Other Sonoma Thoughts
Although I had high hopes for Marcos Ambrose at Infineon, I wasn't looking forward to watching the road course race at Sonoma this weekend, which is a big change for me about how I usually feel about road course races - normally they are a highlight of the season for me. But this weekend Michael Waltrip had replaced himself with Patrick Carpentier and I knew David Reutimann was going to struggle. So as much as I like Patrick, I considered skipping this race like many other fans of Michael's did. But I ended up watching and I'm glad I did because I turned out to be one of the better races all season mostly because there actually was some racing, and good, hard, exciting racing at that, particularly during the second half of the race. That Marcos raced his way through the field, not just once but twice, and was up front and in contention for the win also helped. Though Marcos didn't end up winning, I'm not too disappointed. I like Kasey Kahne and I was happy to see him win since he hadn't been in Victory Lane for a while. I was particularly impressed with the way he handled all the restarts and hopefully this win is the momentum boost his team needs to race up front more regularly.
As for the Michael Waltrip Racing teams, Marcos finished third which may be disappointing to him but is an excellent finish, particularly considering all the problems he had to deal with earlier in the weekend which included a blown engine which caused him to have to start from the back of the field for Sunday's race. Marcos has shown the ability to race well on every kind of track but he is particularly skilled on road course tracks and I have no doubt that he will contend for the win at Watkins Glen too - sure would be awesome to see him win! Patrick raced the #55 to a terrific 11th place finish - he did a good job with a car that he complained wasn't all that great - gee, wonder if it's really Michael that's the problem with the #55 if his replacement doesn't exactly rave about the car? At times he struggled at the back of the pack but the team as a whole did a good job with pit and fuel strategy and also on the pit stops to put Patrick in a position to get that top 15.
Then there's David. I think it should be considered a successful race for David that he made it through the entire race. He did go off track twice but I believe he got help both times. He just isn't very good on road course races and as many times as MWR sends him to test or get coaching from those who are more skilled then he is on road courses he seems to not be able to master racing on those kinds of tracks in Cup. Which is a problem - his 31st place finish dropped him to 14th in the points, and while he's not far out of 12th and Chase contention, there is another road course race coming up so it may be important how he races there.
MWR has a technical alliance with Germain Racing which makes Max Papis part of the MWR family in a way. I really like him and I knew he'd likely have good race at Infineon which he did. Max was actually on the verge of his first career top ten in Cup when someone - reportedly Patrick - got into him and caused a flat which led to him losing a few spots on the last lap which is unfortunate. He finished 12th which is still a career best for Max in Cup and it's still a very solid finish. I would love to see him get more successful on all kinds of tracks as he gains more experience in Cup so it was good to see him do well on Sunday.
Two other drivers who were in line for strong finishes until misfortune struck were Robby Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. With Robby the same thing always seems to happen - a great run is ruined by mistake, poor decision-making or just bad luck. On Sunday Robby stayed out one lap too long, taking the lead on lap 76 only to see the caution flag come out just as he was about to pit. Word is that Robby's crew chief actually told him to pit the lap before but Robby didn't listen so he has no one to blame but himself for the outcome. Robby attempted to race his way through the field but a late race tangle with Jeff Burton and another driver resulted in a 36th place finish. Although Robby is perpetually still considered by many to be a favorite to win on road courses, he really hasn't done much of note on those kinds of tracks in Cup for a few years and in light of that I'm not really expecting much from him at Watkins Glen either. He clearly is very skilled at this kind of track but these days so are many other drivers and his team doesn't have anywhere near the kind of resources that some of the larger teams do. Robby Gordon Motorsports fielded a second car for P.J. Jones this weekend and it appears - though it's not confirmed - that it was a start and park since it dropped out of the race so early. While I understand that Robby may have seen it as a good opportunity to make some extra money, I never would have thought that start and parking one of his cars would be his style and especially with a road course racer as good as P.J. behind the wheel.
Junior was on his way to a much needed top ten finish until he got swept up in a wreck and ended up finishing 26th. One of his PR reps, Mike Davis said the following on Twitter after the race,
"Just disgusted, b/c next wk Jr will face same Qs about god-awful season. Solid run was 2 quiet 2 b noticed by results-driven expectations."
I'm getting disgusted too - disgusted by the idea that I'm supposed to feel sorry for Junior or Davis for that matter. There are any number of drivers who get next to no media attention no matter how good or bad their finishes are. Sure, it has to be a pain-in-the-rear to have to field the same questions every week and have to talk about how bad his season has been. But that's part of what a driver - and his PR rep - has to deal with. There could come a day - yes, even for Junior - where there won't be this kind of media attention, and they'll be wishing they were in a position to have to answer the same questions over and over.
In addition, even though I get sick of hearing about Junior, the fact is that the most popular driver in the sport having a poor season is a storyline worthy of media attention. That Junior was racing in the top ten was most definitely noticed but the reality is that people pay attention to the end result. Michael has had countless strong finishes ruined by flat tires, blown engines or getting swept up in other driver's messes, as has every other driver on the track. That's part of the sport as is results-based expectations - should we be patting Junior on the head for his effort? Things don't work that way and if he can't take the heat - and based on his comment to Jenna Fryer about not having the mental strength to put up with a season like this again, maybe he doesn't - then he needs to get out of the kitchen. No driver is guaranteed that they will race up front in every race, nor are they guaranteed that they will have successful, Chase contending seasons, not even the most popular driver in the sport. And when expectations aren't met there may very well be questions that need to be answered.
There were more than a few drivers who seemed to run over and spin just about every driver they raced around - Boris Said, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson were just three of those who seemed to get into a lot of other cars on Sunday but they weren't alone. Even Patrick spun Casey Mears in an attempt to pass him. I think that just speaks to the aggressive style of racing that's necessary at Infineon and how competitive it is. What I was impressed by is that immediately after the race Jimmie approached Kurt Busch to apologize to him face-to-face for spinning him. So often these days drivers don't take the time to apologize in person and leave a voicemail, send a text message, wait until they see the other driver the following week, or in some cases don't bother to make an effort to talk to the other driver at all. So I liked that Jimmie went over to Kurt and spoke with him in person right away - that probably went a long way towards smoothing things over with Kurt.
This weekend the Cup Series will be racing in New Hampshire and while I don't think we'll end up seeing a race as good as we did at Sonoma, I'm looking forward to it because Michael will be back in the #55.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2009
Problems Mount for Jeremy Mayfield
There are a lot of fans who are still under the impression that NASCAR is out to get Jeremy Mayfield and that the positive drug test is complete fiction. As it turns out what might be fictional is the credentials of the expert whose testimony forms the basis of the lawsuit that Mayfield filed against NASCAR. According to a motion filed this week, NASCAR can't find any record of any of the degrees or certifications that Harvey MacFenerstein claims to have. While Mayfield's lawyer claims that NASCAR's motion will be easy to refute I'm not so sure of that. Just exactly how are they going to refute a sworn affidavit from the registrar at Mid Western State University of Texas where MacFenerstein claims he got a B.S. that no one with that name ever received a degree? Or that officials in Mexico say that there's no record that MacFenderstein ever got a medical doctor degree from CETED University as he claimed?
In some ways it's astonishing that Mayfield's lawyer apparently never checked MacFenerstein's credentials himself, but given that MacFenderstein has apparently testified as an expert in other cases, he probably assumed that at some point someone else had verified his credentials. But apparently no one did since these issues likely would have surfaced well before now. The ramifications are significant, not only for Mayfield's case since MacFenerstein's testimony forms the backbone of his lawsuit, but likely for any other case he testified in. A lot of fans seemed to think that NASCAR had a weak case and no reason to suspend Mayfield, that they would be unable to defend themselves in court and would quickly roll over and settle with him. I knew that was unlikely to happen, not when there's a positive drug test for an illegal substance. NASCAR is playing hardball and likely will through the conclusion of this case.
I have to wonder how much longer Mayfield's suit will continue. Not only is NASCAR poking holes in much of his suit but it seems that at some point Mayfield will probably run out of money. Mayfield Motorsports has stopped showing up for races and now comes word that they're being sued by Triad Racing Technologies and BDR Acquisition for non-payment for parts, pieces and chassis worth more than $86,000. Something tells me that may not be the only company that hasn't been paid by Mayfield Motorsports. I've wondered from the start where they were going to get their money from. Sure, Allsport was on the car as a sponsor and bought into the organization, but Mayfield Motorsports seemed to be a shoe-string operation that didn't have much resources, financially or otherwise. And they certainly weren't bringing in much money from winnings since they were struggling to qualify for races and finish well in those races they made.
Controversy has plagued Mayfield throughout his career but in recent years I've rooted for him because he's an underdog and I always pull for underdogs. But it's really hard to support him now. Between the positive drug test and what may be some big financial problems, he has some pretty serious issues to deal with. Some of his fans seem to think that this is all one big conspiracy against him by NASCAR but I think those people have their heads in the sand about the reality of Mayfield's situation. I hope he's able to get everything straightened out and one day return to NASCAR in some role but right now it appears he has a pretty big hole he needs to climb out of before that happens.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)
June 17, 2009
Not Much I Want to Say Right Now
I've been a bit neglectful of this blog of late, not because I don't have anything to say but instead because I don't have the heart to do entries about some of what's on my mind right now. If there's anyone who is still stopping in on a regular basis they may have noticed I haven't at all addressed other than in a passing way the rumors about Martin Truex, Jr. going to Michael Waltrip Racing to take over the #55 and the likelihood that Michael will only be racing a few races next season. I have a lot of thoughts about all that but I've decided that I want to wait until the announcement is officially made before I blog about it. The fact of the matter is while I understand all the reasons why all of this is happening, like many other fans of Michael, I'm sad about it and having a difficult time like many other of Michael's fans. The rumor mill says that the announcement is coming by the Daytona race in early July and after that a lot of things will be very different for many of us.
I'm also disappointed in the results for MWR at Michigan this past weekend and I just didn't feel like writing a negative entry about their poor performance. Yes, David Reutimann finished 19th which isn't terrible but that finished dropped him out of the top 12 in points. With Juan Pablo Montoya on the rise, other top teams performing well, and the series racing at a road course this weekend which isn't the kind of track where David excels it may not be so easy to get back into Chase contention, though I very much hope that happens. It's also a downer that Michael continues to struggle. I very much want him in what's likely his last full-time season to have some races in which he races competitively up-front, and maybe even contends for a win. At the start of the season it had seemed like that was going to happen and it's disappointing that things went in another direction. I feel really bad for Michael because it has to be hard on him.
If I'm being honest the Michigan race overall didn't do anything for me. While some fans and media members have been falling all over themselves to say how exciting the race was I can't agree. The race was incredibly boring for 198 of 200 laps and not just because the MWR teams were struggling. Sure, there was some drama on the last two laps not knowing who was going to have enough fuel to make it to the end and who was going to run out. But to me exciting racing is watching drivers racing each other hard. I understand that strategy, fuel mileage and otherwise, is a part of racing and I don't think Mark Martin's win is any less of a win because he won based on getting better fuel mileage than others did. But I think it's a sad commentary on the state of things that fuel mileage, not good hard racing, is what passes for exciting racing these days.
There's other things on my mind as well. Michael said at the Wal-Nutz gathering in May that the sport is changing and it's true that it is. To some fans and those in the sport it's changing too fast and too much but to me in some ways the sport hasn't changed enough. Because of how much of a fan of Michael and MWR I am, as well as my long-time love of racing, I've continued to be a NASCAR fan, but sometimes I wonder whether there's going to come a time when like so many other fans I find other things to do on race day. Which is pretty sad considering I've always been the kind of fan to find something positive and fun in everything.
Posted by silverdsl at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2009
Brendan Gaughan's Crew Chief Suspended Indefiniately For Use of Racial Slur
A few days ago I took issue with the comments that Brendan Gaughan made towards Marc Davis after they were involved in an incident on pit road during the Nationwide race at Nashville but it turns out that a comment that his crew chief, Brian Berry made is even worse. Berry has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for directing a racial slur at Davis who is African-American. No matter how upset Berry was about the wrecked race car there is no excuse for using a racial slur. I applaud NASCAR for having zero tolerance and taking strong action against Berry.
There are some fans who think that Berry shouldn't have been suspended, that what he said wasn't a big deal. That somehow it's Davis's fault. That he's a spoiled brat with no talent so he somehow deserves what he gets. That somehow he's playing the race card or making things up. That even though his only public statement made no reference to the racial slur that it was somehow inappropriate and that he should stay silent. No one, whether they're to blame for a racing incident, are a spoiled brat, have all the talent in the world, or none, should have to put up with or stay silent about racism and a racial slur. The blame the victim mentality is disturbing, as is hearing stories from other fans about how Davis and others like Juan Pablo Montoya routinely get offensive slurs directed at them. Behavior like Berry's shouldn't be tolerated whether it comes from a crew chief or a fan.
The outrage about Kyle Busch smashing a guitar in Victory Lane should pale in comparison to the outrage about this incident. One thing that has long bothered me about NASCAR is the lack of diversity, not just in terms of race but also when it comes to religion (I don't know of any other Jewish NASCAR fans besides myself), gender, place of origin, opinion, etc... There are attitudes in this sport that have been expressed by fans and by some in the garage area as highlighted by this incident that are unacceptable to me. A core value of mine for my entire life is the importance of diversity and tolerance for others no matter how different they may be from me. If there's one thing that could stop me from being a fan of this sport, it's that at times it seems that there's not only not much tolerance for others who are different or have different opinions but also that there's a resistance to diversity both when it comes to the Drive for Diversity program and otherwise.
It seems to me that NASCAR must become more diverse even if some are resistant to it. I don't see how they can make in-rounds in major markets like New York or California if the sport isn't going to appeal to a diverse audience. Incidents like this make some fans feel like they may not be welcome. In addition, big sponsors aren't just looking to appeal to one type of person, they want to reach all kinds of fans - if I'm a sponsor who has to be concerned with where I'm spending my money due to the economy, I might have second thoughts about spending it in NASCAR if I'm not going to race a wide audience. But more than that this is 2009 and the kinds of beliefs and attitudes that were acceptable 50 or 60 years ago aren't anymore. Racism and prejudice of any kind shouldn't be tolerated.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2009
Sources Tell ESPN: The Magazine That Jeremy Mayfield Tested Positive For Meth
Not surprisingly the mystery third drug that Jeremy Mayfield tested positive for that NASCAR has said is an illegal substance has been leaked. Two separate sources have told ESPN: The Magazine's Ryan McGhee that Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine. If it turns out that Mayfield did indeed test positive for Meth I think NASCAR was being pretty charitable by offering him the chance to be re-instated after he completed a rehab program considering they've alleged in their own lawsuit that he was racing after having used Meth. If that's the case I think he should never be allowed back on the track.
I'm sure there are going to be quite a few people who will say that the combination of Claritin-D and Adderall caused a false positive for meth but something tells me that after being informed by Mayfield that he used those two substances that Aegis ruled out a false positive. Which is likely why NASCAR has stated in their own lawsuit that there aren't just two drugs in question, but three, the third being the meth according to McGhee's sources.
Posted by silverdsl at 04:09 PM | Comments (1)
Patrick Carpentier in the #55 in Place of Michael Waltrip at Infineon
I guess if I'm really a good Michael Waltrip fan I'm supposed to be excited about this but instead I'm sad and disappointed. Today it was announced that Patrick Carpentier is going to race the #55 instead of Michael at Infineon. Michael has to make decisions as owner based on what he thinks is best for MWR, the #55 team and the business overall, but I can't say I fully understand this decision. Infineon is actually one of Michael's best tracks and his average finish over the course of his career is 16.4. Meanwhile in the one race he raced at Infineon in Cup, he finished 23rd, just two spots in front of Michael. In fact, in the limited amount of road course races that Patrick has raced in Cup, he's not exactly been spectacular. Which I think is the problem. If we were talking about Boris Said racing the #55 I might be more enthusiastic, but we're talking about a driver who thus far really hasn't been any better than Michael on these tracks.
The other thing is that overall as hyped as the road course ringers are for the most part they never seem to do much. Yes, occassionally a road course ringer has a nice run but that seems to be more of the exception than the rule. In the press release Michael talks about getting a win for NAPA, but when was the last time a road course ringer ended up winning on the Cup level? I'd love for Patrick to be the one to do it, but I think the odds of seeing the #55 in Victory Lane probably aren't too good. Hopefully he'll at least be able to finish in the top ten and move the #55 up in the owner's points but that won't be easy given how many other talented road course racers he'll be racing against.
It's funny because it's often said that these decisions are made for business reasons to please the sponsor, which in this case is NAPA, that those sponsors want a better chance for their cars to be up front in front of an audience in a major market like California . Meanwhile, a lot of the fans of the driver who is getting replaced - and Michael has a huge fanbase - opt not to watch because they won't be seeing their favorite driver. After all, as someone said to me recently in reference to Michael not racing much next season - fans don't cheer for the car or the sponsor, they cheer for the driver. Luckily in this case the driver is also the owner so Michael's fans will be more supportive of this than they might be otherwise.
Hopefully Patrick will finish up front in the #55 at Infineon.
Posted by silverdsl at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)
Johnny Benson Loses His Ride
Last year's Truck Series champion, Johnny Benson, has lost his truck ride after Red Horse Racing was forced to lose the #1 team due to a lack of sponsorship. Not only did Benson lose his ride but his crew chief, Trip Bruce, and other members of the #1 team are also out of jobs. Yesterday Benson questioned why RHR eliminated his team despite them being 7th in the points and kept T.J. Bell and the #11 team who are 20th in points. The answer of course is money - although the #11 also doesn't have much if any sponsorship apparently Bell's family pays some of the bills. Benson also said,
“Tom had talked a good deal about trying to bring us over there. He’s the one that came over and courted us to come over there to try to help out and make a championship-contender race team. It was plans in the making; he just changed his mind on moving forward, and I’m sure sponsorship had a lot to do with it. I find it hard to believe there’s a lot of teams out there getting sponsorship and things of this nature and us not being able to get one, being the defending champions, so that lies back in his hands.”
There are financial and sponsorship woes for many teams in the Truck Series. Some of the teams getting sponsorship may have been willing to take less money or make deals that RHR wasn't willing to do. It seems to me it wasn't such a great decision for RHR to sign Benson without having a sponsor lined up nor was it a good decision for Benson to race for a team without sponsorship. Though there may not have been much choice for Benson given how few quality, well-funded trucks there are. Past champions like Ted Musgrave and Jack Sprague are also sitting on the sidelines right now. So it may have been either go to RHR or not race.
Bruce had harsh words for RHR owner Tom DeLoach.
“We were told it was a lack of sponsorship. He was just going to shut it down and fire me and Johnny and the core of our group, so he did, and that’s about all I know. I just walked out. … I work in a forward pace, and that’s tough for some people. Everybody wants to win, but some people don’t really want to win that bad, you know, and it’s tough. I don’t know. It may have been overwhelming for him - what it actually takes to win.”
I'd say that DeLoach wants to win, every owner does. I don't think RHR would have fielded a truck without sponsorship for Benson for this long if they didn't want to win. But I don't blame him or Benson for being upset either. Drivers and crew chiefs want to be in a stable situation where they can race competitively and where they have full support from their organization and it sounds like they weren't fully getting that from RHR. I think the timing of this is particularly unfortunate in that the race this weekend is at Benson's hometown track since he's from Michigan. It's too bad that RHR wasn't able to field the truck for one more week at least since there are likely many fans who bought tickets specifically to see Benson race.
There's been some talk that Toyota is trying to help Benson find another ride and I hope it works out so that we'll see him back on the track soon. However, it may not be so easy given the state of things in the Truck Series.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)
Sam Bass Changes His Tune
On Saturday Sam Bass said that while he was shocked at first in the spirit of rock and roll he understood why Kyle Busch smashed the guitar he created in Victory Lane after winning the race at Nashville, that he was okay with it and that it was a great show. Yesterday he sung a different tune, saying that he was heartbroken and that if he knew about it in advance he would have asked him not to do it. Bass said that he's taking the high road on all of this but is he really? As one who does artwork myself I understand why Bass would be upset to see something he put many hours into be destroyed but how fair is it to Busch for Bass to act like he's fine with it one day, then turn around and say the opposite another day? And how am I supposed to know if I'm hearing how he truly feels about it even now if he's going to say different things to different members of the media on different days?
This morning on Sirius, Nate Ryan of USA Today wondered how upset Bass could truly have been if on Saturday he posed for photos with Busch and the guitar and said that he was fine with what Busch did. I have to wonder the same. Maybe Bass just didn't want to cause a fuss on Saturday in Victory Lane but he spoke with Busch one-on-one and I think that would have been the time to express that he was upset. In addition, Bass went to the media center to speak with the media later that night. It seems to me that was another opportunity to say how he really felt but instead he called it "a great show."
I guess it bothers me that Bass seem to be throwing fuel on the fire and for what? To drag the controversy out longer? One thing that I'm sure he's not heartbroken about is the huge amount of attention and exposure, as well as possible increased sales of his work he's getting from this.
I think people really need to put things in perspective. Yes, Bass put a lot of work into making a unique trophy. Yes, it was a piece of art. But the fact is Sam Bass isn't Pablo Picasso. This is a trophy guitar, not the Mona Lisa. It's an object that can be replaced. People are upset about Kyle smashing a guitar like he hurt someone or did something illegal. He didn't. There are more pressing issues in NASCAR and far more serious issues to worry about in the world than Kyle Busch smashing a guitar.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2009
Brendan Gaughan vs. Marc Davis
Admittedly I didn't see the incident between Brendan Gaughan and Marc Davis during Saturday's Nationwide race so I can't say who was at fault but the basics are that Gaughan ran into Davis on pit road causing significant damage to the #62 as Davis was trying to pull into the garage and it may have been because Davis didn't signal as drivers normally do. Of course Gaughan was upset about his wrecked race car. I can understand that he wasn't happy with Davis but what I don't understand and don't like are the comments that Gaughan made. He said,
"I don't know if (Davis) is dumb, his crew chief is dumb or his spotter is dumb, but in the middle of the race when you end up turning left while people are coming onto pit road for green-flag pit stops is asinine. Maybe he needs to look that word up."
Gaughan then continued, "...apparently you get a better education at Georgetown than Howard University." I think Gaughan is lucky that Kyle Busch smashed the trophy guitar in Victory Lane which guaranteed that everyone would forget about what he said. There are countless fans slamming Busch for acting immaturely and inappropriately, saying that he acted with disrespect, well, what about Gaughan? Insulting the intelligence of a fellow competitor and then following it up with a shot at his sponsor is pretty immature and disrespectful in my opinion. Meanwhile Davis is just 18, almost 19, years old and very inexperienced in the series. It would have been more productive for Gaughan to speak with Davis one-on-one and explain to him what he thought he did wrong. Perhaps Davis could learn from it - I really doubt he's going to gain anything from being ripped publically on TV.
Posted by silverdsl at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)
Michael Waltrip Racing Gets Strong Finishes at Pocono
Very good day at Pocono yesterday for Michael Waltrip Racing! David Reutimann finished 3rd, Marcos Ambrose finished 6th and Michael Waltrip rebounded from some problems to finish 17th. I'll definitely take a day when all three MWR cars finish in the top 20! David's outstanding 3rd place finish puts him back into Chase contention! It sure has been a terrific couple of weeks for him - a win, a pole and now a 3rd place finish and back in the running for the Chase!
Both David and Marcos spent the majority of the race up front but it was much more of a struggle for Michael. As per usual these days his car wasn't to his liking and on top of that he had too much rear brake and twice spun trying to get to pit road. Both times it cost the team a lap but they got one lap back thanks to good strategy by Bootie Barker who made use of the new double-file restart rules to take advantage of the pass around, and then got the second lap back via the lucky dog. Good fuel mileage enabled Michael to stay out when others had to pit and that resulted in a 17h place finish. That finish was surely disappointing to Michael, particularly in light of the two spins, but it's a better finish than some others recently. Bootie commented over the radio that it was team effort and that's very true. Bootie made some good calls on the pit box, the crew had strong pit stops and Michael raced well enough to put them in a position to where they could get laps back and ultimately finish 17th even though he didn't have a very good car.
I felt very bad for Michael because he was extremely hard on himself over the radio saying multiple times that he screwed up and overall sounded very forlorn. It has to be a difficult situation for him because he went into this season knowing that if the results weren't good he likely won't be able to keep racing full-time next season and after a strong start things have really gone downhill. It seems as if he's lost confidence in himself which is unfortunate. It can't feel good to have other drivers like Robby Gordon insult him publically and have it be rumored that his sponsor is hot and heavy for another driver (Martin Truex, Jr.).
What bothered me and a lot of other fans was that in spite of how well he finished David was never interviewed by TNT. It's always said that to get coverage during broadcasts teams need to race up front and make themselves a part of the story of the race. Well, David did that by finishing 3rd and getting back into the Chase and he still wasn't interviewed. Marcos was also ignored and that seems to be a continual theme that other than a passing mention he seems to get very little attention even when he races well. It's as if some believe that no one is interested in hearing about or from these drivers but that's far from the case. If racing up front doesn't get these teams coverage, just exactly what do they have to do to get some attention?
Next week the Cup Series races in Michigan and hopefully it will be an equally strong weekend for MWR!
Posted by silverdsl at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2009
Yet Again Kyle Busch Causes Controversy
Last night after winning the Nationwide race in Nashville, Kyle Busch smashed the trophy guitar given to him in Victory Lane that was specially designed by Sam Bass and made by Gibson Guitars. Fans and some members of the media were outraged, calling for Busch to be penalized by NASCAR for actions detrimental to the sport because of the disrespect that in their opinion he showed to Bass, the track, the sport and everyone else. On the other hand I fail to see anything wrong with what Busch did and especially since Bass said that while he was shocked at first he was okay with it,
"...when I went to Victory Lane to take a picture with Kyle, he said there was no disrespect to me, the speedway or the sponsors. He just said he was going to give each one of his guys a piece of the trophy. In the spirit of rock and roll and, as someone who appreciates rock and roll, he put on a show."
So if Bass doesn't have a problem with it, then why does everyone else? Gibson guitars are probably thrilled because there's more discussion of their guitars today than there would be otherwise. The track will almost certainly use footage of Busch smashing the guitar as a way to promote next year's race. And don't hold your breath waiting for NASCAR to penalize Busch. Not only can he do as he chooses with a trophy that belongs to him, they also will have no complaints about Busch putting on a show that generates attention.
Perhaps it's because many of my favorite bands of the past like Guns 'n' Roses and Motley Crue were known for doing crazy things, which sometimes included destroying guitars and other equipment, but I had no problem with Busch smashing that guitar. Busch is a bad boy and it seems as if that's very much in keeping with his bad boy image. I wish there were 20 more like Busch who were willing to be true to themselves and say and do exactly what they want instead of acting like a corporate robot and worrying about whether they might offend or upset someone.
The reactions of some fans are disturbing. As Michael Waltrip said on Twitter, it's only a guitar that can be replaced - and will be since Busch has said he plans on ordering two more to replace the one he smashed. Yet fans are acting as if it was a person he attacked in Victory Lane, with some saying that they hope he wrecks in every race he's in that follows and others even going so far as to wish injury on him. Those reactions are extreme and over-the-top. I don't think Busch smashing a trophy guitar or anything else he's done is so bad that fans should be wishing bad things on him. It seems totally out of proportion to what he's done.
Meanwhile Jeremy Mayfield has been accused by NASCAR in their lawsuit of racing while under the influence of drugs that would make him a danger to his fellow competitors - where's the outrage about that? There are fans bending over backwards to excuse Mayfield and blame NASCAR, yet if it's true that he was using an illegal drug and was on the track potentially impaired, what he did was way worse than anything Busch has ever done. No driver in this sport is without their flaws - they are individuals who make mistakes and sometimes even behave badly.
Posted by silverdsl at 12:23 PM | Comments (1)
Ryan Truex Wins at Watkins Glen!
Another winner for Michael Waltrip Racing! Ryan Truex followed up his pole and 3rd place finish last week in last week's East Series race at South Boston in a very big way yesterday at Watkins Glen by winning the race with a last-lap pass of Patrick Long. Ryan becomes the third member of his family to win in the East Series following his father Martin, Sr. and his brother, Martin, Jr. Ryan won in just his 6th East Series race of his career and one has to think it may not be the last time he ends up in Victory Lane this season. Given that Ryan has previous road course experience I had a feeling he was going to do well, I just didn't expect that he was going to do that well! I think it's pretty cool that he can say that he beat Steve Park, a former winner in Cup at Watkins Glen.
In the short time he's been racing for MWR, I've come to be a big fan of Ryan's so I'm thrilled that he won this race! I admit that I didn't know much about him prior to when he joined MWR, but I was impressed by what I found out, particularly that he's already a Champion having won the Legends Championship at Wall Stadium when he was just 15. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to interview him for a fan newsletter and speak with him again at MWR's Fan Appreciation Day and even though he's very quiet, he's not only very nice but intelligent too. So I'm really hoping he races for MWR for years to come and continues to win races as he moves to higher levels - sure would love to see him race in the Nationwide Series for MWR if not next season then in 2011!
Posted by silverdsl at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2009
This Week in NASCAR With Michael Waltrip and Chad Knaus (6/1)
Since there was no show last week, This Week in NASCAR with Steve Byrnes, Chad Knaus and Michael Waltrip, started off with a discussion of David Reutimann's Coca-Cola 600 win. I thought it was kind of neat how both Chad and Michael are part of teams that have won the last two races and both of them won in very different but equally as good ways.
Michael said that it was a great day for Michael Waltrip Racing last Monday in just the beginning of their third season. He's real proud. David's not a good hugger, if you look at the way he hugs, he's a sideways hugger according to Michael, who joked that David wasn't apprehensive about the rain, he was thinking about how Michael said that if he wins he wanted it all, that he wanted to feel the love from David in a real hug. All joking aside but with Michael's comments last week about how important it was for him to hug David because he never got a hug from his owner when he won his first Cup race and how touched he was to see David and Buzzie hugging that hugging David had quite a bit of significance to Michael?
The conversation turned to Jimmie Johnson's win and Michael said that if the fastest car or truck had won all the races lately Kyle Busch would have won them all but it's so hard to win. What Chad and the #48 team accomplished racing to the front with the fastest car was almost an anomaly. Which I think highlights a problem that some fans have with the racing these days is that even though strategy of various kinds has always been a part of the sport, a lot of fans are bothered that a driver can have an extremely fast car but things are often determined by how they come out of the pits, fuel mileage strategy or other things besides racing their way up front.
Chad said that a cool thing about Michael's win is that it shows that this is a team sport. A driver can go out and do their job, the pit crew does their job but if they don't have the right crew chief they won't be able to win. The #00 was running well, the pit crew did good and Rodney Childers made the right call to win the race. Chad made an outstanding point - as much as some fans believe that racing is an individual sport where only what the driver does behind the wheel matters, it's very much a team sport where the driver needs help from their pit crew, crew chief and other team personnel to be successful and win races. Some seem to think that the only reason David won the race is because it got rained out but David still had to race well enough and the pit crew had to do good enough pit stops to where the team was in a position for Rodney to make the call that he did that ultimately won them the race.
Back to Jimmie's win, Chad said that Tony raced them clean. Jimmie led close to 300 laps but they had trouble on the last pit stop which is why they came out 9th. Chad said that they had a great race car and Jimmie was still fresh because he hadn't had to race a whole lot so he had a lot of energy left. So Chad told Jimmie that he had a shot at a top five. Michael asked what I thought was a great question about whether Chad thought they could still win and Chad said that he though they had a shot at it but he wanted to first get into the top five and then reassess from there. The top five was the initial goal. Of course as it turned out they were able to win. I thought it was interesting that Chad set the goal as the getting a top five, at least at first. What he was doing was making sure to keep the goal reasonable instead of shooting for the moon right away and potentially being disappointed if they couldn't get the lead back.
Unfortunately MWR didn't fare so well at Dover. The #55 lost its 2nd engine in three races and Michael said that shouldn't happen these days and that it's unacceptable. Of course MWR gets their engines from Toyota Racing Development and I believe there have been other engine problems even prior to now. I was surprised that Michael had such strong words openly about how unacceptable it is to blow so many engines but I'm glad that he did because it should be known that the poor results recently aren't the fault of Michael or MWR when they've had engine issues to deal with. Michael said that his car wasn't great but in the middle of the race it wasn't bad, that they got it tuned up and he was pleased with the way it was running. Um, what?! Michael complained from start to finish about how bad the car was and at no time did he indicate that he was okay with the way it was running.
Michael said that David started out with a great car but it eventually went away. The cars are really difficult to keep on target. It's easier when you start out with a good car and then you either not touch it or just tweak it a little. But if you have one like he or David did then it makes for a hard day. David is still in great shape to make the Chase though and that's where the focus of MWR is, making sure he has all the resources, parts and pieces to make the Chase. Hopefully that will happen! Chad said David has momentum with the win and the pole. It's fun to see when things start to click for guys like David. The whole team has smiles on their faces and it's fun to see. I think it's especially fun to see all those smiles considering all the struggles all at MWR had to endure since 2007. Michael said that everyday that goes by he loves Rodney more and more. He analyzes and dissects the cars. Michael better be careful because the last crew chief whose praises he started singing was Ryan Pemberton who became a hot commodity in the garage area and eventually ended up over at Red Bull Racing. Pemberton reportedly had concerns about how competitive the #00 would able to be since the team didn't have full sponsorship at the time that he was still there, now that David is outracing his driver, I wonder if Pemberton regrets his decision to leave at all?
Some video of Greg Biffle talking about how his race went was played and Greg talked about his 3rd place finish as well as how he didn't understand what happened when the caution flew during the green flag pit stops. (He was put a lap down but eventually got it back). Chad explained that Jimmie was able to stay on the lead lap because they were able to get Jimmie back to the start/finish line before the leaders came around. Michael said that drivers shouldn't judge NASCAR for when the caution came out because they have it all figured out. They should just accept that they're a lap down and there's a lot of racing left. NASCAR has computerized scoring and timing so they don't mess up often. Well, I can't say I blame some drivers for being a little unhappy given how many of them got trapped a lap or more down and especially since the #34 (or #37) supposedly bounced off the wall and NASCAR didn't call a caution just prior to the pit stops but for some reason didn't wait until the pit stops were over as they often do to throw the caution for a piece of debris.
Steve Byrnes asked Chad whether the #88 crew chief change was a distraction and of course Chad said that it wasn't. He said that the change worked out well for him because he was able to send Tony Eury, Jr. to go testing with his team so he could focus on getting the car ready for the next race. Michael, who of course had Eury, Jr. as his crew chief in 2005 and has made no secret of how much he adored working with him said that any time you can free up someone like Eury, Jr. with all the knowledge he has it helps the organization since now he's going to contribute to every team. Michael said that he knows him well and would see him walk by and look unhappy. Now he's been able to unbridle himself from all "that." Michael continued by saying that Tony, Jr. is a "good dude," he's smart and he "doesn't deserve all the crap that he's been going through." I got the impression that Michael was saying something that wasn't all that different from Kyle Busch's "it's never Junior, it's always the crew chief" comment and that he felt Tony, Jr. was being unfairly blamed for the woes of the #88 team. Sure would love to see Michael and Tony, Jr. work together again but I don't think that's too likely to happen.
A lot of people were a-buzz after this show that Michael let the cat out of the bag about double-file restarts at Pocono but there was an article about it on thatsracin.com and it was a topic of discussion on Sirius before the show even aired. I don't think NASCAR can expect anything to stay a secret that they hand out to the drivers and teams at a drivers meeting where there's media members and others in attendance. But maybe that was the point - maybe NASCAR wanted to float the idea and see how it was received before they made it official. If it helps make for more exciting and compelling racing I'm all for it.
Michael mentioned that he's been getting rides with other drivers to the track and back, presumably because like so many of them he's trying to save money by not flying his own plane separately when he can catch a ride with someone else. Apparently he flew to Dover with Kurt Busch and back with Denny Hamlin, whose race also ended early. I thought it was interesting that he and Kurt flew together. Some have floated the rumor - which I never believed - that Michael hates Kurt with a raging passion for some unknown reason. I really doubt that he would be flying to Dover with him if there was ill will between them. It's been said that Kurt might be a free agent at the end of the season. I would love to have him go to MWR, much more than Martin Truex, Jr. but that probably won't happen.
When Michael flew back on "Ham-air" he got to listen to the MRN call of the race because Denny has Sirius on his plane. He doesn't usually get to listen to the race like that but really enjoyed it because he grew up listening to races on the radio. He got so into it listening to they they painted the picture of what was happening in the race and it was very dramatic.
One of the questions of the week was "what is the minimum speed?" Michael said that there's a mathematical equation that's used to figure out the minimum speed based on happy hour speeds and normal fall off. So I guess that means it varies from track to track. NASCAR gives drivers a chance to make the minimum speed then they have to go to pit road to work on it if they can't make that speed. NASCAR wants the teams to be able to finish races if they can so they'll work with them and give them more than once chance. However, if a team keeps not being able to make minimum speed eventually they'll be told to park it.
Good show as always!
Posted by silverdsl at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2009
Trevor Bayne to Race the #99 for Michael Waltrip Racing in Eight Natiowide Races
Michael Waltrip Racing has signed another talented young driver to race for them - 18-year old Trevor Bayne, who finished 4th in points and won a race in the East Series last season, will race the #99 in the Nationwide Series for eight races. Trevor's first race will be this weekend at Nashville, a race Michael Waltrip was originally scheduled to race but since the Cup Series is racing at Pocono, and I would guess in light of the struggles of his team, they must have decided that it was better for another driver to be behind the wheel of the #99 so Michael could concentrate on the #55. Trevor will also race the #99 June 13 race at Kentucky Speedway, June 20 at the Milwaukee Mile, July 18 at Gateway, July 25 at O’Reilly Raceway Park, August 1 at Iowa Speedway, August 21 at Bristol and November 14 in Phoenix. Although nothing was mentioned in the press release about sponsorship I would guess that there must be some sort of sponsorship or at least money changing hands to make this deal possible since it had been said at the start of the season that MWR would only field the #99 in races they had sponsorship for.
I'm really happy that Trevor is going to race for MWR! I think he's a promising young driver and I'm excited to see what he'll be able to do in the #99. I think it's also good that MWR is going to be able to field the car for some races that perhaps they were unsure about earlier in the season. It would be good if MWR could field the car in every race this season and preserve a lock-in spot in the field via owner's points, not just for this season but for the first five races next season, assuming they'll be fielding the #99 car next season as well. I think some fans are disappointed that Michael isn't going to race these races but since many of them aren't companion races it makes sense to have someone else behind the wheel. I hope Trevor has a lot of success for MWR - maybe he'll end up racing more than just these eight races for them!
Posted by silverdsl at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)
Another Mediocre Finish For Steve Park at South Boston
I haven't had much to say in this space about Steve Park recently and that's because there hasn't been much of note to talk about. After starting off the season in fine fashion with a top ten finish in the East Series race at Greenville-Pickens and a third place finish at Phoenix, a non-points race for Steve since it was a West Series race, it's been downhill since. At Tri-County Steve finished 15th, at Iowa 31st, and South Boston 13th. On the surface two top fifteens in three races might not seem so bad except when one considers that these are shorter fields than on higher levels so that's 15th out of 26 cars and 13th out of 23, which really isn't very impressive. Even less so when one considers that there is no other driver in this series with as much experience on higher levels as Steve has and some of the drivers who are beating him are half his age.
I expected that after last season when Steve was competitive and raced up front in just about every race that he would be even better this season now that he had a year of working with the #35 team under his belt. I really figured that he would contend for wins and maybe even the Championship, especially since there are fewer Cup backed teams in the Series this year. While he's still in the top ten in points and could end up salvaging the season with some finishes up front in the remaining races, it's a big disappointment that Steve has been a non-factor in the last three races. And the problem is that there's only 11 races this season so as Steve said on Sirius at the start of the season, every race is important.
What's really frustrating is that there's no way of knowing why the performance hasn't been that great. The East Series races aren't broadcast live and the series in general gets very little media coverage. In addition, the #35 team doesn't have a website and Steve's own site hasn't been updated with any kind of pre- or post-race reports or results since Steve's third place finish at Phoenix. That means fans are completely in the dark about why the results aren't very good and in general about what's going on with Steve and his team.
Steve's site was never updated promptly to begin with - the site is almost useless as a source of current information about Steve - but it may be that they aren't in any rush to post post-race reports when there's not much positive news to talk about. Of course to be fair Steve may not have a PR person and he may have to pay his webmaster every time there's an update done to the site, but it's extremely frustrating. But if there are issues related to updating the website Steve could do a fan page on Facebook like a number of other teams have done. That's free and easy. But there's absolutely nothing. Which is pretty incredible at a time when almost every team and driver has embraced all kinds of online means to inform and engage their fans.
So it's not really surprising that there isn't much interest beyond a core group of fans in what Steve's doing these days. As one person once said to me in regards to Steve not updating his website - if it seems like he doesn't care about the races he's in, why should I? I went into this season feeling really optimistic and enthusiastic about Steve in spite of how difficult it was going to be to follow the races. Not anymore. Admittedly part of that is because Michael Waltrip Racing is fielding an East Series car for Ryan Truex and a lot of my excitement has shifted to Ryan. But hopefully Steve will have a strong finish at Watkins Glen - he's won there in Cup so he's certainly capable of great things at that track.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)
End of the Weekend Not as Good as the Start for Michael Waltrip Racing at Dover
The weekend started off on a very positive note for Michael Waltrip Racing in Dover when David Reutimann won the pole for yesterday's Cup race but the race itself was a disappointment for the organization. Although David was able to lead 25 laps, he got caught a lap down due to an ill-timed caution during green flag pit stops. Even after he got back on the lead lap his car wasn't the same as it was in the beginning of the race and he was able to finish no better than 18th. Not terrible but not as good as had been expected after he won the pole. Marcos Ambrose also had a car that wasn't all that great and he finished 20th.
But if the race wasn't very good for David and Marcos, it was a disaster for Michael Waltrip. The #55 didn't seem to be very good from the time they unloaded on Friday and Michael complained about how bad the car was from the start of the race. Still, things might have improved had they gotten the opportunity to make changes to the car but Michael was forced to pit under green due to a flat tire and he ended up going three laps down. To add insult to injury on lap 272 the engine in the #55 blew, sending Michael to the garage and out of the race.
To say that Michael was unhappy was an understatement - he complained that he was tired of getting crappy cars and crappy engines and I don't blame him. The cars he was given to race were pretty competitive to start the season but as the season has gone on the handling and performance of those cars has gotten pretty bad. In addition, there's been multiple engine issues, including two blown engines out of the last three points races. What bothers me is that Michael is going to be judged on these poor finishes pretty harshly, meanwhile ill-handling cars, cut tires, and blown engines are all things out of his hands. I understand Michael's frustration and I think he has every right to be upset with what's going on.
Some fans think that there should be a crew chief change. Maybe there will be but I have a feeling that Bootie Barker isn't going anywhere. For one thing it's likely that Michael won't be racing full-time after this season so they may feel like there isn't much point in making a lot of changes and spending money on another crew chief for a driver who won't be back. In addition, as someone pointed out on the MWR forum, it sometimes seems like Michael has lost confidence in himself - who wouldn't when the rumor is that NAPA wants a different driver and the results haven't been very good the past few years? So if Michael believes that the problem is at least partially with him then we may not see a crew chief or any other change. It's really unfortunate because I really want Michael to have fun in his last full season and go out on a high note. Hopefully that will still happen since he's a talented driver who is capable of winning when he has a competitive car and especially on restrictor plate tracks.
Posted by silverdsl at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)