Happy Tuesday. Today In Nascar History Oct. 27, 2002: One week after winning at Martinsville, Cup Series rookie Kurt Busch wins the NAPA 500 at Atlanta for his second consecutive victory. It is the only time in his 10-year, 19-win career Busch has won consecutive Cup races. Quote of the Year There's an unwritten rule in NASCAR: Thou shalt not take on Dale Earnhardt Jr. --Terry Blount/espn Vote for your driver! www.chexmostpopular Comments from the Peanut Gallery From Chip Dear NASCAR Momma: Someone should take Denny Hamlin aside and show him the replay of the caution flag he was whining about. It was not thrown by NASCAR to give Johnson another shot at him, as he stated on his radio, but for a Toyota with a shoddy patch job who just returned to the track with all kinds of junk falling off from it. He seemed to stop the whining after he won the race. Where were the officials who should have been supervising that kind of patch work on a race car. And why was it let back out on the track so late in the race? Could it really have improved its final position or could it only serve the purpose of creating the late race caution that it did? When it comes right down to it, as a race fan, I do not care who is at the front of the pack and how far they are ahead of everyone else, just let the race be just that "A RACE". It may be boring for Mr. France but if it is being manipulated to create more drama and excitement for the fans then maybe I will start watching the WWE, as they broadcast as many as 3 shows a week and start at the same time almost always. But for the whiners out there, if you can beat Jimmy Johnson then go for it get it done and shut up about it. Like a buddy of mine used to say "If you can't run with the big dogs then stay on the porch". If you think the idea of Johnson winning his fourth consecutive championship is manipulated why not ask Jeff Gordon. After all he is also an owner of the 48 team as well as Mr. Hendrick. Get out the crying towels and start passing them out as we find out who deserves the next ones after Kahne, Montoya and Hamlin. Chip Bits and Pieces New crew chief for Kyle Busch? UPDATE: Joe Gibbs Racing is looking at several things to improve the performance of #18-Kyle Busch's team in 2010, including the possibility of replacing crew chief Steve Addington. "There's not a lot we can say on it," team president J.D. Gibbs said before Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. "We just want to evaluate on what makes us the best, how do we capitalize on the resources we have, personnel, technology? How do we utilize that? You look at everything. It's frustrating because we know ... we've had some good runs. We just should be better than that week in and week out." Busch failed to make the Chase for the first time since his rookie season in 2005. He has only one win over the last 21 races and nine finishes of 20th or worse after winning three of the first 10 races. He has only 11 top 10s on the season after registering 21 a year ago and 20 in 2007. "Rarely do you go from running OK to now all of a sudden you're out of the box," said Gibbs, reminding no decision has been made on Addington's future. "Tony [Stewart] when he missed the Chase [in 2006], he was coming on strong consistently at the end of the season." Asked if the performance of Busch and Addington over the final four races would determine whether they stay together, Gibbs said, "It probably has more to it than the next four weeks."(ESPN) UPDATE: Joe Gibbs Racing announces that Dave Rogers will be assuming the duties as crew chief for the Sprint Cup Series #18 Toyota starting with the November 8 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Steve Addington, who has served as crew chief for the #18 team the previous five seasons will be reassigned to a position within JGR following this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway. Rogers is currently in his fourth season as crew chief on the #20 NASCAR Nationwide Series entry for JGR. He led the team to JGR's first Nationwide Series Owner's Championship in 2008 amassing nine victories, six poles, 16 top-five finishes and 26 top-10 finishes despite utilizing four different drivers over the course of the season. The team has captured another five wins thus far this season under Rogers' leadership. He first joined JGR in 1998 and spent six seasons from 1999 to 2004 working under Greg Zipadelli with the #20 team, including the team's 2002 Championship season.(JGR PR) Sadler officially in a Ford at 'Dega: Elliott Sadler's #19 Stanley car will race as a Ford for the first time in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Sadler is racing the Ford Fusion in preparation for Richard Petty Motorsports switch to Ford beginning in 2010. Sadler will return to his familiar #19 Dodge entry for the final three races of 2009. ON DRIVING A FORD AT TALLADEGA: "Richard Petty Motorsports is working with Ford Racing as we get ready to make the full-time switch at Daytona in 2010. Since this is the final restrictor plate race of the season, we made the decision to run a Ford to get some work done in advance. This will be our first time to practice and work on a Fusion under real race conditions. It should help us get ready to make a strong showing at Daytona and put us in the best position to start next season. I'll be back in a Dodge at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, but since it's important to start a season off on the right foot we thought we'd try to get a head start."(RPM) Griese apologizes for Montoya 'Taco' remark UPDATE suspended: ABC college football analyst Bob Griese apologized Saturday a comment he made about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya during the network's broadcast of Ohio State's 38-7 victory over Minnesota. The network was promoting its broadcast of Sunday's NASCAR race from Martinsville while showing the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Series standings on screen. Fellow broadcaster Chris Speilman asked where Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya was (Montoya dropped from the top five after finishing 35th last week at Charlotte). Griese replied, "He's out having a taco." As the game neared its end, Griese offered an on-air apology. "Juan Pablo Montoya, he's one of the best drivers in NASCAR," Griese said. "Just want to apologize for the comment I made earlier in the ballgame."(USA Today) UPDATE: ESPN broadcaster Bob Griese has been suspended one week for a remark he made about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz says Griese will not be working a game this week. Krulewitz says ESPN has spoken to Griese and "he understands the comment was inappropriate. Andretti defends NASCAR's late call: #34-John Andretti defended NASCAR's decision not to throw a caution when he couldn't move his disabled car from the finish line at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. Andretti crashed on the frontstretch during the next to last lap of the race, and NASCAR apparently believed he could move his car out of the way in time for the field to race its way across the finish line. Because he couldn't, the caution wasn't called until the cars were coming out of the final turn and quickly closing in on Andretti. "It wasn't a bad call," Andretti said in a statement on Monday. "To me, I wasn't in a great position, but I wasn't in an overly dangerous position. NASCAR focuses on the race itself, and they want to see the winner come across the finish line. It's probably the call I would've made. I would've gotten out of the way if I could've. But I had a couple of issues. The car was too damaged." It's the second time since the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship that NASCAR waited until the last moment to call a caution for an accident near the start/finish line. A similar incident occurred last month in the Chase opener at New Hampshire. Race-winner Denny Hamlin said he thought Andretti's car did not pose a threat to the other competitors and NASCAR made the right call.(Associated Press) Special scheme for Montoya at Texas: #42-Juan Pablo Montoya will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a special paint scheme on his #42 Target Chevy for the Dickie's 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.(TMS) NASCAR Foundation grants $100G to Childress Institute: NASCAR President and The NASCAR Foundation Board Member Mike Helton presented Richard Childress and the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma (CIPT) with a $100,000 grant from The NASCAR Foundation during Richard Childress Racing's 40th Anniversary dinner. Approximately 12,400 children under the age of 18 die each year from traumatic injury. At the same time, more than 30 trauma centers in the U.S. have closed since 2001, and many others have cut back on the services they offer. The donation was made in an effort to continue funding the critical research and physicians needed to counter this number one killer of children. "The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma serves a great need within the medical community, and we are proud to help fund the research that is working to reduce the occurrence of death by traumatic injury among young people," said Helton. "Richard and Judy [Childress] have demonstrated their giving nature and that of the NASCAR industry with their commitment to giving back to those who need it most." The NASCAR Foundation and CIPT have also partnered on an online auction of a fiberglass pig statue sponsored by Richard Childress Racing for its 40th anniversary celebration. The statue is part of the Pigs in the City community art initiative hosted by Uptown Lexington, Inc., in Lexington, N.C, and is autographed by more than 40 NASCAR stars. The auction ends today [Oct 27th] AeroDyn Wind Tunnel honored: President and CEO of AeroDyn Wind Tunnel, Mr. Gary W. Eaker, received the 2009 Freedom Award at a September 17 ceremony in Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. AeroDyn Wind Tunnel, is the recipient of the 2009 Secretary of Defense Freedom Award in the Small Business category, specializes in wind tunnel testing for automotive racing. Located in Mooresville, NC, 5 of AeroDyn Wind Tunnel's 21 employees have served or are serving in the military. Employer support of the military is a company policy, detailed in AeroDyn Wind Tunnel's "Commitment to Guardsmen, Reservists and their Families" section of their employee handbook. The company offers outstanding support to its activated National Guard and Reserve employees and their families by providing differential pay during deployment; continued employee and enrolled family members' medical and life insurance benefits during active duty. The company also provides ongoing support and contact via video, phone calls and emails between the deployed employee and their family. Prior to the deployment of an employee, AeroDyn Wind Tunnel closes its 24-hour business for an entire night so that all employees and their spouses could attend a farewell boat cruise. AeroDyn Wind Tunnel actively recruits National Guardsmen and Reservists because of their values, education, training, leadership skills and teamwork. The company has received multiple ESGR state awards including two Patriot Awards, an Above and Beyond Award and the 2008 Pro Patria Award.(Secretary of Defense) TV commercial features Windshear Wind Tunnel: Windshear, the first full scale rolling road wind tunnel in the U.S., is now being featured in a Lexus commercial airing throughout the U.S. When Lexus needed a way to demonstrate its 2010 ES model, it found the solution at Windshear. It was filmed during a three-day production in July. Windshear, Inc., headquartered in Concord, N.C., operates the only commercially available full-scale single-belt, rolling road wind tunnel in the world. The firm's clients include top-level motorsports organizations from NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One as well as auto manufacturers. Windshear is an independently operated entity of Haas Automation, the largest machine tool builder in the world.
Overnight TV Ratings for Martinsville: The metered market sports overnights for this weeks Martinsville Speedway Sprint Cup Series Race is lower than in 2008. The Tums Fast Relief 500 earned a 2.5 overnight rating with a 5 share. In 2008 on Oct 19th the overnigth rating was 2.9 with a 6 share. The final TV Ratings was 3.3/7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make appearance at Country Music Awards By SceneDaily Staff A spokesman for Dale Earnhardt Jr. confirmed that the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver will appear as a presenter at the Country Music Awards in Nashville on Nov. 11. Now more than ever, NASCAR needs new heroes by Lee Spencer/FOXSPORTS. NASCAR desperately needs a hero. There are drivers. There are winners. There are champions. But where are the racers that incite fans to tune in, to buy tickets and t-shirts, or make the ultimate sacrifice and travel to a racetrack for the weekend? And for diehard fans, what has your driver done for you lately? Remember the fall Martinsville race in 1998 when winner Ricky Rudd had to be pulled from his car? Rudd, who was an owner/driver at the time, was hoping to set a series record by winning at least one race for the 16th consecutive season. Unfortunately, his cooling system malfunctioned during the race. Cars weren't nearly as well insulated back then and the heat inside the car was so intense it melted the lead weights inside. The team threw water on the driver to cool Rudd off, but it heated to the point it blistered his back. "Any driver that has a shot at winning — that's the biggest adrenaline rush of all," Rudd said. "Winning is the best painkiller in the world." Certainly, that's what the late Dale Earnhardt was thinking after he flipped in the 1997 Daytona 500 following contact with Jeff Gordon. Although Earnhardt had gotten out of the car and climbed into the ambulance, when he saw the car had four tires and the damage was minimal he returned to the cockpit, fired up the engine and returned to battle. How many drivers today wouldn't be on a golf cart headed for the helicopter pad after an incident such as that? Robby Loomis, who runs Richard Petty Motorsports and was also crew chief for Gordon when he won his last title in 2001, witnessed the evolution from when drivers where more approachable to the pedestals many find themselves on today. "When Richard (Petty) came along, they drove to the racetrack, they didn't have motorhomes," Loomis said. "They walked through the crowd — they were part of that crowd. "If you watched the sport over the years with the helicopters and the motorhomes, the business of the schedule and the demands of the drivers there has been a disconnect that has grown out of everyday life." The very element that first attracted fans to NASCAR was the racing. Fans pulled for drivers and car brands alike. As media interest grew, the public experienced the drivers' personalities. Racers such as Petty, Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip maximized their exposure on the track and off. The King is still an autograph machine. But Loomis remembers Earnhardt's contribution, too. "You see certain drivers that work pretty hard when they're in the garage with the fans," Loomis added. "I can remember watching Earnhardt and felt when he was running bad, he worked a lot harder with the fan to win them over and keep the fans. When he was running good, it was more to the truck to the car and back. "In the late '90's when he was going through a tough time, he would work the fence harder than any of the drivers. I always admired him for that. That's the hardest time to face people." Just when the sport was losing the King from the racetrack in 1992, along came Gordon — a made for TV NASCAR driver that was quickly polished, processed and attracted throngs of female and younger fans. Gordon was the anti-Earnhardt. The California Kid first chased the seven-time champion, who represented most of the sport's blue-collar fan base, then topped him in 1995 with a title of his own. And the rivalry of the '90s was born. After Earnhardt died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, along came Jimmie Johnson 28 races later. For the first few seasons, Johnson was Gordon lite. He had never raced against Earnhardt. He had never known what it was like to pay his dues in trainer equipment at the Cup level. And those responsible for molding Johnson's image suffocated his public persona. Despite Johnson's immense talent — and every sage in the garage admires the three-time champ's tenacity and flair — the fans have yet to embrace him. Todd Berrier, a veteran crew chief who started at Richard Childress Racing in the mid-90s when Earnhardt was at his prime, is adamant that no one can replace the Intimidator. But he sees tremendous determination in Johnson. "Jimmie Johnson will do whatever it takes," Berrier said. "He's going to be there at the end. You will always find him at the front. He won't roll over and play dead. "I question why the fans haven't gotten behind him. Maybe the sport has changed so much that there's not the time to get to the front and be controversial. On Sunday at Martinsville, the oldest track on the Cup tour, the fans were cheering for any driver that could pass Johnson. The crowd — representative of NASCAR'S most devout demographic — erupted when Juan Pablo Montoya blew by the No. 48 on Lap 140. They acknowledged the effort. And Montoya was inevitably rewarded with a third-place result. At Martinsville in April, Montoya's performance was perhaps more valiant. Montoya qualified 15th, climbed to ninth but went a lap down and fell outside of the top 25. However, he never gave up. Montoya was like a prize fighter getting off the mat and belting his way to the front. He got the lucky dog, pitted for new tires and finished 12th. But Montoya learned from his lessons and it's paid off with five finishes of fourth or better in the Chase. "Juan definitely has the killer instinct," said his former crew chief Donnie Wingo. "He's going to drive 110 percent every lap and that's whats the difference is between one team to the next. "He knows the limit. That's one thing that's helped him now over what he was. He found that limit and can keep it going for over 500 miles." Still, how aggressive a driver is allowed to be is dependent on the sanctioning body. NASCAR can penalize a driver that they believe has overstepped his boundaries. Certainly, Brad Keseslowski has the potential to be a game changer. He displays grit behind the wheel and has shown in the Nationwide Series that no one will push him around. Keselowski won the spring Sprint Cup race at Talladega but was reprimanded at Kansas Speedway by NASCAR for being too racy among the Chase contenders. Hell, isn't that the reason fans buy tickets? Yes, Keselowski exhibits moments when his yellow rookie stripe comes in handy. But the long-range promise for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s protege is bright. His current owner has been pleasantly surprised with Keselowski's progress. "Brad does drive hard," Earnhardt said. "There's all kinds of guys that don't let you go by. They won't let you pass. There's nothing wrong with that, that's how they race. You know when you're around them it will be more difficult than the next guy. People can drive however they want. As long as they're in control of their car and not bouncing off the walls or taking people out for fun, I don't have a problem with it. "Brad ain't wrecking people for the fun of it. He's trying to win races. At California, he climbed into a couple of people's head if you want to know the truth. I think a lot of people underestimate Brad. I certainly did. I underestimated how mentally tough he is." Next year, Keselowski moves into the No. 12 Dodge at Penske Racing — one of the most respected teams in motorsports. Throughout Roger Penske's storied past, he's won 13 open wheel titles and 15 Indy 500s with Rick Mears, Mark Donohue, Al and Bobby Unser, Danny Sullivan and Emerson Fittipaldi — to name a few. As Penske expands his current NASCAR operation, Keselowski will join Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. at the Cup level. Penske believes that Keselowski has long-term potential. "I've been impressed with Brad's interest in the team and his commitment," Penske said. "Watching him drive — obviously he's gotten into a couple of situations that people question but the best drivers in the world have bumped into somebody from time to time. "He's got the passion. He's got a good fan base. Certainly his association with Junior has been very helpful to him because it's been a high visibility operation. We just hope we can give him cars that he can deliver what he wants to and he'll be a longtime player with us. I think he can be a superstar." Having witnessed his share of stars, Penske believes the key to rising to a legendary level is an athlete's ability to rise to the challenge on the track and continue a sincere rapport with the fan base. Loomis has seen his share of drivers make a name for themselves on the racetrack, but their off-track actions have completely changed the athletes' perception. "I've seen Jeff or Richard be in deep discussion with us about something we think is important and leave to sign an autograph for a child or someone in a wheelchair, they'll leave us for a couple of minutes and then come back," Loomis said. "Getting back to more of that will help us reconnect with the fans for sure. "These drivers can do all the good in the world on the racetrack, but when they don't look one fan in the eye they discredit all they've done. It's hard to build those relationships. Some get it. Some don't." Dale Jr. certainly learned about fan preservation from his father. During qualifying at Michigan, he posted a decent lap, performed his media duties and then turned to the spectators waiting on the other side of the wall. As Earnhardt signed for 15 minutes, two other drivers currently in the Chase climbed from their cars, waved and walked back to the garage. No, Junior didn't make the Chase. He's having the worst year of his Cup career. But after he hit the wall for a second time on Lap 129 on Sunday and lost four laps in the process, a sizeable number of fans headed for the exits. Yes, NASCAR desperately needs a hero. Let's hope it's before the last 88 fan turns out the lights. Brad Keselowski – Just What The Sprint Cup Series Needs Allen Madding/insiderraci Last week, the grandstands at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina were half-empty for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series NASCAR Banking 500. Even the grandstands at Martinsville this week were not full for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS 500. Much has been said and much has been written about the cause of the significant drop in attendance and the drop in the television viewer count. Many have drawn the conclusion that the notable drop in interest in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has been boring racing on cookie-cutter racetracks and the repetition of race winners and Championship Title winners. While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series may have had its dull moments this season, things over in the NASCAR Nationwide Series have been heating up. Saturday, the Nationwide teams competed in the Kroger 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park -- and the sparks were flying all afternoon. Keselowski had his share of the action on the track. He was involved in an altercation with pole sitter, Justin Allgaier. Then with 15 laps to go, Keselowski got into the back bumper of Carl Edwards and sent him spinning as Edwards was attempting to dive under another car. Many drivers aired opinions about Keselowski being a bit over-aggressive. In the closing laps, Kyle Busch mounted a charge and knocked Keselowski sideways coming out of turn four coming back to the checkered flag. Keselowski held onto the car, righted it, and held off Busch in the drag race to the checkered flag to capture the win. While many may not agree with his aggressive driving, Keselowski may be just what the Sprint Cup Series needs to put fans back in the grandstands seats and back in front of the television broadcast. Keselowski has made 11 starts in the Sprint Cup Series during the 2009 season and scored the win in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega in April. Keselowski has been selected to replace David Stremme in the Penske Racing No. 12 Dodge for the 2010 Sprint Cup season. Many observers rank Penske chassis' as second only to a Hendrick Motorsports chassis. With the level of talent in Penske's chassis building department, coupled with being the only team backed by Dodge in 2010, should make for some highly competitive cars coming from the Penske stables. The fire and determination that Keselowski has shown this year in the Nationwide Series and the fact that he has already scored a Sprint Cup Series win -- coupled with the quality of the Penske cars and team could add up to the Sprint Cup Series having someone that can go toe-to-toe with Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch for the 2010 season. Only time will tell if Keselowski's intensity will improve the competition in the Cup Series for 2010. But, it certainly has to help. Drama will certainly have to be back in the sport as Keselowski has had his fair share of run-ins with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. One can bet that will carry forward into the 2010 season. And drama should bring the fans back. Uh-oh, JJ on track to clinch title early By Terry Blount/ESPN. NASCAR is perilously close to the unthinkable. It's entirely possible, maybe even probable, the Chase drivers will head to South Florida for the season finale next month with no one left to chase. If Jimmie Johnson is 162 points ahead of the second-place driver when the Sprint Cup teams leave Phoenix on Nov. 15, JJ's fourth consecutive championship is a done deal. Unofficially, of course. Johnson's one remaining requirement would be starting the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway one week later. Flip the switch to start the motor, take the green flag and go grab the trophy. The thought of that happening seemed impossible when the Chase playoff format was started in 2004. And now? Frankly, I'll be surprised if it doesn't happen. Johnson's second-place finish at Martinsville on Sunday moved him 118 points ahead of second-place Mark Martin in the Cup standings. Johnson needs to gain only 44 over the next three races to clinch before the final event. "The way he's running, you've probably got to win the next [four] races and he's got to have some bad luck," Juan Pablo Montoya said after finishing third at Martinsville. "I'm too far [200 points back]. It doesn't matter. You've got to say the 48 team is doing an amazing job and they deserve everything they're getting right now." Darian Grubb, Tony Stewart's crew chief, just shakes his head in amazement at trying to play in Johnson's kingdom. "He has that dominant performance going and he is out there pulling away from everybody," Grubb said after Stewart finished ninth at Martinsville. "You have a good strong run and you still lose points. That is a hard day to swallow." If Johnson gets through Talladega this weekend without making scrap metal of the No. 48 Chevrolet, he easily could gain enough points on the other Chasers at Texas and Phoenix -- two of Johnson's best tracks -- to clinch early. Johnson is averaging a 21-point gain in each of the 2009 Chase races. If that pace continues, he would leave Phoenix with a 181-point advantage. If he left Phoenix with a 196-point cushion, he could win the title without racing at Homestead. Just sit on the No. 48 pit box and give the command: "Gentlemen, start your engines. No. 48 team, break open the champagne." Johnson wouldn't do that, of course, but he could drive the race backward if he so desired. I've always been a big proponent of a playoff system. It gives more teams a chance to win a title and championship hopes to more drivers when those hopes would have disappeared early in the old format. It also adds excitement leading up to the Chase with teams trying to get in the playoff or trying to stay in the top 12. That part of the plan is a success. But the main idea -- a dramatic season finale with the championship on the line -- is a dismal failure. It isn't working. The first year of the Chase in 2004 is the only season when the leader went to the final race with a cushion of less than 50 points. That first Chase was golden. Kurt Busch went to Homestead with an 18-point lead over Johnson and only 21 points over Jeff Gordon. Johnson fell eight points short of catching Busch, who held on despite losing a tire as he entered the pits on one stop early in the race. The first playoff ended in spectacular fashion, leading almost everyone to believe more of the same was ahead for the future. Johnson's dominance has put an end to that thought. In his three championship seasons, his average margin over the closest pursuer heading into the season final is 103 points. Johnson's average championship margin is 63 points. Wake me when it's over. The 48 team has mastered the system so well that it almost seems sinister, like a teenage computer hacker getting the password to your ATM card. Hendrick Motorsports cars have won 16 of the past 27 Cup races. No Ford driver has won over that span. The new car was supposed to give more teams a chance to race competitively. It hasn't. Parity doesn't exist in Cup. It doesn't even exist within the Hendrick clan once the Chase starts and Johnson rolls into playoff mode. They can Chase all they want, but no one is catching Johnson unless he falls. Even Johnson is bored with it all. "It's the same stuff over and over again," he said Sunday after the race. "We all know what the answers are. "The stuff I can't control, I know it gives everybody something to talk about, but I'm tired of talking about all the what-ifs and I'd just rather not. If we have no issues, I feel things will turn out as we want." And the thing he really wants -- a historic fourth consecutive championship -- may come his way one week before the season ends, leaving a Chaseless finish to 2009. Without Pops, Earnhardt Has Lost Crackle By Rick Minter | Senior Writer Throughout the long-running debate over why Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn't enjoying the same success as his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, one fact gets consistently overlooked: His best days in NASCAR were with Tony Eury Sr. running the show. "Pops" Eury, with able assistance from his son Tony Jr., guided his nephew Dale Jr. to consecutive Busch Series titles and to a remarkable debut in the Cup Series. But since he turned the reins over to Tony Jr., the magic just hasn't been there. Without Eury Sr., Earnhardt becomes like Jeff Gordon without Ray Evernham or Matt Kenseth without Robbie Reiser or Ryan Newman without Matt Borland. You get the point. A winning chemistry between driver and crew chief is a rare thing, something to be preserved as long as it lasts. The problems in Earnhardt's case are magnified because being crew chief for NASCAR's most popular driver is arguably the toughest job in the sport. If the driver isn't winning, the crew chief most likely will get the blame eventually. Eury Sr. set the standards high. His 2004 season with Earnhardt Jr. saw them win six times and be on track to win the championship until a late-race run-in with then-rookie Carl Edwards at Atlanta Motor Speedway took them out of contention. Since then, it's been mostly downhill for Earnhardt and his legions of fans. Tony Jr. took over as crew chief when the two were still working at Dale Earnhardt Inc., but failed to find consistent success. Then others tried, with similarly disappointing results. Then when Earnhardt moved to Hendrick Motorsports, he was reunited with Eury Jr., and the two for a time had the best car in the Hendrick stable. But midway through the 2008 season, the wheels ran off again and after the first Charlotte race this year, Eury was replaced by Lance McGrew. Though promising at first, the pairing isn't working. Back at Charlotte last week, Earnhardt qualified 39th and finished 38th with transmission troubles. It was his sixth straight finish of 20th or worse. Meanwhile his three teammates are battling for the championship in a year that Hendrick or Hendrick-affiliated drivers have won all the Chase races so far and hold the top four spots in the standings. Earnhardt is winless and 24th in points. Earlier in the weekend at Charlotte, he expressed his frustrations in a meeting with reporters. "It's really encouraging one day and the next day it's equally discouraging and that gets really old," he said. "I'm about to the end of my rope on it…I've been riding it out, but I think there comes a point when you don't want to ride it out any more." He also talked about the kind of crew chief he needs, and his comments showed that he's well aware of what led to his early success in NASCAR. "Whoever I work with needs to be a dictator," he said. "The most success I had was with Tony (Eury) Sr. and you know how he runs his ship." Interestingly, Eury Sr. now works for Hendrick as crew chief for Brad Keselowski's Nationwide Series team. In the past, he's expressed little desire to return to the Cup circuit. There likely are a lot of people in the Junior Nation who would like to see him change his mind. On the Right Track A NASCAR BLOG BY Jeff Gluck Instant reaction: Addington out as Busch's crew chief We had heard rumblings of a possible crew chief change for Kyle Busch after the season, but the news that Steve Addington has been replaced by Dave Rogers beginning at Texas comes as quite a surprise. The mild-mannered Addington and fiery Busch had combined to win 12 races in less than two years together, and although they didn't make the the Chase this season, it seemed to be only a matter of time before they were running up front again. Busch has often said in explaining the lack of success this season that he didn't have good enough cars to compete (this despite winning four races). Other drivers would kill for an "off" season like the one Busch has had (13th in points, 920 laps led, nine top-five finishes). But apparently, officials at Joe Gibbs Racing think so much of Busch's talent and ability that anything less than a season like 2008 is unacceptable. And so, before 2009 is even complete, Addington is out, replaced by another mild-mannered crew chief in Rogers. Rogers has been brilliant in the Nationwide Series, but has no experience working with the new car in the Sprint Cup Series. What kind of transition period does he face to learn what adjustments have certain impacts on the car? As we've seen, many veteran crew chiefs still cannot figure out this car. More important, will Busch have enough patience if he and Rogers get off to a slow start? They've worked together before, but this is a big change for a driver who hasn't exactly "struggled" by anyone's standards but his own. You have to wonder if Busch had any say in this decision. If he knew it was coming, he sure didn't show it Monday night at a WWE event he was hosting. He was casual and carefree, not acting as if big news was coming the following morning. It will be interesting to see if Addington remains at JGR. Perhaps he could be the answer to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s problems after all, Addington went from looking like a bum with J.J. Yeley to a genius with Busch. Maybe he could do the same for Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports. NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK
All times Eastern Well, that's all for today. Until the next time, I remain, Your Nascar Momma Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt. Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." -Dale Earnhardt - 1998 |
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