Happy Thursday. Today In Nascar History Nov. 12, 1967: Bobby Allison wins the Middle Georgia 500, the first race of the 1968 season, for his 10th career win in his 92nd start. Allison leads 271 laps on the .534-mile track in Macon, Ga., and beats Richard Petty by more than a lap. 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: For RD - There is a difference between the score in a stick ball game or other sports score. I hope you will at least acknowledge that fact. The ranting of the commentators when they go on and on about the whole as they run now or when they say if the race were to end now thing is totally absurd. Do you agree that a race cannot be declared as official until it reaches the halfway point. I do not believe that NASCAR has ever awarded any points prior to the end of the race. Anything else is just B/S. NASCAR fans know this so where does this come from? Is it an attempt to add drama to the broadcast? Baseball recognizes opportunities for teams to either tie or go ahead by using terminology like "the tying or go ahead run comes to the plate". They announce the potential as being there but do not put the runs on the board until they are actually there. That is what I consider to be the difference. They don't post them then take them down if the batter makes an out instead of driving in the potential runs. I acknowledge that NASCAR is not like baseball but the concept of truth still applies no matter what sport you choose to watch and as a race fan I take exception to these guys in the booth spouting things about the scoring in the sport especially when it is incorrect. They should be able to say that the potential for a bad points day is there but to go on the way they do is very bad, and in my opinion very wrong. From Lou Hi Momma, While I don't usually comment on what other readers write, I feel I have to on RD's latest comments. I have to agree with Chip when he commented on the racecasters giving the points standings in the middle of a race being useless. I also disagree with RD on the race broadcasts being better than ever now. They were much better 4-5 years ago than they are now. Besides all the meaningless comments by the racecasters there is also the multi- repetitive showings of accidents (I believe they said in Mondays newsletter that they replayed Jimmy Johnson's wreck 18 times) and other happenings during the race. By one of your contributor' I'm going to have to dig out my old stopwatch set and maybe watch an entire race program and make an accurate count list myself. About the Waltrip comment at the end of RD's letter. I would much rather listen to someone's comments who has "Been There, Done That", than listen to a lot of meaningless garbage.
The Old Man of NASCAR, Lou Elliott Bits and Pieces "Luckiest Dog" to adorn the #18 car: A special guest will ride along with #18-Kyle Busch for Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway courtesy of primary sponsor Pedigree, as an image of "Kasey," a four-year-old rescue dog, will adorn on Busch's #18 Pedigree Toyota. Proud owners Joan and Charles Petit of Kellar, Texas, submitted the winning entry for Pedigree's "Luckiest Dog" contest and will be treated to a three-day/two- PVA.org colors on #43 at Phoenix: Reed Sorenson drives the #43 Paralyzed Veterans of America Dodge at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. The Paralyzed Veterans of America and radio station AM570 KLAC Los Angeles, Calif. are holding a "Help a Hero" radio campaign on Thursday, November 12, 2009 from 3 p.m. 2 a.m. (eastern). The campaign is designed to raise funds and awareness for the Paralyzed Veterans. Radio Listeners will be asked to call in and make a donation of $45 or more to "Help a Hero". Additionally, there is an online auction site (click HERE) with over 60 prizes that will help raise funds for PVA. Four Star Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. - Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, will sit on top of the #43 pit box this weekend as a guest of Sorenson and the Petty team.(RPM). #78 team tests at Pikes Peak: To prepare for another strong Phoenix performance in Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, the Denver, Colo-based Furniture Row #78 Chevy team of Regan Smith conducted a test session earlier in the week at the one-mile Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo. "We had another good test session at Pikes Peak," added Smith. "The last time we raced in Phoenix we also tested at Pikes Peak and it was a huge benefit. We're looking for similar results this weekend. We really want to close out the season on a positive note with solid results in Phoenix and at the season finale in Homestead (Nov. 22)." Running a part-time 20-race Sprint Cup schedule in 2009, the Furniture Row team is gearing up to run a full 36-race slate in 2010. "There's a lot of buzz at our Denver race shop right now," offered Smith. "Both the team roster and the shop size are expanding. We all have an upbeat feeling heading into next season. Running all 36 races is going to make us a better team. It's been fun and we're even going to have more fun."(FRR) Starbucks makes NASCAR debut to be associate on #1: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Starbucks Coffee Company will provide NASCAR fans attending this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) a taste of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew, Starbucks latest coffee innovation, through an extensive trackside sampling effort. Beginning Friday, Nov. 13, the thousands of NASCAR fans in attendance at PIR should be on the lookout for a fleet of Starbucks branded golf carts combing the race-track property passing samples of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew. Starbucks ambassadors will be ready to introduce race fans to an instant coffee that is full bodied and flavorful, just like the Starbucks coffee they have already come to know and love. As part of the promotion, both the Starbucks and Starbucks VIA Ready Brew logos will have associate sponsor placement on the TV Panel of the #1 Rain-X Chevy driven by Martin Truex Jr.(EGR) Richard Petty Raceway opens Friday: NASCAR's all-time wins leader Richard Petty and Phoenix International Raceway have teamed up to open Richard Petty Raceway, a 1/16-mile go-kart track on the Midway that is the first such permanent karting facility located within a major NASCAR venue. Petty and Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger will appear at the grand opening of the track, scheduled for 2:00pm on Friday, November 13.(PIR) Ash to attempt Phoenix: #02-Brandon Ash Racing will be attempting their second race with the Efusjon Energy Club as their primary sponsor for the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. Rain-X to sponsor Truex at Phoenix: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Shell Lubricants announced that the Rain-X brand will make its second appearance as the primary sponsor on the #1 Chevy of Martin Truex Jr. for the Nov. 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). Rain-X made it's NASCAR debut as the primary sponsor for Truex and the #1 team for the NSCS race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 20. The #1 Chevy bright yellow and blue design draws inspiration from the yellow and blue color scheme that has become synonymous with the Rain-X® brand. Race fans should be sure to look for the Rain-X logo on the hood of the #1 Chevy along with the giant "beaded" rain drops running off the windshield and down the sides of the front quarter-panels. More info about Rain-X at www.rainx.com (EGR). Waltrip serious about Trulli test: Michael Waltrip Racing officials say the team is serious about the upcoming NASCAR test for former Toyota F1 driver Jarno Trulli. Trulli will be driving a Sprint Cup series Toyota Camry on November 16th & 17th at the half-mile New Smyrna Speedway in Florida, a test that he has stressed he will be doing just for fun. Mika Salo, also a former Toyota driver in the team's debut season in Formula 1, will be joining him. Team owner Michael Waltrip is taking the opportunity to run Trulli in one of his cars seriously, even while reminding that the Italian's intentions are initially just to sample stock cars and ovals for the first time. "He just wants to try it out," Waltrip told AUTOSPORT. "But we're serious about the test, Toyota is supporting it, our team, engineers, everybody is into the test. We will give it all the effort that we would give to any test. I don't know what Jarno's plans are. I know he is just doing it for fun, but I know that it's going to be important for him to do it. He's a race car driver, he'll want to be as fast as anyone and so we're going to make sure that he has all the support that he needs to be able to accomplish that." Trulli, who already had a seat fitting at MWR's shop in North Carolina last week, is expected to attend Sunday's race at Phoenix, before driving a Cup car for the first time next week.(Autosport) Kurt Busch names winning car "Patriot": #2-Kurt Busch has decided to name his Texas winning car, the "PRS-702" Miller Lite Dodge "Patriot". "We've been kicking around potential names for the car since the other night and it just kept on coming back to 'Patriot,'" Kurt said from Phoenix on Tuesday morning. "With what all occurred last week in Texas, we wanted to name the car with a tribute to all of our brave military men and women who are serving our country. The fact that we had our special Operation Homefront color scheme on the car and all their representatives and the soldiers there helping us celebrate the big win sealed the deal. Like Eva said, and I quote, 'It's the patriotic thing to do in naming the car 'Patriot.' Mears getting married in January: #07-Casey Mears, along with his fiancée Trish Grablander and their daughter Samantha, went directly from Ft. Worth to Phoenix to spend time with friends and family. Phoenix is where they met and started the romance that will lead up to their January 2010 wedding.(RCR) Mark Martin Named 2009 NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year By Jay Pfeifer - NASCAR Illustrated Mark Martin is the NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year presented by Old Spice for 2009. Martin will officially accept the award in a prerace ceremony at the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22, 2009. This is the third time Martin has received a Person of Year honor – but only the first that he has been the sole honoree. He joins a list of previous recipients that includes Jeff Burton, Kyle Petty, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace. Finalists announced for 2009 Home Depot NMPA Humanitarian Award By SceneDaily Staff The Home Depot and the National Motorsports Press Association announced Thursday the three finalists for the 2009 Home Depot NMPA Humanitarian Award: NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart and Michigan International Speedway's Tim Booth. The three will be recognized at the upcoming NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards program in Las Vegas, where the 2009 Humanitarian of the Year will be announced. The finalists were selected by the Humanitarian Award Selection Committee comprised of representatives of the NMPA and The Home Depot. The selections were based on their community commitment and dedication, impact on the community and charitable giving of their time and talents. "Volunteerism is important to The Home Depot, and we've made a commitment to recognize individuals that are doing outstanding projects for the betterment of community," said Frank Bifulco, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "Greg, Tim and Tony have each put forth extraordinary efforts in the name of charity, and The Home Depot is proud to be able to recognize and pay tribute to those efforts." Biffle was nominated for his work in raising awareness about the importance of animal welfare. Booth developed the project Spirit of America Blood and Marrow Drive after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Stewart was nominated for his annual event Prelude to the Dream, which supports injured and fallen service members and their families. The winner will receive a crystal trophy and a $100,000 cash donation to the recipient's designated charity. Additionally, the two remaining finalists will each receive $25,000 cash donations to their respective charitable organizations. Nationwide drivers Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski prepared to battle for points at Phoenix By Lee Montgomery/scenedai Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch can clinch the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship in the Able Body Labor 200 at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend, but the battle for second place is heating up. Distance: 200 laps, 200 miles Favorites: Kyle Busch, who has two victories at Phoenix; Edwards, who also has two wins and won this race in 2008; Jason Leffler, who was second to Greg Biffle in April and has four top-10s at Phoenix. Points battle: With a finish of 15th or better, Busch can clinch the Nationwide title. He can also clinch with a finish of 34th or better in each of the last two races, Phoenix and Homestead. Notes of interest: The NASCAR Nationwide Series PR Rep Task Force has organized a non-perishable Thanksgiving Food Drive among series teams to assist needy families in the Lexington, N.C. area. Through Monday, Braun Racing and Germain Racing in Mooresville, N.C., Kevin Harvick Inc. in Kernersville, N.C., RAB Racing and Roush Fenway Racing in Concord, N.C., and Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, N.C., will be collecting items at their shops. Those teams, along with CJM Racing, Faith Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Key Motorsports and Rensi-Hamilton Racing, also are collecting items among their organizations for the donation. Plus, the Task Force has scheduled a Nationwide driver autograph session at Phoenix on Saturday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. local time in Gatorade Victory Lane. Fans are asked to bring at least one non-perishable food item or donate $5 to receive a special infield wristband in order to participate. Food item or cash donation collection in exchange for a wristband will begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Gate 8 at PIR. All proceeds will benefit the West Davidson (N.C.) Food Pantry. … Leffler is also racing in Thursday night's USAC Silver Crown and National Midget race at Phoenix. … This weekend's race marks Trevor Bayne's last Nationwide start for 2009. Scott Speed will drive Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 99 Toyota at Homestead. … R3 Motorsports driver Ken Bulter III will have a new crew chief this weekend, Jeff Kirkendall. … Former open-wheel driver Alex Tagliani will make his Nationwide oval debut at Phoenix for MacDonald Motorsports. Tagliani drove for the team on the road course in Montreal earlier this year. Quotable: "Well considering I didn't even have a ride at the beginning of the 2009 season, I would have to say yes." – Trevor Bayne on whether he considers 2009 a success. Matt McLaughlin Mouth's Off Matt McLaughlin · Frontstretch. Racing Against the Media-ocrity To put it politely, Cup racing in 2009 hasn't been very good. This grizzled ol' cantankerous scribe could put it a lot less politely — and many of you normally gentle readers have expressed your sentiments on this season in increasingly pointed (and even profane) terms. What started as distant thunder back in February has become a deafening drumbeat late this Fall. By the way, some of ya'll are just out and out nasty … and that's one of the things I love about you. But let's mind our manners. I don't think it's a stretch to say that this has been the worst season of Cup racing since at least 1998, when the 5 and 5 rules turned the season into an unholy farce that still causes me to grind my teeth to calcium powder recalling it. There are a lot of opinions on what's gone wrong. Some blame the tepid racing on the new cars. Others argue it's the fault of the new points system. Some want to hang blame on a new generation of cardboard cutout, white Wonder Bread drivers who'd make Pollyanna sick to her stomach. I personally hang a lot of the blame on the loss of race dates at tracks that routinely provided outstanding racing (Darlington, Rockingham, North Wilkesboro) but whose dates were moved to cookie cutter tracks that have routinely provided, (be polite here, Matt) tepid racing. Still others want to fault the emergence of a few superteams that are dominating the sport. There's a thousand reasons why the racing is so awful right now, and it's probably some combination of the above that is causing the problem — though to what degree can be debated endlessly. What can't be debated is the racing this season, at least on the Cup level, has been really, really bad. At times, the drivers have even admitted as much. NASCAR statisticians try wallpapering over the problem with all these "green flag passes for the lead" numbers. (Here's a hint: During a long green flag run when the leaders are ducking into the pits to refuel and re-shoe their mounts, there's a lot of green flag passes for the lead — it's just not much fun to watch.) Even the TV guys admitted things were pretty sedate, perhaps overly so, at Talladega. Hell, even NASCAR officials have tried covering things up, saying things like, "Well, they can't all be classics." (Well yeah, OK, but can't one or two a season be classics just to keep us watching?) As for the fans, if Brian France, under an assumed identity for his own safety, were to visit the average fan-driven NASCAR message board and read the fans' opinions of the races… he'd be sleeping in his closet, Dr. Dentons zipped up tight, both thumbs firmly entrenched in his mouth having nightmares for a month. But man, fixing this problem could cost money. Lots of it. If the ISC had to fix its tracks to allow for better racing, it's going to really beat up their already-battered bottom line. Scrapping the CoT and replacing them with real race cars is going to be awfully costly for the team owners. Scrapping the Chase is going to leave some serious egg on Brian France's constantly twitching face, and even if they work free, paying 300 apes in bananas to sit at keyboards for 30 hours until one of them bangs out a better points system than the Chase, it could be prohibitively expensive. So how do we fix this problem without costing rich people any money or making any substantive progress on actually improving "the product?" Well apparently, NASCAR's latest brainstorm is to blame the media. The racing is just fine. In fact, it's better than ever. It could not possibly be improved one iota. It's just the nattering negative nabobs in the media that are convincing fans that this year's racing is the equivalent to a nine month long proctologic exam in the front window of a department store while Britney Spears' music is piped into the room at maximum volume. Wow, me and the other negative nabobs in the media made it 10 months with our evil plot to overthrow NASCAR so we could be unemployed too, but with two weeks left to go this season, we got caught. I'm sorry … does this make sense to anyone? Who, exactly, is behind this giant conspiracy? Whoever dreamed up this humdinger needs to steal a page from South Park and Blame Canada! Apparently, in one of their closed door town meetings, NASCAR officials offered up the talking point that it's time to blame the media for the perception that the sport has become boring. They probably pointed out the grandstands are far from full and the TV ratings are down, but that sort of crap makes sponsors nervous, and nervous sponsors are less willing to write the big checks that keep your mansions stocked with Bentleys and Cheezy Poofs. And a separate meeting with the ABC/ESPN announce team must have really roasted those folks' chestnuts on an open fire, because they were backpedaling from their comments about Talladega all afternoon at Texas. The boy next door, Carl Edwards hinted at the theme over the radio during the race. Everyone's most respect sage, Mark Martin, added he'd been around a long time and the racing doesn't suck any worse than it ever did. Wow, what a stunning endorsement of what you do for a living! But if you're going to launch a full-on assault on the media, the attack dog you want to take off the leash is Tony Stewart. Since entering the garage area, knuckles dragging on the ground, his middle swollen like he's carrying triplets, unshaven and with a chip on his shoulder the size of an crew cab duly loaded with two cords of firewood, Stewart has made his dislike of the media obvious. A lot of drivers have somewhat strained relations with the media, but few have resorted to actually physically assaulting said scribes. Well Mr. Stewart likes to remind people he doesn't have time to answer stupid questions. After all, being as fabulous as he is a 24-7 challenge. (To clue Tony in: media members don't like asking stupid people questions, either, but that's what we get paid to do sometimes.) Stewart can wheel a race car about as well as anyone who's ever drawn breath on this earth, but he's dumber than an acre of mud. When he has a point that he wants to make, he comes running to the media babbling like a holy roller seeing the first bag of rattlesnakes entering the church. But if he's in a bad mood, don't expect him to fulfill the same obligations other drivers who finished in the top 3 are expected to endure. He is, after all, TONY STEWART. We're just "the rest of us" — privileged to be drawing breath on his planet. Well, Mr. Stewart now claims that boring races are just a myth that the media has created and that the racing is great. If the media would just shut their yaps and unplug their keyboards, all would be well. Frankly, I don't think so. I know race fans pretty well. After all, I've been one for 40-something years now. I hear from them not only daily but hourly. I've spent long afternoons seated with them on the side of the catchfence where you pay to be as opposed to the side where you get paid to be. I sit at their kitchen tables discussing the sport with them. I'm elbow-to-elbow with them at taverns, and sitting beside them on a guardrail catching a smoke while our Harleys make that ticking sound cooling off. I debate the sport and the relative worth of each event with them standing in line at the Wawa or the Dunkin' Donuts in the morning … and most of the time, I do a lot more listening than talking. A lot of them know who I am and what I do, but they want to talk. They've read what I had to say. Now they want me to hear their opinions. Funny thing is, I've never run into Brian France or Tony Stewart at Dunkin' Donuts. Come on by, guys. I'll spring for the coffee and a sausage biscuit. America runs on Dunkins'. You dummies are just running out of time. Here's what I know about stock car racing fans — or at least the fans that are left. These people are passionate about their sport (and it does, in fact, belong to them since they ultimately pay the bills that keep the circus tent erected.) They have strong opinions about it. Nothing I write, nothing any scribe can write about the sport, is going to change their passionate beliefs. I might give them some points to ponder from time to time, and they'll wish to debate them with me via email or in the Wawa parking lot, but that's my job as a writer. There's still a perception in some circles that somehow stock car racing fans are some illiterate bunch of toothless boobs tuning in on Sunday to see big wrecks. I know that not to be the case. I know surgeons, psychiatrists, and priests who are stock car racing fans. And if there are fans who might not have a formal education beyond a couple years of high school, they still know their sport. They have strongly-held opinions, and they'll debate them to their dying breath. If anyone out there thinks I have some Svengali-like power to hypnotize mass numbers of folks from all walks of life into adopting my attitude and my opinions, your estimation of my talent is light years beyond my own. If anything, I think I feed off the fans I deal with and their attitudes more than they do mine. In my weekly race piece, the largest section is entitled "What They'll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week." As I prepare that section, I'm surfing the message boards I frequent seeing what the fans are talking about, what they liked about an issue or race, and what got their goat. Somewhere along the way, I've figured out that it's the fans that keep me employed doing this job. You paid for the Harley (thank ya'll, I really dig it). There's a few drivers in NASCAR who would do well to remember they're in the same boat — only I'm in steerage and they're in the outside suite. And this boat is taking on water at an alarming rate while the crew dances on deck proclaiming all is well. Sure, it's the media's fault. Keep believing that, just like the guy coughing up blood into his handkerchief keeps believing its seasonal allergies and not lung cancer. Cup Racing this year has sucked. You can launch a witch hunt claiming the media is to blame, or you can start correcting the fundamental issues that are destroying the sport. These drivers and NASCAR officials can launch all the rocks at me they want. Pretty damn soon, they're going to be tossing them at taillights disappearing towards the horizon. Stewart once raged that NASCAR needed to get the fans out of the garage area, that it was the teams' workspace and having all those representatives of the unwashed masses around made him claustrophobic. Now, apparently, Stewart is ready to toss the media out of the garage too. Given a couple years, I think Tony is going to like the garage area just fine. The media will be gone. The fans will be gone … a lot of the teams and drivers will be gone. He'll have no reason to feel claustrophobic standing among those who are left studying the vast swaths of empty seats in the grandstands. Will the last person to abandon NASCAR kindly turn out the lights on your way out the door? Five questions with NASCAR's Jeff Gordon Greg Engle/nascarexamine It's something Jeff Gordon has been through before. In a career spanning 16 fulltime seasons, Gordon has come out on the winning end of NASCAR title fights four times. Changes to car won't be coming soon Ed Hinton/espn. Please don't kill the messenger here. Try to keep the e-mail civil. I went and asked NASCAR on your behalf, and now I'm conveying the answers. Bottom line up front: There'll be no relief on "the car" for you the fans, the drivers, the crew chiefs, or anyone else who despises the thing. It's here to stay, just as it sits, for 2010 and beyond. Now I can't say that's bad news to 100 percent of you. Since the car's introduction in 2007, my e-mail has run, at various times, at only 94 to 99.5 percent disgust, outrage and ridicule of the vehicle introduced as the Car of Tomorrow, then called the Car of Today, and currently considered by many of you the Contraption of Turmoil. So some of you are happy. The rest will just have to take it or leave it. Reminds me of a T-shirt I saw once on the streets of Atlanta: "If you can't change conditions, adjust your attitude." During a sit-down interview with Sprint Cup director John Darby the other day, I asked for NASCAR's responses to specific suggestions I'd heard recently from someone who has thorough knowledge of race cars, from driving them to building them, every nut and bolt. That person spoke on the condition that "Hinton, I'll kick your a--" if I betrayed his anonymity. "Get rid of the bump stops and put springs on 'em again," the guy said. "Get rid of the spoilers and put air dams on 'em again. Get rid of the wings and put spoilers on 'em again. "And you'll have a pretty damn good race car." As you can see, the guy isn't anti-COT. He just sees adjustments that would ease the frustration of the drivers and crew chiefs, and give veteran drivers back the feel in the car they need to win. It also offers NASCAR an out from what many perceive as a corner it has painted itself into with the COT. Each of these suggestions I'd heard before from veteran, savvy racers. This guy just happened to list them all together. OK, so then I listed these suggestions to Darby and asked if there's any possibility any one, or two, or three of them could be implemented anytime soon. "Probably not," he said. "What we know is that the racing today is better than it's been in 61 years of our previous history. So why screw up the racing when it's so much better today than it has been?" I'll let that comment sit with you the fans for a minute. I had a pretty good idea what you would think of it, but I didn't argue the point because I knew where Darby was coming from. NASCAR measures competition with "Loop Data" from its scoring sensors and computers. By that measure, take the race you the fans howled about the most lately (crying "BO-ring!"), Talladega on Nov. 1. Ramsey Poston, NASCAR's managing director of corporate communications, wrote in his blog that Loop Data showed 13,348 passes during that race. If there is a typo in that number, it is Poston's. I have double and triple checked it: 13,348 passes. Now let me write it out as you'd write out a check, just to make sure the number is clear: Thirteen thousand, three hundred and forty-eight passes. Considering the time of the race, 3 hours, 13 minutes, 54 seconds, that's more than one pass per second. A lot of you (and I) must have missed a whole lot of what the computers saw. Unfortunately for NASCAR, computers don't buy tickets, driver merchandise or products advertised on NASCAR telecasts. You do. And in today's world, as NASCAR president Mike Helton himself once said to me, "Perception is reality." Now, on to Darby's answers about the three proposed quick-fix areas of the car: "A splitter and a valance [air dam] are the same thing -- they do the exact same thing," Darby said. I said the valance didn't seem to create nearly the headaches for the teams as far as being damaged or broken off. "I won't say that," Darby said. "If you look at where the teams were in the last year of the old car [2007, during the transition], it [the air dam] was worse. "The splitter is more of a carefree item now. Where with the valance, if they hit a little piece of anything on the track that would just dent it a little bit, it was an emergency to get to pit road and fix it. "Now the splitter is much more durable. We don't have those problems anymore." Next, "a spoiler and a wing do the exact same thing," Darby said. "A spoiler puts downforce on the rear of the car; so does a wing. The advantages of a wing are, for example, you can control air over more than one surface. So you can use the wing not only to control downforce, but you can also generate a pretty good bit of side force for it -- the side forces when you spin out." I told him I'd had inquiries from fans as to whether a spoiler as opposed to a wing might have mitigated Ryan Newman's airborne crash at Talladega. "The new car has a better [higher] liftoff speed than the old car," Darby said. "The wing reacts better than a spoiler." In wind-tunnel testing over the past four years, "We've blown more air over this car backwards than we have frontwards," Darby said. "When you blow the air over frontwards, it's just about how it drives. We've obviously got a much bigger concern over what it does when it's backwards." Bringing back coil springs and getting rid of bump stops -- sophisticated and very expensive extensions of shock absorbers -- is probably the most widely suggested change I hear. "These cars haven't been on springs since the '70s -- you know what I mean?" Darby said. I didn't at first. You could have fooled me, all these years between the 1970s and 2007, with all those crewmen changing all those big steel coil springs all the time in the garage stalls, trying to get the proper balance and get the cars to turn. "Well, they had springs in them," Darby said, "but [when] they're smashed flat and coil-bound, they're not springs anymore." Coil-bound was indeed a term I heard from drivers, mainly about cornering, where the coil spring had so much weight on it that it would compress upon itself so that it would lock shut and have no more "give" or "travel" in it. "So the bump stop is a softer way to settle the car than being steel-to-steel on a coil-bound spring," Darby said. The new Nationwide car, to debut in four races next season, will have springs instead of bump stops -- largely because the transition will be expensive enough as it is for Nationwide team owners, who don't have nearly the budgets Cup owners work with. "But in one [Nationwide] test last week at Talladega," Darby said, "everybody's already locked down on coil-bound springs. So at the end of the day there isn't a difference." If, scientifically, there is no difference between springs and bump stops, wings and spoilers, valances and splitters, might all the discontent of drivers, fans and crew chiefs be -- well -- psychological? "Oh, yeah! Sure. Sure," Darby said. "Anytime you call something by a new name, you've got to think about what it really does." So there it is. And as has been said so many hundred times by drivers and crew chiefs, "It is what it is." And perception is what it is, in Helton's own lexicon: reality. If Jeff Gordon perceives that he just can't get the feel for entering a corner on bump stops that he got on springs, that is reality. If Chad Knaus perceives that he is handcuffed from adjusting Jimmie Johnson's car in ways he wants to, that is reality. If the fans perceive that the racing is boring and the car is to blame, that is reality. And the thousands upon thousands of empty seats I saw last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway -- the biggest pleasure palace with the most creature comforts in all of NASCAR, in one of the biggest markets, staged by master promoter Eddie Gossage -- those empty seats were very real indeed. Not even Loop Data can argue otherwise. And so if NASCAR will not change reality, it had best get to work on perceptions. The task is monumental. NASCAR's problems are Junior's fault By Richard Allen/racingwithric In an impromptu interview of NASCAR Chairman Brian France conducted by reporter Dustin Long in Texas the NASCAR boss gave an assessment of the sport he runs and of the coverage of that sport by its media contingent. According to France, the sport is suffering because some of its major stars, namely Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Carl Edwards, are having bad seasons. And so, their fans are under the misguided perception that the racing is bad due to the winless seasons being experienced by their favorite drivers. So, let's be clear. Races being run with virtually no passing has nothing to do with fans losing interest. Races decided by pit stops rather than racing on the track is immaterial. Cars that look exactly alike no matter what brand they are is a non-factor. NASCAR removing all possibility of ingenuity and instead becoming a racing parts distributor is a non-issue. Corporate clone drivers with little if any personality is inconsequential. Inconsistent and unpredictable handling of rules and rule violations does not matter. France's views show once more how out of touch the leadership of the sport has become. He, the supposed head of the sport, admitted that he had not seen the much discussed broadcast of the Talladega race. How could the leader of a sport not go back and watch a broadcast that was so controversial? For that matter, how could the leader of the sport not be in attendance at virtually every event AND go back and watch the broadcast? I watch every race and it's not my job to guide the sport. Would the commissioner of the NFL not go back and look into such an event in his sport? He almost certainly would. NASCAR writers are very often accused of taking the easy way by writing stories about Junior rather than digging deeper and finding a real news story. In this case, it appears as though the NASCAR Chairman has opted for the same strategy. France's laying at least some of the blame at the feet of the sport's most popular driver has one obvious flaw. What does he then say if Junior wins one of the last two races of the season or opens next year by winning the Daytona 500 and attendance remains low? Aside from throwing Junior and Edwards under the bus, France reverted to the old NASCAR standbys of blaming the media and the economy for fan disinterest. Apparently, fans would not notice all of the issues mentioned above if television, radio and print media did not bring them up. And for whatever reason, the economy is forcing fans to turn their televisions off as well when they should be watching in higher numbers if they were still in love with the sport. NASCAR and its leadership are like the little boy sticking his finger in the dam to plug a leak, except there are many leaks. Someday, if the sanctioning body does not start to address the issues that are causing fan apathy they are going to run all out of fingers. NASCAR's own decision making has led to the issues of the day. Of course, the economy has played some role and the fact that the sport's most popular drivers are not winning probably does contribute to the fan apathy. But, the real issues are the ones NASCAR itself has brought on. It is up to them to realize and then address those issues. NASCAR's testing ban may have backfired by Jeff Owens, NASCAR Scene, Special to FOXSports.com A year ago, NASCAR made a bold move by banning testing at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks. It's a move that may have backfired. A lack of testing seems to have had a profound impact on the competition in all three of NASCAR's top series, especially the Sprint Cup Series. How else do you explain the sudden drop in performance at Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing and even Joe Gibbs Racing? The continued dominance of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports is not a huge surprise; they have dominated the circuit for the past three years. But their prowess and superiority has only been enhanced by the ban on testing. It's a move that had to be made, of course, so before we go much farther, it's prudent to note that NASCAR did a good thing by placing a moratorium on testing. And it is doing the right thing by extending that moratorium through next season. NASCAR made the move for purely economic reasons. At this time last year, teams throughout the sport were struggling. With the economy taking a nosedive, the sport's sponsorship pool was drying up. Sponsors already in the sport were looking to pull out or cut back. Teams were closing down and laying off employees left and right. NASCAR had to step in and do something. Placing a ban on an expensive program that costs millions of dollars a year was, financially, a good move. But NASCAR officials also knew they were taking a risk. A year later, it looks as if the downside of that move has been realized. By prohibiting teams from testing at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks, the sanctioning body may have widened the gap between Hendrick and Johnson's No. 48 team and the rest of the competition. No team in the sport was better prepared to adjust and react to the ban than Hendrick Motorsports, and especially the three-time defending champions. It may be no surprise, then, that the only three teams still in championship contention with two races remaining are all Hendrick drivers — Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Those three have combined for 12 wins this year, four more than the next-best organization. Add in Tony Stewart's four wins at Stewart-Haas Racing, which benefits greatly from its close relationship with Hendrick, and it's clear that Hendrick and Hendrick-affiliated teams have dominated this season, winning almost half the races and so far claiming four of the top five spots in points. The other drivers and teams that challenged Johnson last year have all struggled this season. Roush led the series with 11 wins last year, with Carl Edwards scoring a series-high nine. Roush has won just three times this season, with Edwards going winless. Perhaps even more telling is this: Matt Kenseth won the season's first two races for Roush, but hasn't won again and missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the first time in his career. Roush's third win as an organization didn't come until Jamie McMurray's upset victory Nov. 1 at Talladega. Though Roush has two drivers in the Chase, Edwards and Greg Biffle both are winless and neither has been a factor in the playoffs a season after finishing second and third, respectively, in points. Joe Gibbs Racing has also experienced a bit of a letdown. It won 10 races last year — eight by Kyle Busch. This year, Busch has four wins, but struggled so badly in the second half of the season that he missed the Chase and has already switched crew chiefs. Denny Hamlin has won a career-high three races for Gibbs but once again has been no match for Johnson and the Hendrick teams in the Chase. The organization that may have suffered the most, though, is Richard Childress Racing, which won three races last year and put all three of its drivers in the Chase for the second straight year. This season, RCR has gone winless and none of its three drivers made the Chase. The organization has already made wholesale changes and Kevin Harvick, the driver for its flagship team, has flirted with leaving. All three organizations — Roush, Gibbs and RCR — tested often in the past in an effort to keep up with Hendrick and challenge Johnson. With no testing this season except at tracks that host no races in NASCAR's top divisions, it is understandable that they have fallen further behind, giving Hendrick an even bigger advantage. There are exceptions, of course. Juan Pablo Montoya has made great strides at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, as has Red Bull Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports. But those are all rapidly changing organizations that have been going through growing pains and are finally starting to show some results. Imagine how much greater their progress might be if they were allowed to test. To a lesser extent, the testing ban also may be a factor in the Nationwide and Truck series. Kyle Busch has once again dominated the Nationwide Series in Joe Gibbs equipment and is on the verge of clinching his first NASCAR title. Ron Hornaday Jr., meanwhile, is putting the finishing touches on his fourth Truck series title, and his second in three years with Kevin Harvick Inc. While the ban on testing was made with good intentions and for a good reason, it has clearly had an impact on the competition on the track, giving the top drivers and elite teams an even bigger advantage and making it more and more difficult for their challengers to catch up. And with testing prohibited again next year, we may see more of the same. 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 |
knowyournascar-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To post message, send an email to:
knowyournascar@yahoogroups.com
-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To post message, send an email to:
knowyournascar@yahoogroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment