NOTES Aug '05 Archive

09/05/05

I thought today I would run down the Race to the Chase. How do I feel about everybody that’s in the Top 13 presently? I won’t go any farther down than that, because I really don’t think that from 14 down there is a chance in hell it can happen.

Once again, if you look at the standings http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2005/data/standings_official.html and take into consideration the overall performance of the team in question, not just wins, it becomes crystal clear that the players in the final run for the money belong there.

At the top is Tony Stewart (#20 Home Depot machine for Joe Gibbs). While it took a while for Tony to find Victory Lane this year, once he did he wouldn’t leave…grrr. But, even if he wasn’t actually taken the checkers, he wasn’t far behind. He sports 17 top 10 finished out of 25 races. Definitely a looker for the Cup. There’s no denying it (even if you don’t care for the man).

Right behind Tony is Greg Biffle (#16 National Guard/Subway machine for Jack Rousch). Greg has had almost as dazzling a season as Tony. Though he’s much quieter when he wins. Still 5 victories and 14 Top 10 is nothing to sneeze at or ignore. Greg is just going about his business reinforcing the reason why Jack has worked this boy up through the ranks. He wins championships.

Jimmie Johnson (#48 Lowe’s machine for Rick Hendrick/Jeff Gordon). Jimmie came into this season on a high. He has stumbled recently, though never so bad he’s lost sight of the final prize. He’s still smiling. He has been talking about finding their momentum again. He knows it. This will be a battle royale, and Jimmie’s troops need to have the blood lust coursing through their veins to take the Cup.

Rusty Wallace (#2 Miller Lite) and Mark Martin (#6 Viagra). Both of these gentlemen are on their way out the door. While I think they both would like a Cup to remember their final year by, I don’t see the hunger in them. They will continue to do well in the Chase, but I’m not expecting too much out of them.

Kurt Busch (#97 Sharpie for Jack Rousch). While Kurt has been mellowing, he’s still a temperamental child behind that wheel. I guess talent figures into it somewhere. It must! He is the current champion. But I look at Kurt’s achievements more as a bully refusing to go away rather than talent and shrewd decision making. I won’t cry should Kurt be denied this Cup by somebody else pushing him out of the way.

Those are the teams that are locked into the Chase at this moment. The following 7 teams are fighting tooth and nail to get into the final round. Let’s see…

Jeremy Mayfield (#19 Dodge for Ray Evernham) A talented driver, but utterly forgettable. This has plagued Jeremy throughout his career. He shuffles along near the top 10 on a regular basis. Once a year or so he brings it to Victory Lane. But even if Jeremy makes the Chase, he’s no threat. He’ll stumble at some point.

Carl Edwards (#99 Office Depot for Jack Rousch). Carl is the PR wonder for Rousch Racing. He smiles, wins and back-flips. Even after wrecking every Petty car within reach at Bristol, he still managed to have a post-race discussion with the injured party while smiling. Amazing! The NASCAR Nation will fall in love with the sport all over again should Carl make his owner a happy man. He’s a long shot, but youthful exuberance while avoiding rookie mistakes might land this boy in the top spot. He’s definitely in the Chase.

Matt Kenseth (#17 DeWalt Tools for Jack Rousch). A former champion. We wondered if he had forgotten how that works in the early part of the season. Recently the man has found his stride again, while managing to be quiet about it. What I do see as possible is Rousch taking the Top 5 in the Chase. Kenseth does teeter on the in or out deal. He’s on a roll right now. I say he’s in.

Jamie McMurray (#42 Havoline for Ganassi). Out. He’s in this week. Next week he’ll be out. Should he make it in, he’ll finish at the bottom. Not enough consistency in that team to truly compete at the top.

Ryan Newman (#12 Alltel for Penske) and Jeff Gordon (#24 DuPont for Hendrick). This is where it gets good. Both of the teams are awesome. Both of these teams have had lots of problems this year. Both of these could make it in by having a perfect weekend next week. NO SLEEP will be had at these shops this week. And it’s odd. I’ve been a Gordon fan since day 1. Newman has won my heart with his Qualifying ability and College Degree smarts. I’ll be upset should either of them stumble. The Chase will be less interesting without them. So I’m cheering! Come on Boys! You can do this!

And finally Elliott Sadler (#38 M&M’s for Yates). The wild card. One of two cars from a stable that could win a championship. With the right car and right alignment of stars, Elliott has the ability to take Newman and Gordon out of this Chase. A Sadler with a Cup would be a popular victory in the sport. He comes from the roots of NASCAR, not the new world. Kids across the country would have a reason to cheer for the yellow car with the humorous candies painted on it.

And for one week, there is the rest of the field. Face it. We don’t care anymore about the rest, even Dale. Once we reach New Hampshire, there will be the added cache of who will win the Best of the Rest. But this week, nope. Not even aware they exist. Such is life.

Let the Green Flag Fly!

08/30/05

That's what we're left with after Saturday night's blender was completed. The only ingredients recognizable as items in the upcoming Chase are: Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Rusty Wallace. The add-ons are endless and possibly quite tasty.

Jeff is in. Dale Jarrett is out. Newman is in. Kenseth would like to be. McMurray and Sadler...nail biting for flavor. Mathematically Dale Jr. might even make it, satisfying the media gods.

Two races left until the final dish is served. California. Jeff likes it there. Kenseth, McMurray, and Sadler all have the packages to do well. Jarrett...even the best of us lose out temper from time to time. I just hope that doesn't end up with no dessert for our veteran. Then Richmond.

Harvick. Enough can't be said about such childish tantrums. But the less said, the better.

Bobby Labonte! He is pulling himself out of the toilet bowl. Never give up!

Terry Labonte! One thing can be said. At least the car was running at the end of the day. I like seeing him back behind the wheel. Things are right with the world. Perhaps there is hope for the #11 team afterall.

*While on pit road at Pocono this year, my husband snapped a picture of Leffler signing autographs. It is ironic that the driver can barely be seen due to other people crowding him out. Prophetic, eh? *

Anyway- this will be an exciting and yummy breakfast come September 18. I can't wait to see it!
 

08/27/05

March of the Whackers...

I am looking forward to what NASCAR will be doing with the Busch points next season re: Buschwackers. For the second race in as many races...no, make that three...Martin Truex Jr. continues to build his lead in the Busch series over Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson. But he's doing it from the fifth position in finishing order.

He's doing that simply because the first few positions are being gobbled up by Cup regulars looking to, well, I think they're here for the free food. How much more obvious would Martin's March to the Trophy be without all that distracting 'Cup' drama? In fact, by next year the average racing fan might actually know the names of Martin, Clint and Reed when they enter the Rookie of the Year fray if their big brothers were absent.

This story reappears from time to time on the NASCAR circuit when the Cup drivers take over. There isn't a cut and dry answer. Well, try this one on for size. Make a podium for the Busch driver that finished best as well. Give him some TV time beyond, "Well, 5th wasn't quite what we wanted, but we'll take it."

Racing against the Cup boys undoubtedly provides the top level competition an up and coming Busch driver needs to get ready to make that jump to the top series. But, giving all the money, TV time, points and trophies to the big boys just belittles the accomplishments of these awesome racers. It's time to make a change. It's time to let the Busch Series be all that it can be. nuff said

Something of note in the Busch Chase:

Reed Sorenson's (#41 Target Ganassi Dodge)crew chief and tire specialist were kicked out of Bristol yesterday when a NASCAR official found them "soaking" the tires on the car. You can bet a substantial suspension, hefty points and cash penalties will be coming their way. Even if Reed's shot at the Busch trophy wasn't already over for the year, this put an extra nail in the coffin. Bad Move Boys!

and...

Ryan Newman won a third Busch race in a row, beating out Greg Biffle and a grumpy Kevin Harvick. Kevin is clearly getting ready for some more Pit Road theatrics. Tonight should be quite the show...
 

Toyota's on the Move!

The invasion has begun. The Toyota Tundra Truck has taken 4 of the last 6 trophies in the Craftman Truck Series. They've won 4 out of 17 for the year. It's not an avalanche of success compared to Dodge's eruption onto the Cup scene in 2001, but it is formidable.

Toyota is looking to complete the invasion in 2007 with Busch and Cup teams. Should we be worried?

I've stopped. The Toyota Camry is as much a part of the American Interstate scene as the Chevy Monte Carlo and the Ford Focus. And since the cars have ceased to look any different on the track, what will be the real problem? In fact, when NASCAR finally rolls out the unibody car that they've been working on at the R&D center the only thing left for the manufacturers to worry about will be the engines...unless NASCAR chooses to move to a "crate" system. (Not likely, but one never knows these days).

So...will it even matter at all? Or perhaps the manufacturer competition will go the way of the Dodo. Instead of a great advertising campaign for the car on display at your local dealer, NASCAR will be getting all the kudos for the design of all the vehicles. Lost advertising $$ = lost sponsor $$ = race teams looking for a new way to promote and fund their team.

So, I'm not so worried about the foreign invasion. I'm concerned about NASCAR managing to promote itself into a pre-packaged, over controlled, plastic show where the teams have control over one thing; who to put behind the wheel. That'll sell a whole lot of soft drinks. But that's not why I drive to the track...

08/23/05

Counting down...

NOW it's getting interesting. Well, yeah, Tony did NOT win this week which in itself was remarkable. Instead we really do have a Race to the Chase.

Lil' E (#8 Bud-mobile)is definitely out. Yes, there could be a miracle. But last I knew miracles were not being handed out to teams that just don't have it together. Other people got it more together and that's just how it is. Sorry Dale! We'll miss you! (just a teeny tiny bit)

Jeff Gordon. So he still hasn't managed to completely rally the troops, but he does have a real chance. Only 66 points out of 10th place. Three races to gain those 66 points. Dale Jarrett is the only driver in Jeff's way right now and DJ boasts a mere 13 point lead over Jeff. Sadler, Harvick and Kenseth are mathematical possibilities, but I don't think I want them to do so well. Old loyalties die hard, ya know.

Onto other things!! The Camber Rule. The only comment teams had about it was there was an awful lot of late nights over the week trying to find a way to work with it. Yes, we had a couple blown tires at the track, but nobody was screaming camber! or bad tires! Done deal. Move on.

Where to next? Let's see...Bristol this week. A tiny, tough track that's designed to shred sheet metal and tempers. We love this track!

Then...California. Yes, one of the "clone" tracks. Big, roomy, lots of aero needed to succeed...tends to be boring.

And finally, the last race before the "Chase to the Cup" begins. Richmond. Under the lights. Possibly the best track on the circuit. The drivers will be challenged.

Yep! It's gonna be a shoot-out!

"Tighten your seatbelt, boys. It's gonna be a bumpy night!" Woo Hoo!
 

08/20/05

This might get boring...

You may have noticed I refrained from talking about who won last Sunday at The Glen. It was mostly because the race was a foregone conclusion. Tony Stewart has dubbed himself nearly invincible.

5 wins in 7 races? Stop it Tony!

Several years ago when Jeff Gordon stole an amazing 13 wins in one season, much of the NASCAR fan base complained about the complete dominance of one team. At the time, I thought they were just jealous (devotion to one driver tends to engender such narrow thoughts). But no, they were BORED!

This week we move onto Michigan. A beefy, high banked 2 mile tri-oval. It's wide sweeping turns provide the room for side by side racing and all out dueling. Your breath is swept away by the insanity of the speed.

Will Tony continue his conquest? Maybe...it seems the gods are smiling on him at the moment.

But, actually if I was looking for a team that needs a win and would provide a breath of fresh air in this stale Race to the Chase, I pick the #38 M&M's Ford driven by Elliot Sadler for Yates Racing.

Yates engine power is legendary. Elliot has been running well all year. THeir aero package has been doing fine.

Give me something new to cheer about. My fickle attention span has already been exhausted by the #20 Tony Stewart Home Depot mobile.

Go #38!!!

08/17/05

10 Year Careers?

With the retirement of league veterans Mark Martin (#6 Viagara) and Rusty Wallace (#2 Miller) this year many aspects of NASCAR are being looked at for the first time in years. One of the more pronounced items; the expected length of a career for a NASCAR Nextel Cup driver.

Gone are the days where the average age of a rookie at Cup level figured around the higher side of the 20's. Now, big teams and wealthy sponsors are popping teenagers into Cup rides as soon as the Prom is over. Kyle Busch was actually told he had to wait 2 years until he turned 18 to get into the big leagues. Promoters were eager to take him back then...

36 races sit on the Cup schedule. The teams start preparing for the season the second week of January. They start racing in February and the final checker flies the third week in November. Cup drivers are expected to test cars at tracks other then where they are competing that weekend. They are given a lengthy and packed schedule to keep hungry fans and demanding sponsors happy. It's a good thing they're so young! Watching the never ending flurry of activity makes me tired watching from my couch.

So, is this the end? The end of wise, slightly balding pates? Is the sport being cast into the gorgeous, painfully youthful mold the rest of the big league games have gone? The drivers retiring (at the ripe old age of 45+) give one reason for seeking their lazy-boys. They're too damn tired of it all. Not the racing. Everything else. The bright lights don't hold them like it used to. Victory Lane and the rumble of a finely tuned motor under their butts still gets the blood flowing, but it all stops as soon as they're asked where they went shopping for that gold watch.

So, if 10 year careers is where we're going then that means Jeff Gordon should be lining up at the Old Folks Home as we speak. (34 years old is almost in the grave!) Kyle Busch has only 9 years left to win a Cup. And even devastatingly cute Kasey Kahne needs to start saving up his 401K.

Oh, stop it! Let's face it folks. Racers get to where they are because they do one thing incredibly well. They go fast, they turn left, they win. Why would they want to give it all up when their lives are just starting? 10 year careers are not here yet. Not one of those drivers is gonna let it happen.

08/15/05

New Camber Rule

Starting this week at the Michigan race, NASCAR will add a camber restriction to its inspection process. This will prevent the teams from tilting the front tires in or out too much. Camber helps the cars turn in the corners, but it also places stress on the tires. At Pocono and Indianapolis this year we saw multiple tire failures that were directly attributed to excessive camber set-ups.

My question is: Is regulating the camber setting really worthwhile? I know preventing tire blow-outs is a safety issue. Nobody wants to see the cars fly into the wall, threatening the well-being of the drivers. But all the teams are given recommended pressure and camber settings by Goodyear every week. If the teams had followed those settings at Pocono and Indy, their tires would not have failed at the same rate.

So, once again, NASCAR is responding to ignorance and lack of compliance by adding yet another line to the rule book. To me this is just silly. You would think that if I set up a tire and it failed, I wouldn't do that again. I certainly won't win any races when my tires are blowing. What do those teams think they are going to gain by taking proven stats from Goodyear and throwing them away?

I guess common sense doesn't always prevail in this sport. It took NASCAR mandates to get the drivers to wear fire suits, seat belts, window nets, HANS devices...you name it. So, maybe NASCAR felt they needed to add that one more rule to save those teams from their own tunnel vision.

Well, I wonder who the teams will be blaming the next time there is a race with wholesale tire failures...Goodyear? What do you know...that's who they're blaming now! The only thing that will really change is there will be a new template thing-a-ma-jig in the inspection bay.

Teams will still push the envelope, bend the rules, wreck the cars, blow the tires and win races. It's what they live for.

Racing--only twisted

Yes sir, yes sir! This weekend we have a road race. Now, normally we have a rule in NASCAR, "Left Turn Only". Twice a year we break the rule and actually turn right as well. Who would've thunk? Can we do that? Oh yes! And even better, it separates the boys from the men, so to speak. I suppose there might be a little girl out there, but not in the Cup at the moment, so I'll refrain from being overly PC.

Why speak of this? Well, I was sitting here thinking about my favorite racing weekends of the year, and the road courses (Watkins Glen and Infineon) are two of them. The short tracks (Bristol, Dover, Martinsville, etc.) beat them out by a small margin. Third are the Superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega) At the very end of the list are the 1 1/2 mile tracks with moderate banking that the media like so much. Racing aero-loose all the time is no fun. It takes all the finesse out of the driver's hands and places it mostly on the set-up of the vehicle.

Back to the topic at hand, turning right. You know, it's so difficult some of the teams actually hire special drivers for the day. Boris Said, Ron Fellows and Scott Pruett are Road Warriors, specialists for the day. Teams will kick out their usual driver and pop a road warrior behind the wheel just so the team doesn't lose too many points on that "righty" day. You won't see the guys at the top of the points standings do that. But the teams that are trying to stay in the Top 35 will do it.

So, why do it at all? The NASCAR Nextel Cup series is designed to find the best team in stock car racing. The best car, the best driver, the best mechanics, the best crew chief. By throwing two road courses into the mix, we ensure that only the very best win that Cup at the end of the year. Life is not a straight path. It doesn't always serve the expected twist or turn. Always turning left is a bad habit.

So, flex those muscles! Turn right! It's fun!

08/19/2006 03:29 PM -0400

Nextel Cup Champion Kurt Busch, driver of the #97 Sharpie/Irwin Ford, announced his desire to terminate his contract with Rousch Racing at the conclusion of the 2005 season today. Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 DeWalt Tools Ford and the 2003 Nextel Cup Champion, has voiced his ennui with Rousch Racing as well. During the well published interview he also alluded to a lack of communication between Rousch and Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 National Guard/Subway Ford and a previous Craftsman Truck and Busch Series Champ.

While Greg Biffle currently sits second in the Nextel Cup Points standings, he is undoubtedly the single Rousch driver with the least to complain about. You would think that all would be happy in the Kenseth and Kurt Busch garages as well.

So, what is happening? Doesn’t winning make everybody happy? Why would anyone be grumbling? Why would anyone want to leave? Is it the almighty dollar? Doubtful. As Champions, all these drivers are eligible for extra $$ everytime they qualify for a race. That doesn’t include the immense bonuses that the ecstatic sponsors dole out when their driver takes home the Cup.

So, if it’s not success. It’s not money. What? What’s left is happiness.

Mark Martin (#6 Viagara Ford) drove for (need stat) years for Rousch Racing. At the same time he never won the Cup. He did win a Busch Champion trophy, but it’s no secret that that accomplishment did little to satisfy Mark’s wish for the ultimate win. But he did stay with Rousch. You would have to admit that he was happy. So, Rousch is capable of creating a lasting and rewarding relationship with a driver.

So…what? It is certainly nothing that anybody is willing to say out loud. But nothing good can be construed by the never ending stream of announcements over the past month. Something is very wrong in that House. The very best drivers of the sport are looking to find other situations in teams that have not seen the same kind of success that they’ve enjoyed at Rousch Racing. But then again, winning isn’t everything.