Dover, Pocono, and more

Just in case anyone missed the Live on Type Delay post from Dover, we had it written, but just couldn't post it in a timely fashion, due to internet connection issues. We will try to bring it back next week, unless our connection problems persist.

Last Sunday, we were treated to one of the best races of the season so far. There was plenty of side by side racing throughout the field, and lots of lead changes, with twelve different race leaders. There were some cut tires, and a few dents and dings, but there was a lot of green flag racing to keep things interesting. With nine laps to go we got to see one of the best finishes we have seen in a while. Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart took two tires each and restarted first and second, while Jimmie Johnson took four and restarted eighth. In three laps, Johnson had moved up to third, in time to see Tony Stewart take the lead from Da Biff. The rest of the race was a head to head match between two of NASCAR's finest drivers. Johnson obviously had the better running car, but Stewart did everything he could to hold him off. finally, with a little more than two laps to go, Johnson got around Stewart by going almost to the wall, and Stewart settles for second, and the championship points lead. It was some great, and classy, racing--the kind we wish we could see in every race.

From that we move on to a race that many NASCAR fans feel predisposed to not enjoy. Pocono is a 2.5 mile speedway with three turns and the longest straightaway of all race tracks. During green flag runs, the field tends to get spread out wide so, for much of the race, there is not much to watch except for a single file parade of cars. Not to say the track doesn't require some amazing driving skills--it certainly does, as each of the three turns is a completely different animal. The cars enter turn one at a high speed, after that long straightaway, then have to let up to exit the turn safely. Turn two, however, is probably the most treacherous of the three turns, and the short straightaway between one and two is used to try to get in position for the short and narrow turn. There is no three wide racing in turn two. Turn three is actually longer than turn one, but it is flat, flat, flat. The entry is wide and the exit is tight. This is the turn that makes the most of a driver's skill and experience. Reflexes and reaction have to be lightning fast, as the driver has to brake in the middle of the turn and position himself to exit at the highest speed possible, so to be up to speed at the entrance of that long straightaway. This is where the drivers used to shift into overdrive, but, in order to save wear and tear on the engines in 2007, NASCAR mandated a rear end gear that would negate the effects of overdrive. We feel that the "money saving" effects of the gear restriction took away some of the racing at Pocono.

Pocono has become a track at which strategy is as much a "chess match," as Tony Stewart calls it, as the restrictor plate races at Daytona and Talladega. Many of the recent races there have been won through fuel strategy and other decisions in the pits. For those fans who like wheel to wheel racing to the finish, this is not the kind of race for them.

We like to imagine the racing at Pocono would be better if the race was shorter. Strategies would be different, saving the engines would be of less concern, and the racing would be a little more aggressive if the race were a mere one hundred miles shorter. Speaking from our own standpoint, we feel that three hundred and fifty miles would be ideal for a race at Pocono. Since the track is likened to a road course, in terms of the driver's skills required, we feel it should be treated as a road course. A 350 mile race at Pocono would step things up a bit.

Sunday, we will get our first look at NASCAR's new double file restart rule. The lead lap cars start in the front, while the cars a lap down will restart behind them. There will be no more racing to get a lap back, but the lucky dawg position will still be in contention, and restarts should still be interesting in the sense that there will be lots of action from the front to the rear. Unburdened by lap traffic, the lead lap cars will be free to race each other for the lead and position. This could be exciting, or it could be a flop. We shall see.

Sunday's race will also mark the beginning of TNT's six week coverage of NASCAR's Sprint Cup. There are groans from the fans, who do not like the way the TNT booth bunnies comment on the race. Rev' Jim will be able to judge for himself this year, as this will be the first time he will have to listen to the television broadcast, as he doesn't have Sirius Satellite Radio, and MRN no longer has a broadcast outlet in Colorado Springs.

The upside of TNT's coverage is that network's technology. We have always been impressed by their moving and synchronized cameras, that give the television audience a view of the race that is about as good as television coverage can get. With TNT's camera magic, we actually get the sense of speed that we would get by being at the race. This is a feature which we enjoy, and look forward to with much enthusiasm.

In other news, Roger Penske has purchased the Saturn brand from Government Motors. His dealerships include Saturn, so it was his logic that if he bought the company, he could keep the dealerships in business and save 13,000 jobs. According to an article on Scene Daily.com:

Under the terms in the memorandum of understanding, Penske would obtain the rights to the brand as well as certain other Saturn assets. GM would continue production, on a contract basis, of the Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook.

We have to wonder if there may be a Saturn in NASCAR's future, possibly replacing the Dodge brand?

This will be the second week in operation for the new Dale Earnhardt, Jr team, to which Rick Hendrick has allocated the best engineers he has, as well as veteran Crew Chief, Lance McGrew. We may see some improvement in the 88 team, or we may not. Although we feel that Junior is a top notch driver, we haven't seen him adapt to the new Sprint Cup car. We don't think any amount of brain trust can help him until he gets the hang of the characteristics of the new car. We think he is very capable of doing that, but that it will take some time. The new team will help, in improving the performance and the confidence of the driver, but it still may take a few weeks. As always, we could be wrong, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr could be the victor in Sunday's race.

Revvin' and Ramblin'

When the Busch (now Nationwide) Series was running at PPIR, I used to like to get there early, as in at the opening of the gates. I would either catch a ride with my dear friend Debra (still dear, but now, sadly departed) or with someone I knew who worked at the track. One year I hitch-hiked and caught a ride with the team engineer from the Brewer Motorsports racing team. Anyway, I would get there early, and savor the experience of being there while things were relatively quiet, and I had the entire facility to myself, with the exception of a few others who practiced a similar race day ritual. I would walk along the catch fence, studying the track from every angle, going to the infield and visiting the garage area, when that was allowed, and walking the perimeter of the infield, and along the fence separating the pit area from the public. Then I would go to the top of the grandstands and take the whole thing in. I would have a big smile on my face, as I would declare to myself, "I love this place!"

I imagine that if I lived near the Darlington Speedway, in South Carolina, I would have a similar ritual. I love the place, even though I have never been there. There has never been a race there that wasn't exciting.

Even last year--which was the first race with the new Sprint Cup car at Darlington--when none of the teams had a car that their driver was happy with, it was exciting to watch Kyle Busch race by himself, bouncing off the wall in every turn. He not only had the expected Darlington Stripe off of turn two--he was bouncing off the walls in turn four. He won, because--even though the car wasn't set up well for Darlington--he got the most out of the car he could get. He had no idea of how to do it the "right way."

Nobody had a good car at Darlington last year--because nobody really knew what they needed to run at Darlington. Jeff Gordon had yet to get a handle on the new car, and Tony Stewart, who was driving for Joe Gibbs at the time, probably had one of the better cars--and was essentially taken out of the race early on, having been trapped by Elliott Sadler's Smoke Magnet. The only driver who had a chance to catch Kyle was Carl Edwards, and all he could do was watch Busch bounce off the walls as he continued to broaden the lead.

We have good reason to believe that this year, the situation will be different. First of all, over the last few races, it seems that Elliott has removed the Smoke magnet from his car. Jeff Gordon seems to have gotten a handle on his car, as have several other top drivers. There are guys like David Ragan, David Reutimann, Marcos Ambrose, and Sam Hornish, Jr., who seem poised to win their first race, and will likely give the usual suspects some competition in the race to get up front and be there for the most important lap.

All that being said, if I were to try to write a preview--which I won't since I always seemed to jinx the drivers whenever I did--my five drivers to watch would be as follows:

Jeff Gordon--Stating the obvious here. Jeff has found the handle on the car, and can race even while he is in serious pain and get a good finish anywhere. He knows how to drive smart, and he has five Darlington wins to prove it.

Kyle Busch--If he can't win it the way he did last year, he'll figure out another way to do it. The boy is a lot smarter than people give him credit for.

Tony Stewart--He is ready to get his first win as an owner-driver. He will be careful most of the race, and take the opportunity when it comes. He has yet to win at Darlington, which would add sweetness to the first victory for his own team. Out of sixteen starts, he has 8 top ten finishes including two top fives. He has finished out of the top twenty only two times--one thirty-sixth place due to a race ending crash after lap 225, and last years twenty-first place finish after his very bad start to the race.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr--I am not mentioning him just to get more hits this time. Last year, with all the "crappy" cars, he managed a fifth place finish. He has a knack for Darlington, and it is really fun to watch him race there. Fans who underate him, fail to notice that he is one of the best car control drivers there are, and Jr. can show us how that works at Darlington. He just needs to be patient, and if he can find that patience, he will be very likely to get a very good finish. It would be a good win for his cousin Tony Eury, Jr as well.

Matt Kenseth--If patience is what it takes to win at Darlington, Kenseth is the epitome of patience. He drives a lot like the all time Darlington winner, David Pearson, and perhaps that legacy will pay off. I know I promised my friend Babs that I wouldn't pick him to win in my previews, but, remember, this is not a real preview, this is only a "if I were writing a preview" preview.

So, I'm very excited in looking forward to Saturday night. Part of the anticipation is after the great race at Richmond last week, and part of it is that it is the second race in a row at a track for which I feel genuine affection. Hang on to your hats, this should be good!

Dover can be monsterous, so can this blogger

Last week's race at Loudon turned out to be better than expected, and that is a good thing. We have written this before: It is better to be cynical and pleasently surprised than it is to be optimistic and bitterly disappointed. It seems the teams have the car dialed in for NHMS. The action was non-stop, and there was some great racing all around the track and throughout the field for the entire race. We will find out Sunday if they can say the same about the Monster Mile at Dover.

Dover has been one of those tracks where the inability to complete a pass has been noticable with the new car. Still, the one mile bowl-shaped track has always been able to present exciting racing no matter what car is running in the race. Things happen at Dover. Wierd things.

Earlier this year, Tony Stewart had a very good car and it looked like, after practice and qualifying, that he had the car to beat. We never found out, as, before ten laps were completed, Smoke came out of turn two and ran into a spinning Elliott Sadler.

At this race last year, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Petty had a disagreement on the track, and that carried over to the garage area, when Petty gave Hamlin a sharp slap on the helmet, which got the young Virginian very angry.

We remember the treacherous pit road entrance, the scene of a mishap in nearly every race at Dover. A couple of years ago, Matt Kenseth missed that entrance in the worst way. This track adds the extra challenge of having only 42 pit boxes for 43 cars, which could cause problems if the wrong car has a cut tire or other problems at the wrong time.

Jeff Gordon has the pole position, and his time went pretty much unchallenged, with only Mark Martin and Greg Biffle coming close. We used to be an "Anybody but Gordon" fan, but that has changed to "Anybody but Johnson or Haskell Edwards."

Gordon on the pole should make it a pretty good race from the start.

A few random and strange thoughts:

It was reported that somebody stole a van from the Penske Racing team Wednesday night, and used it to break into Jack Roush's Mooresville shop and steal three engines. What would happen if those engines showed up in Michael Waltrip's garage next spring?

We can't discount any of the Chase drivers from winning the Championship at this point. We expect Kyle Busch to make a comeback, but nobody is going to make it easy for him. Greg Biffle is on a roll, even if Jack Roush doesn't think the driver is responsible for last week's win. He qualified third for Sunday's race. "Concrete" Carl "Eddie" Edwards has a fairly good record at Dover. Hopefully he will remember that he is on probation and not let his on-track temper get the best of him. It would be disasterous for his team if he does something that could be considered rough driving. We are keeping our fingers crossed. (There are some fans who will insist that Carl is not capable of rough driving and would never do anything wrong. We all have blinders when it comes to rooting for our favorite driver, so there is nothing wrong with that. However, if we are keeping track of drivers bumped and run up the track by Edwards, we could tell you he does plenty wrong)

Finally, there are some journalists and bloggers who constantly refer to Tony Stewart as a lame duck driver. Granted, this is his final season with Joe Gibbs, but that does not make him a lame duck--his desire to win has not diminished, and he is not just driving his car around the track until his contract is up. I have a feeling that the next interviewer who asks Smoke about being a lame duck might get hurt. Since Smoke wins championships while he is on probation, and is not currently on probation, punching Tom Bowles or Mike Mulhern in the nose might be a good thing.

Down to the Nitty Gritty

Richmond is arguably my favorite track currently on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. It is a short track with enough room for the cars to move around. It isn't the high speed of Bristol, but it isn't the traffic jam of Martinsville, another favorite track. Richmond is an appropriate venue for the final race of the "regular" NASCAR season.

As NASCAR fans know, the ten race Chase for the Championsip begins after Richmond. For at least four teams, it is do or die time, and, for other teams in the top twelve, it is the last chance to get those ten Chase bonus points for a regular season win. It doesn't matter how far ahead in points anyone is, the points reset to even except for those bonus points.

David Ragan, currently in thirteenth position in points, has the best chance to make the Chase of those drivers who are outside the top twelve. Clint Bowyer, in twelfth, has the best chance of losing his position. Pundits claim that Jeff Gordon is in danger of losing his position, which is theoretically and numerically true, but he is 103 points ahead of Ragan, and it would take a catastrophy for him to be knocked out. That isn't likely, as the #24 team is on a mission to prove that The Gordon has not lost one bit of his on-track prowess.

A run down of the seven "bubble" drivers and a better explanation of who needs to do what than we can present is available at NASCAR.com

We may remember, however, that Tony Stewart, the defending champion in 2006, did not make the Chase that year after being in the top ten in points nearly the entire season. Handling problems at Richmond in the final regular season race knocked him out of eligibility for the Chase. This just goes to show, anything can happen.

As Hurricane Hannah moves up the east coast this weekend, there is a good chance the race may be rain delayed. However, if it does rain Saturday, the storm may move out before race time. We are hoping that is the case, because we are so fired up for this race that a delay until Sunday would be a letdown.

Rev' Jim's Q&A with Rev' Jim

After all the discussion about the tires and NASCAR producing such a sad show last Sunday, we feel somewhat uninspired this week. We have had our say about the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard event that was more of a test session than a race, and we hope that NASCAR has learned its lesson.

We have spent at least fourteen hours this week looking for something good to write about, and have come up with nothing. So, for something a little different, we will borrow a tool from Tony Stewart.com and Joe Gibbs Racing.com in which we run a Q & A session where we write our own questions to ourselves and answer them.

Why are you always wrong?

Hey! I'm not always wrong!

This is an opinion blog, and to opinion there is no right or wrong. See, I'm wrong again. I was wrong about Tony Stewart staying with JGR until 2010, but I genuinely thought that would be the case based on what was said and written by JGR and Stewart prior to the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing.

Sometimes I hope I'm wrong. For instance, I have been somewhat cynical about Smoke's chances of quickly building a winning team out of Haas-CNC, but the enthusiasm and determination Smoke has, and the effect of having a driver of Tony Stewart's stature on moral in the organization, may prove me wrong. I certainly hope so.

Otherwise, 94% of what you see on this blog is opinion and satire, and there really is no right or wrong in opinion.

Are you looking forward to ESPN's Sprint Cup broadcasts?

No. ESPN has spent a lot of money to bring us a broadcast that covers much more than what is going on in the race. From their perspective, they are bringing us a new cutting edge in race coverage, and their producers feed the booth bunnies story lines, cut to technical explanations, rerun segments of the prerace show, and provide the viewer with everything they may want to know about Sprint Cup racing.

In my opinion, they often broadcast too much more than what is going on in the race, and we, and ESPN, lose track of the race itself. Even as I write this, during Sprint Cup qualifying, the ESPN producers have skipped the qualifying runs of several cars in order to bring us entertainment. We can expect more of this type of broadcasting Sunday, while Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are racing each other hard for the lead, and ESPN decides to go to a techsplanation of how the cars get tire donuts on the side panels.

Who do you want to win Sunday?

Tony Stewart. We think he might have a chance. He has the third highest rating of all current drivers at Pocono, and he seems very excited and happy about his prospects of winning.

If not Stewart, I would like to see Dale Jr or Kyle Busch win. Neither has a good record at Pocono, but Jr has been improving each race there, and for Kyle, it's just something he hasn't done yet this year, so he might as well get it over with.

Okay, who do you think will win Sunday?

The 24 and 48 teams have been coming along strong these last few races. We have thought since early in the season that those two teams would overcome the difficulties they were having, and that, when they did, it would be as hard to catch them as it was last year.

Jeff Gordon seems to be very happy with his car. He is a four time winner at the "roaval" and he has a lot of confidence in his knowledge of the track. He should be the winner Sunday, but his team mate, Jimmie Johnson is on a hot streak, and when that team is on a roll it is very difficult to stop.

It should be an interesting race between those two.

What changes, if any, would you like to see at Pocono?

I actually like Pocono. It presents a different challenge to the drivers than any other track, and to the crew chiefs and pit crews as well. You have to give something to get something, and figure out in which one of the three unique turns you have to be perfect. You can't be perfect in all three turns, so it is going to take hard work on the driver's part to get around the track competitively.

One change I would like to see, however is that the promoter make it a shorter race. 400 or 500 miles just seems too long, and encourages too much tire and fuel strategy. A 300 or 350 mile race would be interesting, and it would be different. It wouldn't be so much about fuel mileage then, and we would see more pure racing on a track that was actually meant for pure racing.

Do you often talk to yourself?

Yes.

Do you have any more questions for yourself?

No. Thank you.

Nothing boring about this weekend at Indy

Until 2006, this was always an exciting weekend for me because it meant it was time for the NASCAR Busch (Nationwide) Series race at PPIR. That excitement stays with me to this day, as a matter of habit, for there is no more race at PPIR*.

There is, however, still reason to get excited, because it is now Indianapolis weekend. With the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series races at O'Reilly Raceway Park, there is plenty of exciting racing in store.

O'RP is a 0.687 mile oval that is home to some of the most exciting short track racing we have seen in the Nationwide and Truck series. It seems to breed a lot of cautions, because the drivers feel like they have to go for broke here, maybe because it's near Indianapolis, or because it is just that kind of track. That kind of track is the classic Saturday night circle burner, where it's every man, or woman, for him or herself. With a tight championsip points competition between the CTS drivers, we can expect Friday night's race to feature plenty of action and drama.

Last year's Busch (Nationwide) Series race was an absolute wreckfest, to the point of frustration for both the fans and the drivers. If we want to see a demolition derby, as that "race" was, we would go to a demolition derby. But many of the drivers in the race last year had little experience at O'RP. Most of those drivers are back this year, and, hopefully, they remember from last year what not to do. If you want parity, there will be parity here, because on a short track like this, horsepower doesn't matter.

Every driver has had a period in their career racing at tracks similar to O'RP, but there are some who are masters at such racing. Joey Logano comes to mind, as do Denny Hamilton, Jason Keller, and Clint Bowyer. Kyle Busch will also be on hand, which will likely mean plenty of action and drama for Saturday's Nationwide Series race as well. July isn't over yet, and there should be plenty of fireworks on the track.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is arguably the most well-known American racing venue in the world. The 2.5 mile rectangular speedway provides a special challenge for the Sprint Cup cars. Only for teams tested at IMS earlier this year, other than that the new car has not seen the track.

Even in the older car, the track was a challenge for stock cars. Nearly twice as heavy as the open wheel cars, and not nearly as responsive in handling, NASCAR's machines do not seem fit for the for separate ninety degree turns on the track. To this day, drivers and crew chiefs alike wonder how it is even possible for the heavy cars to make the turns. And that is the challenge of the track. If a driver and car negotiate the corners as near perfectly as possible, they can hit the long straightaways at speed. A missed set up, a bad pit stop, or taking the wrong line through a turn can spell the end of the day for a team, or, at least, a very long day.

That is why there is so much preparation for this one race. Most of the teams build a special car for the Brickyard. This has never been a race known for a lot of passing and position changes--old car or new car, it is very difficult for the stock cars to pass one another. This is a race about pit stops and adjustments, as well as perfection of the driver in hitting his marks. That by no means indicates a boring race. The competition is stepped up for the Brickyard, because of the sheer prestige of winning at IMS. The broadcast crew at Speed TV brought up an interesting statistic indicating what it takes in talent to win a race at IMS--every winner, with the exception of Kevin Harvick in 2003 and Ricky Rudd in 1997, has been a NASCAR Cup series champion. That says a lot.

Tony Stewart is by no means a "lame duck." In spite of what we have written here previously--for which we apologize, because that was a purely emotional reaction--the #20 team has had a winning attitude all season long. The races at Daytona, Las Vegas, Bristol, Lowe's, Loudon, and Talledega were all wins for Tony Stewart had it not been for misfortune. We also apologize for forgetting about Jimmie Johnson's 2006 Brickyard win, but if Smoke can pull off a victory it will be three out of the last four, not three in a row as previously written here. This blogger has never claimed to be perfect, but mistakes make us seem human. We only regret that we are so darn human.

The competition at an especially high level here this year, because some of the drivers who have performed the best at IMS have yet to win a race in 2008. Jeff Gordon's team has been improving all year, and he is every bit as poised to win at the Brickyard as are Stewart and Ryan Newman. Newman, who did win the first points race of the season at the Daytona, is an Indiana native who has yet to win at the famed speedway.

However, and please don't shoot the messenger, since this is the first race at IMS for the Sprint Cup car, don't rule out a win by Kyle Busch. He seems to be the one driver who can consistantly take the car to its first win at any venue. It would not be surprising if he were to win Sunday. We hope the fans can remember that it is very wrong to throw beer at the Hallowed Grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

*As I was getting ready to post this, I received news that PPIR will be reopening, and will be running a National Automobile Sports Association (NASA) event on Labor Day weekend. ISC decided to relax the requirement that the buyer not use the facility to host automobile racing, and reworded that stipulation to mean no NASCAR events. However that doesn't mean we won't see ARCA/Remax back here in the future. Why ISC is so certain that they will be able to build a track near Denver, and why I think they are wrong is subject for a whole new post, but for right now, I am doing a happy dance at the news that PPIR will have racing again.

Chicago and Crisis Management

One thing that could help us to handle our grief over the loss of our favorite driver's will to win would be a good race. We may just get to see one Saturday night in the first night race at Chicagoland Speedway.

In the past, the races at Chicagoland have not been all that exciting, but that has been par for the course at most of the intermediate class speedways. But things change. Some races that we have expected to be somewhat boring have been exciting this year. The Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's earlier this year is a good example of that.

We can reasonably expect Saturday night's race to be different from other races from Chicagoland we have seen. Because it is the first night race at that venue, we can expect the track surface to be cooler than it would be on Sunday afternoon, thus providing more traction. More traction usually means faster cars.

Faster cars could mean a better race, but not necessarily. Chicagoland is unknown to the new Sprint Cup car, and to the tire combination Goodyear has been providing this year. These unknowns were disasterous earlier this year at Atlanta and Texas Motor Speedway, where the teams didn't get a chance to test, and there was very little racing at those tracks.

On the other hand, the Sprint Cup teams have been learning how they can better adjust the car, and that may make a difference Saturday. We are more than halfway through the season, and, hopefully, Chicagoland will not mean unpleasant surprises for the teams, as they may be better prepared by experience.

If the race Saturday night turns into a follow the leader event, we can probably expect Kyle Busch to win yet another one, as he seems to be the only driver who is willing to go for broke to get to the front. If the teams have their cars ready to race, however, there are two drivers who are poised to present a challenge to the likely winner.

David Ragan has come a long way from the time his driving style was described as being like "a dart without feathers." He has shown himself to be a quick learner, and has been able to put what he has learned to good use with his talent. His performance has been outstanding this year, and there have been several races where he looked like he could have won had it not been for pit strategy, pit performance, or the bad luck of being caught up in someone else's accident. We could see him get his first career Sprint Cup win Saturday night.

We have been impressed, as well, by Brian Vickers. This is another driver who has shown that he can overcome a lot of adversity to get a good finish. He has long established himself as a fast driver who can really get on the wheel of a fast car, and his talent may be rewarded Saturday night. If he does win the second Life Lock 400 of the season, it will be his second career Sprint Cup win, and his first since Talladega in 2006.

We can't rule out Smoke. This is traditionally Tony Stewart's time of the year, we know he likes night races, and he has always performed well at Chicagoland. The pressure of having to inform his friends and his team that he would be leaving them next year is off, and his attitude seems positive. Even though we are still in the anger stage of coping with grief, and are still puzzled about him getting out of a car that could have won--it wasn't long ago that "flu-like" symptoms wouldn't stop him even if it meant soiling his driver's suit--he is still Smoke, and we hope he still has a competitive edge. Personally, we are hoping to see him in Victory Lane.

Speaking of Smoke, could it be he has already made a choice for his Stewart-Haas team beginning next year? During an interview during Nationwide Series qualifying, Stewart used some words describing crew chief Dave Rogers that raised a few flags, such as "leadership," and "team builder."

Now these are words that have been used to describe Rogers all season long, but in context of what Stewart was saying, and the way he said it, Rogers would be a great choice for Stewart in building his new team. Would Gibbs release him? We would speculate that he would, because we know that JGR will not be running four cars next year after all, as the #20 will be driven by an unnamed driver who will share the ride with a developing Joey Logano. This would not leave room for Rogers to move up to Cup within the Gibbs organization, and no organization has ever stopped a crew chief from moving to Cup even if it meant he was going to another organization. We can also safely speculate that Rogers would jump at the chance to be a crew chief for a Cup team.

Of course, my record for believing rumors that turn out to be true is very bad, and my speculation has even been worse, but I don't think the idea of Dave Rogers going to Stewart-Haas is all that far-fetched.

So I have moved through the denial stage, passed the guilt stage, and seem to be getting through the anger phase. This would be the bargaining stage, thinking that it would be a good thing if Smoke can get a good crew chief right away. I hope my readers continue to follow me as I deal with this crisis, and can find my progress interesting and entertaining, if not informative.

A short rant and a long preview

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day. It is a day in which we remember that our nation was born in freedom and that we still enjoy that freedom to this day. We know that no society which is dependent on a government in order to exist can be free, and we celebrate that we are allowed to take personal responsibility, and to be individuals without depending on our government. Independence Day is a day of celebrating freedom, of the ability to do what we wish as long as we don't interfere with the freedom of others. Theoretically of course.

We can tell our politicians, whose very existence depends on our dependence on the government, to go jump in a lake, but we can't make them do it.

Political statement aside, Independence Day is our midsummer holiday, and we always find something fun to do; watch the local fireworks display, listen to a free live concert in the park, or patriotic music being played by the local orchestra, cook-outs with friends and family, an extended fishing trip, the list of things to do on the Fourth of July holiday is long.

For many years, the holiday has meant, for race fans, the Firecracker 400. As sponsorship became necessary to cover the costs of running a NASCAR event, the name has changed, but it will always remain, in our minds, the Firecracker 400, whether the sponsor is Pepsi or Coca-Cola.

Since the early 1980's, the Firecracker 400 has been run with restrictor-plates on the engines, as speeds on the 2.5 mile superspeedway at Daytona began to reach heights that presented danger to life and limb. The racing itself suffered as the restricted horsepower did not allow the cars to catch the lead car by themselves, and it did away with the ability to slingshot around a car in front. It also created the dangerous situation of cars racing near 200mph mere inches apart, and the terrifying "big one" that results from the slightest slip-up or mechanical failure.

Still, there are positives to that sort of racing, as we have been able to see just how skilled the NASCAR drivers really are, driving with precision to prevent those big accidents. We see the importance of co-operation as drivers team up to become drafting partners, to gain an advantage to make their way to the front. And, to be fair, the restrictor-plate racing at both Daytona and Talladega has become better as the teams have used years of experience to make their cars more competitive.

With the introduction of the new Sprint Cup car, we have also seen the return of the slingshot pass, which has brought some excitement back to racing at the Superspeedways. That is, one car can accelerate in the draft of another and pass the lead car by breaking out of the draft while it is accelerating.

We never know what to expect at a restrictor plate race these days as the mechanical characteristics of the cars are always changing as the teams try to make the best they can of the "flying brick," a reference to the handling attributes of the new car. The most recent restrictor-plate race at Talladega was not only one of the most exciting races of this type, but one of the most exciting all season, for example.

We won't see the kind of racing we saw at Talladega. Daytona is narrower and has an older, bumpier, and more slippery surface than the Alabama track. But that doesn't mean it won't be exciting.

There should be plenty of excitement near the beginning of the race, as many teams didn't really get a chance to check out their set-ups, due to the brevity of the first practice session and cancellation of the second, because of rain. This means that some teams will be entering the race with little idea of what they have for the competition, which can always lead to some excitement on the track.

We know that, at Daytona, a driver can start in the back of the field and make his way quickly to the front, and just as quickly to the back. We also know that there will not be one car break away from the pack with the lead, as we have seen at the intermediate class tracks. A car running by itself at Daytona is never a fast car.

In a way, the first 140 laps resemble a Formula 1 Gran Prix, in the matter that each team uses that time to plan and adjust to make their driver the one who leads the last lap, which is the most important one. It doesn't really matter who leads the rest of the laps. In fact, the leader at the beginning of lap 160 isn't necessarily the leader at the end of that lap.

The race should be fairly tame until the last twenty laps, the time at which individual drivers get aggressive, and partnerships begin to dissolve. By the last ten laps, there are very few partnerships left, as "give and take" becomes "take and take."

We will once again forego any attempt to predict the winner of Saturday night's Firecracker (Coke Zero) 400. Every time we have tried to do that on this blog, it looks like our favorite driver is about to win only to make a bad move to the inside on the last lap, or cut a tire, or get rained out while in the lead or having the best car in which to take the lead. But we be celebrating our freedom and enjoying the race.

A Look at Loudon

Cross-posted at NASCAR Bloggers FT Digest
If Dover can be thought of as Bristol on steroids, then New Hampshire Motor Speedway would be Martinsville on steroids. The frontstretch and the backstretch are identical, and just over 1500 feet long, which leaves little room for the corners on the one mile track. This gives the track a "paper clip" look, much like Martinsville, only bigger.

Needless to say, this doesn't allow much for side by side racing and quality passes. That has been a problem for many race fans watching the race on television, but to the fans in New England, NHMS is the place to go. Every NASCAR race there has been sold out. The fans also turn out for droves in the Whelan Modified Series and Busch North Series, to watch all the racing they can. This is not only the home track for Concord, NH, but for Boston, Portland Maine, Providence Rhode Island, and the two or three race fans in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Vermont. In addition, many race fans from Canada make their way "south of the border," twice a year to watch the races at Concord (aka Loudon, to prevent confusion with Concord, North Carolina, aka Lowe's). In short, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the home of NASCAR to many in New England and Southeastern Canada.

Those fans received some good news from owner Bruton Smith, this morning. While there have been rumors that Smith, who bought the track last year, would ask NASCAR to ammend the schedule to move a race from NHIS to Las Vegas or Kentucky, on NASCAR Live Smith said, "If I were a fan, I would not be worried. We are not considering that."

I love it when the rumor mongers who call themselves "journalists" end up with egg on their faces. As a blogger, not a journalist, I depend on journalists to present the facts, on which I, in turn write my opinion. If the facts aren't straight, we, meaning myself and other bloggers, wind up writing our opinions on what turns out to be nothing. Hence, you can see my skepticism toward many so-called "main stream" journalists.

Much of a driver's success at Loudon depends on qualifying position, pit strategy, and the driver's ability to rise to the challenge of the "Magic Mile." Unlike most of the races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit, winning at NHMS does not so much mean being able to outrace the other drivers, but to be near perfection at getting the right line through the turns and to have the right amount of throttle control exiting the turns. Since the race is fairly short, there is very little time to fix a bad setup during the race, so the crew chief must have the car at its best before the green flag waves. While this may mean a "boring" race for many fans, it is exciting for most of the drivers. This is a track where skill, more than luck, determines the winner, and the outcome of the race is mostly in the hands of the driver.

Mercifully, for us fans, the race is relatively short--301 miles, or 300 laps around the 1.058 mile speedway. However, we may be surprised Sunday as the Lennox Industrial Tools 301 takes place. The track saw new pavement and progressive banking added last year, and is showing signs of having a second groove, according to some drivers. While Las Vegas, Texas, Atlanta, and Dover were disappointments compared to the anticipation of the races, we have been pleasantly surprised by some great racing at Lowe's, Talladega, Phoenix, and Martinsville this year. We are sincerely hoping that Sunday's race may turn out to be a pleasent surprise as well.

In other news, Greg Biffle has signed a three year contract with Roush Fenway, so the rumor mongers were wrong again about Biffle being the driver for RCR's fourth team or Tony Stewart's replacement at Gibbs.

The Nationwide Series powerhouse, Braun Racing, is mourning the passing of "Mama B," Linda Braun, owner Todd Braun's mother. She was a fixture at every race, so much so, she was considered a team member. She will be missed by all who knew her. The # 32 and # 38 cars of Braun Racing will be racing without sponsorship decals and painted black in memory of Mrs. Braun.

Jack's House

I will take back what I wrote about bad luck not sticking to my favorite driver. It seems like it has. Hopefully, that won't happen this weekend, as Tony Stewart has pledged his winnings from Michigan International Speedway to the Red Cross for flood relief efforts in the Midwest.

But let's not make this post about Smoke. Instead let's talk about The Guy who, from all reports, should win the Life Lock 400, Sunday. That would be Carl Edwards.

If Lowe's Motor Speedway is, or has been, The House of Hendrick, then MIS would be the House of Roush. The Roush-Yates engines seem to be custom designed for the 2 mile intermediate class track, and, as he did at the most recent MIS race, and at California earlier this year, Edwards should be able to put that engine to good use and dominate the race.

Though MIS is similar to the Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana, CA, there are some major differences in the characteristics. ACS isn't a multiple groove track like MIS, and passing is much harder at California than it is at Michigan. This should actually work to Edward's advantage, as he is a driver who will find the best line for his techniques, and there are many more choices for him at MIS than at California.

If it isn't a backflip we see in victory celebration Sunday, it could be the competition winning burn out by Greg Biffle. He has been very strong this season, often just a breath or a lugnut away from victory. Matt Kenseth has been strong as well, with four top ten finishes in the last four races. He could easily enter the top twelve this weekend, while only a month ago, many writers and bloggers were willing to give up hope of Matt The Bratt making it into the Chase. Nor can we rule out David Ragan who seems to be on the verge of racking up his first win. These are all Roush-Fenway teams, and they all have excellent records at MIS.

If, by some weird act of Fate it isn't a Roush-Fenway car that wins Sunday, we should look at the Dodges, particularly those of Gillett-Evernham Motorsports and Penske Racing. You may remember way back to Speedweeks last February, when Jack Roush waved around numbers from dyno testing of the different manufacturers' cars and claimed that the Toyotas had more horsepower than Ford or Chevy. Ryan Newman looked at the numbers and said, "we've got that kind of horsepower," then figuratively clapped his hand over his mouth, thinking, "Was I supposed to say that?"

While Roush complained about unfair advantage, and the Chevy teams said "we have more work to do," Newman and his Dodge won the Daytona 500. NASCAR, incidentally, denied that any team had a significant horsepower advantage over another.

Horsepower advantage or not, Kasey Kahne and the GEM #9 team have been on a roll since winning the All Star race, and he is liking Victory Lane. There is no reason to believe that he won't run well again Sunday. The Dodge teams hold their cards close to their chests and we don't hear much from them during practice and qualifying, but, somehow, that seems to mean they have something to show the other teams.

Before we close, and just for fun, let's have an imaginary shoot-out between Carl Edwards and the driver who I think is the most similar in terms of talent and technique, Denny Hamlin. Twenty laps at O'Reilly Motorsports Park, Edwards and Hamlin in identically prepared cars, and racing one on one.

Both drivers like to find a line where they feel most comfortable and stick to it. Edwards is slightly better at car control than Hamlin, but Hamlin is just a wee bit gutsier going into the turns. Both drivers like to slide around the corners to give themselves the straightest route for exiting the turns. Carl Edwards is barely more popular than Kyle Busch, by one or two fans, while Hamlin is slightly less popular, which is hard to do since Busch has only eleven or twelve fans (counting me).

Both Edwards and Hamlin have a reputation of acting out their tempers, and both have been known to use their cars as retaliatory weapons. With that in mind we begin our fantasy shootout.

Edwards takes an early lead, but Hamlin follows Edwards closely and matches the exact line Edwards is taking. Around lap ten Hamlin tries to go around Edwards on the outside of turn 2, but Edwards moves up to block him, giving Hamlin the inside at turn 3. Edwards moves down, but Hamlin gets him lose and completes the pass. Edwards retaliates and bumps Hamlin hard in turn 1. Hamlin moves up the track, and as Edwards gets along side him, Hamlin smashes his car into Edwards' right-side door panel. Edwards gets even angrier and smashes back. This goes on for another lap or two, with the anger of both drivers escalating. By lap fourteen, each is more intent on wrecking the other than in winning the race, and, finally, they hit each other so hard they both wreck. Nobody wins. The moral? Don't let your anger get the best of you.

What makes a race exciting or boring?

The answer to that question is different for different fans. For instance, to many NASCAR fans, watching a Formula 1 car run by itself for an hour and twenty minutes is boring, but F1 fans liken it to watching jet fighters performing precision maneuvers, and think that cars going in circles turning left is boring. Some "Old School" NASCAR fans enjoy seeing the lead cars lap the field several times, while those that have adapted to the changes in NASCAR, or those who are relatively new to the sport, prefer to see more side by side racing and lead changes.
There are those of us who enjoy the thrill of stock cars racing on a road course, such as Infineon (Sears Point) or Watkins Glen, while others will not even watch a race on a road course.

Many fans get bored if there is not a good crash during the race, and you can see the excitement when there is a crash and their favorite driver is involved. Even those of us who are not fans of crashes get involved in that excitement, so that could be one definite answer to the question of what makes a race exciting.
It should be noted here that those of us who have a favorite driver who happens to be the type who is always where the action is are likely to see our driver involved in a crash, whether it is that driver's fault or not.

NASCAR has attempted to present races that have plenty of side by side action by introducing the restrictor-plate to races at Daytona and Talladega. The restrictor-plates pack the field closer together, and increase the opportunities for crashes. At venues where the restrictor-plate is not used, track officials will sometimes call for a caution for "phantom debris" to bring the field closer together. However, that practice has been criticised heavily by both fans and drivers, and doesn't occur as often as it once did.

Because of the characteristics of the new Sprint Cup car, once known as the CoT, a car in the lead will often be hard to catch, as it is able to run faster in "clean" air than it does in traffic, where the turbulence of the air has a direct effect on the aerodynamic performance of the car. But that is not to say there isn't excitement in the field trying to catch the leader. Most of the great racing happens back in the field, as drivers vie for position in the top ten or fifteen places. It is more exciting for some of us to watch our drivers make their way up through the field than it is watching the lead driver running by himself. Unfortunately, television doesn't always show us the best racing on the track. That is why it is often preferable to mute the television and listen to the play by play of the race on MRN or PRN, whichever racing network happens to be broadcasting the particular race.

The upcoming Memorial Day weekend is the biggest day in racing of the year. On Sunday, we will see three of the biggest annual events in racing history, the F1 Gran Prix of Monaco, the Indianapolis 500, and the World 600, aka the Coca-Cola 600. If there isn't enough excitement for the fan in at least one of those races, there will be a live broadcast Friday evening of a World of Outlaws Sprint car event from Charlotte, on Speed at 7:00 PM EDT. There will also be the always exciting prospect of a Truck Series race from the short track at Mansfield, Ohio on Saturday, at noon-thirty, also on Speed. And, if you are the type who may prefer restrictor-plate races, there is the Nationwide Series race from Lowe's Motor Speedway Saturday night, at 7 PM on ESPN 2.

This weekend there is something for everyone, no matter what kind of racing one enjoys. I will be enjoying all of it, boring or not. Here's wishing a happy race weekend to all!

Flirtin' with disaster

There is a reason Jeff Gordon has seven wins at Darlington. Of all of the tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup curcuit, Darlington is probably the one that requires the most overall skill by the driver, and say what you will about Jeff, but he can finnesse just about any aspect of racing.

Because it is a high speed track--1.36 miles with 23-25 degree banking in the turns--it fits into the superspeedway category. Because it has turns that are different at every corner, and a treacherously narrow groove in turns one and two, it acts like a short track.

The driver can be aggressive, but not too aggressive, because that would cause disaster in turns one and two. Going into turn three too hot off of the backstretch would also be disasterous. But turns three and four are the only real passing point on the track, and the temptation to drive in hot is there.

A big difference between Darlington and a short track is that if something happens in turn four, it will be resolved long before it gets to turn one.

The faster speeds enabled by the new pavement will likely result in some incidents early in the race, before the drivers get a feel for the track and settle down. Some favorite drivers might go down early in the race, caught up in the dreaded accordian effect, but the drivers in the front should be safe for a while, and since Dale Earnhardt, Jr starts on the front row, Junior Nation will be able hold on to their rage from Richmond for a little while longer.

As every driver will tell you, once you get comfortable the track will come back to bite you. They will also tell you that the driver is racing the track more than the other drivers. This takes patience, car control, and give and take. Every pass that is made without an accident will be dependent on give and take, and that is more obvious at Darlington than any other track.

Pole sitter Greg Biffle has won at Darlington before, he has matured into a driver who has learned all about give and take, and he is one of the better car control drivers. If he can remember the patience part of the equation, he will be one to watch.

Much the same could be said about Dale Earnhardt, Jr, another of the top car control guys. He has yet to win at Darlington, but he seems to have a handle on what he has to do. He is a smart driver, and, if he can avoid bad luck, he should have a very respectable finish.

Speaking about bad luck, what is up with Matt Kenseth? This is a driver who has a balance of skills equal to those of Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart, and bad luck seems to be taking up residence in his car. Some bloggers and sports journalists have already written him off this year, but all he needs is a few good breaks, and he will be back. Kenseth showed some frustration with his pit crew after he wrecked out of the Nationwide Series race Friday night, and he could be feeling some of the same frustration with his Sprint Cup team. Jack Roush should really be looking at making some changes in that crew. That being said, Kenseth, along with Mark Martin, is the kind of driver Darlington "likes." He can show patience from wherever he is in the field, and wait for something to happen that he can take advantage of. Saturday night, we may see a change of luck for him.

Whatever happens, it should be an interesting race. The attrition was high, Friday night, with only twenty three cars finishing the race. The Cup race, Saturday night may have similar attrition, may have more, or may have less. You never know with the "Black Lady."

Looking forward to Richmond

There is no mistaking that our favorite races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit take place at the tracks that are 1.36 miles in length or shorter. There are no "cookie cutters" here--every track is unique.

This group includes Darlington, Richmond, Bristol, Loudon, Dover, Martinsville, Phoenix, and Richmond. It is very difficult to pick a favorite out of these, but mine is Richmond. The frontstretch, with its long, 8 degree banked curve, and long turns with 14 degree banking at each end of the straightaways, make for some very interesting racing. Like most short tracks, it usually features plenty of bumpin' and bangin' while at the same time offering multiple grooves and side by side racing. Like most short track racing, the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond will focus on drivers skills and guts.

Denny Hamlin is on a tear. Out of the last seven races this year, he has posted six top ten finishes, including five top fives and one win. That win was at the other Virginia short track, Martinsville, and there is no doubt that he could make it two for two in his home state.

He won't do it without some competition. There are several other drivers who consider Richmond their favorite track, and have records to prove it. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr each have three wins at the track, and Kyle Busch has only finished outside of the top five in one out of six races there. Jimmie Johnson swept both Richmond last year, and Kevin Harvick has the top driver rating* at Richmond with a 121.2

*Driver Rating : Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. (Racing One.com)

We can't overlook Mark Martin here, either, because he has 23 top ten finishes at Richmond, the most of any current driver. Ryan Newman, however has the best finishing average of all drivers who have raced in every Cup race at Richmond since 2002.

So the competition is going to be tough, the action fast paced, and the racing hard. There should be plenty of green flag racing, since there is some passing room there, but there will also be times when the traffic is thick, and mistakes will be made.

I'm guessing a JGR sweep of the top three places this week. All three drivers have the guts and aggressiveness it takes to win at a track like Richmond, and they arguably have the best cars in the field.

But then, the beauty of short track racing is that anybody can win.

Talladega: Mysterious and Mystical

Talladega is mysterious. After seventy-eight historic races there, what will happen next is still unknown. It carries a mystical legend with it. It was reportedly built on a Native American burial ground and the restless spirits are said to influence incidents on the track.
That influence could have manifested during the Nationwide Series race Saturday, when Kevin Lepage mysteriously entered the track from pit lane directly in front of the entire field, specifically in front of Carl Edwards, who was travelling 100 mph faster than Lepage. The result was "The Big One," involving fourteen cars.
The Big One is what many fans look forward to when watching the race, and for those who don't enjoy seeing such carnage, it is the fear of the Big One that adds to the excitement. The race fan never knows if it is going to be his or her favorite driver that will have to retire from the race or be removed from reasonable competition because of a wrecked car.
But often, not always, there is some good racing going on at Talladega. Sure, it is restrictor-plate racing, but, unlike Daytona, the other restrictor-plate track, the drivers often go three or four wide, and the cars are packed even closer together. That produces the conditions for the Big One, but, if the cars are set up right, it also means some interesting side by side racing.
The cars weren't set up last October at Talledega, and the race turned out to be a boring single file 200 mph parade, but now that the teams have some more experience with the new car, today's Aaron's 499 should be someshat better. Hopefully.
Earnhardt, Jr should win. We really want him to win, and he deserves a win. So does Tony "Smoke" Stewart, and the way those two worked with each other most of the time during the Nationwide Series race, yesterday was an awesome example of precision driving. Maybe we can see some more of that today.
Until the checkered flag waves, however, we will be mystified by the mysteries of Talladega.

Why watch? I'll tell you why!

To many NASCAR fans, the upcoming Corona Mexico 200 from Mexico City is a non-event, making this weekend an "off weekend" for the average racing fan.
But what should the racing fan do this Sunday, without a NASCAR Sprint Cup Race on the agenda? I would say, open your mind, widen your horizons, and watch the race, you just might like it.
Sure, it is not the oval track racing that you enjoy, but keep in mind that NASCAR road course racing is like no other in North America. Unlike the 2200 lb sports cars of the Rolex Grand Am and the ALMS, or the 1200 lb cars of the IRL and Formula 1, the NASCAR machines are heavy 3400 lb beasts that are not specifically engineered to run on road courses. The usually means the same amount of beating and banging you see at Martinsville or Richmond, with the cars running close as close to each other as they would at a restrictor plate race such as Talladega or Daytona. They often run each other off the course, and there is nothing like the sight of six or seven cars simultaniously spinning in the grass, often described as "synchronized spinning. So, yes, there is something to watch.
Are you worried about not seeing the drivers you are used to seeing? For those of you who hate the idea of Cup drivers invading the realm of the Nationwide drivers, only Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, David Ragan, Carl Edwards, Patrick Carpentier,Sam Hornish, Jr, and David Reutimann will represent that group. For those who want to see Cup drivers in a Nationwide Series road course race, those seven drivers are on the entry list.
Drivers we are used to seeing in the NASCAR road course races, such as Scott Pruitt, and Adrian Fernandez, and Boris Said will be there as well. Max Papis will be making his Nationwide Series debut, as the designated road course hitter for David Stremme. And of course, the Mexican National racing heros, Michael Jourdain, Antonio Perez, and Jose Ruiz Ramirez are on the entry list. Other than that, the majority of the field is made up of Nationwide Series regulars.
In fact, the highly popular, ever smiling, and eternally optimistic Marcos Ambrose has a very good chance of winning the race. He came close to winning at Montreal last year, and would have had it not been for Robby Gordon having a not-so-lucid moment. Robby Gordon is in Europe, participating in the make-up race for the cancelled Dakar Rally, so Ambrose will have no problem there. His experience in the Australian V8 Supercar Series, which uses cars similar to the Ameridan Stock cars, could come in handy in Mexico City. He is considered a favorite to win.
There are many reasons to not watch the race--if you really want to do that to yourself--including not one, but two indycar races taking place over the weekend. But, as a NASCAR fan, wouldn't you have just a hint of a nagging feeling if you missed the Mexico City race?

Ya Gotta Love...

...Junior Nation! In general terms, their loyalty for their driver goes beyond mere fan loyalty. It is what they know to be the truth! Jr is in fourth place in the standings after seven races, so it must be the crew chief's fault. The #88 team is brand new, and has outperformed all the other Hendrick Motorsports teams, but that isn't good enough. Tony Eury, Jr. is letting Junior Nation down. Why not give Jr Alan Gustafsen as a crew chief? Sure, Gustafsen is sitting in 26th place in points, with struggling driver Casey Mears, but he has to be better for Dale Junior's interests because he is not related to Junior, and he never worked for DEI.
If you don't understand that logic, don't worry. You are not part of Junior Nation, and you are not expected to understand it. You don't even need to understand it. That's another thing I love about Junior Nation. They don't try to push their driver on you if you are the fan of another driver. They have a great sense of humor, and their logic is kept secret from outsiders. God Bless them!
I recently posted a satirical piece, and the only people who commented on it were Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans. They generally liked it. To be honest, they saw it in a completely different light than in which it was intended, but that is just a sign of good satire--it can be seen in many different ways, and can be funny to different people for different reasons. To my friends, and I mean that sincerely, thank you for your comments, and for letting me see the joke in a different way.
Ya gotta love night racing. The drivers do, but the crew chiefs often don't. The changing conditions create unique situations for both the driver and the crew chief, and the challenge to both is different. The driver is expected to adjust his driving to the changing conditions, but the crew chief is responsible for making sure that the driver has a car in which he can adjust to the changes. This is even more pronounced in the new car. But that doesn't really matter to the fans, as long as it is fun to watch.
And you have to love night racing at Phoenix. The track layout is crazy--there is nothing remotely like it anywhere on the Sprint Cup circuit.
It is the first Saturday night race of the season, which also gets us excited as fans, and that excitement is enhanced by the atmosphere of a venue at which the entire community gets enthusiastically involved.
While we're on the subject of Phoenix and the community around it, we gotta love Jaynelle Ramon, the enthusiastic NASCAR blogger with journalistic credentials for the Arizona Daily Star, who is blogging from the track this weekend. She makes no secret of the fact that she is a diehard Jeff Gordon fan, but since the beginning of the season, she has become a semi-official Ryan Newman reporter. Fun, and awesome. Congratulations, Jaynelle.
Back to the track, we will probably see better racing Saturday night than we did at TMS last weekend. That is mostly because the camera angles will be better because it is a smaller track. But short track racing, which is what a race on a one mile or shorter track is considered, is almost always better than intermediate-class track racing anyway. At Phoenix, there are as many lines to follow as there are drivers, which always makes for an interesting race. In addition, unlike, TMS, this is not the first race for the new car at Phoenix, and there has been testing earlier this year. If Goodyear brought the same tire to the race as was used in testing, the teams should be better prepared for this race than they have been for any other race so far this season.
If Dale Earnhardt, Jr isn't saving his first win with HMS for Talladega, let's hope he lets his cousin Tony Eury, Jr off the hook by not only winning this one, but by gaining first place in the points. Are you with me, Junior Nation?

It's Texas Time!

Well, it's time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to take the green flag at another "cookie cutter" track that really isn't a cookie-cutter copy of anything else on the track. The traction the track at TMS offers makes it one of the fastest tracks on the circuit, and the transition out of turn four makes it treacherous. We had some trepidation about the fact that the Sprint Cup Cars were going to this track with very little previous testing, but, so far, there have been no apparent problems, with the exception of this incident that happened during qualifying:

If you don't see the video, please click here.

There was also the incident of Tony Stewart cutting a tire in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, but that was more than likely a result of the set up, rather than tire problems such as the ones experienced at Las Vegas earlier this year.
It should also be noted that Goodyear has remedied the problem of the non-competitive tires they brought to Atlanta, by bringing a tire similar to the ones they used at Texas, except with a stiffer sidewall on the right-side tires. These are the tires that Clint Bowyer's team tested earlier this year at TMS, with similar results, so credit should be given to the tire manufacturer for bringing the model they tested to the race, something they apparently haven't done before.

So, we should be in for a better race at TMS than we saw at Atlanta. That is not to say that there won't be more than half the field one or more laps down by the end of the race--that is just one of the characteristics of these "intermediate" tracks--but racing will mean more than just letting the other guy pass.
And, from the looks of the starting lineup, there will be some real racing right from the start. Pole-sitter Dale Earnhardt, Jr, is joined in the top five starting positions by Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, and Jimmie Johnson; all drivers known for being hard racers. This will not only give us some potential fire works from the drop of the green flag, but should keep the field close together for a while. Then we would have to worry about engine durability, because there will be a lot of running at high RPM.
But, if the engines hold up, if the tires stay up, and if nobody does anything immature or stupid (that's a long shot) there should be something to interest every race fan. Jr's going for his first win since 2006, which is almost expected, but there are a lot of strong cars in the race as well. It is a given that Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth (he's beyond any jinx I can put on him, Babs)and Brian Vickers will make their way toward the front. Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Burton are also figured to make a good run for the finish, which shouldn't be surprising to anybody considering the performance of RCR lately. To keep it simple, barring problems, there are going to be a lot of drivers who have a chance to play with the trophy guns in Victory Lane. (The trophy at TMS includes a pair of genuine six shooters, loaded with blanks, and a ten gallon hat.)
Personally, I think it is going to be a Toyota driver who gets to look silly in a cowboy hat.

Beatin' and bangin' is back

This is the weekend we get to see some real old school racing.
Martinsville Speedway, VA boasts the oldest track still in use in the NASCAR Cup series, and it is a classic short track oval. It guarantees some good old fashioned beatin' and bangin' just like what we see at our local tracks. Passing is limited, so there will be much use of the front bumper against the rear of other cars. Hopefully such use will be done in a sportsman-like way, but we know, with the high level of competitive spirit our favorite drivers exhibit, there will be some tempers flying out of control. For those who lament that Bristol no longer features out of control tempers, Martinsville should bring them some vindication.
All in all, Martinsville is a drivers' track, because aerodynamics don't matter, and there will be plenty of caution laps to make sure it doesn't become a fuel mileage race. It comes down to how well the driver can handle close contact, how hard he can enter the turns, and how quickly he can accellerate out of the turns. Other than that, success depends on brakes and breaks.
Although this is not a fantasy picks blog, we do like to say who we want to win and who we think will win, and why.
Who we want to win is obvious to those who read this blog regularly, but even so, Smoke has a pretty good chance of finding victory lane. He is starting in the top ten, and 51 percent of the winners in Martinsville's long history have come from the top ten. He is one of the gutsiest drivers there are, and is likely to drive further into the corners than most of the other drivers, which could give him an advantage. He is among the best of the car control specialists, and that should help him avoid trouble, early on in the race at any rate.
Now as far as who we think will win, the real race will be between the front row sitters, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin. Jeff is certainly the most skilled of the two, but Hamlin can be quite crafty, especially when it comes to short track racing. If he takes the lead early in the race, it will be difficult to take it away from him, which could lead to a lot of excitement caused by drivers trying to overcome that difficulty.
But aside, from Gordon and Stewart, there are a few other drivers who could present a serious challenge to Hamlin. Greg Biffle, in second place in points, comes to mind. He is a very skilled short track driver who is definitely proving that he is among the best of the Sprint Cup drivers. He is on a roll, and we have seen nothing so far this season that would suggest his momentum could be dampened.
Jimmy Johnson is another driver who could be expected to win, and if he is going to regain some of his former glory, Martinsville will be the place to do it.
Jeff Burton is another driver who has a good chance at winning, and he will be trying to do so. This is possibly the only track where you will ever see him move another car out of the way, because that is the safest method at Martinsville of passing another car.
Something in the back of my mind keeps saying the #17 car, and I will let it go at that.
Sunday's race will be exciting if you like and appreciate the skill it takes for a driver at the Cup level to negotiate the traffic and survive the race. It is not for those who like the high speed races, but for racing purists, it will be one of the best of the year so far.

Bristol: Random thoughts and such

Last August, Bristol Motor Speedway debuted its new configuration with a concrete surface and progressive banking. Then, we saw, for the first time at Bristol, three-wide racing. Since the speedway was first paved, in 1972, "racing" at the "world's fastest half mile" meant a single file of cars moving around the bottom of the track, and the only way to gain position was to move the car in front out of the way, by making contact with the rear bumper and either forcing it to move up the track or spinning it out and off the track.
Now, the chrome horn isn't necessary, and the drivers can race each other side by side, fender to fender, and door to door (if the cars had doors). This is a feature that, after last August's race, was met with mixed reaction by the fans. Most of those who declared the race "the most boring" they have ever seen at Bristol, may have been the same ones who had yet to accept the Sprint Cup car. Or they may just miss the bump and run tactics of days past. However, the new car is not as aero dependent as the old car was, and the old Bristol style would not be the same thing, even if there was still only one groove. For most of the fans, as well as the drivers, the new configuration continues to promise racing that is very exciting for Bristol. The Cup race is, as always sold out, and the fans will not be disappointed.
Sunday's race will be Dale Jarrett's last show in the Cup series. His NASCAR career is one of the best stories in racing, and he is every bit as much a part of NASCAR history as Dale Earnhardt or Darrell Waltrip. Always the sportsman, he usually reacted to being spun out not with anger and retaliation, but with a simple shrug of the shoulders and "that's just racin'."
He participated in the sport with a sense of honor that is all too rare these days. He will be missed.
This could possibly be the last Cup race for Kyle Petty. Though he hasn't announced any intention of stepping out of the series, judging by the fact that he seems to be getting slower instead of faster, and that he will be outside the top 35 provisionals, we may not get very many chances to see him in a Sprint Cup race. He will have to qualify his way into the line up from now on, and. though he may be able to do that, there is nothing to show that he will work his way back into the top thirty-five. The pressure of having to qualify for every race may be too much for him, and it seems likely that he will step aside and find another driver for the #45 car.
But of course, I could be wrong, and Kyle Petty is far from done.
With the cars lining up on the Food City 500, according to last year's owners' points, the chances that Hendrick Motorsports will get their first win of the season at Bristol are pretty good. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are lined up on the front row. While Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, has yet to get a handle on the new car at the intermediate tracks, the short tracks and the Sprint Cup car form a combination with which he has some expertise. However, the HMS team that has the most momentum is Dale Earnhardt, Jr's #88 team. These guys seem to know what they are doing better than the 48 or the 24 team, and Bristol, even with the new pavement and configuration, is Jr's kind of track.

Formula One racing begins it's new season tonight, with the Australian GP at Melbourne. The changes in the cars for this year may be as tumultuous for the regular favorites as the Sprint Cup cars have been to the NASCAR Cup regulars, if not even more. Starting this year, the cars will no longer be allowed to have traction control or engine braking. This is no big deal for polesitter Lewis Hamilton, who has not been in Formula One long enough to get used to those features. Robert Kubica, the young Polish driver who timed BMW/Sauber into the second place on the starting grid, has never driven a car with traction control or engine braking, and Heiki Kovalainen, Hamilton's team mate for McClaren Mercedes, has had less experience with the car than Hamilton.
We see a glimmer of hope that real racing may have returned to Formula One.

Back to NASCAR, Patrick Carpentier did not get a chance to qualify for the race at Bristol due to weather. This is somewhat sad, as we have begun to like the Canadian for his wit, his enthusiasm, and his determination. Last week, he went all out in a death-defying second qualifying lap at Atlanta to make the race. We would have hoped to see him do something similar at Bristol. Now we must wait two weeks for Martinsville, a track that can't get 1/20 as many fans to attend a Cup race as PPIR got to attend a Busch Series race. (I just had to get that in while I had the opportunity.)
Juan Paul Montoya seems to have maintained his enthusiasm for racing in NASCAR. It seems even greater now than it was last year, and his enthusiasm is reflected in the fact that he still sees each race as a new challenge. When asked, on Speed TV's Trackside if he would watch the Australian GP tonight, he said no. "The first lap and the standing start are exciting and that's about it."
We may remember that the main reason Montoya gave for leaving F-1 was that he wanted to get back to real racing.
But we have to wonder why the Speed TV program Trackside even bothers to have guests. Whenever a guest driver, such as JPM, Martin Truex, Jr, or Kasey Kahne, begins to tell a story or answer a question, co-host Darell Waltrip quickly jumps in to tell one of his own stories. We get to hear Waltrip's stories every week and in several online and print publications, and personally, I have heard enough of his stories. He should, in my opinion, either let the guests tell their stories, or the producers should stop wasting DW's time with guests.

Well, I can't think of anything witty to end this post with, so I will wish everybody a happy race weekend, Happy St Patrick's Day, and, to my Wiccan and Pagan friends, Happy Complaining About St Patrick's Day Day.
Meanwhile, "It's Bristol, Baby!"

Tired of tire issues?

"I'm tired," Brett Farve emotionally declared during his retirement announcement Thursday. The fact that Farve's retirement announcement has not effected me at all is reason for football fans to be happy that there are about 130 million of them and only one of me.
But the announcement did send shock waves throughout the sports world, much like the harder tire Goodyear brought this week for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta sent shockwaves throughout the NASCAR garage. (You saw this segue coming, didn't you?).
The problem is that the teams who tested at Atlanta last Fall based all their notes and set up adjustments on the softer tires Goodyear had provided at the time. The harder tire compound provides less traction, so all those notes and adjustments are practically useless. As pole sitter Jeff Gordon remarked after qualifying, "It was like the brand new tires already had twenty laps on them."
He wasn't the only one complaining. The first practice was dangerous looking, with several spinning cars, but, luckily, no serious damage. The drivers who didn't spin their cars were confounded by the handling enough to know that if they tried to produce any fair amount of speed, they would spin as well.
Goodyear has the policy of using the same tires for the Cup Series as they do for the Nationwide Series, when there are companion races at the same track. This is a practice that seems to be outdated, since the Sprint Cup cars are very different from those used in the Nationwide Series. The tire manufacturer doesn't seem to have realized that, because the tires might be fine for the Nationwide cars, but force the Sprint Cup cars to slow way down on what is supposed to be the fastest mile and a half track on the NASCAR circuit.
If the tire issues are ridiculous, so is the ritual at Atlanta Motor Speedway of having final practice at 6:30 PM, when the race starts at 2:15 the next afternoon, under completely different temperature conditions. This means that most of the information gathered from "Happy Hour" as it is called, would be useful only for the end of the race, if at all.
Still, this is not all about complaining. The Sprint Cup car has brought some incredible racing to the fans, and, as the race begins Sunday, all teams will be equa as far as experience, or the lack thereof, goes. Racing is more thrilling when the outcome can't be predicted, and this is everything we can expect come Sunday's race.
I'm sure NASCAR racing fans will be much happier this weekend than Green Bay Packers fans.