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Embarrassment of wealth ON PIT ROW style

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 31, 2007 1:43 pm CDT 6 Comments

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The Pit Crew’s trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway netted us a ton of interview material and photos. The problem with that, and I’m not complaining, is prioritizing the use of the stuff.

ON PIT ROW is only a two hour show. We usually have about 20 minutes of show allocated to NASCAR related interviews. Trying to fill all of that live on a Tuesday can be tough. These people are swamped with obligations, from testing and sponsor commitments to, oh yeah, that family thing.

With significant talk time from ten different drivers, we have to pick what to use this week - and shift other content to later shows.

Tonight we have Kasey Kahne, Clint Boyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not bad, huh?

Tune in live from 5 to 7 EDT if you can. If you can’t get us live, check the schedule at www.onpitrow.com or listen Thursday night to a re-broadcast on www.RaceTalkRadio.com from 7 to 9 EDT.

The driving forces behind Race Talk Radio, Dennis Michelson, Lori Munroe and Mike Harper particularly have been great to us. Several past ON PIT ROW shows are archived here. Thanks to 4ever3 for the suggestion of putting this link up. I’ll make it more prominent in the next few days.

Remember you can call the show and participate live by calling 1-877-502-8255 during show hours. You never know who you might get a chance to talk to.

The questions for our weekly Fast Lap segment are up every Monday here at the Bench Racing blog and over at the Fast Lap blog at the Thunder Lounge. Jump in. Argue with me. Tell Steve he’s an idiot. I do. We have some good commentary this week from Bob and Robert so far. I’m pretty sure they made tonight’s show.

Anyway, thanks for listening, reading, posting and inviting Steve and I to be part of your NASCAR thing. We’re having a blast.

Update: Well the live radio gods frowned on us - sort of - last night. The Dale Jr. audio that was fine Monday night, now needs to be cleaned up in editing so we substituted some nice Aric Almirola stuff. Then my trusty sidekick Steve forgot to adjust the volume on the Clint Boyer sound bite and you’ll get to hear LOUD DISTORTED SCREECHING, instead of Clint, blowing me off. Hopefully, the screeching from the recording covered up the cursing from the co-hosts.

Picture credit: Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Filed under: Clint Boyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Kasey Kahne, Nextel Cup Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

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Tony Stewart wins at Brickyard–Montoya has it figured out

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 30, 2007 8:45 am CDT 2 Comments

Tony Stewart gets his second Cup win at the Brickyard after a late race duel with his "friend" and part-time employer, Kevin Harvick.

A back straight pass, re-pass and then cross over move had Stewart and Harvick trading paint with only a handful of laps remaining. Harvick got the worst of the damage and had to settle for a seventh place finish.

Juan Pablo Montoya, in his first race at Indy in a stock car, was a quick study. He finished his first Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in second place. Making that feat even more amazing is the lack of practice time JPM had on the track after Friday’s practices were washed out by rain.

The Buzz ON PIT ROW is:

Should Tony Stewart be Penalized for saying "bullshit" on a live broadcast?

The Fast Lap this week asks:

1) Did NASCAR make a mistake by opening pit road for pit stops, on lap 137, with Junior sitting prone in the middle of pit road?

2) Was there anything to the "love tap" by Kevin Harvick on the back straight after the race; or was it really a congratulatory bump??

3) Will the merger of Robert Yates Racing with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing pave the way for Sebastien Bourdais to move to NASCAR?

4) Grade ESPN’s first race back in the Cup Series.

Let us know how you feel; about these questions, or anything else that happened during the running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. If we like your comments we could use them on the air during Tuesday’s ON PIT ROW. Leave us a comment on the blog or call the show–toll free at 1-877-502-8255 between 5-7pm edt on Tuesdays.

photo: ON PIT ROW–BethAnne Heisler

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Juan Pablo Montoya, NASCAR Rumors, Tony Stewart

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Look out Tony Stewart is on a roll

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 29, 2007 11:51 pm CDT 2 Comments

It didn’t take Tony Stewart long Sunday to assert his Dog Days dominance. With consecutive wins at Chicagoland and now, Indianapolis, Indiana Tony is smokin’.

Nextel Cup races are nearly always close and the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was no different. Stewart beat back challenges from Dale Earnhardt Jr, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick. But in the end it was the Home depot crew climbing the fence.

The next four Cup races comprise the most diverse month of racing in the season. The road course at Watkins Glen, a return to the fast two miler at MIS and the night race at newly resurfaced Bristol. I can’t think of a more varied stretch.

First up is the second round at Pocono, with it’s long, long straights and fairly flat and wide turns. Just as different as the other three August tracks - but pretty similar to Indy. Most likely, the Home Depot team will be bringing the same car that won today. And maybe just as likely, Stewart will be tough to stop.

Picture credit: Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Nextel Cup Series, Tony Stewart

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Ganassi leads a Dodge charge and continues his racing roll

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 28, 2007 11:41 pm CDT 2 Comments

Chip Ganassi Racing has six wins in the last thirty days. Between Nextel Cup, the Busch Series, the IRL and Grand Am Sports Car Series, Chip is livin’ large.

Though there were no Ganassi race wins (unless I missed something) Saturday may have been the biggest day yet.

Juan Pablo Montoya, driving the #42 Havoline Charger came second in qualifying for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. As the only man here who has won the Indy 500, Juan had outside pressure and expectations that exceed common sense.

Topping that though, was the pole winning run by last week’s Busch Series winner, Reed Sorenson in Ganassi’s Target #41 Dodge. Reed’s run was early and it was expected that cooling track temps would allow later qualifiers to bump him off pole. Didn’t happen. It became obvious fairly early on that Sorenson was going to be tough to top. Only four drivers came within a second of his time.

Dodges have five of the top six starting positions, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. the only non-Dodge up front. People smarter than me say the Chargers don’t handle well in traffic. People, after a few laps there isn’t much traffic at Indy. It gets stretched out until NASCAR wants to tighten it up, usually.

Sorenson, Montoya, Newman and Kurt Busch wouldn’t be a bad perfecta. If I were a betting man. How do you spell perfecta, anyway?

Picture credit: Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Filed under: Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Nextel Cup Series, Reed Sorenson, The Busch Bros

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Was this the battle for Joe Gibbs Racing ride?

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 28, 2007 3:53 pm CDT 2 Comments

How’s this for a karma siting? J J "Mr. Lucky" Yeley facing off against Kyle "the younger" Busch, head-to-head, one-on-one, mana a mano ….. you get it, on the track. No holds barred. Ten laps, winner takes all.

That’s how it was Friday at Indy. Racing equally prepared (I’m not sure that J J would believe that with his current Cup team experience as reference) radio controlled "Chevy Impalas", Kyle edged Yeley for the win.

Busch is also the leading candidate in most scenarios, to replace the one time USAC Triple Crown winner as team-mate to Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin at JGR.

Yeley doesn’t seem too stressed out about the whole deal. Fox Sports has a nice piece on it.

"I’ve talked to a lot of different teams, I have a lot of backup plans in place right now and they’re all good teams that want to build their programs around me," Yeley said. "As a driver, I can’t ask any more than that. more…

It doesn’t show in our picture, but Kyle was driving the green car. Do you suppose it was powered by an Interstate Battery?

Picture credit: Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Filed under: J J Yeley, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR Rumors, The Busch Bros

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Pulling for NASCAR’s Front Row Joe

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 28, 2007 1:20 pm CDT 1 Comment

One thing that always strikes me walking the garage area at a Nextel Cup race is how pristine are the Cup cars. The preparation is obvious. Even with all of the odd shapes that the current car has evolved to, the lines are smooth. Sponsor decals and skins are wrinkle free and aligned. The paint work - what actual paint there is these days - is nicely done.

When, Friday at Indy, we ran into the car pictured here, it definitely stood out. Our picture doesn’t do it justice. The fit and finish of this ride would look more at home at your local short track.

The Dodge is owned by John Carter. Joe Nemechek has a one race deal to run it. I would not bet against him getting that dog in the Allstate 400 this weekend.

Nemechek and the members of his #13 Ginn Racing Chevy team took a car with no owner’s points at the start of the season and with no qualifying safety net, drove the car into top thirty five status. That was it’s rank when last week, the car was mothballed and Joe cut loose from his driver contract at Ginn.

Nemechek is looking at resurrecting his successful Busch team. He’s hired Champion Motorsports Marketing to help find sponsorship for that team and to try to put together a more permanent ride in the Nextel Cup Series.

"I still want to be in Cup," the 43-year-old Nemechek said. "I have a lot of years left in me as far as racing. It’s not often that you find a guy that has four Cup wins and 16 Busch wins and 17 [Busch] poles. more…

I have a personal reason for pulling for Joe and not just this weekend either.

A few years ago, when ON PIT ROW had only been on the air for a few seasons, Nemechek was a guest. Our celebrity interviews usually run about ten minutes. We don’t like to abuse our opportunities with these people. So, at about the appropriate time, I tried to let Joe go.

He said something like, "Whoa, we aren’t done talking yet." and stayed with us for what is probably still our longest driver spot. It meant, and still means alot to Steve and me. Joe Nemechek is a good guy.

Go get ‘em Joe.

Picture credit: Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Filed under: Joe Nemechek, Nextel Cup Series

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The Pit Crew is headed to Indy

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 26, 2007 6:03 pm CDT 5 Comments

At about two o’clock Friday morning the ON PIT ROW Pit Crew will head on down to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a full day of driver interviews and photo opps. Steve has done his usual yeoman’s work setting things up with various PR reps. It will be a great day for The Fastest Two Hours on Radio.

That’s the good part. The rest is we head back tomorrow night. Day job obligations call. It’s a pretty grueling day, but as usual, we can’t wait.

I doubt that any of us will have the time or energy to post anything here Friday. It just depends on how geeked up we get at Indy. There are a bunch of people at home hoping for close-out time at the Dale Jr. trailer. I’ll let you know. You want anything?

Filed under: Nextel Cup Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

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Tony Stewart - high exhaulted prophet of all things NASCAR

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 26, 2007 11:31 am CDT No Comments

Amid all of the blather yesterday regarding the merger/buyout of Ginn Racing with/by Dale Eanhardt Inc. was the statement that eventually and maybe as soon as next week, the DEI teams would move into the larger, better equipped building that houses Ginn’s teams. One article said that the 100,000 square foot DEI facility would then be used to house a retail operation and museum.

I had to laugh. Surely you remember Tony Stewart’s quote, back in the speculation days - before black Thursday - when it was still uncertain that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would leave DEI.

DEI without Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a museum."

- Tony Stewart on Dale Jr. possibly leaving DEI.

Thanks to Marc for keeping that gem accessable. Maybe Tony could advise me on whom to place my sheckles on this weekend at the Brickyard.

Just kidding about the wager. I happen to agree with the Full Throttle post about the dangers of gambling in NASCAR. Marc makes the case much better than I could. But I can comment on a more local impact that has disrupted another successful sports program and rendered it, for now at least, much less significant than it was.

The University of Toledo is considered a mid-major sports program. The football team in particular has been very successful over the last decade plus. Success for a mid-major is winning alot, showing up on ESPN regularly and going to bowl games.

We (I live in Toledo, attended the university and have season tickets) are in the middle of a points shaving - game fixing, scandal. FBI, organized crime, all of it. The freakin’ University of Toledo!

For NASCAR, it is just a matter of time. I wonder what Smoke thinks of that?

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Nextel Cup Series, Tony Stewart

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Wood Brothers/JTG Racing big winners in DEI/Ginn merger

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 26, 2007 9:16 am CDT 1 Comment

“NASCAR’s cap of four teams per company meant we had to give something up," said Bobby Ginn. “We felt so strongly about this merger that we surrendered the value of the 13 car. We all were completely comfortable that the benefits of working together far outweighed the value of points.”

By relinquishing those points that Joe Nemechek worked so hard to establish for former boss, Bobby Ginn, Wood Brothers/JTG Racing will move from the outside–looking in, to the inside–looking back.

There is now a 225-point gap between the #70 team from Haas CNC Racing and driver Johnny Sauter in 34th and the Wood Brothers in 35th. Dave Blaney’s #22 Toyota team from Bill Davis Racing goes into the Brickyard 400 only seven points behind Bill Elliott. Scott Riggs’ No. 10 Dodge team from Evernham Motorsports is only 67 behind the #21.

The new DEI will field Chevys for Mark Martin in the #01, Martin Truex Jr. in the No. #1, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. #8, supposedly through the end of 2007, and Paul Menard in the #15. With Menard’s team in essence becoming the former #14 team, they will assume the points garnered by Sterling Marlin for Ginn in the season’s first 19 races. All four teams are in the top 35.

DEI/Ginn officials said the merger is all about creating one strong four-car team to compete in the Nextel/Sprint Cup multi car world.

“Our stated goals included an expansion to four cars as quickly as possible and, in order to do that, we had to acquire more shop space,” said Max Siegel, DEI president. “This relationship with Bobby Ginn and his company allows us to accomplish both, which makes this a perfect transaction.”

The immediate future will have DEI operating teams out of both its existing 100,000-square foot complex and the 180,000-square foot Ginn Racing complex. Both shops are located within 5 miles of one another in Mooresville.

“The value of additional square footage is easy to see, but the value that Mark will bring to our company is harder to measure and may be even more impactful,” Siegel said.

Seigel said he considers adding Martin to the lineup a key factor in the deal. Martin and Aric Almirola are scheduled to share the # 01 for the remainder of 2007 and in 2008.

“Mark has pledged his support to our young drivers and our entire company in an effort to make us all better. Given his stature in the sport, this benefit cannot be quantified.”

DEI owner, Teresa Earnhardt also plans to use Bobby Ginn for “strategic development projects that Teresa has been planning for years.”

Regan Smith, who had been sharing the #01 with Mark Martin until the signing of Almirola; and was headed to the #14 for the rest of this year, will instead move to the Craftsman Truck Series, at least for this weeks race at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

According to a statement from DEI, specific schedules for Martin, Smith and Almirola will be announced later. DEI/Ginn will continue to field cars in the Busch Series, CTS and Busch East Series through 2007, but changes are expected as those programs are evaluated.

There are still many questions to be answered, including the future of Ginn’s development drivers, including AMA champion Ricky Carmichael.

Congratulations to the Wood Brothers for getting into the top 35 in points; even if it came from off track manipulating. Now, it is a matter of staying there, and whether Kenny Shrader will return to drive the #21 or will he turn his "one off" at the #49 into something more permanent.

And, how will the pending merger of Robert Yates Racing with Indycar team Newman/Haas racing impact that team and others in the NASCAR garage? Stay tuned for another episode of "As the Garage Turns"

photo: news.appstate.edu

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR Bidness, Nextel Cup Series

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NASCAR mergers and aquisitions day at Indy

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

July 25, 2007 2:24 pm CDT 4 Comments

This is more like it. Drivers fired. Drivers hired. Teams merged. Or sold. Car numbers transferred and changed. This was the NASCAR that we all expected during the lull between the Chicagoland race and the Indianpolisland carnival.

The widely speculated merger/buyout of Ginn Racing and DEI has just been confirmed. Reading the quotes of Bobby Ginn would make one think that this was his carefully planned strategy from the very beginning.

"When I purchased Ginn Racing last year it was done with a goal of fielding a multi-car effort capable of winning races and championships," Bobby Ginn said. "We came very close to winning the season’s biggest race earlier this year with Mark (Martin) and today we feel as if we have done one better by partnering with a company with the legacy of Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Whatever. Good for DEI and especially Paul Menard, who will benefit from his #15 taking the owner’s points of Ginn’ former #14, currently in the top 35 of NASCAR owner points. Paul gets to race this week, for sure.

Maybe, not so good for Ragan Smith and Aric Almirola. They now get to split Mark Martin’s leftovers between them. Did Gibbs Racing know this was coming when it let Aric out of his contract?

Finally - and this will run under the relative radar because the name Earnhardt isn’t attached to it - current Champ Car World Series leading Newman - Haas Racing is rumored ready to announce the purchase of Robert Yates Racing. Lee Spenser has it.

Could this be the sign that those at the very top of open wheel racing in North America have acknowledged the oracles, and are coming over to the Dark Side? Can Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and (gasp!) Danica be far behind?

Tune in next week. Same bat-time. Same bat-channel.

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Mark Martin, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors

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