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Revenge of the Awards Show

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.

November 30, 2007 11:40 pm CST 5 Comments

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The NASCAR Awards show was actually not as lame as I expected. It was still good for some laughs though.

If you joined us for the Live Blog tonight, I thank you and apologize to you. We had technical difficulties (almost felt like a live radio show) at about the 10:45 pm mark and eventually had to shut the Live Blog down. It was fun while it lasted and the folks at Cover It Live were great to work with. I’m pretty sure that the problem was on my end and we are looking forward to live blogging again soon.

Again, thanks to everybody.

UPDATE: Cover It Live got to the bottom of our problem and it was, not surprisingly, caused on our end. These guys are fantastic to work with - especially for someone as digitally challenged as me. Their software is so easy to use that I just got a little lazy naming an image file. Here’s Keith from CIL’s explanation to me:

The problem was the title of one of the images you stored in
your media library had a “ in the title. The software normally catches
those kinds of unacceptable characters and doesn’t let you save
them. Except on that one darn line I guess we missed our quality
assurance test. The “ believe it or not, made the software freak
out and stop talking to the database (that’s why with banks they don’t
let you use funny characters in your username).

Anyway, it’s fixed. First time that’s ever
happened. Sorry it was on your shift. Appreciate your support to us
with your readers. We’re putting in the fix in the morning so it
doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Stay tuned. I just wish that I could come up with a name for our live blogs - maybe OPR 3000. Nah.

Filed under: Live blogs

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Live Blog - NASCAR Awards Show

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.

November 30, 2007 5:45 pm CST 2 Comments

Watching NASCAR’s year end awards banquet and show from the Waldorf in New York City is, to me, a painful experience. But doing what I do, I feel compelled to watch it. That’s kind of funny actually because I don’t always feel compelled to watch the races. Anyway, since I have to do this, I was hoping that some of you would join me in my pain.

Steve and our producer/photographer Beth Anne have promised - under threat of me making their email addresses public on MySpace - to show up at some point and I have dropped pleading hints around the NASCAR blogosphere as well.

So with the help of this great Cover it Live software we’ll try our best to resurrect Joel, Tom Servo, Betsy and Crow of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fame and totally de-construct NASCAR’s most ludicrous night.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Clint Boyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Live blogs, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR & the Media, Nextel Cup Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Robby Gordon, The Busch Bros, Tony Stewart, Warren Wallace

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Live Blog Friday Night at the Lamest Show on Earth

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.

November 29, 2007 8:54 pm CST 2 Comments

Join Steve, Beth Anne and me for our first foray into live blogging thanks to Cover It Live. Afterall, not everybody gets ESPN Classic and even if you do, getting through this whole show un-aided is not healthy.

Oh yeah, Jimmy, Jeffy, Junior and the rest of the NASCAR Circus will be there too.

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

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Rusty visits “ON PIT ROW”

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.

November 28, 2007 8:48 am CST 1 Comment

Rusty Wallace spent some time ON PIT ROW on Tuesday night.

Rusty talked about his ownership and design of Iowa Speedway and the new Riverside Motorsports Park to be located outside of Fresno California. The 7/8ths mile oval will have a replica of the old Riverside road course inside the oval; much like Iowa Speedway has its 2.5 mile road course inside.

The ESPN/ABC broadcaster told of his relationship with his broadcast partners, Jerry Punch and Andy Petree and how they have progressed through the NASCAR season. Rusty believes the team will be even stronger in 2008. He said is now a broadcaster first and his many other responsibilities are able to be juggled around that.

Rusty Wallace Inc. Racing will be expanding to two teams to compete on the Nationwide Series in 2008 with David Stremme and 18 year old, Chase Austin sharing the new #64 Atreus Homes/Jimmy Johns Chevrolet. Wallace’s son, Steven, will continue as the full time driver of the #66 with similar sponsorship. The move from Dodges in 2007 to Chevrolet in 2008 will mean Richard Childress Racing will supply engines for the team.

The CoT was on Rusty’s mind as he agreed with Fox Sports and Speed’s Larry McReynolds:

"The cure for the CoT is stickier tires. That’s all it will take. Call them stickier or softer or whatever; when you have equal cars with hard tires there is no chance for good racing. Let the tires wear faster like they do at places like Darlington and you’ll get some great racing–in multiple grooves."

Rusty gave is views on The Chase and how it has affected Jeff Gordon and NASCAR.

To hear the entire interview with Rusty and the rest of ON PIT ROW; tune in to www.racetalkradio.com on Thursday night 11-29-2007 at 7pm ET.

photo: BethAnne Heisler/ ON PIT ROW-Bench Racing Productions, LLC

Filed under: Busch Series, Car of Tomorrow, Chase for the Cup, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Rumors, Nascar Legends, Nextel Cup Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Rusty Wallace

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NASCAR has some issues

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.

November 26, 2007 8:06 am CST 4 Comments

The 2007 season is history but there are plenty of questions to be asked and answered. Take a shot at these as we wait for the final Nextel Cup banquet to arrive.

Even with all the complaining by traditional NASCAR fans, the sport continues to attract huge numbers of fans; both at the race tracks and in front of their media devises. Conventional TV ratings may again be down, but how many people are finding alternatives? There are more ways than ever to enjoy a NASCAR event and more ways to time shift the race broadcasts.

The Buzz ON PIT ROW is:

Who is most likely to dethrone Jimmy Johnson in 2008?

The Fast Lap this week asks:

1) Should NASCAR set and/or employ the broadcast teams for its race broadcasts?

2) Car of Tomorrow or Old Car?

3) Who was the MVP on the 48 team?

4) Junior in 2008–over or under 4 wins?

Let us know how you feel about these questions, or anything else that happened since last February in Daytona. If we like your comments, whether we agree or not, we may 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: Chris Graythen/Getty Images/NASCAR

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Nextel Cup Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, The Fast Lap

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NASCAR–There’s plenty more to come

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.

November 25, 2007 8:38 am CST 3 Comments

It’s the longest season of any professional sport.

Yet when the last tire is changed and the last fuel stop is made at Homestead, fans can’t seem to get enough. We actually continue to tune in to the awards banquet, even if it is painful to watch. So why do most media outlets cease coverage in the off season? And more importantly; where can the NASCAR fan go, year round for a NASCAR fix in the dead of winter?

ON PIT ROW–of course.

Many readers of "Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie" know that this blog is an extension of our radio show that is syndicated in the Midwest and heard on www.racetalkradio.com on Thursday evenings. We made a commitment in the off season of 2006-2007 to keep the show on throughout the off season. We felt the race fan was hungrier for racing talk in the off season than they are during the heart of the season.

We have never been lost for topics to discuss during NASCAR’s dormant period. Just take a look at the legal wrangling that North and South Carolina is engaged in with Bruton Smith and his threat to move Lowes Motor Speedway. Charlotte area politicians are tripping over themselves to offer Smith tax incentives in return for a promise to keep the speedway open and to add improvements. Also included are infrastructure improvements around the racetrack to be funded by an increase in the local sales tax.

For three weekends a year race fan imports will help pay for these improvements as they spend money in and around Charlotte. But that leaves forty-nine more weeks where the residents of Cabarrus County in North Carolina will be paying for these improvements and guarantees.

In an article in the Charlotte Observer, Jefferson George and Sharif Durhams wrote:

Smith agreed Wednesday to invest $100 million to $200 million in
renovations and upgrades at the 47-year-old speedway. In return for the
billionaire not building another speedway elsewhere in the Charlotte
region, officials with Concord, Cabarrus County and the state of North
Carolina agreed to provide about $80 million in incentives.

Most
of that would come through road improvements, with a half-cent increase
in the county sales tax as one possible source of money for the
projects.

There is plenty more to come. As many in the NASCAR race shops know–there is no such thing as an off season. At least not for the ON PIT ROW crew.

photo: speedtv.com

Filed under: NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, Nextel Cup Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

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Hendrick sets Gordon and Johnson apart

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.

November 24, 2007 10:52 am CST 4 Comments

It is reported that Rick Hendrick has offered Jimmy Johnson and lifetime contract with his Hendrick Motorsports organization.

Not a bad gig there Jimmy. Merry Christmas. You earned it but the following quote found on Scene Daily makes it sound like it’s not a done deal. Jimmy reportedly said…..

"This is home to me. Hendrick Motorsports is home to me. I don’t need a
lifetime contract to say that. I know where my home is. I know where I
want to drive and who I want to work for. I have a contract through
2010. And after that we’ll figure out what is in store for us for the
future. But this is home for me. It’s family, it’s great."

Does that sound like "Hell yes! Sign me up!" to you?

Whatever - that’s not the point that I want to make. What I’m looking at is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

If Johnson signs his lifetime deal - that would put both Jeff Gordon and Jimmy under the same contractual umbrella and that’s fine. Good for everybody involved. Junior is a different deal.

For one thing, Jr just joined the team and hasn’t run a race for HMS. Success on the track is expected - how much is yet to be seen. Wins and championships on pace with the #24 and #48 teams will be awfully tough to achieve though.

The other thing I see is the conflict that exists between DEJI - that is Dale Earnhardt Junior Inc. (not to be confused with TEI) - and the Hendrick marketing machine. As big as Johnson is with his two straight Cup titles, his popularity still pales compared to Gordon’s. And even Jeffy isn’t in Junior’s ballpark. Dale Earnhardt Junior is Jeff Gordon without the Haters, when it comes to selling stuff.

So if, down the road, Junior piles up wins and Sprint Cup Championships to an extent that Mr. Hendrick might feel tempted to offer up the same lifetime deal, I wonder how it would go. With Junior - DEJI - it would be more of an offer of merger - and a totally different reality. I don’t see it working. Mostly, I don’t see the Earnhardt’s advantage there.

Even with all of the mutual respect and admiration expressed by Mr. H and Jr, their relationship within HMS may always be different than that between Hendrick, Gordon and Johnson. There’s nothing wrong with that. But will it affect long term performance on the track?

Picture credit: Sandy Macys - AP

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Nextel Cup Series

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The worst of NASCAR 2007

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.

November 22, 2007 12:15 am CST 6 Comments

Alright NASCAR, we wouldn’t want you to get too big a head or anything. As I sit here preparing the tactics I will employ in the twin tasks of stalking roasted turkey and dealing with the likely disappointment the Detroit Lions will leave me with tomorrow - I thought I would remind the France family that 2007 wasn’t perfect.

It all started in Daytona. The much anticipated debut of Toyota in the Nextel Cup Series along with the masterfully assembled and promoted flagship team of Michael Waltrip Racing crashed before it ever got started due to a stupid attempt by someone at MWR to doctor the fuel in Waltrip’s own NAPA Camry. The resulting penalty was devastating to Mikey, his sponsors and the team.

Has there ever been a rule - in any sport - so universally reviled as the obsolete “Top thirty five” qualifying deal?

There just should have been some way for the surviving Earnhardts to work things out. In the perfect NASCAR world, Dale Junior fans and everyone else involved from sanctioning body to media to sponsors would want to have Junior driving that #8 Budweiser Chevy. The story was a huge distraction throughout the first half of 2007.

After signing a high profile, big ticket contract with Waltrip’s startup Toyota team, classy ex-champ Dale Jarrett suffered through a wasted year as he struggled to make races and showed poorly when he did qualify. Jarrett’s last full season in cup should have been better.

Maybe DJ and sponsor UPS knew something when he left Robert Yates Racing for the joys of Toyota racing. The slide of RYR has been fast and steep. The one-time Ford super team is just a shadow of itself and will now operate as Roush - East.

Craftsman Truck driver Aaron Fike’s arrest for alleged heroin possession in the parking lot of an Ohio amusement park. Nuf’ said.

Robby Gordon’s meltdown in Montreal.

ESPN’s coverage of the Nextel Cup. The early season Busch Series broadcasts gave me hope. The fact that they never fixed the pathetic NASCAR Now with the awful Eric Kuselius should have been warning enough. The race broadcasts went steadily downhill.

I’m probably forgetting something significant. But my stomach is growling and I better go dig out my Honolulu Blue and Silver turkey hunting gear.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Craftsman Truck Series, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Dale Jarrett, It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR & the Media, Nextel Cup Series, Robby Gordon, Robert Yates Racing, The Waltrips, Toyota

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Johnson and Kenseth are class of Miami

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.

November 19, 2007 11:03 am CST 2 Comments

Matt Kenseth wins the battle at Homestead while JJ hangs out in the top ten all day to win back to back championships.

Kenseth wasn’t challenged most of the day in one of the most lackluster season finales of all time. Johnson rode around close enough to Jeff Gordon all day to ensure his second consecutive championship.

The season of great changes comes to an end and the end of the lopsided stock car ends as well. It may not be a popular position, but I really look forward to 2008 and the return of one style of car. The 2008 car isn’t the "true stock" car that I’ve advocated for the last three years, but I’ll take it over the cockeyed version of the last few years.

Bring on 2008. Its going to be a great year in NASCAR and ARCA. Trust me on this one.

The Buzz ON PIT ROW is:

Regardless of the outcome; was the season finale at Homestead what you had hoped for?

The Fast Lap this week asks:

1) Did you like the duel burnout of Johnson and Kenseth after the race?

2) Was the Kasey Kahne incident at Homestead the beginning of the new tougher Budman image?

3) How will Matt Kenseth do in 2008 without Robbie Reiser as his crew chief?

4) Will Jimmie Johnson three-peat?

Let us know how you feel about these questions, or anything else that happened at the finale in the swamp. If we like your comments, whether we agree or not, we may 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: Marc Serota/Getty Images/NASCAR

Filed under: Car of Tomorrow, Chase for the Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, Jimmy Johnson, Nextel Cup Series

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Jailhouse marketing 101 NASCAR 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.

November 18, 2007 10:01 am CST 4 Comments

Headline: Kasey Kahne Cuffed. WTF?

By now I’m sure you’ve seen it. Kasey and a Homestead-Miami security guard had a "coming together" after Cup practice on Saturday. The details are under investigation by Homestead detectives. The meat of the story follows:

"Police were called and Kahne spent several minutes in handcuffs before
being released. The security guard was checked and released at the
infield medical center…

I wonder. Could this be the beginning of the transformation of Klean Kut Kasey Kahne into….BUD MAN?

Think about it. This is Kasey’s last race before taking the reins of the Clydesdale team. Might be time to roughen up the old image. With two-plus months before Speedweeks begin, he even has time to sprout some kind of scruffy, half-beard - just like Dale Junior.

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Evernham Motorsports, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR Bidness, Nextel Cup Series

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