Auto Club Speedway Will Preview the Chase
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.
August 31, 2008 7:15 am CDT 1 CommentIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
There are two races left in NASCAR’s Race to the Chase for the 2008 Sprint Cup. This week, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana California should give fans a preview of what the competition will be like in those final ten races that constitute the Chase.
The three drivers that I expect to battle it out for the Cup championship have three of the top four Driver Ratings for NASCAR’s Loop Data at the California two miler. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards are first, third and fourth. They have to varying degrees and at different points in 2008, dominated NASCAR’s regular season this year. I don’t see any reason for that trend to end.
Johnson tops out at a DR of 114.7. Remember back to the spring race at Fontana and the day one (the first Auto Club Speedway race was repeatedly delayed by rain and wet track conditions and finally the finish was postponed to the following day) when Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon dominated early. Neither driver won that race but J J is a two time Fontana victor. He has the best Ave Position of 7.0 and the top Ave finish - 5.3. Johnson also has the most Laps in the Top 15 with 1630 for 92.9 percent of the last seven races.
Kyle Busch, who might just be the only NASCAR driver we would be talking about in 2008 if it weren’t for Johnson and Carl Edwards, has a win at California too. He has the third best Driver Rating at 109.9, three top fives and six top tens, the third most Laps in the Top 15, third best Ave Running Position and the second most Quality Passes.
The winner of that spring California race was Edwards. He comes back with a Driver Rating of 105.6, six top fives and seven top tens to go with his single win. Carl’s only category leading Loop stat is for Green Flag Passes. He is coming off a win at Bristol after bump passing Busch - who led most of the Bristol night race. But these guys have run up front most of the season.
Is There a Spoiler out there? Anyone? Anyone?
Two weeks ago, Edwards and Busch took turns dominating at Michigan International Speedway, with Edwards winning again and Kyle second. The top four in that first Fontana race were Edwards, Johnson, Gordon and Busch. I see trends that are too hard to ignore.
Matt Kenseth is the spoiler in the top four California ratings. Matt’s Driver Rating is second best at 112.7 and he’s a two time Fontana winner. Kenseth has the best Ave Mid Race Position and has led the most laps - 248, or 14.1 percent of the last seven races at the track.
Who else is good? Tony Stewart has the fifth best Driver Rating - a strong 101.0 - and the best Passing Differential. But he’s never been able to finish at California and 2008 just doesn’t look like the year of the Smoke.
Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Gordon, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch round out the top ten in the Loop. Kasey Kahne has won twice in 2008 on long, fast tracks. He’s won at Fontana too. But I can’t see him beating my top three this week.
Nope, its got to be one of the big three. My pick is Jimmy Johnson with an upset special possibility coming from one of the Red Bull Toyotas. I’ll take Brian Vickers.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Tight in Turn 2 Again
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.
August 29, 2008 6:16 am CDT 2 Comments
Does an All Star event - in any sport - need to be fair to the competitors in the sport? Or is it more important that the contest be maxed out for ultimate fan interest?
NASCAR seems to be struggling with those questions and the additional issue of keeping the sponsors happy. Why else would they tweak the Budweiser Shootout? We’ll find out what you think in the Bench Racing version of this week’s Tight in Turn 2 posts.
The Budweiser Shootout will have a different format when it kicks off NASCAR’s Speedweeks next February. The 24 car all-star race will feature the top six cars in 2008 owners points from each of NASCAR’s four manufacturers. Do you like it or not?
Charlie: NASCAR has guaranteed that at least two, and probably more of its biggest stars will be watching this race instead of driving in it. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will not qualify. Two Michael Waltrip Racing cars will make it and so too, probably, will Travis Kvapil. It may not be a big deal, I guess. But tell me why they can’t start everybody? It would still be different from a regular Cup race. It’s a sprint. It’s short, fast, balls-out racing. Start 50 cars!
Bruce: I really like the idea that they’re changing it up to get more drivers in the “pointless” race. I think their approach is a bit blind sided by not anticipating that some of the better qualified drivers who could technically qualify for this race are going to be sidelined by drivers who don’t rate as high.
I would hope they re-evaluate their approach and take the drivers as they are, by years’ end, not who’s in what in the beginning of next year. Then, it would be fair, and mix it up a bit! Maybe they should add pole winners to the fray. That would get Ryan in at least. I’m sure they’ll come up with something to get Tony in!
That’s what we think. What do you think? Let us know in the comment section.
Bruce at NACAR Bits and Pieces has this topic up over at his blog…
So is this probation on Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards warranted?
Rowdy Busch: Grand Marshal of the Bristol Parade
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.
August 28, 2008 1:41 pm CDT No Comments
That’s what Mindy says on this week’s Monday Morning Crew Chief. Check it out right here.
Quick Hits: Auto Club Speedway
by Chris Leone, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie
If OnPitRow.com was a NASCAR team, I’d be the development driver of the bunch. In the same way that young hotshots like Joey Logano have been driving since they were in grade school, I’ve been following and writing about all forms of motorsports since I was barely old enough to talk.
August 27, 2008 1:09 pm CDT 3 Comments
With two races left before the Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR heads to Auto Club Speedway in California. California is a state known for many things, from fine wines to celebrities to the greatest football game of Brett Favre’s career, a 41-7 rout of the Oakland Raiders the day after his father, Irvin, passed away.
With all the attention Favre’s been getting as of late, I feel it’s fair to direct our attention to a driver who similarly can’t retire from the sport he loves: Mark Martin. One of the reasons why I’ve been pulling so hard for Favre this season is because I’ve heard much of the same criticism used against Martin, in his many attempts to retire. Sometimes it’s just too hard to walk away from what you’ve been doing all your life.
Truth is, Martin’s been on top of his game these past few years the same way Favre has: producing enough to warrant continued mentions as one of the best in the field week in and week out. Martin led NEXTEL Cup points through 4 races last year, and even still had a shot at the Chase after missing the first few of his 12 scheduled off weeks. This year, despite running in equipment of far lesser quality, Martin has nearly equaled his top-10s from last year (8 so far, compared to 11 last year) and nearly won at Phoenix. He also won the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas.
Even more important, however, is what Martin’s done to make part-time driving a viable option for aging stars, especially splitting rides with development drivers.
Originally, the plan was to put two “retiring” drivers in one car to split a full season. In a 2005 interview with Claire B. Lang, Martin dismissed the option of splitting a schedule between two retiring drivers as “far-fetched” and “hard to do right.” At the time, Jack Roush was looking to fill the No. 6 Ford for 2006 while waiting for Jamie McMurray to take over the car in 2007. Roush’s idea was to split the car between Martin and Rusty Wallace for the 2006 season.
While the Martin-Wallace deal never materialized, Martin has run part-time schedules in Sprint Cup with development drivers the past few seasons, and the results have been surprisingly decent. Martin’s average finishes were 14.5 in 2007 and 13.9 this year, not far out of line from his career average of 13.3. Last season, the No. 01 Ginn Racing Chevrolet that Martin split with Regan Smith sat 17th in owners’ points, better than 16 cars to start all 36 races and 28 that attempted full schedules. This year, the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet that Martin and Aric Almirola share is 15th in owners’ points, ahead of 19 other teams to start all 24 races.
Martin won’t race this weekend at California, but has an impressive record at the track: 15 starts with 7 top-10s and a win in the track’s second-ever race in 1998. His 13.3 average finish at the track is 8th best out of active Sprint Cup drivers. In his 700th career Sprint Cup start, which occurred at California earlier this season, Martin started and finished 16th in the No. 8 Principal Financial Chevrolet.
Although Martin will have to wait until next year to make a full-blown comeback, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in his first full-time schedule since 2006, he’ll certainly continue to face the same criticisms as Favre, for soldiering on with a different team for the love of the sport. But, as has Favre, Martin will continue to persevere in his chosen sport, going until he simply can go no longer.
Before the green flag drops on this weekend’s action, here are this week’s five Quick Hits:
5. Former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed will make his Sprint Cup debut by the end of this season in a third Toyota for Team Red Bull. Former Daytona 500 winner Slugger Labbe and TRB’s test team will pit the car. Speed may run a full-time Sprint Cup schedule next season after winning a Truck Series race at Dover and challenging for the ARCA title this year.
4. Chip Ganassi Racing will definitely field two cars next season, as longtime backer Target has re-signed with the team. Juan Pablo Montoya will drive one car, with Dario Franchitti perhaps making his return in the other.
3. David Reutimann will return to the No. 00 Toyota at Michael Waltrip Racing in 2009, with an 18-race sponsorship deal from Aaron’s Rent. Reutimann drove his first race for Aaron’s in 2005 and currently sits 4th in Nationwide points driving for the company. Reutimann’s father, Buzzie, raced on short tracks in Florida in cars carrying the No. 00.
2. Reed Sorenson will land on his feet in 2009, after signing a multi-year deal to drive for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. While nothing else is a certainty at this point, expect Sorenson to drive the #10 car next season, taking into account the team’s issues finding a full-time sponsor for its third car.
1. After a post-race tangle last weekend in Bristol, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch have both been placed on probation for the next six Sprint Cup races, effective this weekend. Unhappy about being muscled out of the way in the final laps of the race, Busch drove his right-front fender up into Edwards’ door panel after the race had ended. In retaliation, Edwards followed Busch to the bottom of the track and spun the No. 18 Toyota.
Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners: Busch in the Truck Series, Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide Series, and Edwards in Sprint Cup.
Kasey Kahne: Tell Him There’s No Bristol Wild Card
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.
August 26, 2008 1:34 pm CDT 3 Comments
This picture shows Kasey Kahne getting dealt one of Bristol Motor Speedway’s legendary wild cards.
Last week, Steve and I got into it pretty good ON PIT ROW. No surprise there. This time it was about whether or not the Bristol night race is a wild card race. I say yes. Steve says, emphatically no. Steve is wrong, of course, but maybe this is a matter of semantics. Bristol is legendary for big wrecks that often take out some of the best cars. There from came the legend of the wild card. The dictionary has this for legendary…
1. Of, constituting, based on, or of the nature of a legend.
2.
a. Celebrated in legend.
b. Extremely well known; famous or renowned.
The problem comes here. The Thesaurus has these two options for legend...
known - apprehended with certainty; “a known quantity”; “the limits of the known world”; “a musician known throughout the world”; “a known criminal”
unreal - lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria; “ghosts and other unreal entities”; “unreal propaganda serving as news”
Steve is still wrong. So is the Thesaurus.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Joey Logano Officially A Sprint Cup Driver
by Matt Mercer, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie
I'm the new guy at Bench Racing and I'm supposed to be the younger perspective. I'm the guy behind The Catfish Show, which you can access through the links on the right.
August 25, 2008 11:18 pm CDT 3 Comments
It’s been a whirlwind season for young Joey Logano.
(Note: this post also appears on my regular website, www.thecatfishshow.com)
The Middletown, CT native is a talent that rarely comes along. Regular readers know how highly I think about him. This is a guy that won the East Series title at the age of 17. He followed that up by dominating the ARCA race at Rockingham this May in preparation for his Nationwide Series debut, which came at Dover this May. He would go on to capture poles at Nashville and Kentucky, winning in Kentucky in just his third series start. Logano followed up with consecutive runner-up finishes at Milwaukee and Gateway and top-10 runs at IRP, Watkins Glen, and Michigan. The kid’s ready to contend at any level you put him in.
For Gibbs, this meant not going outside of the organization to find a replacement for Tony Stewart in the #20 Home Depot Camry. Why go through that process and deal with possible chemistry issues when the best choice is already there? Logano’s been a teammate to both returning drivers next season, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch this year. Hamlin in particular has taken an active role in Logano’s development, which will only accelerate the learning curve. Logano may actually be on the same level as most drivers in the COT, since he has been the primary test driver for the cars since their inception. I’m going on record right now and saying that Logano wins in 2009 and qualifies for the Chase. I’m that confident in his ability, not to mention the JGR camp and the quality of the team he will inherit.
As for the rest of 2008, Logano is looking at running 6 Sprint Cup races in the #02 - Richmond, New Hampshire, Kansas, Lowes, Atlanta, and Texas, 9 Nationwide races in the #20, as well as the ARCA race at Talladega in order to garner some plate experience before the Daytona 500 this fall.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media
Edwards and The Shrub Dust it Up at Bristol
by Steve Wronkowicz
I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.
August 25, 2008 6:58 am CDT 1 CommentWhen all was said and done Carl Edwards had used the ole bump and run to get past Kyle Busch for the win in the Sharpie 500.
Busch dominated this race. Leading 415 of the 500 laps, the Toyota driver was not thrilled by the bump that allowed Edwards to slid past the out of shape M&M’s ride. Kyle let it be known that he wasn’t happy with the way he was treated by the race winner:
”If that’s the way he wants to race, we’ll race him in the Chase that way.”
Of course Edwards wouldn’t back down. During his post race news conference Edwards had this to say in rebuttal to Busch’s statement:
“Okay. Here’s the deal. That doesn’t mean anything. He’s raced me that way and that’s the reason it went down like that. That’s it.”
Whether anyone was done wrong here is the biggest question. The replays of the incident that has everyone talking wouldn’t even have ruffled the feathers of most drivers pre-2000. “The Move” was barely a tap and with the design of the new car, Busch wasn’t in imminent danger of losing his hold on the car.
The press and the fans may make more out of this than the drivers. ESPN pre-race showed clips of many famous Bristol confrontations. Bristol has had its share of driver moments and that is what fans have come to expect from the half-miler.
But, in rank of the famous Bristol moments this one between the Roush-Fenway and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers is minute in comparison.
And that leads to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:
Was Carl Edward’s bump and run really as big of a deal as Kyle Busch has made it out to be?
Let us know what you are thinking and we could use your response on this week’s ON PIT ROW. Listen live from 5-7pm ET to ON PIT ROW and stay tuned to INSIDE ARCA from 7-8:30pm ET.
Photo credit: Icon Sport Media
Sell Me Your NASCAR Team: Win a Kevin Harvick Bobblehead
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.
August 24, 2008 6:27 am CDT 6 Comments
No NASCAR race on Sunday? I know. Free stuff is good though. Let’s have a contest!
Here’s the deal. Our ON PIT ROW Rules committee - that would be Steve and Me - will choose the best answer every week for what we will call the Shell Gasolines’ Top-5 of the Week. The winner will receive a Kevin Harvick Bobblehead courtesy of the folks at Shell Gasolines.
Here is your mission.
You have a NASCAR team. Congratulations! You need sponsors. Good luck. Give us your top five best reasons to sponsor you and your own version of Ricky Bobby.
Leave your answers in the comment section of this post. Limit your response to five answers per comment. Be creative! The bobbleheads are cool.
The Shell Gasolines’ Top Five of the Week is brought to you by Shell - reminding you to help keep your engines gunk-free and running at their best by using high-quality gasolines like Shell.
Photo credit: WJR.com
Bristol Night Race is a NASCAR Fantasy Dice 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.
August 23, 2008 8:13 am CDT No Comments
Tony Stewart led the most laps in three of the last five Sprint Cup Series races held at Bristol Motor Speedway. His Ave Finish in those three races was 20.3.
The driver with the best Ave Finish - 6.3 - over the last seven Bristol races is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior has led just 36 laps in those seven contests though.
If you are making fantasy NASCAR picks for Bristol and looking for help from NASCAR’s Loop data, good luck. It’s going to be tough.
The top five in Loop Driver Rating for Bristol are all winless in 2008. That’s winless everywhere, not just in Thunder Valley. All five have DR’s above 100, led by Matt Kenseth at 109.0. Kenseth has the top stats for Ave Position and Ave Mid Race Position - 7.3 and 6.1. He leads in Percent of Quality Passes, Fastest Laps and Laps in the Top 15.
Greg Biffle is next with a DR of 103.2, followed by Kevin Harvick -102.6, Tony Stewart - 102.4 and Jeff Gordon at 101.4. Harvick leads one of the passing categories and Stewart has his leading Laps Led stats. Harvick and Stewart each have one Bristol win. Kenseth has two and Gordon five while Biffle remains winless.
The Busch Factor
The other five time winner in the field is Kurt Busch, who has a tenth best Driver Rating of 91.4. Kurt is followed in 11th by the Busch the Younger. Kyle Busch has a win at Bristol. Hell, it seems like he’s won everything this year. He did take the Craftsman Truck Series race this week, for his 18th NASCAR win of 2008. Incredible feat.
The other drivers with 2008 seasons that challenge Kyle Busch are Carl Edwards, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Burton and Earnhardt Jr. Edwards and Johnson have DR’s of 86.2 and 78.2 respectively. Not strong, but Edwards won this race in 2007. Junior has those Ave Finish stats and Burton is sixth best in Driver Rating at 94.5 - right behind Junior at 96.8.
I don’t see how you pick anyone but Kyle Busch here, so I will take him to win. Dark horse is the wrong word for Greg Biffle but the Biff is my alternate pick. He is the only driver to finish 100 percent of all of his Bristol Laps. And at Bristol, it’s almost as much about missing the wrecks as being fast.
Tight in Turn Two at Bristol Motor Speedway
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.
August 22, 2008 9:58 am CDT 3 Comments
I guess you can only be Loose in Turn 3 for so long. Sooner or later, you have to make adjustments.
Bruce, from NASCAR Bits, Tim of Do You NASCAR? and the Bench Racing blog have been playing with this NASCAR round robin that we called Loose in Turn 3. Tim is moving to other things, but Bruce and I are too dumb to stop. Hence, we are now Tight in Turn 2. Here goes.
It looks like the Ford teams will have, maybe, nine cars for 2009 - Roush-4, Yates-3, Wood Brothers-1 and JTG-1. Who will fill the seats?
Charlie: Roush-Fenway is easy with Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan. I think Yates Racing will be David Gilliland, Travis Kvapil and Roush developement driver Eric Darnell. We know that Marcos Ambrose will drive for JTG Racing. But who will the Wood Brothers have, Jon Wood? And what about Colin Braun and Jamie McMurray? The Cup seats are filling fast. Colin Braun will likely run in the Nationwide Series, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr will be pushing for that seat by 2009’s end. If the Ford Racing folks haven’t soured on Jamie, I look for him in the No. 21.
Bruce: Of available drivers who will be floating around, I’m not sure I can disagree with you on this one as far a Jamie McMurray goes, but with how the 21 shop has been doing of late, this season and last, would Jamie go for it? The only other angle I’d be worried about is how dedicated the 21 shop
has seemed to be towards Jon Wood. I can only hope logic and / or reason pans out in this one, no matter who they go with!
That’s what we think. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.
Then head on over to NASCAR Bits for Bruce’s discussion on this topic…
Several staff on the Gibbs Nationwide team felt it necessary to try this stunt. Or as DW calls it, reverse cheating, seeing as how the cars had to run with less power available to them through the entire race. How does this make people feel about Joe Gibbs Racing, or the sport in general?
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.







