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A J Foyt Edged Alan Kulwicki but David Pearson is Next Challenge

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. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

March 31, 2009 9:46 pm CDT No Comments

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Round one of our NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie is in the books.

The results were pretty predictable with maybe one result that could be called an upset - by NASCAR fans anyway.

NASCAR Winston Cup champion and everybody’s favorite underdog - Alan Kulwicki - was out voted by Indy Car legend and Daytona 500 winner, A J Foyt.

And Dale Earnhardt Sr had a tougher time than expected with his first round opponent - Bobby Isaac. There may have been an anti-Earnhardt vote or two in there.

You can read all of the comments and see the votes for each first round match by following this link.

Here are the brackets for the round of 32. The posts will start tomorrow. Vote early and often.

nascar-best-bracket-32-east1

nascar-best-bracket-32-west1

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt, Daytona 500, Indy Cars, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends

Tagged with: A J Foyt, Alan Kulwicki, Bobby Isaac, David Pearson, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, round 2, round of 32

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Bench Racing TV: The Biggest Loser is not a Bobby Ginn Biography

by Charlie Turner

March 29, 2009 8:29 am CDT No Comments

The Monday Morning Crew Chief was watching NASCAR stars do their own video thing last week. But she was confused at first when she heard that Clint Bowyer was guest starring on “The Biggest Loser”. Apparently, she thought it was a NASCAR docudrama.

And we have a new Kevin Harvick spoof of old-time cowboy flicks - I love westerns - from the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines commercial shoot.

You can watch Kevin Harvick and Mindy Monday here.

Filed under: Bench Racing TV, Clint Boyer, Kevin Harvick, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media

Tagged with: Bobby Ginn, Mindy Monday, NASCAR video, Shell Gasolines, The Biggest Loser

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Jeff Burton Needs a New Job–Someday Soon

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.

March 27, 2009 8:26 am CDT 4 Comments

It’s time that NASCAR takes a look at the sport and re-evaluates what is needed to move forward.

Let me say up front; this post is NOT about what is wrong with NASCAR. Unprecedented growth throughout the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s was able to mask some of NASCAR’s mis-steps. The scheduling of races, as they criss-cross the nation with no rationale needs to be addressed. The unevenness of the penalty system needs to be looked at. Restructuring of race weekends to make them more team and fan friendly needs work.

The top 35 rule needs to be re-evaluated and there are a host of other items that are simmering in the background. Television contracts will be up for renewal soon again and need attention. NASCAR is still, by far, the most popular form of racing in the United States. There is no doubt about that, but with a reunited open wheel series, NASCAR needs to solidify their place in the racing world.

This country was in love with the Indy car series and it could be again with the right management. That is a topic for another time. The point is that NASCAR could be threatened as the number one racing series in this country as quickly as fans fell in love with it. Fans are a fickle lot and their passions can be re-directed in a virtual blink of the eye.

All of the problems with NASCAR cannot be credited to Brian France, Mike Helton or any of the other minions directly, but it is time for the France family to give up much of their power. The Family has not given up power voluntarily–ever. The driver revolt at Talladega during its inaugural race there was dealt with swiftly by founder Big Bill France. Times have changed and the man in charge has as well. Brian does not command the respect that his granddad or father did–not even close.

That is why it is time for NASCAR, and Brian specifically, to elect an autonomous commissioner. A commissioner elected by drivers, car owners, track owners and the France family. I believe the France family should be given two votes and each of the other factions one vote each to elect this commissioner. Then like any well run businesses, he needs to be left to run that business in the best interest of ALL involved.

The commish, and his staff, again with factions representing drivers, owners (both) and family would be able to restructure a sport that needs to gain back some of its credibility and make decisions that will position itself to maintain itself as the most popular televised sport this side of the NFL.

Knowing that this process could take years to accomplish, I think I have the perfect man for the job. Starting to lobby for him now, while he is still driving, will help get people used to the idea. My nominee is Jeff Burton. Few in the garage have as much respect from all involved as Burton. When he “holds court” in the garage, media, fans, owners and drivers listen.

Burton has that ability to cut to the crux of a situation and give informed–well thought out solutions. Other sports have historically gone the lawyer route to be their commissioners, but racing is a different animal. A former driver, one that has spoken the truth and offers reasonable and timely solutions would gain immediate credibility from all involved.

It is time for Brian to start working on his exit strategy; a strategy that he has said needs to be addressed. After all, he is the one who said he wasn’t going to make this NASCAR thing a lifes work.

Jeff Burton for NASCAR commish.

photo credit:Icon Sports Media

Filed under: How to fix NASCAR, Indy Cars, Jeff Burton, NASCAR, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR officials, Top 35 Rule

Tagged with: Brian France, IRL, Jeff Burton, Mike Helton, NASCAR, NFL

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Tony Stewart vs Bobby Allison: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Match Up

by Charlie Turner

March 26, 2009 11:22 pm CDT 9 Comments

Two giants of NASCAR - a two-time champ vs the winner of 84 career races - face off in the final first round match up of the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament atBench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Tony Stewart - Smoke - was the Raybestos Rookie of the Year in ‘99 and the Sprint Cup champion in ‘02 and ‘05. He has won the Brickyard 400 twice and was the ‘97 IndyCar Series champion. Stewart has 33 wins, 10 poles, 129 top fives and 207 top tens (through 2008) in 356 starts. He is now an owner -driver with his Stewart-Haas Racing.

Bobby Allison was the ‘83 Winston Cup champion and is the owner of 84 Cup series victories and 58 poles in 718 starts. Allison is a three-time Daytona 500 winner. Bobby won 10 races and finished second 12 times in ‘72 driving for Junior Johnson. He finished second that year to Richard Petty. Son Davey Allison is also one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers and raced until his death in ‘93. Son Clifford Allison raced ARCA and the NASCAR Nationwide Series until his fatal crash at Michigan in ‘92.

Bobby Allison against Tony Stewart. I wish that they could just race it off - winner moves on. But that isn’t the way this tourney works. This is the last of the first round pairings. We’ll give it a couple days, tally up the votes and then, set the round of 32. There’s still tome to go back and vote for any games that you missed. Click here to find all of the 64 Greatest match ups. Looking forward to your comments.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Daytona 500, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, The King, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: Bobby Allison, Clifford Allison, Davey Allison, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers

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Rex White vs Jeff Burton: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Match Up

by Charlie Turner

March 26, 2009 11:22 pm CDT 7 Comments

The Cup Series champion from 1960 goes up against one the steadiest and fastest of today’s Cup series regulars in a first round game in the Bench Racing region of the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Rex White won 28 NASCAR Cup series races and grabbed 36 poles in just 233 starts. In his 1960 championship season he finished over 3900 points ahead of runner-up Richard Petty. Rex was a top ten championship finisher in six of his nine seasons. Only had one superspeedway win. White is one of only six owner-drivers to win a championship.

Jeff Burton has 21 Cup wins and six poles in 511 career races. His best finish was third in the 2000 Sprint Cup Series championship. Won a career high six races in 1999. Burton is one of the most respected drivers currently racing in the Sprint Cup Series and is a championship contender with Richard Childress Racing today.

Filed under: Jeff Burton, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, Richard Childress Racing

Tagged with: NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Rex White

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Lee Roy Yarbrough vs Junior Johnson: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Match Up

by Charlie Turner

March 26, 2009 10:40 pm CDT 5 Comments

The first winner of NASCAR’s Triple Crown against a man tied for tenth on the all-time victories list in the final first round match in the Bench Racing region of the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament atBench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Lee Roy Yarbrough was an ace on the superspeedways and the first driver to win the Daytona 500, Coca Cola 600 and Southern 500 in the same year. He had seven superspeedway wins that year - ‘69 - which set a record at that time. ”69 was Yarbrough’s best year and included 16 top fives and 21 top tens. Finished with 14 wins, 10 poles and 92 top ten finishes.

Junior Johnson won 50 times as a driver and his drivers won 139 races and six Cup series championships for him as an owner. But this tourney isn’t about owners. Johnson won the second ever Daytona 500. He had 46 career poles in 313 starts.

Two more of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. No slouches anywhere in this tourney actually. Junior looks like a winner. But Steve loved Lee Roy. Leave a comment.

Filed under: Darlington Speedway, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends

Tagged with: Coca Cola 600, Junior Johnson, LeeRoy Yarbrough, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Southern 500

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