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Pocono Fantasy Racing Live Chat: Thursday at 7 PM ET

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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

July 30, 2009 3:41 pm CDT No Comments

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Join Ryan Rantz for this weeks live blog/chat session centered on the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Ryan ofcourse, is the author of the terrific weekly Fantasy Racing Power Rankings posts here at OnPitRow.com. Live, real-time fantasy advice and discussion every Thursday. Click here to chat.

Filed under: Live blogs, NASCAR, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming, Pocono Raceway 

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One and Done: Sunoco Red Cross 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary,NASCAR video,NASCAR pictures, 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.

July 30, 2009 1:32 am CDT No Comments

After an improved racing experience at Indianapolis last week, the Sprint Cup Series moves on to its second event at Pocono Raceway this year. With only six races between this and the first race, Pocono features the shortest gap between races on the Sprint Cup schedule.

It’s interesting to note that Pocono and Indianapolis are of the same length and have similar banking in the corners to one another (Indianapolis’ turns are just over 9 degrees; Pocono’s three corners average just over 9 degrees as well). In fact, turn two, the oft-maligned “tunnel turn,” was originally modeled after the corners at Indy.

Many of the best drivers at Pocono either run Chevrolets or Toyotas this year. The two exceptions are Kurt Busch, currently in a Dodge, and Carl Edwards, currently the best Ford driver. Since 2003, seven of Pocono’s 13 races have been won by Chevrolets; Ford and Dodge have split the other six evenly. Toyota, despite a driver lineup that has been strong here in the past, has not won a Pocono race yet.

With that in mind, who looks good this weekend?

Marcos Ambrose: This week’s surprise pick, if only because he currently possesses the best average finish of all drivers at Pocono (conveniently ignoring the fact that he’s made one start here). Ambrose has been generally solid all year, and the relatively flat Pocono track is reminiscent of some tracks in the V8 Supercar Series Ambrose once dominated, with its combination of long straights and tight turns.

Juan Montoya: I’m going against history here, as Montoya’s 24.4 average finish at Pocono is weak at best. But he did finish 8th here earlier this season, and his performance last week at Indianapolis shows that his team is now a force to be reckoned with in the Sprint Cup Series.

Denny Hamlin: Sweeping Pocono in his rookie year bought Hamlin at least three years of being considered a solid fantasy pick at Pocono. Adding three more top-10 finishes bought him another couple of years. Simply put, not even Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon started their Pocono careers as well as Hamlin. The only comparable driver is Hamlin’s former teammate, Tony Stewart, who had seven top-10s in his first eight starts here, but didn’t win until the ninth.

Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s 9.6 average finish is the best of all active drivers with multiple starts at Pocono. He has two wins here, and with the momentum from last week’s win, could easily scoop up a third. Plus, as I often say when his name pops up, he’s Jimmie Johnson. He’s good everywhere (except Bristol). He’s an easy pick.

Tony Stewart: Smoke won his first points race as an owner-driver here a couple of months ago, and that makes him one of the favorites to win this weekend. Tony’s running a special Old Spice Swagger scheme this weekend, and the product name is apt for Stewart’s attitude about this track: Stewart has 15 top-10s in 21 career starts here. The only reason his average finish is lower than Johnson’s or Jeff Gordon’s is because his average finish in those other six races is 31.5.

Filed under: One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

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Mayfield v. NASCAR: Where Do We Go From Here?

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary,NASCAR video,NASCAR pictures, 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.

July 29, 2009 12:49 am CDT 13 Comments

Part three of three, the final part in an in-depth (and perhaps entirely unnecessary) deeper look into the Jeremy Mayfield v. NASCAR case. I’ll stop discussing it, I promise.

So what does the future hold for Jeremy Mayfield and NASCAR, and what is going to make or break this court case? We know now that Mayfield won’t be returning to the track, instead focusing on the legal battle, meaning that this could drag out for a long time.

The documentary that Mayfield claims to be producing could play a huge part in the resolution. If Mayfield has documentary footage that can aid in his eventual vindication, then his attorneys need to submit that evidence – unedited – to the judge at some point.

If that documentary footage disproves NASCAR’s claim that the drug test they administered on July 6 was “held up,” then it begins to unravel NASCAR’s case of “real science and sworn affidavits,” as Ramsey Poston said.

Lisa Mayfield’s claims against her stepson also will play a huge role in the resolution to this struggle. If, as she claims, Jeremy Mayfield used meth at least 30 times in her presence, then his case is shot. He’s done. We’d have simply witnessed one of the best and most logical defenses of a guilty man in recent memory.

On the other hand, if she is guilty of all that Jeremy Mayfield has accused of her (namely, that she lied in the affidavit because NASCAR paid her to, that she has a vendetta against the driver, and that she killed Terry Mayfield, her husband and Jeremy’s father), NASCAR has done more than just shooting itself in the foot. They’d have sabotaged their entire case due to confidence that her status as a Mayfield family member and the sanctioning body’s deep pockets would pull them through.

Until and unless that or something else unravels their defense, however, expect this battle to drag on for quite a while. Neither side is, at this point in time, willing to relent.

Mayfield, however, has to start checking himself again before he speaks. Grandiose claims of a major sponsor and suggesting that NASCAR “doesn’t want it” aren’t great public relations moves. As stressful and damaging as this saga has already been for both sides, if Mayfield doesn’t keep his emotions in check, he’ll be shooting himself in the foot. Erratic behavior will only lead NASCAR to claim that he exhibits traits of a drug user.

If Mayfield’s case falls apart, the sanctioning body will probably crush him into defeat, and we’ll probably never see the two-time Chase driver again. It’d be the same as in any other case where the individual takes on the higher power and loses.

However, if NASCAR’s defense unravels, and the public begins to scrutinize their defensive tactics, expect to see a settlement offer for Mayfield just to go away. But would Mayfield accept such an offer? Sure, on one hand, it seems to be admitting defeat and vindication for the driver. At the same time, however, it could be viewed as NASCAR paying Mayfield to shut up, and he obviously isn’t the type to buy into that.

Given NASCAR’s latest claims that Mayfield lied about his chronology of the events of July 6, this battle will probably last through the end of the year. The only certainty at this point is that we won’t be seeing Jeremy Mayfield in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series anytime soon.

Filed under: Jeremy Mayfield 

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Mayfield Saga: Is NASCAR Wrong?

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary,NASCAR video,NASCAR pictures, 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.

July 28, 2009 1:05 am CDT 27 Comments

This is part two in a three-part series on the endless Jeremy Mayfield saga. Today’s post questions the accuracy of NASCAR’s statements over the past 80 days.

It’s interesting to consider NASCAR, not Jeremy Mayfield, to be in the wrong, if only because the grand majority of folks think it goes the other way around. After watching Mayfield’s 20-minute interview with WBTV in Charlotte, in which he raises a lot of good points that deftly counter NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston’s statements, it’s not a total reach.

His claims make logical sense to the conspiracy theorist, and it’s interesting to analyze them even when they seem unlikely. Taking Adderall and Claritin D can lead to a positive result for methamphetamines. By making him go through NASCAR’s rehab program, NASCAR chairman Brian France and program administrator Dr. David Black could cite Mayfield as living proof of the strength of the sport’s drug policy, one that has taken a beating over the past two and a half months.

Mayfield doesn’t even cite NASCAR’s suspension of Tim Richmond in the late 1980s, not long before his death, as a previous example of the sport throwing one of its drivers under the bus. Richmond, too, claimed his innocence, sued NASCAR, and was eventually reinstated, but much like Mayfield projects, never returned to the track because no owner was willing to hire him.

It’s also interesting to read into a lot of NASCAR’s claims over the past few months. Some can easily lead a person to suspect foul play, or at the very least exaggeration; others can just be misleading. For example:

• Consider, first and foremost, the fact that the results of both of Mayfield’s drug tests with NASCAR were not released until over a week after they were taken. Given that Mayfield was attempting to get his B sample tested between May 1 and May 9, that gap perhaps makes sense. But consider that David Black’s corporation, Nashville-based Aegis Labs, claims it only takes four days to complete a drug test. Consider also the high-profile nature of the situation. The fact that Mayfield’s July 6 test results took nine days to come out perhaps gives credence to his suspicion that NASCAR spiked his drug test; if NASCAR had gotten a positive result, why wouldn’t they have released it immediately the day they got the results? If the test simply took longer, then what explains that?
• Consider NASCAR’s claim that Mayfield attempted to dilute his July 6 drug test by ingesting large quantities of water. Mayfield had already taken a drug test that day, only a few hours prior to NASCAR showing up. The average person can urinate anywhere from 3 to 7 times per day, but it’s difficult to keep going when you have nothing with which to replenish your system. Seeing as Mayfield’s All Sport sponsorship no longer exists, water is a smart way to rehydrate, in turn producing more urine for another sample. NASCAR could have easily picked up on the presence of water in Mayfield’s sample and used it to their advantage in this way.
• Consider a claim that Mayfield cited in an interview with Sirius’ Nate Ryan and Buddy Baker on July 16. Mayfield noted that Brian France had recently claimed that NASCAR has positive drug tests “very frequently,” implying that many within the sport have tested positive for something. Furthermore, France’s July 3 remarks showed a man firm in his belief that NASCAR’s policy was strong, but were very light on specifics. If positive drug tests happen so frequently in NASCAR, assuming that multiple drivers’ tests have come back dirty, why is Mayfield the only driver to have received a suspension? Or, if France was only referring to legal prescription drugs that the sanctioning body allows, why would France have left his comments so vague?

Chances are, there are better, more truthful explanations for all of the issues raised, but with the unreliable nature of conflicting information, we can only speculate. (I am pretty positive about the pee test, though. It’s hard to force yourself to go when there’s nothing in the system.)

One of the most interesting and perhaps ironic quotes in this case comes from Ramsey Poston, NASCAR’s spokesperson, in response to Mayfield’s independent test results. The PDF features minimal information, but includes a specimen number and negative results to tests for amphetamine and methamphetamine.

In response to the PDF, Poston said, “They seem to be a little light on the details, don’t you think?”

Poston’s response is ironic, given NASCAR’s relative lack of specificity throughout this entire case. When the new drug policy still lacks a list of banned drugs for drivers, when their story of Mayfield’s forced drug test on July 6 is (at the very least) far less comprehensive than Mayfield’s version, and when Mayfield’s test results took over a week to be released (bringing into some question how the tests were handled), one could suggest that perhaps the pot is calling the kettle black.

Photo courtesy Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Jeremy Mayfield 

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Juan Pablo Montoya Dominates at Brickyard; but Johnson Wins

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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.

July 27, 2009 6:37 am CDT 3 Comments

The records will show that Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and that Juan Pablo Montoya finished eleventh.

But that will only be a small portion of the real story.  Montoya had run flawlessly throughout the day; so much so that he had built a four second lead when he came to pit road on lap 125.  He had led 116 of those laps and seemed to have control of the race.

What happened then, would cause a dominant race team, car and driver to wonder exactly what did happen.  NASCAR’s scoring system clocked Montoya as too fast on pit road and assessed him a penalty that would relegate him to that eleventh place finish.

Montoya asked the logical question, “I had a four second lead, why would I speed”.  Montoya believed he wasn’t close to speeding and that he had relied on the car’s dashboard warning light system to guide him.  Maybe NASCAR wasn’t wrong and his dashboard system was.

NASCAR posts a speed limit for pit road and then gives drivers a five mile per hour cushion.  Maybe–just maybe Montoya’s warning system was set to go off at the cushion speed and not at the speed limit.

Montoya had the best race car but possiby not the best preparation.  It is too bad because having Juan be the first to win the 500 and the 400 would be a good thing for the sport.

So here is this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Do you believe NASCAR or Juan Pablo Montoya?

Let us know what you think and we could use your answer on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show heard live from 5-7pm ET every Tuesday.  Or have a chance to win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead by calling the show at 1-800-645-2946 and you could be our Shell Nitrogen Enriched Call of the Day.

photo credit:  BethAnne Heisler/ON PIT ROW/Bench Racing Productions

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Juan Pablo Montoya, jimmie johnson 

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Jeremy Mayfield Case Continues; No End In Sight

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary,NASCAR video,NASCAR pictures, 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.

July 27, 2009 12:37 am CDT 5 Comments

The following is part one of a three-part series on the continued legal battle of Jeremy Mayfield. It focuses on Mayfield’s current position in the battle. The following two parts will be posted Tuesday and Wednesday.

For those who haven’t been counting, July 27 marks Day 80 of the Jeremy Mayfield vs. NASCAR saga. We’re counting from May 9, the day that NASCAR announced Mayfield had violated the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.

Since that fateful day, we’ve seen a lot of mudslinging by both sides, with sworn affidavits and lab results being thrown back and forth the entire time. We’ve seen Judge Graham Mullen overturn Mayfield’s suspension, only for an appeals court to side with NASCAR and restore it.

The public consensus, especially within auto racing circles, is that Mayfield is guilty as charged and shouldn’t be allowed back on the track. They cite the way Mayfield has handled himself publicly since July 9, the day he told ESPN.com that “every time there’s an action (by NASCAR), there’s going to be a reaction, from here on out.” They cite his adamant denials, his accusations against his stepmother, and his new motive: not to fight to get back on the track, but simply to clear his name.

Is it well advised for Mayfield to bet the farm on just clearing his name? Maybe not. It certainly doesn’t help the public perception, as it leads people to conclude that he’s not trying to get back on the track because he knows he’s guilty. Selling his race shop and equipment because he doesn’t believe NASCAR would let him race anyway isn’t the greatest move from a public relations standpoint.

Not only that, but retaining high-powered Charlotte lawyers Bill Diehl and John Buric is just going to drain his already-dwindling financial resources down to nothing unless he receives a large settlement. Now that Mayfield’s given up on returning to the track, it seems like a possibility, especially with NASCAR unwilling to admit any sort of wrongdoing, accidental or intentional, in the issue.

But, as we know about Jeremy Mayfield, he’s not willing to back down when he thinks something is wrong. Look back to 2006, when he publicly called out Ray Evernham for not spending enough time with his Sprint Cup team, focusing on development driver (and later girlfriend) Erin Crocker.

It cost him his job, but Mayfield’s whistleblowing explained why a Chase driver in 2005 could drop through the standings like a stone the next year. He exposed a screwy situation for the sake of integrity, and despite taking the fall in the end, he got out the truth to the public. Perhaps he’ll take the fall again, whether or not his story is accurate, but the biggest question is, could Mayfield simply be blowing the whistle again?

All images provided by Icon Sports Media.

Filed under: NASCAR 

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