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Really Jack Roush? Really?

by Mindy Monday, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

November 30, 2009 3:35 pm CST No Comments

Mindy Monday is back with a post-championship, Monday Morning Crew Chief NASCAR video.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

It’s about Denny Hamlin vs Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch vs Brian Vickers. And then there’s Danica Patrick vs whichever sexist pig wants to go a round with her.

Jack Roush maybe?

Watch it now.

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Brian Vickers, Danica Patrick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR, NASCAR video

Tagged with: Jack Roush

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An Open Letter To President Johnson

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

November 27, 2009 12:25 am CST No Comments

Dear “President” Jimmie Johnson,

First of all, is it all right to call you “Mr. President”? I mean, you have been the defending Sprint Cup champion of four years now - the length of one United States presidential term, something that nobody else has ever done, including your teammate Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.

You and your “cabinet” - Secretary of State Rick Hendrick, Secretary of Defense Earl Barban, and most importantly, your right-hand man, Vice President Chad Knaus - are one of the most successful administrations in NASCAR history. Over the past four years, you have won 29 races, almost a full season, and have not scored fewer than 22 top-10 finishes in any given year. That’s a remarkable performance.

But, Mr. President, the State of the Union is not as strong as it once was. Attendance at the events has gone down, as is to be expected in a recession, but television ratings have gone down too. That signifies a lack of interest. It’s not like people can’t watch - at least 99 percent of American homes have televisions, and 56-plus pay for cable TV. 24 of the 36 points-paying races are on broadcast - the first third of the season with FOX, and the final 11 with ABC.

And, Mr. President, one of the reasons why they’re not watching is you.

Now, don’t get me wrong, people love an administration that can turn down all challengers. Adversity sticks to you like teflon; challengers come and go, but when all is said and done, we all know that you’re going to come through and remain on top.

You got there by being just a little better than Matt Kenseth in 2006. In 2007, you took down Jeff Gordon, whose season was statistically better, by virtue of a couple more wins and a stronger performance at the end of the season. Last year, the Chase format gave you the win when Carl Edwards was marginally better. This year, you took advantage of the fact that Mark Martin flip-flopped too often between good and bad finishes, and even an incident at Texas couldn’t drag you down too far.

Under the Chase format, Mr. President, you can’t be beat. But take away this safety net, and you’re more vulnerable. History wouldn’t have been made this Sunday, because you wouldn’t have won in 2007, or 2008; even your 2006 championship would have been far less certain. I mean, come on, the margin of victory under the old format would have been four points.

Perhaps, Mr. President, you’re human after all.

Perhaps your administration is just the most adept at adapting to a new style of racing, under a format that, despite all of NASCAR’s claims, actually robs the fans of better (or at least fairer) championship battles. Look it up.

But there’s a way for you to prove your invincibility once and for all. Let me explain.

But first, I must say that I was slightly disappointed in hearing about your recent contract extension through 2015. Six more years is a long time. At this rate, you’ll be approaching Franklin Delano Roosevelt status before you even hit 40. I think it’s time for another challenge, don’t you? And I have perhaps the greatest conceivable challenge in all of motorsports for you.

Mr. President, Americans - or American-trained drivers - are suffering in international motorsport affairs. Our last Formula One driver, Scott Speed, was a failure. (Perhaps you recognize him; you lap him every week in the stock cars now.) Champ Car’s four-time champion, Sebastien Bourdais, made for a terrible F1 driver as well. Our best IndyCar driver, Danica Patrick, is by far the most overrated race car driver of this decade in any discipline, and the other American drivers in that series - Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, et. al. - seem more concerned with the fanfare and their own stardom than actually winning races.

So, Mr. President, the only person I could think of to approach in hope of solving the problem is you.

Starting next year, there will be an Formula 1 team headquartered in Charlotte, run by former Speed Channel reporter Peter Windsor and backed by Youtube founder Chad Hurley. They already have one driver signed, a Spanish mid-pack GP2 racer who brings some sponsorship on board.

That’s not what you want the United States’ only F1 team to be, is it? A pay-driver team? They need a champion, a driver who can win races, has dominated those in his home country, a consummate professional such as yourself who isn’t going to alienate the media.

My point is, we need you in F1, Mr. President.

We need you to prove to the rest of the world that America is still a relevant motorsports country. We need you to prove that these drivers in NASCAR and IndyCar are just as talented as the F1 boys, that we, too, can turn right and left, that even though F1’s rejects have populated the open-wheel ranks for years and the bulky stock cars generally turn left, our drivers can hold their own in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Think of it. How many drivers can say that they’ve won races at Daytona, Indianapolis, and Monaco? Plenty of drivers can lay claim to two of the three; Mario Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher, and Graham Hill (who also won Le Mans) are among them. You could be the first to win all three. That’s a class all your own in the history of motorsport, Mr. President.

Sometimes, you need to know when to move on to the next challenge. I would say that “when” is now. There is very little left for you to accomplish in American stock car racing, except for maybe Nationwide and Camping World titles, and what fun is stepping backwards?

I hope you’ll consider what I’ve suggested to you, Mr. President. Take a long, hard look at F1. Then talk to Secretary of State Hendrick and Mr. Windsor, and let’s make it happen.

Some other drivers would like to win championships before they retire too, anyway.

Filed under: Formula One, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR, jimmie johnson

Tagged with: Formula One, Hendrick Motorsports, jimmie johnson

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NASCAR Championship Fast Laps

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

November 26, 2009 9:39 pm CST No Comments

NASCAR drivers don’t come much more dominant than Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsport’s no. 48 Lowes Chevrolet these last four years. Johnson’s NASCAR results may be drama killing, but they are still the topic of the week.

Check out the Fast Lap Show video this week. Then let us know what you think about these four, fast ones.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

Turn 1 - Now that Jimmie Johnson has his fourth consecutive championship will he be able to show more of his personality?

Turn 2 -Where does Hendrick Motorsports 1-2-3 points finish rank in importance in NASCAR history

Turn 3 - Which under-achieving organization has laid the best foundation for 2010?

Turn 4 - Where will the #48 team’s greatest competition come from in 2010?

The video tells you what we think. What do you think. And since this is supposed be fast, please limit your answers to Twitter length - 140 characters. We don’t have a way to count your input, so this is the honor system for now.

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Fast Lap Posts, Fast Lap video, Hendrick Motorsports, Homestead-Miami Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR video, Sprint Cup Series, jimmie johnson

Tagged with: Ford 400

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Proposition: Jimmie Johnson is the Greatest NASCAR Driver Ever

by Charlie Turner

November 23, 2009 11:28 pm CST No Comments

Mark Martin calls him Superman.

But his crew chief, Chad Knaus, gets almost as much credit for Jimmie Johnson’s success as Johnson does himself.

Johnson has won 47 times in 291 Sprint Cup starts. He is the only driver ever to win four straight Cup championships.

And he is resented for his dominance. No problem.

That, in itself, isn’t new to NASCAR. Half of the stands cheered wildly for Dale Earnhardt Sr in his heyday. Darrell Waltrip too. They still do for Jeff Gordon. The other half booed their voices hoarse for all three.

It’s different for Johnson. The water-cooler talk and internet buzz - blog posts and tweets - mostly blame J J for all of NASCAR’s problems. From declining TV ratings to empty grandstand seats; it’s all because Jimmie Johnson is too good.

“He isn’t flashy enough. He’s so perfect. Why doesn’t he wreck someone? Or flip ‘em off? Or punch ‘em? I’m so tired of him winning all the time! It’s that damn Chase! He wouldn’t win if it wasn’t for the damn Chase!”

That’s what they say.

I have watched Jimmie, and listened to him, up close. I’ve watched his eyes as he answered questions. Questions that, I’m sure he had answered a hundred time before. The sincerity that he displays is real. I am convinced that nobody who had the chance to observe him that closely, could come away disliking him. He’s a good guy.

He’s the greatest NASCAR driver in the sport today.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - On Pit Row

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series, jimmie johnson

Tagged with: Chad Knaus, Darrell Waltrip

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NASCAR’s Hidden 2009 Hall of Fame Performance

by Charlie Turner

November 22, 2009 10:03 pm CST 1 Comment

Kyle Busch’s season stunk, I guess. I mean he didn’t even qualify for the Chase to the Sprint Cup.

He did win the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. But, come on.

The Shrub only won 20 races in NASCAR’s top three touring series.

Last year, Rowdy was really good. He had 22 victories in 2008. And he actually made the Chase.

Seriously folks. 44 major series NASCAR wins in two years?

There will likely be people inducted into the new NASCAR Hall of Fame over the next 10 years with fewer wins than that in their entire, spectacular careers.

This weekend - maybe this season - belonged to Jimmie Johnson and his unprecedented four consecutive Sprint Cup championships.

But the back-to-back seasons that Kyle Busch has strung together deserve more recognition than they’ve received.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, Nationwide Series

Tagged with: Ford 300, NASCAR Hall of Fame

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One and Done: Ford 400

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

November 19, 2009 11:23 am CST 3 Comments

Well, the Sprint Cup Series ends this week at Homestead, and I’m pretty sure that we’re all glad to see the end of yet another season of Jimmie Johnson taking advantage of the Chase format like a fat man at the Golden Corral.

It’s just not fun to watch anymore. Worse, it’s not fun to do these fantasy picks when the obvious choice is the same guy every weekend. It makes everything… easy. Too easy.

So you know what? We’re going to try something different this week. Instead of picking Chase drivers for this week’s Homestead race, seeing as most of you have exhausted your supply of Chasers that are worth picking, I am going to make it a point of recommending non-Chase drivers this week.

If you have them available, you know who to pick, but for the rest of us, let’s make things interesting.

Kevin Harvick (avg. fn. 9.1): Despite clinching the Camping World Truck championship with Ron Hornaday last week at Phoenix, Happy’s had little to smile about on the Cup side of things this year. Luckily for him, he has an opportunity to finish the year on a high note, as Homestead is one of his better tracks. Despite never winning the season finale, he’s never finished worse than 20th and has completed 2140 of 2141 possible laps.

A.J. Allmendinger (avg. fn. 11.0): I know, he’s only made one start at Homestead, last year. But he passed 32 cars after starting dead last. That says a lot.

Martin Truex Jr. (avg. fn. 12.5): His average finish would be higher had he not run this race in 2004 as a reward for his Busch Series title. In the past three years, he’s finished 2nd, 6th, and 10th, respectively, for an average finish of 6.0. It’s his last race with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, and I’m sure Truex would like to go out with a good finish, especially considering how bad this year has been for him.

Jamie McMurray (avg. fn. 15.4): Truex’s replacement in the No. 1 car doesn’t have quite as stellar a record at Homestead as his predecessor does, but he’s not a pushover, either. Since he became a full-time Sprint Cup driver in 2003, his average finish at Homestead is 14.3, and that’s dragged down by an engine failure in 2006. Look for McMurray, relieved at finally signing a contract for 2010, to perform well this weekend.

Bobby Labonte (avg. fn. 18.7): The only former Homestead winner in this bunch, having scored the victory in 2003, Labonte had top 10 finishes in four of his first five starts at the track. Since then, his record has declined, but that’s more of a testament to his Petty Enterprises cars being weak. Maybe Kevin Buckler’s cars aren’t much better, but Labonte has gotten things out of those cars that David Gilliland could not (when he wasn’t starting and parking, that is). One can’t lose sight of the fact that Labonte led 174 laps the first time that the Cup cars came to Homestead.

Filed under: Homestead-Miami Speedway, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing

Tagged with: Ford 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing

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