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Kangaroo Meat Moves on and Bobby Labonte Gets a Good Ride

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

July 31, 2010 10:58 pm CDT No Comments

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Is Marcos Ambrose crazy? Who in their right mind would leave a competitive Sprint Cup ride without having a solid seat in another such locked up?

I am trying to remember one. I cannot.

There is speculation that Ambrose will fill Kasey Kahne’s seat in a Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. That makes some sense. Marcos was a Ford contract driver for years in Australia, before coming to America five years ago.

But RPM has no sponsors for 2011 that I know of. It seems an awfully risky move. Bob Pockrass at Scene Daily has this quote…

“This right now on the face of it, seems crazy we haven’t got the certainty on the back side but I feel like it was the right choice and the timing was right.”

We’ll see. But the timing worked out just fine for ex-Cup Champ Bobby Labonte. Labonte will take over the #47 for JTG Doherty Racing in 2011. No offense to TRG Motorsports, but this is the best ride Bobby’s had in a couple years. And I like his chances to win some races in that Toyota.

Photo credit: Glenn Bure - OnpitRow.com

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, JTG Racing, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors

Tagged with: Richard Petty Motorsports, TRG Motorsports

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Saturday at Pocono: NASCAR Pictures

by Charlie Turner

July 31, 2010 9:57 pm CDT No Comments

More exclusive NASCAR photos from the Pennsylvania 500 weekend

Saturday at Pocono Raceway is Sprint Cup qualifying day. OnPitRow photographers Glenn and Jessica Bure got some nice candid driver pictures along with action on the track.

Photo credit: Glenn Bure (pics 1-6) and Jessica Bure - OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Brad Kesolowski, Elliott Sadler, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kevin Harvick, NASCAR, Pocono Raceway, Tony Stewart, jimmie johnson

Tagged with: NASCAR oictures, Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

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Pictures of NASCAR Driver Carl Edwards at Pocono

by Charlie Turner

July 31, 2010 12:13 am CDT No Comments

More NASCAR photos from Pocono Raceway Friday. This time, Jessica Bure sent some nice, exclusive, candid pictures of NASCAR driver Carl Edwards getting ready for Fridays action on the track.

Photo credit: Jessica Bure - OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Carl Edwards, NASCAR, NASCAR photos, Pocono Raceway

Tagged with: NASCAR pictures, Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

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Dear @dennyhamlin: From @ChurchGr8Oval in 140 or more.

by Clance' McClannahan, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

Clance' McClannahan, famous author behind The Church of The Great Oval and also one of the much appreciated Contributing Authors at Thunder Lounge.

July 30, 2010 10:21 pm CDT 2 Comments

Dear Denny,

Hiya! I understand you had a rough day on the wallet, as well as has Ryan Newman.

Ryan Newman handled his disappointing fine with the grace and acceptance of The Rocketman. His Boss, tongue in cheek, ( I believe) felt the penalties were correct. As usual Mr. Smoke coming out of his ears blamed the media for the role they have played in blowing things out of proportion and encouraging the fans to believe negative things about NASCAR. I received a tweet from Ramsey Poston, regarding some of the negativity that you were complaining about.

I had sent a tweet/twit/twirp to Ramsey Poston that ”Protecting NASCAR & airing grievances privately is one thing, fining drivers just brings more negative light to the sport”. My opinion regarding both Ryan and yourself.

Then you began to go off about it being the fault of Twitter and Media and secret logs, etc….PUHLEEZE! Did you think things were confidential on Twitter? Take some responsibility, whether you agree or not with the outcome.

Mr. Poston’s reply to me was “”He’s not frustrated w/ NASCAR-he’s frustrated that drivers have been so supportive of the policy - and have been since Jan.” Hmmmm.

I retweeted his reply, and Lo and Behold!!!! It was amazing how many NASCAR Journalist’s and so called Journalist’s took credit for being the person that Ramsey Poston was referring too!

My advise? Listen to Tony Stewart… Or blame each and every writer who has become a Twitter Cluck and gained their hours or days or seconds of fame there, instead of through good writing skills. Skills most of them have, had, or lost somewhere since they started writing in 140 characters or less.

Remember…Twitter has become the new “News Media”. There are a lot of fans who now read the tweets and twits as gospel truth from the people they see tweet the most. He who clucks loudest wins and becomes most influential. There are a lot of fans that don’t even take the time to read articles any longer. They read Twitter.

I did think it was pretty funny how many Clucks jumped to take credit as the person upset since January, to be so mentioned personally by the Master Ramsey Poston.

Too funny. Laugh it off. Don’t stop tweeting. Your fans love it. Continue to engage in banter just don’t let certain people suck you in for their own fame. I know you know who I am talking about, but just in case there is confusion between those who are taking the most credit for your demise, DM me. Maybe they can split your fines.

Filed under: NASCAR, Shut Up and Drive

Tagged with: Denny Hamlin, NASCAR, NASCAR media, Ramsey Poston, Tony Stewart, Tony StewartDenny Hamlin, twitter

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NASCAR Pictures: Pocono Raceway Friday Practice

by Charlie Turner

July 30, 2010 3:48 pm CDT No Comments

Photos of Sprint Cup Race Cars on track at Pocono

Sunny skies at Pocono Raceway today made getting photos of NASCAR racers a good way to spend the day for On Pit Row photographer Glenn Bure Friday. Check these out.

: Kyle Busch practicing at Pocono

: Tony Stewart practicing at Pocono

: Jeff Burton at Pocono

: Kevin Harvick practicing at Pocono

: Joey Logano practicing at Pocono

: Scott Speed at Pocono

: Sam Hornish at Pocono

: Elliott Sadler going truck racing

: The #3 Truck gets ready

Photo credit: Glenn Bure - OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Craftsman Truck Series, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Burton, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, NASCAR photos, Pocono Raceway, Scott Speed, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: NASCAR pictures, Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR 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.

July 29, 2010 4:11 pm CDT No Comments

The Sprint Cup Series returns to the tricky triangle of Pocono Raceway this week for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. One of the most grueling races on the schedule, Pocono provides one of the greatest tests of endurance for any race driver two weekends every year.

Pocono provided us with plenty of drama in its first race this year, which saw Joey Logano make some disparaging remarks about the Harvick family and Kasey Kahne nearly exit the speedway completely in his car. It’ll be hard to top that kind of intensity this weekend, but the boys will sure try.

So, who looks good this weekend at Pocono?

Obviously, Denny Hamlin is the top pick, and is certainly my choice. Hamlin’s successes at Pocono are widely known, but here they are anyway: four wins, seven top-10s, and an average finish of 8.6 in nine career starts, tops of all active drivers. Sounds like a pretty obvious pick to me, based on his history.

My dark horse for the weekend is Jamie McMurray. Coming off a huge win in last weekend’s Brickyard 400, McMurray sports a new paint scheme this weekend, with Axe Twist coming on board to sponsor. McMurray’s never been a great Pocono driver, with an average finish of 21.7 and only three top-10s in 15 starts, but that’s not to say that a team that has proven its ability to win big races on big tracks can’t find a little magic this weekend.

Three more, just because:

Jimmie Johnson is the second best active Pocono driver in terms of average finish, with a astout 9.5. Johnson led laps in four of the past five Pocono races, for an average finish of 6.8 over that span. His only two Pocono wins came in a 2004 sweep of the track, but you can bet that a middling Indy finish will only add fuel to the fire for him to get back to victory lane.

Tony Stewart came up with a solid top five at Indy last week, something he’s done at Pocono in eight out of 23 attempts. Stewart’s first points-paying win as an owner-driver came at the track last year, and since that race he’s also had finishes of tenth and third. He says he’s been looking for a little more out of his team, and Pocono seems to be the place to find it: no Stewart-Haas car has ever finished outside the top 15.

Finally, Kevin Harvick has improved over the years at Pocono, going from run-of-the-mill midpack finishes earlier in his career to solid top-10s and top-15s in more recent years. His two finishes of fourth in the past four Pocono races, including one earlier this year, are his career bests; he’ll look to improve on them this weekend.

Filed under: One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Pocono Raceway

Tagged with: Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, jimmie johnson, Kevin Harvick, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, Tony Stewart

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