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Live Blog: NASCAR Awards Banquet

Hosts: Charlie Turner, Steve Wronkowicz

December 5, 2008 8:00 pm CST

How To Fix NASCAR: 1. Trim the Schedule

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.

December 2, 2008 7:51 pm CST 1 Comment

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Hey, everybody. I’ve been somewhat out of commission the past few weeks, what with being sick and college applications and all. But now I’m back, and as promised, am starting my mini-thesis paper on how to fix our beloved NASCAR.

The plan is for me to do these entries bi-weekly, so they’ll (hopefully) be a little more substantial than, say, Quick Hits usually is (or isn’t). This is a series of articles on how one fan thinks that the sanctioning body can return the sport to its glory days of the mid-1990s.

Without further ado:

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Since NASCAR became a sport with regular national television coverage - start the timeline at the 1979 Daytona 500 on CBS - the sport has jumped from 28 to 36 races on the Sprint Cup schedule. (Granted, 1979 featured 31 races, but the low was 28 events in 1985.) With so many more opportunities to watch races on TV, it should be no surprise that 18 races (half of the schedule!) experienced either losses or no gain in TV ratings compared to last season.

It’s also no surprise that tracks like Texas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) have seen “declining” attendance since the addition of second race dates at both tracks. Eddie Gossage, president of TMS, even admitted earlier this year that ticket sales at his track were flat.

(A quick note on the quotes on “declining” - this doesn’t necessarily mean that the tracks have seen less people going through the turnstiles. It just means that they have failed to sell out any of their races since being awarded second dates. In other words, while the demand for second races may have been substantial, and those second race weekends may have made sense at the time, it’s not as if either track could have filled every seat based on waiting lists and season ticket holders alone.)

The simple and obvious solution here is to get rid of a handful of races - enough to, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggests, “keep (the fans) wanting more.”

“We have saturated the market with race after race after race,” he told Yahoo! Sports in November. “When we were a 28-race schedule, the sport was giving you just enough to get really get excited about the next season.”

At the same time, it’s going to be pretty expensive for teams to schlep out their big and fancy 18-wheelers across the country next year as it is, so some of the events that are way across the country also put a big hurt on owners’ wallets.

So let’s have a look at the 2009 Sprint Cup schedule, shall we? Currently, it has only four off weekends: March 15, April 12 (Easter), July 18, and August 30. Compare that to 1992, when there were off weekends in almost every month: February 23, March 22, April 19, May 10, June 28, July 12, August 23, October 18, and November 8.

Eliminating the second Texas race (November and the second Auto Club race (October 11) are easy enough, but where to from there? It’d be bad to have two off weekends right next to each other. The trick, then, is to find redundant races that clutter up large stretches on the schedule.

Pocono doesn’t need two races, much less two 500-mile events, but one of those races is two weeks after an existing off weekend, so the June 7 date should face the axe.

Both of Atlanta’s race dates are around off weekends, but there’s a track that doesn’t need more than one. The spring Nationwide race is gone, so why keep the Cup race (March 8)? But instead of having two off weekends in a row, it’d be easy to set in the Richmond race scheduled for May 2. Richmond has had an early season race before (namely… March 8, 1992), so it’s not as if there’s a huge adjustment.

Now, for the most difficult cut of all for me personally… the June 28 race at New Hampshire. I hate to do it, but the track does nothing for anyone. NASCAR lost two budding superstars (Kenny Irwin Jr. and Adam Petty) up here, and it’s the furthest north track on the schedule. It’s just not necessary to have two Cup races there.

Cut number six goes to the August 16 race at Michigan, because the only cars that ever seem to win there either belong to Jack Roush, Ray Evernham, or Roger Penske. Until Earnhardt Jr.’s win in June, a Chevrolet hadn’t seen victory lane at Michigan since Jeff Gordon won in June 2001.

So there you have it: six cuts to the Sprint Cup schedule to bring the schedule to ten off weekends and 32 total races (including the Budweiser Shootout and Sprint All-Star Challenge). The racing would be better, the TV ratings would rise, the fans would fight for tickets again, and the owners would save six more weeks’ worth of gas money. (Of course, we’d cut races in Nationwide and Camping World Trucks too, but I’ll fix those series later.)

As for the track owners? The IndyCar Series is going to hit its stride come the new chassis and engine package in 2010. I know Bruton Smith’s looking to bring them to a couple of his tracks anyway. Everybody wins!

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Bruton Smith, Dale Earnhardt Jr., How to fix NASCAR, Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR, New Hampshire International Speedway, Sprint Cup Series

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Over? Was it Over When the Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?

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.

October 30, 2008 6:04 pm CDT No Comments

So just how do you spell dunz-o? Ask Mindy. The latest Monday Morning Crew Chief video blog is up.

Check out Ms Monday’s opinions on Brian France’s toys, prison movies and Kyle Petty’s 2009 options. It’s all there and more. Watch the latest Bench Racin’ TV special right here.

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bench Racing TV, Brian France, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Craftsman Truck Series, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, NASCAR video, Ryan Newman

Tagged with: Bench Racing TV, Brian France, Chase to the Cup, Kyle Petty, Larry McClure, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR video, Ryan Newman, video blogs

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Good Effort by Carl Edwards isn’t Good Enough

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.

October 27, 2008 8:34 pm CDT No Comments

Carl Edwards did all he can do at Atlanta Motor Speedway and it wasn’t close to being enough.

Edward’s Roush-Fenway owned Office Depot Ford Fusion won at NASCAR’s fastest track; but unfortunately for him, Chad Knaus and Jimmy Johnson were pulling off a miracle finish. The smartest crew chief in NASCAR never let his driver panic and used a late pit stop for fresh tires to pull off a second place finish. Johnson restarted in eleventh place with the new Goodyears and quickly passed all in front except for Edwards.

Johnson had gone a lap down to the leaders early on when he was caught for speeding on pit road. He and Knaus systematically moved back to a position to where they could make the late run. Edwards was surprised to find out that Johnson had come all the way back to second:

Yeah, I looked up there on the scoreboard, saw he was running seventh, eighth, ninth, somewhere in there most of the second half of the race. When Dave said, What do you think about Jimmie finishing second, I thought he was joking. I truly didn’t know until I looked at the scoreboard that Jimmie had made that back up. I got to see some video. They put on some tires and went for it. That’s pretty amazing.

Johnson’s second place finish increased his lead over Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton and Edwards. The party is truly over. There is no way that any of the three can overcome their defecit to knock off Johnson. And that leads us to this weeks BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Now that Johnson has all but wrapped up the title with three races to go; should NASCAR look at changing the Chase format to keep more drivers involved longer?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comment on this week’s ON PIT ROW. Listen live from 5-7pm ET at www.onpitrow.com or at www.arcaracing.com. give us a call at 877-502-8255 and we could select your call as the Shell Gunk Free Call of the Day and you could win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead.

photo credit: Rusty Burroughs/Getty Images/NASCAR

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Brian France, Car of Tomorrow, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup

Tagged with: Add new tag, Carl Edwards, Chad Knaus, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton

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NASCAR Trash Talkin’ Video

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.

October 25, 2008 9:24 am CDT 2 Comments

Mindy can trash talk with the best. So too, can NASCAR legend, Cale Yarborough. That’s just one of the topics this week on Bench Racing TV.

We have tire problems, secret merger talks and rampant cheating. Sounds like an episode of Desperate Housewives, but it’s not. It’s the newest Monday Morning Crew Chief and you can watch it right here.

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bench Racing TV, Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR Rumors, NASCAR video, Nascar Legends, Red Bull Racing, Sprint Cup Series, The Pettys

Tagged with: BenchRacers, Cale Yarborough, DEI, Desperate Housewives, Mindy Monday, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR video, Petty Enterprises, Red Bull Racing

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Quick Hits: Atlanta Motor Speedway

by Chris Leone, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

October 22, 2008 6:55 pm CDT No Comments

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend for the seventh round of its ten-race playoffs. Atlanta is always a crucial stop on the NASCAR schedule, not only because it’s the home track for drivers like Bill Elliott and David Ragan, but because a lot of sponsorship dollars come from the city. Among the current major NASCAR sponsors to call the city home are AT&T, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, and UPS.

Money may perhaps be the biggest concern in NASCAR nowadays, with many teams struggling to find sponsorship in a failing economy. Longtime sponsors like Texaco/Havoline and AAA have pulled back all motorsports sponsorship for next season, affecting multiple teams around the garage area. Even the manufacturers are struggling - Ford higher-ups admitted to merger talks at one point with General Motors, and Chrysler may merge with GM by the end of the year.

Recently, team merger rumors have been spreading all over the garage. While the sport’s powerhouses - Roush Fenway Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and the like - have been basically immune to these rumors, some of the less prominent teams in the garage area have been subject to this speculation. While plenty of it has been nothing more than whimsy, as much of the silly season is, some of the rumors may inevitably come true.

This week’s Quick Hits are the top five merger rumors that have been floating around the garage area:

5. Yates Racing and Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 26 team: Granted, this one wouldn’t happen until RFR has to cut down to four teams for 2010. However, it would expand Yates to four cars, putting it on par with RFR, Hendrick, and Richard Childress Racing.

Jamie McMurray would be the likely castoff from the Roush stable, as the No. 26 is regularly the team’s lowest-ranking car. Crown Royal is reportedly solidly behind McMurray, so that sponsorship would probably follow him over. Assuming nothing changes from 2009, he would join Paul Menard, Travis Kvapil, and David Gilliland.

This one’s been in the works for a long time, making it a bit more likely than any of the following.

4. Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Bill Davis Racing: Reports state that GEM majority owner George Gillett wants to move his team to Toyota and expand to four cars. Buying a current top 35 team with a strong Truck Series program in BDR would only add to the team’s resources and sponsorship.

Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, and Reed Sorenson are already under contract for next season in Sprint Cup. Counting BDR’s truck drivers, the options for the team’s fourth car would probably be A.J. Allmendinger, Chase Miller, Michael Annett, and Johnny Benson. It’s likely that, given the No. 22’s unsponsored state, they would shut down at least one Truck team and GEM’s Nationwide team, and shift sponsorship dollars to that car.

If Ray Evernham sells his minority interest in the team, as has been suggested recently, this one has a legitimate shot of happening. Evernham remaining part of the team, however, could be a deal breaker. He has a strong relationship with Dodge, and given BDR’s issues with the manufacturer in the past and Dodge’s lack of Truck Series support, that could cause obstacles in the deal.

3. Chip Ganassi Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing: This rumor first appeared in late July. Given CGR’s loss of Texaco Havoline for 2009, and MWR’s loss of UPS for next year as well, it made plenty of sense at the time.

Under the terms of the deal, the combined entity would race Toyotas. Juan Montoya, Michael Waltrip, and David Reutimann would all take their contracts for next season to the new team. J.J. Yeley and Allmendinger would be the top choices for the fourth car, the No. 41, which currently carries the Target sponsorship. Another option would be to cut down to three teams and split Target between Montoya and Reutimann.

Given MWR’s recent alignment with JTG Daugherty Racing and addition of a No. 47 car for Marcos Ambrose, this deal couldn’t happen unless the No. 41 was eliminated altogether.

2. Chip Ganassi Racing and Petty Enterprises: This is one of the more recent rumors, only appearing in late September. Ganassi and Petty would unite to produce a flagship team for Dodge, which would take over lead status with the manufacturer if GEM defects to Toyota.

Montoya would retain his No. 42 with Wrigley’s sponsorship. Chad McCumbee would take over the No. 45 car, which would be renumbered 44, and keep most of that team’s current sponsorship. Kyle Petty and Bryan Clauson would probably each run a limited schedule in a part-time No. 45 car, with Petty carrying Wells Fargo sponsorship. Finally, Target would move over to the No. 43 and partner with Bobby Labonte.

Based on their longtime relationships with Dodge, this one would make some sense. It would keep Montoya in a Dodge, and faced with the potential loss of Kahne, the manufacturer needs all the firepower it can get. It would also allow Petty to remain with his family’s team for a part-time schedule, and provide a team with which Clauson could run a limited schedule in anticipation of moving up full-time eventually.

On a more personal note, however, who else thinks that Target red would mix poorly with Petty blue?

1. Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Petty Enterprises: Given the much-maligned status of both of these teams right now, this rumor was inevitable. The teams have a combined six drivers - Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Regan Smith, Labonte, McCumbee, and Petty - and two sponsors - Bass Pro Shops and Wells Fargo - for next season. The Wells Fargo sponsorship is tied to Petty alone, however, leaving his family team in limbo.

Under this deal, it’s unlikely Petty and his personal sponsorship would even factor in. DEI is obligated to Truex and Almirola for next year, and PE has already signed Labonte through 2012. McCumbee is basically a shoo-in for their second car anyway. Despite a near-miss at Talladega and a possible Rookie of the Year Award, Smith would be the other odd man out.

PE general manager Robbie Loomis denies that this deal is even likely, citing the team’s discussions with multiple other organizations. It doesn’t seem likely to merge two organizations of such different makeup anyway. Loomis said that one of the key factors in a potential merger is the growth of the Petty brand name, according to Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal.

But it would certainly shake up the sport in more ways than one. For two teams once held in such high regard to plummet this low is unprecedented. Obviously, Petty-Earnhardt merchandise would make a lot of extra coin for the teams, but given the nature of the collectible market as of late, the gimmick would probably go way too far. You’d probably see the superteam asking Robby Gordon and Roger Penske for the rights to the numbers 7 and 77, to play off of Richard’s and Dale’s seven championships apiece.

Even thinking about that promo makes me sick.

It’s sad that the sport has plummeted to this level. It’s sad that our economic issues have affected so many - from teams to sponsors to the fans themselves - in such a negative way. Worst of all, however, it’s sad that we may see at least one of the names of the aforementioned organizations be wiped from the history books of the future - especially if that team has been around since the dawn of NASCAR.

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson (Sprint Cup) and Benson (Truck Series) for their wins at Martinsville.

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Evernham Motorsports, Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Michael Waltrip Racing, NASCAR, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, Robert Yates Racing, Sprint Cup Series, The Pettys