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Live Blog: NASCAR Awards Banquet

Hosts: Charlie Turner, Steve Wronkowicz

December 5, 2008 8:00 pm CST

Quick Hits: Phoenix International Raceway

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.

November 5, 2008 10:39 pm CST 1 Comment

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NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series enters the second-to-last race of the season at Phoenix with many teams still unsure about their 2009 plans. In recent years, most teams have already set their lineups for the following season by this point. However, plenty of drivers are still searching for employment, and plenty of teams are still attempting to put together the right packages to allow them to go racing next year.

A good amount of the field still lacks sponsorship for 2009 and beyond, and even top-tier teams are feeling the crunch. Longtime stalwarts such as Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing are having problems inking long-term deals in a crumbling economy. Four cars between them next season is a possibility, despite the teams running seven this year. Even Hendrick Motorsports recently had a modest round of layoffs that sent Stevie Reeves, Jimmie Johnson’s spotter, packing.

At last count, 35 full-time Sprint Cup seats have been filled by drivers for next season (not including Max Papis’ limited schedule with Germain Racing). Of those 35, cars for David Reutimann, Aric Almirola, Reed Sorenson, Ryan Newman, Juan Montoya, Bobby Labonte, and Chad McCumbee have either partial sponsorship or none altogether. Assuming that two open seats with full sponsorship (the No. 21 at Wood Brothers Racing and the No. 41 at Chip Ganassi Racing) are filled, and assuming the worst in regards to all other unsettled teams, we could only see 36 full-time cars attempting the race at Daytona.

This week’s Quick Hits is, in effect, a premature analysis of cause of death for some cars that may not be around come February. Be prepared to say farewell to any of the following next year:

5. No. 28 or 38 Yates Racing Fords: Yates has full-time sponsorship for Paul Menard from his family’s hardware store chain for one car next season. While team owners Doug Yates and Max Jones have suggested that they will add a third car for Menard, rather than replace either Travis Kvapil or David Gilliland, the team cannot afford to patch together limited sponsorships as they have this year.

The two current drivers have combined to run eight races with blank cars, and the majority of the rest with very limited sponsorship. Had Ford not filled in some holes earlier this year, the team would have run 15 of 72 races unsponsored. With many of those companies probably not returning in 2009, the team may only have enough sponsorship for one of its current drivers next year.

4. No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota: With rumors of a buyout by Gillett Evernham Motorsports at a standstill, not much is known of the fate of this team. Bill Davis has entered this car in NASCAR competition since 1993, and whether Maxwell House, MBNA, or Caterpillar was on the car, it has never been unsponsored. Davis has had these issues with other cars before, but never with its mainstay Cup team.

Right now, the team’s best hope is that Toyota decides to move up its sponsorship from the Truck Series to this car, but that’s iffy at best. If the team puts Michael Annett in the car, they may attract sponsors based on his raw talent and potential, but the deals might be similar in nature to what Yates has been doing this year. Those life-support deals won’t be enough to sustain a team for too long.

3. No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota: This is a team in disarray under a relatively new owner partnership. The team has no alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota past this season, no bona fide driver (with Brad Coleman getting the shaft in most of the team’s recent deals), and less than a full season’s sponsorship from DLP HDTV.

Recent reports have had the team switching to Ford and partnering up with the Wood Brothers for 2009, reuniting the Woods with Ken Schrader, who currently drives the No. 96. The Woods claim that their sponsorship for 2009 is all set, meaning the two could collaborate on finding deals for the No. 96. Regardless, rest assured that without some sort of alliance, this team will not be around in 2009.

2. No. 77 Penske Racing Dodge: Rumors keep swirling that Sam Hornish Jr. is going to return to the IndyCar Series with Penske for 2009, possibly to replace Helio Castroneves, who is currently facing tax issues. Regardless of Penske’s potential need for its IRL team, however, the results haven’t been there. The best American open-wheel driver of this decade hasn’t been able to translate his skills to the heavier stock cars.

If Hornish stays, look for Mobil 1 to stay with him. Mobil has been a longtime Penske sponsor and had been looking to expand to a full-time primary for a couple years before Hornish’s arrival. If Hornish departs, however, they may replace Kodak on David Stremme’s No. 12 Dodge.

1. No. 01 and 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolets: No one can say they didn’t see this coming. The No. 01 has had minor partners at best all year, and the No. 15 has neither driver nor sponsor for 2009 with Menard’s departure. Regan Smith’s win (cough) at Talladega has drawn some interest, but most agree that Aric Almirola has more promise than Smith, and any sponsorship attracted would probably go there.

The team may be merging with Chip Ganassi Racing, which would afford Smith a shot at the No. 41, Almirola’s needs permitting. J.J. Yeley has also stated that $12 million in sponsorship would land him in one of those cars for next season, but given his underwhelming performance this year, it might be a longshot.

On a more positive note, however, congratulations to last week’s winners at Texas: Ron Hornaday, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards in the Truck, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup races, respectively.

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Dave Blaney, Germain Racing, Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, J J Yeley, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenny Shrader, Max Papis, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, Penske Racing, Reed Sorenson, Regan Smith, Robert Yates Racing, Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr, Sprint Cup Series, The Wood Brothers, brad coleman

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Quick Hits: Texas Motor Speedway

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

October 29, 2008 8:04 pm CDT 1 Comment

This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the third to last race in this year’s Chase for the Cup. By this point, all but the 12 Chase teams are in preparation mode for 2009, experimenting with new setups and personnel. Many drivers with limited Sprint Cup experience are attempting to make starts this weekend in preparation for next year, including Joey Logano, Bryan Clauson, and Brad Keselowski.

However, one of the most intriguing driver-team combinations attempting to make the race this weekend is Max Papis and Germain Racing. Papis, a former CART competitor who made two starts for Haas CNC Racing earlier this year, will drive a No. 13 GEICO Toyota for Germain in 18 Sprint Cup races next year, and possibly attempt up to 25 depending upon sponsorship. Papis will also attempt to qualify at Homestead, regardless of whether he makes the race this weekend or not.

This is the next natural step in Germain’s progression from a Truck Series-only team up to NASCAR’s top level. Formed in late 2004, the No. 30 truck has consistently been one of the series’ best, winning the championship in 2006 with Todd Bodine. The team added a second truck in 2005 and a Nationwide Series team in 2007, experiencing success with both.

Currently, Mike Wallace has that No. 7 Nationwide team 8th in series’ points. Bodine has the No. 30 in 3rd in the Truck Series, and Justin Marks has impressed in the No. 9 truck, winning a pole at Texas and finishing 8th at Daytona. Bodine also made one Nationwide start for the team in a second car this year, finishing 4th at Darlington. In other words, the brothers Germain - Bob, Stephen, and Richard - have managed to make all of their cars competitive, regardless of who’s in them or how often they compete.

With its expansion into Cup racing with Papis, Germain has picked the optimum time to move up the ladder. With many teams pressed for sponsorship in a difficult economic climate, the Sprint Cup field should be shrinking next year, making it much easier for a team that doesn’t plan on attempting all 36 races to make the most of its limited schedule.

Germain also has never expanded beyond its means to be competitive. While the 2005 season was a trying one for the second truck, much of that was based on Shige Hattori’s lack of stock-car experience. While Ted Musgrave only won one race in the No. 9 truck in 2006 and 2007, he also had 28 top-10s in 49 starts for the team and two top-10 finishes in points.

The team only moved up to the Nationwide Series after establishing a strong foundation with Bodine last year. In five races, the team had an average finish of 17.8 (negatively affected by a crash at Homestead that led to a 37th place finish) and led 15 laps at Gateway. They also waited to move up until finding the right driver (Wallace) and sponsor (GEICO), and the team has carved its niche in the series despite most of the wins and top finishes going to Cup “claim jumpers” running in both series.

Even with the recent trend of open-wheel flameouts, don’t expect Papis to disappear in the first year of his four-year contract with the team. Papis, unlike some of the other open-wheel drivers to give NASCAR a try recently, has been successful in many different forms of motorsport. He won a handful of CART races in the late 1990s with Team Rahal and has driven for Corvette Racing at Le Mans. He also won the 2002 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

Papis has also had his share of remarkable and memorable drives in other series. He nearly won the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona in a car that had been damaged by collisions. After unlapping himself in the final stint of the race, Papis pushed his car to the max, only losing by 64 seconds at a track in which fast laps can take nearly 2 minutes.

In other words, though we’ve all heard this before, Papis has the talent to succeed in a limited schedule with Germain. And unlike drivers like Villeneuve, Carpentier, Hornish, and Allmendinger, he has the team behind him to do it.

Before the green flag drops on this weekend’s festivites, here are this week’s Quick Hits:

5. A few interesting notes from Motorsports Authentics’ sell sheets for 2009 die-cast:

At Stewart-Haas Racing, Burger King is featured on the B-pillar of Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet. Also, DirecTV is featured on the B-pillar of Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet. It is no longer on the No. 07 Chevrolet of Casey Mears.

At Gillett Evernham Motorsports, McDonald’s has vacated its post on the lower quarter panel of Elliott Sadler’s No. 19 Dodge. Allstate is also gone from the lower quarter panel of Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge.

Finally, Scott Speed will run a No. 82 Red Bull Toyota next year, as opposed to a No. 84. No word on why the change occurred.

4. A recent rumor suggests that Wood Brothers Racing is looking around the garage for a new partner after JTG Daugherty Racing’s defection to Toyota for 2009. That partnership could come in the form of a deal with Hall of Fame Racing, which currently fields Toyotas for former Wood driver Ken Schrader. Hall of Fame would also bring a top-flight sponsorship, in the form of Texas Instruments, and a bona-fide driving talent in Brad Coleman to the partnership. Hall of Fame’s current deal with Joe Gibbs Racing expires after Homestead.

3. An interesting note: No Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender has finished in the top 10 all season. Sam Hornish Jr.’s 13th at the Coca-Cola 600 is the best finish for any contender. Aric Almirola’s 8th at Bristol does not apply, as he is not registered for the award. Regan Smith’s win at Talladega, had it been upheld, would have been the only top-10.

2. While Kyle Petty has been unable to lay down any serious Sprint Cup plans for next year, he may have a full time Rolex Sports Car Series deal in place for 2009. Petty will run the No. 45 Orbit Racing BMW Prototype at next year’s 24 Hours of Daytona, and potentially beyond. No word yet on if the Wells Fargo sponsorship currently tied to Petty in Sprint Cup would transfer with him, remain in NASCAR, or both.

1. Kodak is leaving the sport after a successful sponsorship campaign that spanned over two decades and produced three Daytona 500 wins. Drivers like Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton, and most recently Ryan Newman piloted the gold cars for Morgan-McClure Motorsports and Penske Racing from the late 1980s to this year. Kodak will also abandon its sponsorship programs in all other forms of motorsports, including those in the Rolex Sports Car Series and Indy Racing League.

Finally, congratulations to Newman for winning last weekend’s Truck Series race at Atlanta, and Carl Edwards for winning the Nationwide race in Memphis and Atlanta’s Sprint Cup event.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Carl Edwards, Casey Mears, Craftsman Truck Series, Elliott Sadler, Germain Racing, Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Haas CNC Racing, Jacques Villeneuve, Kasey Kahne, Kenny Shrader, Max Papis, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Regan Smith, Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, The Wood Brothers, brad coleman

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Quick Hits: Michigan International Speedway

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

August 13, 2008 4:50 pm CDT 2 Comments

Starting this week at Michigan International Speedway, I’ve decided to focus most of my writing energy on a weekly column for Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie, entitled “Quick Hits.” Think of this as an introduction to the column, and in a way, to me, Chris Leone, as a writer. (For those of you viewing this column on Bleacher Report, we still haven’t figured out how to fix the RSS feed, so everything displays under Charlie’s page.)

After examining some of my past work, I felt that I would greatly improve as a writer by moving to a set weekly format, instead of the normal sporadic posts I’ve contributed to this blog. With greater regularity in posts, you, the reader, will be able to find greater continuity in what I write on, as opposed to my past irregular posts on topics from Martin Truex Jr. to why NASCAR needs a stock car series exclusive to road courses. Ever since shifting my focus from Bleacher Report to this site, partially due to time constraints, I’ve been more and more irregular with my writing. The column format is designed to fix that.

The tentative plan for this column is to start with whatever’s on my mind related to either racing or racing journalism itself, followed by five “Quick Hits”: the top five stories of the week, briefly recapped, with a bit of analysis thrown in for good measure.

I’ve always been a fan of weekly columns, since the first time I picked up an issue of Sports Illustrated and read Rick Reilly’s “Life of Reilly.” I can’t remember what exactly was the first topic Rick mused on, but I remember immediately being drawn to it, like a moth to a floodlight in the nighttime. I read that column for years, from whenever I upgraded from my SI Kids subscription to when he left the magazine to join ESPN the Magazine. I still read his stuff there, and I like to think that ESPN’s massive pages give him a little more room to work his magic.

I think I’ve always been fascinated by back pages as well. I’ve always found the body doubles, hyperlinks, and funny road-related photos in Autoweek’s “But Wait, There’s More” section amusing. Occasionally there are even some great quotes from NASCAR’s finest.

To be sure, by posting this on a Wednesday or Thursday every week, the column might be like Fox’s “King of the Hill”: quality, but often on too early for most people to appreciate it, or maybe even cut off by other pieces that take priority over it. I kind of like that concept though. I don’t feel as much pressure to write excellently as I did when I first joined this site; I feel confident in my abilities.

Without further ado, this week’s five Quick Hits:

5. Congratulations to Brad Coleman, who will make his Sprint Cup debut for Hall of Fame Racing this weekend. The struggling No. 96 team sits 39th in points behind the underwhelming performance of J.J. Yeley, whose third place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the team’s only top-10 of the season.

4. Congratulations are also in order for A.J. Allmendinger, who put his No. 84 Team Red Bull Toyota in the top 35 in owners’ points for the first time, guaranteeing him a spot in this week’s race. After missing 19 races last season due to DNQ’s, and the first eight races this year after being temporarily replaced, Allmendinger scored his first top-10 of his career in the tire fiasco at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

3. After causing a horrible nine-car wreck last week at Watkins Glen International that sent Bobby Labonte to a hospital, Michael McDowell will sit out the next three races, being replaced in the No. 00 at Michael Waltrip Racing by Mike Skinner. Fellow Toyota operation Team Red Bull did something similar with Allmendinger earlier this season, putting Skinner in the car for five races, and his performance improved markedly. Let’s hope McDowell, who has said he may be in the market for a new team next season, lands on his feet.

2. Nationwide Series phenom Joey Logano makes his Sprint Cup debut at Richmond International Raceway in a few weeks, driving a Joe Gibbs Racing car rumored to be sponsored by Gatorade. Logano will also run an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway to satisfy NASCAR requirements to compete in next year’s Daytona 500. Of note: Gatorade is a Pepsi product, and JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart are sponsored by Coca-Cola. NOS Energy, which sponsors Kyle Busch, is now also a Coca-Cola product.

1. The Ryan Newman sweepstakes is over, with the 2008 Daytona 500 winner set to join Stewart-Haas Racing next season as driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet. Sponsorship still has not been secured.

Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners: Johnny Benson at Nashville Superspeedway, and Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch at The Glen.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte, Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, J J Yeley, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, New Hampshire International Speedway, Red Bull Racing, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, Tony Stewart, brad coleman