Brian Vickers Leads Half Wacky Qualifying at MIS
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.
August 16, 2008 11:03 am CDT 1 CommentIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Was there something strange going on at MIS on Friday?
Mystery Hill is one of those old road-side tourist attractions, that used to be much more common when I was a kid. It is still in operation not far from Michigan International Speedway, in the cottage country that surrounds the track.
I remember going there as a kid a few times. I’ll bet that Marc did too. The place is one big optical illusion. It’s wacky. Qualifying at Michigan was kind of goofy yesterday too. Mystery Hill effect, perhaps?
Brian Vickers sits on the pole. I watched his progress during his qualifying lap, on Speed TV’s graphic, which monitors the current qualifing effort as compared to the previous attempts. Vicker’s speed was pegged at #1 the entire run. The Red Bull Toyota was the fastest car of the day, at every point in his run. He dominated.
Vickers has been on the verge of this kind of thing. In fact Bram from Backstretch Motorsports called for this a few weeks back. The No. 83 being fast wasn’t so weird. But how about these other top ten qualifying runs?
Elliott Sadler - E Sad third quick. It’s been awhile.
Patrick Carpentier- Sixth fastest, so maybe Gillette-Evernham has something figured out. Or maybe it’s an illusion.
David Reutiman- Seventh on the grid. Probably used Mikey’s set-up from 2008. But what happen to Mikey hissownself? He disappeared.
Regan Smith - Eighth. It’s the hill, I’m tellin’ ya.
Scott Riggs - Hey, Ryan Newman’s press conference was Friday morning. We have pictures of Tony Stewart’s announcement, in fact. This tenth place run by Riggs, in Newman’s future car, is obviously all because of Tony Stewart’s involvement (spread that sarcasm mustard around, please).
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Denny Hamlin: NASCAR Fantasy Racing Stud at Pocono Raceway
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.
August 2, 2008 9:40 am CDT 1 Comment 
Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin sports Jimmy Johnson-like Loop Data stats for this week’s Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.
Whether that means he’ll win again is debatable, but the numbers are compelling. A NASCAR Loop Driver Rating of 100 or above is very strong. Three guys have numbers above 100 for Pocono this week. But Hamlin, with 130.4 is far and away the leader in that stat category.
In fact, Denny leads in seven of the Loop’s 16 Box Score stats. The others are Ave Mid Race Position - 2.6, Ave Position - 5.6, Ave Finish - 2.8, 75.9 percent Quality Passes, 92.6 percent of Laps in the Top 15 and 33. percent of all Laps Led.
In five career races at the Long Pond, PA track Hamlin has two wins, four top fives, five top tens and two poles. Spell Denny’s dominance with capital “D”s.
Can Kurt Busch or Tony Stewart Shake Off Early Struggles?
Second and third best in the Loop are Kurt Busch with 113.4 and Tony Stewart at 102.2 Driver Ratings. Kurt is the top Ave Points per Race gainer at 1094 in seven races. He also leads in Fastest Laps - 208, Laps in the Top 15 - 1074 and Laps Led with 343. He’s a two time winner with seven top fives and eight top tens.
Tony Stewart has one win, five top fives and 13 top tens at Pocono Raceway. He sports a series high 300 Quality Passes and a second best 1032 (78.8 percent) Laps in the Top 15.
Pocono could be the place for either of these guys to start a 2009 run. But I’m not confident. I think Stewart is too distracted. Kurt’s team, though they have a 2009 win, has not looked good most weeks this year.
There are three drivers with DR’s of 97 or better. Ryan Newman - 98.7, Brian Vickers - 97.9 and, who else, Jimmie Johnson - 97.3. Johnson, with two wins, four top fives and eight top tens looks strong again, especially coming off the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard win on the similar Indy track.
Newman has won at Pocono too and has five top fives and six top tens. But the winless Vickers. with four top fives is the Cup driver most likely to get his first ever win soon. Pocono Raceway is the perfect track for him and his Red Bull Toyota.
Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards all have 90 plus Loop Driver Ratings. Gordon is a four time Pocono winner. Martin has 19 top fives and 30 top tens. Edwards is a past winner and Kasey Kahne won here in June.
If this were an IQ test, you might flunk it if you didn’t pick Hamlin. My pick is Vickers. And my dark-horse is his Red Bull Racing Teammate, A J Allmendinger.
Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW
Scott Speed Will Be Sprint Cup Racing Soon
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.
July 30, 2008 7:18 pm CDT 5 Comments
Red Bull Racing development driver Scott Speed was our featured guest INSIDE ARCA Tuesday night. Scott is heading to Pocono Raceway this Saturday in his Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota Camry, with a two race ARCA RE/MAX Series win streak and a real shot to make it three in a row.
Speed is the first ARCA driver to win three races in 2008, having won early in the season at Kansas Speedway in addition to the last two at Kentucky Speedway and Berlin Raceway. The Red Bull driver is part of a very strong 2008 rookie contingent in ARCA’s top touring series. That group includes series point leader and Roush-Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
We’ve talked with Scott several times now. I really like the guy. He’s brash, confident and always seems to be enjoying himself. He does not embody the corporate NASCAR image. Very refreshing. But it’s obvious, in discussion, that he takes his racing career very seriously.
Steve asked him about his 2009 plans which, Scott said, look to include a full Craftsman Truck Series campaign and several Sprint Cup races. So I asked about the balance of this 2008 racing season.
Although he didn’t give any details, Scott did say that he is getting a lot of seat time in the Cup cars and that he was pretty sure he would get a few races in Sprint Cup before the 2008 season ends.
Don’t let the antics fool you. He’s going to be good at this. I can’t wait.
Photo credit: Bob Costanzo - ARCA
Could Juan Pablo Montoya Win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard?
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.
July 27, 2008 11:34 am CDT 2 Comments
Get this. Juan Pablo Montoya has an average start, mid-race position and finish of second at the Brickyard. At least he does in his lone NASCAR race there. Of course he’s won the Indy 500, in a former, open-wheeled life. So maybe we should give his single season NASCAR stats more credit they would seem to deserve.
Indy should be a good track for Montoya. Besides his history of success there, the track is flat and fast, traits that play into JPM’s fantastic car control. He could win this race, if the car and the team are up to it. And that, I doubt.
Tony Stewart, 2007’s Indy winner has the best Loop Stats for Indy. The Loop Data cover the last three Allstate 400s, only. Smoke has the top Driver Rating at 121.4 and has led 109 laps and has a stat best 76 Fastest Laps. But going back, beyond the three Loop stat years, Tony has two wins and four top fives, six top tens and a pole. His average finish is 7.6. He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields, maybe the best cars in Cup this year. He looks like a favorite.
Friday at Indy, Stewart-Haas Racing showed off the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet that Stewart himself will drive in 2009. Tony was excited. He also talked about all the things that the team has yet to do in preparation for Daytona in February. As good as he is, I just think that the distractions of his new venture cancel many of his apparent pluses for any race this year. I can’t pick Stewart to win.
The list of drivers I like at Indy is short. There is, I think, a reason that all but two of the winners of this race have been NASCAR Cup Series champs at some point in their careers. It takes a special driver to win the Brickyard. You don’t get the big, three wide packs of the plate tracks - and no “big one” wrecks that thin the field of quality contenders. You sometimes get flukey seeming winners at Daytona and Talladega. Not at Indy. Long green flag runs also separate the quality.
Kevin Harvick is one of only two Brickyard winners to have never been a Cup champ. His Ave Finish is 7.7. He’s run 432 Loop laps in the top fifteen - 90% and a stat best. Three top fives and five top tens go with a second best Ave Running Position of 8.1. Happy is the third best Driver Rated at 108.7. Harvick could win again.
Matt Kenseth could win his first. The #17 team has been coming on of late. Matt has the fourth best DR of 102.9 He’s good at Indy, with four top fives and five top tens. He runs up front as his Ave Running Position of 8.5 and 404 Laps in the top fifteen show.
Mark Martin has been telling anyone with a pen or microphone that he WILL win this weekend at the Brickyard. And he has a history at the track that shows he could pull it off. He suffers from the same weakness as Montoya though. Can his team measure up? If it can, Mark’s five top fives, nine top tens and fifth best Driver Rating of 102.9 says he has the stuff.
Beyond the Loop top five, the Hendrick threesome of Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr are contenders. So are 2008’s strongmen, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton and Brian Vickers could do it too.
But Matt Kenseth is my choice. He’s paid the dues and has the pedigree, to join the exclusive company of Brickyard 400 winners. If you have to go outside of the establishment, take Carl Edwards.
Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW
Attack of the Two-Headed Loose in Turn 3
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.
July 25, 2008 10:55 am CDT 3 Comments
It’s Brickyard 400 weekend so put your hype hats on. Be prepared to be blasted with the history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Having been there a few times, I will say that Indy has a different feel than most race tracks. And no place looks quite like Indy.
But if you wrote an unbiased history of what the NASCAR racing has been like at the famous track, it would be more like the story of Millard Filmore than that of Abe Lincoln. Not real compelling.
But we’ll be watching. And someone is bound to get Loose in Turn 3, and slide up into the short shute wall.
This week, veteran Looser, Bruce of NASCAR Bits, is on assignment. TZ of Do You NASCAR? has recruited, or kidnapped, loyal reader Roc to fill in for Bruce. Here is my query.
Tony Stewart, currently tenth in Sprint Cup points, is 49 markers ahead of 13th place Clint Bowyer. Four drivers, icluding Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne, within 49 points of each other with only three spots up for grabs. Who doesn’t make it to the Chase?
Charlie: Everyone talks about this being Stewart’s time of the year. In the past, it has been. It didn’t happen for him at Chicagoland, but
betting against Smoke is tough. Kasey Kahne is the only two-time 2008 winner in the bunch, so I can’t take him out. Too many good Kahne tracks left on the schedule. Hamlin and Bowyer must be drawing confidence from their Nationwide Series years. The unsettledness of Stewart’s year is the deciding influence. I say that Tony will miss the Chase.
TZ: Great timing for this question, because I just talked about this on my site a few days ago, and without a race taking place between then and now, I can’t really backtrack on my answer. Charlie, you talk about how there’s plenty of Kahne tracks left on the schedule, but the funny thing is that Stewart’s actually won a Cup race at every track left except for Talladega, and there he has one of the top driver averages. With the weight of controversy off his shoulders, Stewart’s in by a long
shot and even competes for the championship. Kahne, on the other hand, has proven to me that he’s a very streaky driver, and he’s lost a lot of steam the past couple of weeks. I also haven’t been too impressed with Hamlin as of late, who to me still lacks a lot of discipline behind the wheel. I say Kahne and Hamlin are both out of the Chase, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers are in.
Roc: Well I sure wouldn’t bet against any of these drivers for the Chase but Tony will be in. Hamlin is not having the perfect year but his teammate is, so they have the cars to beat and he’ll be in there as well. My choice for the third spot is a little harder. I do like TZ dreaming of Vickers, but I think that Bowyer will also make the Chase. Kahne has had a good year but he always seems to find the bad
luck bug. Still think Stewart maybe one of the two or three drivers to beat for the championship. Tony has had a weight lifted off of his shoulders and with the Brickyard this weekend and the anouncement of his second driver maybe on friday I look for him to charge.
That’s what we think. What do you think?
And go over to TZ’s place tell us what you think about this…
NASCAR recently placed restrictions on the engines in the Nationwide Series, limiting the airflow, and therefore putting a restriction on the horesepower. Should we expect to see similar measures be implimented into the Sprint Cup Series, and if so, when?
Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW
Who is NASCAR’s Monster of the Midway?
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.
July 12, 2008 7:22 am CDT 1 Comment
NASCAR’s Loop data for Chicagoland Speedway pulls stats from only the three most recent races run at the midwest cookie cutter, er, intermediate track. There have been seven races held at the facility.
Twelve drivers have Loop Driver Ratings above 90.00. Seven have ratings of 102.3 or higher. Those are big numbers.
Matt Kenseth leads with 126.2 and an average of 462 points gained per race. Matt has category leading stats of 146 Fastest Lap, an amazing 792 Laps in the Top Fifteen (98.5% of all laps in three races) an Ave Position of 3.9 and 289 Laps Led - 35.9% of the total. Kenseth is looking good to continue his recent resurgence.
Second best is Kevin Harvick at 114.6 DR. Kevin is a two time winner at Chicagoland Speedway but leads only in the Quality Passes Loop stat with 75.0.
Another two time winner, new Sprint Cup team owner, Tony Stewart, is next at 112.2. Can Smoke keep focused on the current year as he plans for 2009 and Stewart-Haas Racing’s debut? This is where Stewart started his 2007 summer hot streak. Why not again?
The next four in the Loop are Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Only Earnhardt has won at Chicagoland.. Brian Vickers has an Ave Start of 3.5 and Kyle Busch an Ave Mid Race Position of 3.0. Jimmy Johnson is, well, Jimmy Johnson.
This has not been a particularly good track for 2008 stallwarts of Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne or Clint Bowyer. But Jeff Gordon has a win on the track and a twelfth best Loop Rating.
I would pick Stewart if not for the all the distractions of the week. I’m looking at Kenseth to win for the first time in 2008. The upset special is, if you can ever call him an upset, Jeff Gordon.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Earnhardt Jr Gets Lucky at MIS
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.
June 16, 2008 9:33 am CDT 1 Comment
There are, according to Google, twenty permanent casinos in the state of Michigan. For dice rollin’, all-in plays, they had nothing on Michigan International Speedway on Fathers Day.
The #88 team of Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Eury Jr did their seniors proud, parlaying a gutsy fuel strategy into Junior’s first win for Rick Hendrick and the National Guard car. It was - needless to say - a very popular win with the majority of the MIS crowd.
Rock star Bob Seger - another of Michigan’s favorite sons - has a song that seems to fit Dale Jr this morning.
Got to keep movin’, never gonna slow down
You can have your funky world, see you ’round
Cause I got to ramble (Ramblin’ man)
I got to gamble (gamblin’ man)
I got to ramble (ramblin’ man)
Lord I’m a ramblin’, gamblin’ man
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Winning Solves Everything for Kahne at Pocono
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.
June 9, 2008 11:00 pm CDT 4 CommentsKasey Kahne had the field covered at Pocono on Sunday.
Kahne beat Brian Vickers and perennial Pocono winner Denny Hamlin to the finish line for his second win in three weeks. After a race that found many of NASCAR’s elite complaining about everything at Pocono except trees, Kahne looked refreshed when he stepped out of his Budweiser Dodge.
Kahne had to battle back from 36th place after a botched pit stop forced him to return to pit lane to complete a four tire stop. Originally crew chief Kenny Francis called off a four tire stop to just take two, but not everyone got the message and lugnuts had already been removed from the drivers side of the race car when Kahne sped away. Francis explained it this way:
I got us in a pretty big hole there at the beginning of the race, just tried to take two tires, called off a four tire stop and called a two tire stop, and I thought I saw the tire changer out of the corner of my eye and didn’t realize he had hit some lugnuts already in the front, and got us all the way in the back, 36 or something. And Kasey did a great job driving it back up through the field.
Numerous drivers took pot shots at the racetrack over the week, complaining about the quality of the racing surface, the length of the race itself and the heat. Which leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:
What should NASCAR do about the races at Pocono?
Let us know what you think about the buzz and we may use your reply on this week’s show. Check out ON PIT ROW at www.onpitrow.com tuesday at 5pm ET, followed by INSIDE ARCA.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Pocono Might Be Another Denny Hamlin Show
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.
June 6, 2008 9:50 pm CDT No Comments
When Kyle Busch looks in the mirror these days, he may see Jeff Gordon staring back at him. I guess that wouldn’t be so bad if he saw Ingrid standing behind him too. Sorry Shrub. Don’t get you hopes up.
The mirror image comes from the similar ways the two NASCAR stars have dominated the Cup Series - Gordon in 2007 and Busch this season - the last two years.
After 13 races in 2007, Gordon had won three. Kyle has four wins so far this year. Gordon led second place Jimmy Johnson by 152 points while Busch has a 142 point advantage on Jeff Burton.
In the all important - at least to the NASCAR stat geeks - Loop Driver Rating, Gordon had a DR of 111.4 including five straight races of at least 120.0. Currently, Kyle Busch has a DR of 115.2 with four consecutive, single race DR’s of 120.0 or better.
Gordon won the Pocono 500 in 2007. His Driver Rating at Pocono Raceway going into the 500 is fifth best at 97.5. He is a four-time winner at Pocono and has a career Ave Finish of 10.2. Kyle Busch has a Driver Rating of 87.0 - 12th best - for the PA track and an Ave Finish of 16.7. Are you inspired yet?
Maybe we are looking at the wrong Busch. Brother Kurt has a DR of 116.6 and series best stats of 241 Green Flag Passes, 207 Fastest Laps, 343 Laps Led and 952 Ave Points Gained. But the two-time Pocono winner would be hard to pick, given his 2008 performances so far.
The Loop Stat stud of the week is Kyle’s teammate Denny Hamlin. In his four career Pocono appearances Denny has finished top five three times and won twice. His Ave Start - 2.5, Ave Mid-Race - 3.0, Ave Position - 4.6 and Ave Finish - 2.8 are all category leading. His Driver Rating is a stunning 133.1. Unlike Kurt Busch, Hamlin is having a very good 2008. He looks like the logical choice this weekend.
Smoke and Mirrors
Hamlin’s other teammate - Tony Stewart- has Pocono’s third best Driver Rating. 2008 has been somewhat a disappointment for Stewart fans. He remains win-less for ‘08, often falling victim to race incidents that aren’t his fault. His scathing, back-handed slap at Elliott Sadler after the Dover big one was funny. The result, not so much. I wonder if the distractions of silly season are hurting Stewart’s on-track performance. But after watching him do everything but take tickets at his Prelude to the Dream exhibition race at Eldora Speedway this week - and then win the feature race going away - I would say he no problem with focus during a race. Smoke is a past winner at Pocono and has a couple of category leading stats too. If the karma from Eldora carries over this could be the week that starts his annual summer streak.
Ryan Newman is the only other driver with a DR over 100 - 101.9 to be exact. Newman has run more laps in the top fifteen than anyone else at the Green two and a half mile with 931. That team has been frustratingly inconsistent since Daytona. I have a hard time pulling the Rocketman’s trigger.
Jimmy Johnson swept both Pennsylvania races in 2004. He has seven top tens and no DNF’s in his carreer here. Driver Rating of 93.8 is ninth best behind Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and my dark-horse pick, Brian Vickers.
Vickers’ DR of 97.0 is sixth best, he’s run 810 laps in the top 15 over the last six races and led 140 of them. The Toyota horsepower should be an advantage on the three long Pocono straights. Brian could win here.
But I’ve got to take Denny Hamlin. Same Toyota motor, much better track record. Mark it down.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, inc.
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