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J.C. McKinney on Dave Marcis vs Terry Labonte: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Match Up
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C5Speed on Would You Rather be NASCAR Driver Kyle Busch or Dale Earnhardt Jr?
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Jack Ingram vs Ned Jarrett: 64 Greatest NASCAR Drivers Round 2

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

April 8, 2009 2:23 pm UTC 9 Comments

One of the most dominant drivers ever to run the Busch Series gets a crack at a second round bracket match with a 50 race, two-time Cup champ in the Bench Racing NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Jack Ingram won three consecutive Grand National Division championships (’72-’74). He then won two more in ’82 and ’85. His 31 Busch Series wins were the most ever until Mark Martin passed him in ’97. 29 of his 31 wins were on short tracks. Ingram is also one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

Ned Jarrett is better known to most fans today as the father of Dale Jarrett and one of NASCAR’s best announcers. But “Gentleman Ned” won two Sprint Cup Championships in the sixties and had 50 wins – tied for tenth all-time – in 352 career starts. Jarrett won an amazing 28 races during the ’64 and ’65 seasons. He actually won the Southern 500 by 14 laps, the largest victory margin in NASCAR history.

Jarrett edged Cotton Owens in the first round and Ingram won over Buddy Baker in a close one. This is Two Cup championships against five Busch titles. Please leave us your comments.

Filed under: Busch Series, Mark Martin, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, Nationwide Series

Tagged with: Busch Series, Grand National, Jack Ingram, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Ned Jarrett, Southern 500

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Quick Hits: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 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.

September 9, 2008 11:48 pm UTC 3 Comments

As NASCAR opens the 2008 Chase to the Sprint Cup, the Sprint Cup Series travels to Loudon, New Hampshire to visit my home track. I’ve gone to the races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since I was a child, from CART events to AMA races to NASCAR’s regional touring series to the Cup Series, and I haven’t missed a Cup race at Loudon since September 2000. It’s been a long, strange trip, from the restrictor plate race in 2000, to the Thanksgiving race in November 2001, to this year’s July race that saw an unexpected top three of Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, and the since-fired J.J. Yeley.

To put it lightly, the one thing that makes Loudon interesting is that one must expect the unexpected. Think about it – Jeff Burton once led all 300 laps of a race at this track. In 1999, Joe Nemechek won his first career race after leading the final 71 laps; in 2002, Ward Burton won his last after leading the final 10. Patrick Carpentier won his first career pole in July, beating out drivers like Scott Riggs and Dario Franchitti (in his final career Sprint Cup start to date).

That penchant for the unexpected, however, has also ended in tragedy. It was in Loudon in May 2000 that NASCAR lost its first fourth-generation driver, Adam Petty, to a massive accident in a Busch Series practice session.

It was one of two losses for the Petty family that year, as patriarch Lee would pass away as well, but Adam’s loss sent even more shockwaves through the sport. Adam was a 19-year-old future superstar, the key to the restoration of Petty Enterprises to the sport’s elite. Adam was going to be one of NASCAR’s most popular drivers, contending with guys like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth for titles for years to come.

That all changed with a stuck accelerator and a devastating impact. A devastating impact indeed, not only for the car and driver themselves, but for the team especially; is it at all surprising that Petty cars have not won a race since Adam died? That Bobby Labonte‘s 18th in points last year is the team’s best overall finish since? That Kyle Petty has never been the same behind the wheel, often electing to hand over the car to other drivers, especially when the series comes north? (For the record, Petty development driver Chad McCumbee will be in the No. 45 car this weekend.)

Not only that, it deprived the fans of another driver destined for greatness. Imagine what NASCAR could’ve done with a Petty-Earnhardt chase battle. Imagine seeing that No. 45 visit Victory Lane – with sponsorship from Sprint itself, no less! – and seeing three generations of Petty pose together, Richard with his hat and sunglasses, Kyle with his ponytail, Adam in his Sprint firesuit, all smiling as they would have celebrated the return of the family operation to the top of the Cup series.

Imagine Adam breaking ground on the Victory Junction Gang Camp himself, instead of having the ground broken in his honor.

Imagine Adam bringing an eighth Cup championship to the team shop in Randleman, NC. Maybe a ninth, a tenth, an eleventh… all brought to a screeching halt by one stuck accelerator.

As we remember one driver whose life and career ended much too soon, here are this week’s five Quick Hits:

5. With Patrick Carpentier searching for a ride for the 2009 season, rumors abound that he will become the next driver of the famed No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers. “I haven’t talked to anyone and I don’t plan on talking to anyone until I get my cars working better, but I do like Patrick,” said Eddie Wood. The Woods have missed eight races thus far this season, including the season-opening Daytona 500. Kurt Busch required the champion’s provisional to race, bumping Bill Elliott from the field. Elliott will retire after this season, and Jon Wood has not run a full schedule in any of NASCAR’s top three series since 2006.

4. Tensions between Chip Ganassi Racing and the departing Reed Sorenson are high, with the driver reportedly considering leaving the team early this season. Potential replacements for the balance of the schedule, if the young driver bolts, include Sterling Marlin, Jeremy Mayfield, or development driver Bryan Clauson.

3. Team Red Bull will test former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed in the No. 82 Toyota at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend, in preparation for a Cup series debut in the near future. Word is that Red Bull is high on Speed, and wants him to drive for the company full-time next season, but is not too keen on funding three cars. With A.J. Allmendinger‘s contract up after this season, TRB’s future is somewhat up in the air at this point.

2. With qualifying rained out at Richmond last week, Joey Logano was unable to make his Sprint Cup debut for Joe Gibbs Racing. Instead, that will come this week at Loudon, in the No. 02 Home Depot Toyota he was scheduled to drive last week. Logano was previously scheduled to drive for Hall of Fame Racing this week, but JGR wanted Logano in a Home Depot car for his first career Cup series start. Ken Schrader will instead wheel HOF’s No. 96 Toyota.

1. Gillett Evernham Motorsports has sued Robby Gordon for a breach of contract related to the two parties’ potential merger, claiming that Gordon violated an exclusivity clause in discussing merger options with other teams. This accusation comes as Gordon gets acquainted with a new crew chief, Kirk Almquist, who comes to the team from… oddly enough, Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners: Ron Hornaday in the Craftsman Trucks at Gateway, and Carl Edwards in the Nationwide Series and Jimmie Johnson in Sprint Cup at Richmond.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Busch Series, Chase for the Cup, Chip Ganassi Racing, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kenny Shrader, Lowes Motor Speedway, NASCAR, New Hampshire International Speedway, Red Bull Racing, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series, The Pettys, The Wood Brothers

Tagged with: Adam Petty, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Petty Enterprises

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Kyle Busch is the Best Road Racer in NASCAR

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Over ten years on the air and three on the net; see what can happen when I don't let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

August 14, 2008 7:02 am UTC 1 Comment

Like the driver himself, the headline may cause NASCAR fans to scream foul.

Facts can be made to say about anything that you want them to. They can be twisted, manipulated and stretched in any number of ways to get a point across. It is tough to argue that anyone is better than Rowdy at road racing in NASCAR at this point in time.

No one in NASCAR history has won three road races in a single season until The Shrub did it in 2008. Winning both Cup races at Infineon and Watkins Glen along with the Nationwide race in Mexico City moves him to the head of the list.

ON PIT ROW, the radio show, every week asks four “Fast Lap” questions that are worded in such a way as to spur debate. One of this week’s Fast lap questions asked if Kyle Busch is the best road racer ever. NASCAR has been running road races as long as there has been NASCAR, and no one has been able to win more than two in a season.

Two names have been brought up as better road racers than Kyle. One is Dan Gurney. Gurney was one helluva road racer, no doubt about it, but I don’t consider him a NASCAR driver. He was the epitome of a road course ringer in NASCAR’s youth. Gurney posted 5 wins on road courses in his NASCAR “career”; but again he was never a full timer and four of those came at one race track–Riverside. Considering the road course stops on the circuits today, Riverside seems more like Pocono than a true road course.

Jeff Gordon has nine wins on the lefts and rights. A pretty remarkable number until you consider the level of competition that he raced against to gain many of those wins. Gordon began winning road course races when only ten or fifteen percent of the field could possibly win one. The first attempts for the NASCAR elite to run at The Glen and later at Infineon was a scene out of a Buster Keaton movie. Gordon was able to pile up wins while the rest of the field was using the two road courses as ‘throw aways”. Who can forget the scenes of top notch drivers doing more driving in the dirt than on the course?

The level of competition is higher. The race tracks are tougher and in my mind, no one in NASCAR history has done it better than Kyle Busch. Busch’s sponsor M&M/Mars has put together a promotion to find the most colorful fan in NASCAR. Check it out at http://tsc.nascar.com/mmsracing/
it is some fun–much like watching their driver has become.

Kyle is turning heads on the race track and turning detractors into fans. Love him or hate him, the boy has talent and some flair for the dramatic.

Photo credits:BethAnne Heisler/ON PIT ROW
Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Busch Series, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, NASCAR Bidness, Nascar Legends, Nationwide Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Pocono Raceway, road course ringers, The Busch Bros, The Fast Lap

Tagged with: Dan Gurney, Infineon Raceway, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, Watkins Glen

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5 Drivers to Watch in Montreal

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

July 31, 2008 2:12 pm UTC 4 Comments

When the Nationwide Series makes its second stop to Montreal this Saturday, the star power from last year’s race will be missing. Defending winner Robby Gordon won’t be there, and neither will the driver that got the trophy and the points, Kevin Harvick. Still, the second visit promises to have no shortages of contenders and storylines. In particular I’m focusing on three Canadians, an Australian, and a Kansas boy I profiled last week.

Patrick Carpentier – PC, my favorite Sprint Cup rookie this season, is skipping the race in Pocono this weekend in order to try and win the race in Montreal. Carpentier is from Quebec, and was thisclose last year in his first NASCAR race at any level. I think he has a great shot to win, and would love to see him do so. In his first run with the #9 team in Mexico City this year he finished 5th.

Ron Fellows – Fellows is the ageless wonder of NASCAR road racing but his game appears as good as ever. He owns multiple wins at Watkins Glen, where the series will be next week, and has a strong car under him this week as he wheels the #5 JR Motorsports Chevy. Fellows ran competitively last year driving for KHI, and will most likely do so again Saturday.

Jacques Villeneuve – Villeneuve is one of the wildcards in the field this weekend. He didn’t compete last year as he was focused on Sprint Cup. Villeneuve’s car this weekend – the #32 Braun Toyota – is no slouch, as it currently sits 15th in the owners standings and has been driven by Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, among others. Even more personal, the Montreal track is named after his father, the late Gilles Villeneuve. Jacques didn’t win here in F1, but would no doubt love to do so this weekend.

Marcos Ambrose – “Kangaroo Meat” has received the bulk of attention with the series returning to Montreal. Ambrose dominated the race last year and most likely would have won, if he hadn’t spun Robby Gordon out under caution and received his payback on the restart. Ambrose hasn’t run as well as he did last year, but this race could very well turn that around. Yes, I’m faulting Ambrose for his own actions in regards to Gordon last year.

Clint Bowyer – A year ago, it was his RCR teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton making the journey to Montreal to compete in this race while Bowyer staying in Pocono. This season the roles are reversed and it could present an interesting challenge to the Emporia, Kansas native in his quest to win the Nationwide Series championship. He will be a rookie at this track and perhaps even more risky, will turn his first laps on the track when he receives the green flag. If he escapes with a top 15, he should feel very, very lucky.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Busch Series, Clint Boyer, Formula One, Jacques Villeneuve, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Pocono Raceway, Robby Gordon

Tagged with: Clint Bowyer, gilles villeneuve, Jacques Villeneuve, Marcos Ambrose, mexico city, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, patrick carpentier, Pocono, racing, Robby Gordon, ron fellows

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Does Anyone Care Clint Bowyer’s Going To Win The Nationwide Title?

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

July 22, 2008 12:44 pm UTC 13 Comments

NASCAR’s number two series has undergone a pretty successful transition to new series sponsor Nationwide. Those B-word mentions are infrequent, but the championship points leader has been mentioned almost as infrequent. Clint Bowyer leads the standings, and has done so for most of the year.

I’ll admit my own fault in this, I’ve been more than happy to talk about the Joe Gibbs dominance and anxiously waiting for David Ragan to finally win a race, but Bowyer’s year has been championship caliber. He has 11 straight top 10s and only three finishes outside of the top 10 – and hasn’t finished worse than 25th. That, my friends, is impressive. What may be giving most everyone trouble is that Bowyer’s year has been low-key, matching his personality. He has no pole positions and just one win, which came at Bristol. Yet his 18 top 10 finishes blow everyone else out of the water, as Keselowski and Ragan are next behind him with 13. His year reminds me of Matt Kenseth’s 2003 championship year. He goes about his business, records top 10 finishes, and doesn’t beat himself. Look at the results during this 11-race stretch: 9th, 2nd, 6th, 9th, 4th. 9th, 3rd, 9th, 4th, 7th, 8th. Kenseth would go multiple races inside the top 10, and in his early season stretch in ’03 – from Daytona through Michigan – he finished outside of the top 10 twice. Bowyer’s year has been the same way, and also similar to Kenseth – it hasn’t been covered.

Bowyer’s lead in the standings has been bouncing between 150 and 200 points. Currently, Keselowski sits in 2nd place 170 markers out while Carl Edwards takes 3rd, 201 back. In the final 14 races of the year, this one’s going to be won by one of those three. Edwards seems to have regained his form after coasting the rest of the ’07 year and getting off to a sluggish start in ’08, recording two wins under new crew chief Drew Blickensdurfer since the change was made five races ago. Keselowski has been no slouch, he has nine consecutive top 10s and hasn’t finished worse than 15th since Talladega. He also recorded his first career win at Nashville.

Bowyer might not win the Nationwide title this year, but I hope if he doesn’t, his performance through the first 21 races doesn’t become just a footnote. If he does win the title, it will be because of those finishes earlier in the year no one noticed.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Busch Series, Clint Boyer, David Ragan, Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Roush Racing

Tagged with: Brad Keselowksi, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, racing, rcr

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Joe Gibbs Racing On Pace To Set Nationwide Records

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

July 7, 2008 9:52 am UTC 2 Comments

The two cars ran from the Joe Gibbs Racing shop could very well be headed towards history in the Nationwide Series. Taking a look at the stats following this week at Daytona, the level of domination has been nothing short of incredible. Consider that through 19 races in the season, the two cars from Gibbs, the #’s 18 and 20, have a total of 12 wins, 18 top 5s, and 20 top 10s. I’ve been trying to rack my brain and remember how many races one team has won in a season. Last season, RCR drivers Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer teamed up for 13. I know Roush has broken double digits as well. Personally, I’m more impressed with the Gibbs performance, because it has been done fielding one team full-time and one team part-time. Roush has put a mind-numbing 7 in the field in the past, and RCR used three last year.A lot of drivers and owners have been complaining that the Toyotas are much better than the Fords, Chevys, and Dodges, especially in this series. That’s possible, but I think it’s the result also of four supremely talented drivers – Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Joey Logano – in good equipment. On the Cup side, Busch has won 6 times, Hamlin once, and Stewart has had multiple races slip from him. I enjoy seeing records broken, and I’m anxious to see what these guys can do throughout the rest of the year.Doing my best Bill Weber impression, I’ve done the research… so enjoy: