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Truck Series Gang Mentality

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

November 13, 2008 2:10 am UTC 3 Comments

Sometimes, I can’t tell if the Ford 200 is a race or a fight. An active tradition for the last several years in the Trucks has been for championship teams to double their efforts. The trend has had some high points and very low points, and it looks to continue Friday night as the razor-thin margin between Ron Hornaday and Johnny Benson will make for some intense racing.

Three years really set the trend for this action: 2002, 2003, and 2007.

In 2002, Mike Bliss ended up winning the championship over Rick Crawford and Ted Musgrave by 46 and 51 points respectively. In that race, it was Ron Hornaday driving a second IWX truck and taking the win, thus taking possible points away from Crawford and Musgrave. Bliss finished a comfortable 5th and won the title.

2003 set the bar from gang mentality, as each championship team (with the exception of Dennis Setzer and Morgan-Dollar) entered at least 1 extra truck in the race, with Jim Smith and Ultra Motorsports throwing 5 – count ‘em, 5 – trucks in the race, and sure enough one of them played a huge part in the outcome of the championship battle. Smith had entered his 2 full-time trucks with Ted Musgrave and Andy Houston behind the wheel, along with hired guns Marty Houston (Andy’s brother), Tracy Hines, and P.J. Jones. Marty took out championship leader Brendan Gaughan in the race, creating championship chaos that allowed Travis Kvapil to win the 2003 title over Setzer and Musgrave.

Last year, Bill Davis and Kevin Harvick participated in the fight, and what Harvick lacked in trucks he made up for by piloting the second truck himself. Davis entered his championship contender Skinner, Johnny Benson, Jacques Villeneuve, and Cup driver Dave Blaney in the field. Skinner of course finished 35th and allowed Hornaday to secure the title.

Adding the trucks in the finale could prove to be a smart decision, like it was in 2002. It could take out a championship contender by hiring a crappy driver, like 2003. Or, it could be a non-factor, like it was last season. Harvick is driving the #2 truck again this weekend and Davis has entered ’09 driver Taylor Malsam in an extra truck to go along Skinner, Brian Scott, and Scott Speed to flank Benson. Will it be a factor? We’ll find out Friday. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if the Phoenix race turned out to be the PG version of the battle.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Craftsman Truck Series, Dave Blaney, Jacques Villeneuve, Kevin Harvick, NASCAR, Scott Speed

Tagged with: andy houston, Bill Davis Racing, brendan gaughan, brian scott, Craftsman Truck Series, dennis setzer, Ford 200, Homestead, Homestead-Miami Speedway, jim smith, Johnny Benson, marty houston, Mike Bliss, p.j. jones, Phoenix International Raceway, rick crawford, ron hornaday, Scott Speed, taylor malsam, ted musgrave, tracy hines, trucks, ultra motorsports

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Quick Hits: Texas 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.

October 29, 2008 8:04 pm UTC 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, Brad Coleman, Carl Edwards, Casey Mears, Craftsman Truck Series, Elliott Sadler, Germain Racing, Gillett 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

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A Road Course-Only Series: A Viable Option For NASCAR?

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

August 5, 2008 7:58 pm UTC 12 Comments

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen, August 2007

Based on the continued success of the Nationwide Series in Mexico City and Montreal, as well as the continued success of road-course ringers in those races year after year, I think it’s time that NASCAR looks into a major road course-only stock car series.

As the sanctioning body attempts to assert a global presence, with its expansion into Mexico and Canada and its ever-growing base of foreign drivers, I feel that adding a series for the road course ringers would only serve to broaden NASCAR’s fan base around the world.

Certainly, the American economy isn’t in the greatest shape right now, with many sponsors looking to cut back on investments. Neither are the sport’s top three series, with all three struggling to fill fields on many weekends. Not only that, a lot of open-wheel and sports-car specialists who have attempted to break into stock car racing haven’t succeeded – partially due to lack of sponsorship, partially due to limited adaptability to ovals.

But with the proven talents of many road course ringers in stock cars, finding sponsorship for a 15-race road course-only series would be easier than for the entire 36-race Sprint Cup schedule. The return on the investment, in the form of great racing, would almost be guaranteed. It’d certainly be an interesting series to watch.

Imagine guys like Ron Fellows, Boris Said, Jacques Villeneuve, and Max Papis battling in stock cars for a full season. Imagine a series where the “ringers” were Sprint Cup drivers like Jimmie Johnson or Ryan Newman looking to gain extra track time, as both of them are this weekend. Imagine how much it could’ve done for a guy like Dario Franchitti to spend a season in stock cars on tracks he’s familiar with.

Occasionally, guys in other NASCAR series with road course experience like Marcos Ambrose and Colin Braun might show up on the companion weekends. You could even see some guys from the Canadian Tire Series, such as 5-time champion Don Thomson Jr., last year’s champion Andrew Ranger, and current series leader Scott Steckly show up, perhaps moving up the ladder to one of NASCAR’s top three series.

While the car count would likely be in the 20s, a number considered small by NASCAR’s standards, it fits perfectly with the expectations for other road course reliant series, from the IRL to Formula One to the respective classes (LMP1, GT1, etc.) of the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am. Even the Canadian Tire Series, newly sanctioned by NASCAR, doesn’t regularly draw more than 20-odd starters. The series would fit those comparisons much better than, say, a comparison with the Nationwide Series and its 43-car fields and 35-race season.

Besides companion races with the Sprint Cup Series in Sonoma and Watkins Glen, and with the Nationwide Series in Montreal, the series could team up with the IndyCars in St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Toronto, Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, and Detroit. Heck, maybe they could even re-open the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the MotoGP bikes head to America. The series could go to Mexico as well, even without the Nationwide guys alongside them, and maybe even run at Daytona as a support race to the Rolex 24-hour event. That’s twelve races right there.

Sure, I understand that this is just a pipe dream, but it doesn’t make it any less enticing in my mind. I know I’d drive up to Montreal to watch the series. I’m sure a lot of other stock car fans would also enjoy the series, even if they considered it a novelty act. Maybe it’d even go a long way towards proving to Europe that stock car racing is one of the greatest forms of the sport in the world.

Regardless of the potential effects of the series, though, it’d just be cool to watch some more stock car races in the rain. That was really fun to watch.

Phot credit: Icon Sports Media , Inc.

Filed under: Formula One, Indy Cars, Jacques Villeneuve, Jimmy Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR, road course ringers, Ryan Newman

Tagged with: NASCAR, Nationwide Series

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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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Kenny Schrader puts BAM Racing Toyota on Fourth Row at The Clip

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.

March 29, 2008 11:23 am UTC 4 Comments

It was a swift turn around of fortunes for the #49 team over the Easter break.

From not making races in Gillett Evernham Motorsports engined Dodges to qualifying on the fourth row at Martinsville in a Bill Davis Racing engined Toyota, Ken Schrader must believe his Sprint Cup fortunes may have made a turn for the better. Schrader must be considered the oddity in the top ten at the paper clip known as Martinsville. He joins pole sitter Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray and Kasey Kahne in the top seven. Gordon is no kid at 36, but not really considered a gray beard either.

Dismissing Gordon; at 52 years of age Schrader is over twice as old as the rest of the top 8, who’s average ages are just over 25. Kyle Busch rounds out the top eight qualifiers and must make Schrader feel like a chaperone on a third grade field trip to the zoo.

“The car was good all day and we were good here last year too. I’m just excited about the Toyota deal and working with Bill Davis some. I’ve always been a big fan of Bill Davis and Dave Blaney. New name on the car with Microsoft Small Business and a new manufacturer — we’re still one of those hooligans who doesn’t have their truck in here (infield), but we’ll pull it in tonight.”

Bill Davis Racing has to be happy to have a second car in the field as well. It’s well documented that the car they counted on to be thatr second car; to be driven by Jacques Villenuve, never materialized. This working agreement (don’t call it a merger–yet) with BAM could be just what the doctor ordered for two struggling teams. Rarely does the coming together of two down and out entities make for a full and rapid recovery to dominance. Just look to the corporate world and the merger of Kmart Corp and Sears. Putting those two together has not really set the world afire. The other good news is that there is finally sponsorship dollars to go into the Toyotas. BAM has signed Microsoft Small Business to foot the bill for the remainder of 2008.

In this instance though, at least for one week, BAM and Kenny Schrader can hold their heads high as they have cracked the kiddy corp and will start the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 up front with the fast guys. Where he will finish is another story. Many times these feel good stories have very short chapters. They’re easy to read, but end quickly.

I hope not. Kenny is one of the greatest guys in the sport.

photo credit: from Microsoft SMB Community Blog

Filed under: Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Jacques Villeneuve, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kenny Shrader, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Aric Almirola, BAM, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kenny Schrader, Martinsville Speedway

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Jacques Villeneuve sighting

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

February 27, 2008 11:20 pm UTC 12 Comments

Hey Villeneuve fans. Maybe Jacques had a reason for crashing out of the second Gatorade Dual 150 back on February 14. Here’s a pic of that ol’ stock car driver, Jacques and the Peugeot Lemans Prototype Team in Paris on the 15th.