NASCAR’s Scatter Gun Finally Hit Something

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

August 10, 2010 9:41 am UTC No Comments

Juan Pablo Montoya won the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. And the crowd clapped politely. I almost expected to hear “Bravo!”, or maybe “Ole’”.

There weren’t too many “You ‘da MAN!” shouts, I’m guessing.

After all, it isn’t like Smoke, The Shrub, Cousin Carl…or Junior won the thing. That’s what the (NASCAR)-Nation wants. Right?

Probably, yes. Those same folks who hate the Chase and want all of their Cup drivers to come through “The Development Series”. And not be a girl or a guy who paints his toes. Or a foreigner.

But there were cheers, or bravos or ole’s, from new fans. Non traditional ones. The type of fans that NASCAR has been casting for as it attempts to farm a new – and new age – base.

The targets have been many. NASCAR’s shot gun has fired at flocks of IndyCar stars, a trio of ex-F1 guys, Aussies, Canucks and Columbians. NASCAR has a commendable diversity program that shows promise. They even have THE INDYCAR STAR (Danica) and a G.O.A.T. (Ricky Carmichael). All represent new markets and different audiences.

And one of the shots may have found what the others have so-far missed. Someone who can be a factor. Make a difference. A winner. Juan Pablo Montoya is more than a road course racer.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler – OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Juan Pablo Montoya, NASCAR, Watkins Glen

Tagged with: G.O.A.T., NASCAR drive for diversity, Ricky Carmichael

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen

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.

August 5, 2010 7:29 am UTC No Comments

This week the Sprint Cup Series ends its 2010 road course sojourn with a trip to western New York and Watkins Glen International. Home of fine wines and fast cars, the track hosts this weekend’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.

I attended the IZOD IndyCar Series race at the Glen earlier this year, and let me say that any traveling race fan that hasn’t experienced a weekend at the track doesn’t know what they’re missing. Watkins Glen is a quaint little town with all the amenities and brand names one could ask for, and the track provides fans with many prime spots from which to watch a race. And if you were impressed by the show that IndyCar put on, just imagine multiplying the crowds and fanfare by a significant number, and you have an American race fan’s dream.

So who’s going to take the checkers this weekend?

History (and a 5.3 average finish) suggest that Tony Stewart is the man to beat this weekend. Stewart has an incredible five wins in 11 Glen starts, and nine top-10s. Of his two worse finishes, one was an 11th place. He’s never failed to complete a lap there, much less accrue a DNF, making him the undisputed king of the track.

I’m not sure if you can call Marcos Ambrose a total dark horse at the Glen, seeing as his average finish is 2.5, but he’s never sealed the deal in a Cup race, and a killer mistake at Infineon robbed him of what should have been much closer to a victory, suggesting that he and his team still have a little way to go to pull it off. Ambrose has taken the checkers in Nationwide races at the Glen, though, and it will be interesting to see if his apparent mastery of the track will offset any doldrums that come with being a lame-duck driver at a midpack team with bad luck thus far.

Three more, because tradition says so:

Mark Martin‘s got three Glen wins in 20 starts and hasn’t failed to complete a lap there since 1986 (excluding the 2007 and 2008 races, which he skipped). The wins came during an incredible three-year stretch from 1993 to 1995, where he won the pole and led 183 of a possible 270 laps. There are just as many knocks on him, though. First of all, this has been a tough year for the team; second, he hasn’t led a lap at the Glen in his past seven starts; finally, his last two Glen finishes have been 20th and 23rd, respectively. Pick carefully.

Robby Gordon is always a threat at the Glen, having scored seven top five finishes in 11 starts and a win in 2003. Normally the only knock against Gordon is failed alternate pit strategy that doesn’t work out in the end. Fans can always count on the independent to put on a good show, especially with the added data from a second, P.J. Jones-piloted car each time the series turns both ways.

Finally, A.J. Allmendinger is a decent pick that can be expected to exceed his previous finishes at the Glen – 11th and 13th in two career starts. The ex-Champ Car star’s future is now set at Richard Petty Motorsports, with a multi-year contract extension in place, and the confidence that comes with being the team’s new number one driver should allow him to open up a little this weekend and show off the road course talent that convinced Red Bull to bring him to stock cars in the first place a few years ago.

Filed under: One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Watkins Glen

Tagged with: A.J. Allmendinger, Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us