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Logano has Dover Crowd on its Feet as Johnson Wins

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.

September 28, 2009 5:40 pm CDT No Comments

Jimmie Johnson took his place at the front of the field at Dover International Raceway.

While Johnson made a mockery of the field at Dover, rookie Joey Logano was capturing the press. Sure Johnson’s victory closed him to within ten points of The Chase leader, Mark Martn, but it was the spectacular wreck that Logano was involved in , that left the crowd concerned.

Logano slowed for traffic in front of him, but Tony Stewart was unable to avoid the car he formerly drove and tagged the back of the #20 sending Logano into the outside retaining wall;followed by a spectacular seven revolution barrel roll down the front stretch at the Monster Mile. “Sliced Bread” left the batterd ride after it had stopped momentarily on it’s driver side door before ending on it’s wheels.

Logano emerged from the damaged car without serious injury and waved to the fans as he made his way to the ambulance for the precautionary ride to the infield care center. This new car once again proved how well it withstands damage and protects the driver.

It also shows that the cars still have a want to get upside down. Roof flaps solved that problem on the old car but the front splitter and rear wing combination have proven to be more of a challenge for the aerodynamicist. By definition the rear wing on the new car is designed to keep the rear of the car on the ground, but when it is turned up-side-down it does as any wing does and creates lift. Once the new car gets upset it doesn’t lend itself to minor mishaps.

NASCAR will figure this out and make the car perform better. It may come with some help from the Nationwide COT as it develops.

This week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW is this:

Should NASCAR and its drivers be concerned with the airborne tendencies of this car?

Let us know what you think and we could use your answer on this weeks radio show. Tune in to ON PIT ROW every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET. You could win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead if you are the Shell-Fuel My Passion Call of the Day.

photo credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: Brian France, Car of Tomorrow, Chase for the Cup, Clint Boyer, How to fix NASCAR, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

Tagged with: jimmie johnson, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart

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The Tricky Triangle Turns In A Treat: A Live Report from the Pennsylvania 500

by Eric McClung, Special To NASCAR commentary,NASCAR video,NASCAR pictures, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

http://twitter.com/ericmcclung

August 3, 2009 7:35 pm CDT 1 Comment

Long Pond, PA - Some things (like a scheduled meeting with the president for some drivers) and even some races are worth waiting for. Rain washed out Sunday’s scheduled start at Pocono Raceway for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. But the action on Monday ended its own set of waterworks as winner Denny Hamlin broke into tears in Victory Circle after breaking a 50-race win-less streak.

One part was the frustration of losing numerous races in which he had dominated. But the much larger part was the loss of his grandmother earlier in the week. Indeed Hamlin entered this race weekend with a heavy heart but also a large chip on his shoulder, practically guaranteeing a victory after the team unloaded.

In the post-race press conference Hamlin reflected on losing his grandmother and biggest fan,

“She (was) 91 years old, she had a great run. She had a 30-inch TV that she looked about four inches from. She always had a FedEx No. 11 bear and No. 11 socks.”

In addition to Hamlin’s lose, crew member Patrick Mullen recently lost his mother.

“I was definitely driving aggressive out there trying to do everything I could to get a win for them,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin led on six occasions for a total 91 laps and took home the checkered flag for what was the most exciting Pocono race in recent memory. This marked Hamlin’s fifth win in the NASCAR Cup Series, all with Joe Gibbs Racing. Of those wins, this was the third at Pocono.

On a track that isn’t known for passing, Hamlin regained the lead for good with only nine laps to go. And on a track that isn’t know for excitement, two late wrecks added to the suspense.

Runner-up Juan Pablo Montoya posted his first top-five finish of the season and moved up to the eighth position in points. Montoya brought the same car he had used last week at Indianapolis, a race he probably would have won if not for a speeding violation on pit road.

While Hamlin and Montoya used muscle to get up front, Clint Bowyer and Sam Hornish Jr. had to gamble on pit road to gain their track position, finishing third and fourth, respectively.

When most of the leaders hit pit road on Lap 66 it was Bowyer, Scott Speed, Hornish and Montoya that stayed out. A series of late cautions allowed Bowyer to lead more laps than he thought was possible, while saving precious fuel.

“We were losing way too much time on pit road every time. We gambled on fuel mileage,” Bowyer said.

Hornish was the only driver to start worse than 25th to finish in the top-15,

“We didn’t have a good car all day. We tried to get some track position (with pit strategy). That was probably a 15th-place car at the end and got us up to fourth.”

Other notable finishes

After crashing in practice and going to his backup car, Tony Stewart started the race from the rear. Following a series of small adjustments early in the race it became clear his team would need to do a lot more to be competitive on this day. At Lap 80, Stewart was running 28th,

“We finally just made a huge, huge change and we got it closer but we never got it right,” Stewart finished 10th and remains the points leader with only five more races before the Chase begins.

Jimmie Johnson remains second in points and salvaged a 13th-place finish, but only after some guesswork on pit road. On Lap 104, Johnson radioed to his crew that he was losing engine power. It took several stops, aided by the late cautions, to tinker with things under the hood. Johnson was down as many as three laps and was running 29th with only 20 laps remaining.

“I assume it was a spark plug issue. That’s the last thing we started changing. (We were) able to get some cautions there at the end. I thought we would get a top-10 but I pounded the wall off (Turn) 2 and lost a couple of spots,” said Johnson.

Conclusion

In all, Pocono delivered in a very big way. Between the dog days of August when many fans are looking ahead to the Chase, the disappointing rain out on Sunday and historically vanilla racing that goes on here; it was refreshing to see several drivers that were desperate for a win gambling and dueling their way to the checkered flag.

Following the race J.D. Gibbs, son of owner Job Gibbs, jokingly said,

“We’re going to lobby for a few extra races at Pocono.”

I don’t know about that happening but at least this event could maybe silence some of the fans calling for only one Pocono race per season. Maybe.

Photo credit: Eric McClung for OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Clint Boyer, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Juan Pablo Montoya, Live blogs, NASCAR, Pocono Raceway, Sam Hornish Jr, Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart, jimmie johnson

Tagged with: Pennsylvania 500

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Coca Cola 600: Bump Linkin’ Saturday

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. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

May 23, 2009 8:45 am CDT 1 Comment

The third leg of (my) Grand Slam of Sprint Cup racing is tomorrow. I’m layin’ in a supply of caffeine loaded consumables in an attempt to get through the afternoon warm-up race that was once the Greatest Spectacle in Racing (it’s now more likely a case study in anti-marketing) - and the A-Main feature, the Coca Cola 600. It’ll be a long day, because the one F1 that I still make it a point to watch (case study number 2 or, how to f-up the US market), the Grand Prix of Monaco will be breakfast.

At least Charlotte will be dry, unlike Daytona. If you haven’t already seen these pictures of the flooded Daytona International Speedway, take a look.

The Indianapolis 500 used to be a must listen to event for me. For the last several years, it’s been more of a case of checking it out when I remember. The fact is, before the break up of CART, I was a bigger fan of Indy Cars than I was of NASCARs. Now, I couldn’t intelligently pick a favorite for the 500. Not that I can for the 600, either, but that’s not the point.

So, if you want a solid pick for Indy, go to The Catfish Show. Matt has one, and a nice post about it too.

Marc at Full Throttle always has good Formula One stuff. This weekend is no different.

Our own James Jones stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest with his post about NASCAR fans letting Toyota off the hook. The comments are flying if you want to chime in. Just be nice, please.

I like Trixie’s Trailer Park. Seems she’ tired of the Mayfield saga too.

This is the Coca Cola 600 weekend and the Coke folk always have something going at Lowes. I have some pics below from the main at the track promo this year. These are Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte and Clint Bowyer serving free food to fans at the Coca-Cola Quarter-Mile Cookout.

And we have a couple pics of Brittany Osborne of J.V. Washam Elementary in Cornelius, N.C who got to take a spin with NASCAR driver and former Sprint Cup Series Champion Bobby Labonte in recognition of her school’s selection for top honors in the Ask.com Safe Search Schools Program.

Photo credit: Round card girl Jen by Bethanne Heisler for OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Ask.com Racing, Bobby Labonte, Clint Boyer, Kyle Petty, Lowes Motor Speedway, NASCAR

Tagged with: Coca Cola 600, Daytona flood pictures, F1, Grand Prix, Indy 500, Monaco

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Bench Racing TV: The Biggest Loser is not a Bobby Ginn Biography

by Charlie Turner

March 29, 2009 8:29 am CDT No Comments

The Monday Morning Crew Chief was watching NASCAR stars do their own video thing last week. But she was confused at first when she heard that Clint Bowyer was guest starring on “The Biggest Loser”. Apparently, she thought it was a NASCAR docudrama.

And we have a new Kevin Harvick spoof of old-time cowboy flicks - I love westerns - from the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines commercial shoot.

You can watch Kevin Harvick and Mindy Monday here.

Filed under: Bench Racing TV, Clint Boyer, Kevin Harvick, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media

Tagged with: Bobby Ginn, Mindy Monday, NASCAR video, Shell Gasolines, The Biggest Loser

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NASCAR Slight-of-Hand Moves Owner’s Points

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.

February 10, 2009 1:25 am CST No Comments

NASCAR’s version of the old shell game has fans, and teams, guessing who is in and who is out of the top 35 owners points.

You remember the shell game don’t you. A huckster has three shells or cups or whatever to hide one ball. The mark has to follow the ball as the huckster moves the shells around and around until the mark is totally confused and picks the wrong shell. Along the line somewhere the huckster has preformed some slight of hand and mercy on the mark.

NASCAR has taken on the role of huckster this off season with its owners points. They have moved the top 35 around and around; preformed some slight of hand and given Top 35 status to some interesting folks; most notably Bobby Ginn. You remember Ginn don’t you; he’s the, probably well intended, car owner who came into the sport with a butt-load of money only to leave a couple of years later with nothing to show for it except a quasi-merger with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and a batch of hacked of drivers, crew members and fans.

Now in an even shadier move NASCAR has approved the “partnership” of Ginn with Richard Childress Racing. Ginn has brought the Top 35 points of the #01 car with him and has transferred them to the new #33 team. Clint Bowyer now doesn’t have to worry about qualifying for the first five races. What he does have to worry about is having Bobby Ginn as a car owner; even if it is in name only. Clint–go ask Sterling Marlin about Ginn.

And that brings us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Did NASCAR handle the reallocation of owners points correctly?

Let us know what you think. We may use your comments on this week’s ON PIT ROW. Listen live Tuesdays from 5-7pm ET here.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Clint Boyer, Daytona 500, How to fix NASCAR, Joe Nemechek, NASCAR, NASCAR Bidness, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Richard Childress Racing

Tagged with: Bobby Ginn, Clint Bowyer, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Richard Childress Racing, Sterling Marlin

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Opportunities Ripe for Change Throughout NASCAR

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.

January 26, 2009 9:33 pm CST 2 Comments

Things are starting to come together for all the teams trying to make the Daytona 500.

The big four have been set for a while. Rick Hendrick Motorsports has his four cars all set with Mark Martin coming on board to run the full season. Jack Roush has had his five teams ready since getting the UPS sponsorship lined up at the end of the 2008 season. Richard Childress Racing has expanded his group to include a fourth car with Clint Bowyer moving over from the #07 to the new #33 car with General Mills sponsorship. Joe Gibbs Racing has the kiddie corp of Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and ROTY contender Joey Logano ready to hit the track.

After those four owners has been where all the craziness of the off season has revolved. It has been well documented the strife a mergers that have surrounded Chip Ganassi, Dale Earnhardt, Inc, Gillet-Evernham and Petty Enterprises. For better or worse success or failure will follow the mergered teams depending on their ability to adapt to their new surroundings, management teams and driving team mates.

With the loss of teams like Bill Davis Racing and part time seasons from Furnature Row and The Wood Brothers, the bottom feeders saw much of the change revolve around them. There has been an odd resurgence of single car–privateer teams spearheaded by Tommy Baldwin’s new entry in the Sprint Cup. While many if not most of these new teams may not even make it past Daytona; it would seem to make the fields easier for the big boys to become bigger.

Less competition outside the top four teams could make it easier for a first time winner in both the 500 and the championship. Which leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW: