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Hosts: Charlie Turner, Steve Wronkowicz

December 5, 2008 8:00 pm CST

Quick Hits: Homestead-Miami Speedway

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by Chris Leone, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

If OnPitRow.com was a NASCAR team, I’d be the development driver of the bunch. In the same way that young hotshots like Joey Logano have been driving since they were in grade school, I’ve been following and writing about all forms of motorsports since I was barely old enough to talk.

November 12, 2008 11:28 pm CST 4 Comments

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I think this is the first time in quite a while that, heading into the final race of the Sprint Cup season at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, we have no idea who the 40-plus full-time drivers for the 2009 season will be. Granted, back in the days before Jayski, when “silly season” wasn’t as prevalent as it is now, a lot of contracts were signed in NASCAR’s offseason. Yep, we used to have an offseason. Who knew?

30-plus teams have already set their drivers and schedules for next season. Most of these teams, and a few others, have secured sponsorship. However, a lot of teams face uncertain futures, and as I detailed last week, a good amount of cars may not be around next year.

That being said, plenty of companies are still interested in sponsoring Sprint Cup teams. It’s just a matter of matching up the right driver, team, and sponsor with one another. There are plenty of quality drivers out there waiting for a call from teams, and there are plenty of teams fishing for enough sponsorship to be competitive next year.

Allow me to do all the work for you, drivers, teams, and prospective sponsors. This week’s Quick Hits are five teams that would certainly make sense to appear on track next year:

5. No. 41 A.J. Allmendinger - Target Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

This one’s not too much of a stretch, which is why it ranks fifth. Allmendinger is the best driver available, and the No. 41 is the best car available. Chip Ganassi likes taking risks on open wheel drivers (because, obviously, that’s where he does his best), and Target would certainly appreciate a young driver who’s shown promise as of late.

Allmendinger’s done well in the No. 10 at Gillett Evernham Motorsports the past few weeks, with three top-20 finishes. He’s only failed to complete four laps out of a possible 1476, showing that he can keep the car on the track. EGR (sounds unnatural, doesn’t it?) may be in a take-whatever-we-can-get mindset, but adding Allmendinger to its stable could prove a savvy move by the end of the season if he breaks out.

4. No. 28 Travis Kvapil - US Air Force/Hitachi Power Tools/K&N Filters Ford, Yates Racing

There have been rumors as of late that the Air Force is going to head to Yates after a long association with the Wood Brothers. If so, there’s no doubt in my mind that the sponsorship would go to Kvapil. Not only has Kvapil outperformed David Gilliland this year, his sponsorship status is far less certain - Gilliland has relationships with FreeCreditReport.com and CitiFinancial that should carry him through at least part of next season, financial crisis notwithstanding.

Yates wants to expand to three cars next year, the other belonging to Paul Menard, who brings his Menards family sponsorship to the table. They basically have Menard’s and Gilliland’s rides covered. It wouldn’t be surprising if Hitachi stuck around for next year, or if some of the team’s other one-race sponsors made more of a commitment next year.

3. No. 00 David Reutimann - Aaron’s Rent/Champion Mortgage/Dow Chemical Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing

Reutimann’s earned his keep these past few weeks. He had a chance at winning his first race in Texas two weeks ago and qualified fourth last week at Phoenix. Aaron’s has already announced that they will be on the car for half the season, but that still leaves an 18-race hole to fill.

This year, Champion Mortgage sponsored the No. 00 for 12 races with Michael McDowell, two with Mike Skinner, one with Mike Bliss, and one with Allmendinger. Even if they don’t return, rumors have been floating that Dow Chemical will upgrade their associate sponsorship with the team. It’s unlikely that Champion would want to commit to 16 races again in this economic climate, but anything that they don’t pick up, Dow would probably fill. Reutimann’s going to be a star in Sprint Cup one day, and whoever can snap up space on his car would be smart to act now.

2. No. 21 Kyle Petty/Bill Elliott/Jon Wood/Patrick Carpentier - Wells Fargo/Motorcraft Ford, Wood Brothers Racing

So the Air Force might go to Yates. Big deal. If the team brings on Kyle Petty and his 12-race Wells Fargo sponsorship, that more than fills the commitment the Air Force made this season. The Woods claim that their sponsorship contracts are set for next season, with Ford and Motorcraft, but given the automaker’s plight, a backup plan would certainly help.

The question is more about who will drive the car than who will finance it, as has been for the past couple of years. Bill Elliott is open to running a few early-season races, but nothing more. Jon Wood’s been waiting in the wings for a while. However, the Woods are also high on Patrick Carpentier, who was unceremoniously dumped by GEM after an incident at Talladega with team director Mike Shiplett. A few decent performances with the Woods could be the necessary jump-start to make Carpentier’s NASCAR career as successful as his career in CART.

1. No. 22 Scott Riggs - State Water Heaters/Hunt Brothers Pizza/Bad Boy Mowers Toyota, Bill Davis Racing

Despite the past couple years, people need to remember that Riggs is a capable driver. He finished 20th in points in 2006 despite missing the Daytona 500. His poor 2007 was the result of completely wrong data at GEM, and the Haas CNC cars currently aren’t high-quality competitors. (Just you wait ‘till next year, though.)

Counting both starts and DNQ’s, the three aforementioned sponsors have combined for roughly 36 races this season over four cars - the Nos. 22 and 27 at BDR, and the Nos. 66 and 70 at Haas CNC. State and Hunt Bros. have both affirmed their desires to stay in the sport in 2009, after combining for just over 30 races in total this year. Both sponsors appear pleased with what Riggs has done this season, qualifying for almost every race. Bad Boy Mowers has adorned Davis Toyotas four times this season and could certainly fill out the schedule.

Finally, congratulations to Phoenix’s winners: Jimmie Johnson in Sprint Cup, Carl Edwards in Nationwide, and Kevin Harvick in the Truck Series.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Chip Ganassi Racing, David Reutimann, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Haas CNC Racing, NASCAR, Robert Yates Racing, Sprint Cup Series, The Pettys, The Wood Brothers 

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Quick Hits: Auto Club Speedway

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by Chris Leone, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

If OnPitRow.com was a NASCAR team, I’d be the development driver of the bunch. In the same way that young hotshots like Joey Logano have been driving since they were in grade school, I’ve been following and writing about all forms of motorsports since I was barely old enough to talk.

August 27, 2008 1:09 pm CDT 3 Comments

With two races left before the Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR heads to Auto Club Speedway in California. California is a state known for many things, from fine wines to celebrities to the greatest football game of Brett Favre’s career, a 41-7 rout of the Oakland Raiders the day after his father, Irvin, passed away.

With all the attention Favre’s been getting as of late, I feel it’s fair to direct our attention to a driver who similarly can’t retire from the sport he loves: Mark Martin. One of the reasons why I’ve been pulling so hard for Favre this season is because I’ve heard much of the same criticism used against Martin, in his many attempts to retire. Sometimes it’s just too hard to walk away from what you’ve been doing all your life.

Truth is, Martin’s been on top of his game these past few years the same way Favre has: producing enough to warrant continued mentions as one of the best in the field week in and week out. Martin led NEXTEL Cup points through 4 races last year, and even still had a shot at the Chase after missing the first few of his 12 scheduled off weeks. This year, despite running in equipment of far lesser quality, Martin has nearly equaled his top-10s from last year (8 so far, compared to 11 last year) and nearly won at Phoenix. He also won the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas.

Even more important, however, is what Martin’s done to make part-time driving a viable option for aging stars, especially splitting rides with development drivers.

Originally, the plan was to put two “retiring” drivers in one car to split a full season. In a 2005 interview with Claire B. Lang, Martin dismissed the option of splitting a schedule between two retiring drivers as “far-fetched” and “hard to do right.” At the time, Jack Roush was looking to fill the No. 6 Ford for 2006 while waiting for Jamie McMurray to take over the car in 2007. Roush’s idea was to split the car between Martin and Rusty Wallace for the 2006 season.

While the Martin-Wallace deal never materialized, Martin has run part-time schedules in Sprint Cup with development drivers the past few seasons, and the results have been surprisingly decent. Martin’s average finishes were 14.5 in 2007 and 13.9 this year, not far out of line from his career average of 13.3. Last season, the No. 01 Ginn Racing Chevrolet that Martin split with Regan Smith sat 17th in owners’ points, better than 16 cars to start all 36 races and 28 that attempted full schedules. This year, the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet that Martin and Aric Almirola share is 15th in owners’ points, ahead of 19 other teams to start all 24 races.

Martin won’t race this weekend at California, but has an impressive record at the track: 15 starts with 7 top-10s and a win in the track’s second-ever race in 1998. His 13.3 average finish at the track is 8th best out of active Sprint Cup drivers. In his 700th career Sprint Cup start, which occurred at California earlier this season, Martin started and finished 16th in the No. 8 Principal Financial Chevrolet.

Although Martin will have to wait until next year to make a full-blown comeback, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in his first full-time schedule since 2006, he’ll certainly continue to face the same criticisms as Favre, for soldiering on with a different team for the love of the sport. But, as has Favre, Martin will continue to persevere in his chosen sport, going until he simply can go no longer.

Before the green flag drops on this weekend’s action, here are this week’s five Quick Hits:

5. Former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed will make his Sprint Cup debut by the end of this season in a third Toyota for Team Red Bull. Former Daytona 500 winner Slugger Labbe and TRB’s test team will pit the car. Speed may run a full-time Sprint Cup schedule next season after winning a Truck Series race at Dover and challenging for the ARCA title this year.

4. Chip Ganassi Racing will definitely field two cars next season, as longtime backer Target has re-signed with the team. Juan Pablo Montoya will drive one car, with Dario Franchitti perhaps making his return in the other.

3. David Reutimann will return to the No. 00 Toyota at Michael Waltrip Racing in 2009, with an 18-race sponsorship deal from Aaron’s Rent. Reutimann drove his first race for Aaron’s in 2005 and currently sits 4th in Nationwide points driving for the company. Reutimann’s father, Buzzie, raced on short tracks in Florida in cars carrying the No. 00.

2. Reed Sorenson will land on his feet in 2009, after signing a multi-year deal to drive for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. While nothing else is a certainty at this point, expect Sorenson to drive the #10 car next season, taking into account the team’s issues finding a full-time sponsor for its third car.

1. After a post-race tangle last weekend in Bristol, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch have both been placed on probation for the next six Sprint Cup races, effective this weekend. Unhappy about being muscled out of the way in the final laps of the race, Busch drove his right-front fender up into Edwards’ door panel after the race had ended. In retaliation, Edwards followed Busch to the bottom of the track and spun the No. 18 Toyota.

Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners: Busch in the Truck Series, Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide Series, and Edwards in Sprint Cup.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Carl Edwards, Casey Mears, Chip Ganassi Racing, Clint Boyer, David Reutimann, Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, NASCAR, Red Bull Racing, Reed Sorenson, Richard Childress Racing, Scott Speed 

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Quick Hits: Bristol Motor Speedway

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by Chris Leone, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

If OnPitRow.com was a NASCAR team, I’d be the development driver of the bunch. In the same way that young hotshots like Joey Logano have been driving since they were in grade school, I’ve been following and writing about all forms of motorsports since I was barely old enough to talk.

August 20, 2008 6:37 pm CDT 2 Comments

Bristol Motor Speedway is a track with a long and storied history, having hosted its first NASCAR race in July 1961. It’s seen everything from last lap wrecks (Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt most readily come to mind), to nearly deadly accidents (Michael Waltrip and Mike Harmon have had two of the worst wrecks in NASCAR history at the track), to the first Sprint Cup Series Car of Tomorrow event in 2007.

On August 25, 1990, the track saw a little team from Abingdon, Virginia win its first ever Winston Cup race. The car, the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet, piloted by a promising Californian driver named Ernie Irvan, was fielded by Morgan-McClure Motorsports. Before parting amidst an ugly lawsuit in late 1993, Irvan and MMM won six more races together, including the 1991 Daytona 500. MMM won that race again in 1994 and 1995 with Sterling Marlin, and scored a total of seven more wins with Marlin and Bobby Hamilton.

After an abysmal 2007 with Ward Burton, however, the long-struggling team decided to go on hiatus instead of, as owner Larry McClure stated, “just sliding by.” The team intends to return to the track once proper sponsorship is found. “With the right sponsorship, I have no doubt that we can be a top-15 car within a year or two. And then we could be a top-five car within 2-3 years. We know what it takes to be successful,” McClure said in this Bristol Herald Courier report.

But what NASCAR will be in 2009 is nothing like what NASCAR was in MMM’s heyday. The last time a single-car team won a race was at Darlington in 2003, when Ricky Craven won at the line in a thrilling duel with Kurt Busch. A single-car team hasn’t finished in the top 10 in points since Burton finished 9th in 1999. No single-car team has won a championship since the late Dale Earnhardt won his seventh title in 1994.

Unfortunately, if MMM returns, it’ll likely see more of the same misfortune as it did between 2004 and 2006. Seven drivers combined to score one top 10 finish, an 8th in the 2005 Pepsi 400 with driver Mike Wallace. Drivers who have combined to score 9 Sprint Cup wins, 43 Nationwide wins, 18 Truck Series wins, and 1 Truck Series title couldn’t do any more than that in MMM cars.

Especially in a struggling economy, it’s highly unlikely that any company is going to take a chance on a single-car team trying to rebound after a year off like MMM, regardless of its storied history. With teams like Petty Enterprises and the Wood Brothers struggling to find sponsorship as well, it’s clear that the NASCAR landscape has forever changed, leaving the little guy behind.

Now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, this week’s five Quick Hits:

5. Michael Waltrip Racing will reveal its 2009 plans for David Reutimann in a press conference this Friday. Rumor has it that Aaron’s Rent will shift sponsorship from Reutimann’s Nationwide Series car to the No. 44 Toyota Reutimann currently drives. Current sponsor UPS is looking at the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of David Ragan.

4. Congratulations to Casey Mears, who will land on his feet at Richard Childress Racing for 2009. Mears will drive the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, while Clint Bowyer will move to the No. 33 Cheerios Chevrolet. Mears won’t drive the No. 33 because General Mills expressed reservations over a driver currently endorsing rival brand Kellogg’s.

3. Congratulations to Joey Logano, whose Sprint Cup debut is close at hand. “Sliced Bread” will drive a No. 02 Home Depot Toyota at Richmond and multiple other races before replacing Tony Stewart in the No. 20 at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009.

2. Speaking of Smoke, the Stewart-Haas puzzle is beginning to come together, finally. Ryan Newman will drive a No. 39 Chevrolet, likely sponsored by Burger King. Darian Grubb is the leading crew chief candidate for Stewart and the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet. Subway will not renew with Stewart, most likely, and is looking to sign Carl Edwards to a personal services contract.

1. Longtime NASCAR sponsor Texaco/Havoline will leave the sport at season’s end, ending a continuous presence in the sport that began in 1986. This means that an already sponsor-desperate Chip Ganassi Racing needs a new primary for Juan Montoya.

Finally, a big congratulations to Carl Edwards for sweeping the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Michigan last week.

Image credit Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Casey Mears, Chip Ganassi Racing, Clint Boyer, David Reutimann, Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, NASCAR, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart 

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Brian Vickers Leads Half Wacky Qualifying at MIS

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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 Comment

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.

Filed under: Brian Vickers, David Reutimann, Elliott Sadler, Michigan International Speedway, Red Bull Racing, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, Tony Stewart 

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Eldora Daydreamin’

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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 7, 2008 8:41 pm CDT 3 Comments

Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick at the PreludeI can’t decide if it would be good to have more events like Tony Stewart’s Prelude to the Dream. If there were too many, it wouldn’t be as special, I guess. But it’s a shame more fans can’t get there to experience it live.

23,000 some fans did make it though. According to the track announcer, people from 46 states ordered tickets to the ‘08 Prelude as did fans from Denmark, Germany and Australia. For a race on dirt in the middle of a bunch of cornfields in western Ohio, that had about a fifty percent chance of getting rained out. Amazing.

OK, not just any dirt race. Darrell Waltrip didn’t drive the water truck this year but he did do a half dozen laps in a dirt late model with a lucky young fan along as passenger.

Eldora veterans - from their younger, pre-superstar days - were there. Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Dave Blaney, Ryan Newman, David Reutimann, Matt Kenseth and Ken Shrader. Others with lots of experience on the dirt raced as well. Clint Bowyer was fast. Kenny Wallace and old-timer Red Farmer made the trip and were quick. Mark Martin, J J Yeley and Aric Almirola wrecked. Bill Elliot had mechanical woes.

Kyle Busch and Jimmy Johnson brought there own late models. Robby Gordon drove a Scott Bloomquist-prepared car to second place. Johnson and Robby G have plenty of time driving in the dirt. Johnson in motocross and Gordon off-road.

During the driver intros, homeboy Tony got the loudest cheers. But Jeff Gordon had plenty of fans too. Even Kyle Busch heard more cheers than boos - until he stoked the booing with his “I can’t hear you” pose. From then on, the only cheers Kyle got were when he either hit or broke something. Both of which happened a lot.

Our seats were in turn three - which was the down-wind corner - so by the time the cars got to us, the twenty mile an hour breeze had brought the dirt kicked up in turn one to us and we got a double dose of dirt track in our faces each lap. I’ve got to get a pair of those yellow plastic goggle/glasses they were selling before next year’s race.

I wouldn’t miss it if I were you.

Photo credit: Split Second Sports and Panther Creek Design & Photo

Filed under: Clint Boyer, Dave Blaney, David Reutimann, Denny Hamlin, Eldora Speedway, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kenny Shrader, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Nascar Legends, Prelude to the Dream, Robby Gordon, Ryan Newman, The Pettys, The Waltrips, Tony Stewart 

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Look for a development driver to win Saturday’s Pocono 200

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by Matt Mercer, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the new guy at Bench Racing and I'm supposed to be the younger perspective. I'm the guy behind The Catfish Show, which you can access through the links on the right.

June 5, 2008 2:25 pm CDT 5 Comments

Look for a development driver to win Saturday’s Pocono 200The ARCA/ReMax Series will head to Long Pond, PA this weekend to team up with the Sprint Cup Series, and with the Trucks in Texas and Nationwide Series in Nashville, this could be the spot in which someone impresses the right person and moves up through the ranks. This race has been dominated by either Cup rookies moving down to get track experience, or a hotshoe from a Cup team gaining experience for a future foray into the series.

Since 2003, Cup drivers or Cup development drivers have won 8 of the 10 races at Pocono. These drivers include Casey Mears twice, Scott Riggs, Ryan Hemphill, Travis Kvapil, Chase Miller, Chad McCumbee, and Michael McDowell. Only the series’ great one, Frank Kimmel, broke the streak, taking the July races in 2005 and 2006. Also competing in these races have been drivers such as Kyle Busch, David Reutimann, and David Ragan. Previous polesitters have included Mears, Riggs, and Kvapil, as well as David Stremme.

As for the 2008 edition, there is no shortage of candidates to win. This season has been an exciting one in the series, as young drivers have come in and performed exceedingly well. Current points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr., second-place Matt Carter, and sixth-place Scott Speed have all won this year. Speed also won the Truck race at Dover, and will compete in Friday night’s Truck race. Still, there are others who will pose a threat. You can’t discount Kimmel, who still maintains a top points position despite working on a shoestring budget with his own team. He could use a win, and it could come as soon as this very weekend.

One thing is for sure, the ARCA/ReMax Series is entertaining again, and this race fan is more than happy to see the return of its glory days.

Photo credit: AP

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Casey Mears, Craftsman Truck Series, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Eddie Sharp Racing, Frank Kimmel, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series 

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Busch Wins at the Monster Mile

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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 2, 2008 7:58 pm CDT No Comments

Kyle Busch again took it to the rest of the Sprint Cup field.

Untitled PostRowdy lapped all but five of his competitors on his way to his sixth win of the season. Busch was helped by the narrowness of the Dover straights. Half of the top twelve in points were collected in the sixteenth lap carnage started by Elliott Sadler and David Gilliland. Sadler, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer were the list of Chasers who were involved in the wreck.

Tony Stewart was at his sarcastic best when asked about the multi-car wreck:

“I take 100-percent responsibility,” he said. “It’s my fault for being anywhere close to Elliott (Sadler). If I’m within a half a lap of him, I expect that to happen.”

The narrow straights are not the only quirks to The Monster Mile. There still are only forty-two pit stalls causing two teams to share a pit until someone drops out of the race. It didn’t take long for that to happen this week.

So here is this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Should NASCAR force Dover to upgrade its facilities to keep its Cup dates?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comment on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. ON PIT ROW is brioadcast live from the Toledo Speedway Bar and Grill–just off turn four at historic Toledo Speedway from 5pm to 8:30pm.

Photo Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Reutimann, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kasey Kahne 

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Who Will Be the Sprint Cup’s Next First-time Winner?

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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.

May 30, 2008 9:32 am CDT 6 Comments

Martin Truex Jr grabbed his first and, so far only, Cup Series win at Dover Downs in 2007.  By my count, he was one of three drivers to accomplish that feat last year - Casey Mears and Clint Bowyer were the others.

I’m looking at the line up for this week’s tilt at the Monster Mile and wondering who will be the next first timer.  The answer is not obvious.  David Ragan would seem the best bet.  He drives for one of the major teams, as did all of 2007’s first time winners.  Ragan has lately been running up front and looked like a contender at Charlotte.  But who else.  Is there anybody else?

Before his injury, Dario Franchitti would have been my pick if only because of the two road courses where he should be one of the contenders.  His lost seat-time may not hurt his chances at Sonoma and the Glen, but it steepens the learning curve elsewhere.

Fellow Dodger Reed Sorenson looked strong coming out of Daytona.  Since then though, his team has been a big part of Ganassi’s funk.  The stirring of that pot by Chip doesn’t bode well for the Target car.

Dave Blaney is the only non winner in a Toyota who seems a candidate.  A J Allmendinger didn’t convince me at Lowes.  David Reutimann looks like a journeyman.

Who do you like in a Chevy?  All of 2007’s virgin winners were Bowtie Boys.  But who’s left?  Regan Smith?  Too soon and not enough chances.  Same for Aric Almirola.  The Haas CNC teams probably killed their chances by losing crew and car chiefs for six races.

No, the next winner looks to be a Ford man.  If not Ragan then maybe one of the Yates guys.  Travis Kvapil looks primed.

Filed under: Casey Mears, Chip Ganassi Racing, Clint Boyer, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Haas CNC Racing, It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, Martin Truex Jr., Red Bull Racing, Reed Sorenson, Robert Yates Racing, Sprint Cup Series 

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Even Monsters get Loose in Turn 3

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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.

May 30, 2008 9:22 am CDT 2 Comments

With fifty laps to go in the Coca Cola 600 I was mentally writing a headline about the start of summer finally arriving with Tony Stewart’s big win. Not to be. Instead Kasey Kahne won NASCAR’s longest race. And Dale Earnhardt Jr became the poster boy for Looseness in Turn Three.

This week, TZ from Do You NASCAR and Bruce of NASCAR Bits and Pieces and the guys at Bench Racing will thrash on three racing related topics. Here’s mine.

Why can’t Junior finish?

Charlie: When is Tony Eury Jr going to have a come to Jesus meeting with his driver
and tell him to quit running every lap two inches from the turn four wall?
Earnhardt is the only driver who runs every track and every lap of every race, in
the highest line there is. It works for him, I know. He’s been fast everywhere
this season. But he has hit the wall in more races than not. It seems to me that
his crew chief should be talking him down off that wall later in the race. It
probably wouldn’t work. Listening to Junior on the radio does not give me the
feeling that he listens to much of anything. He tells - commands. It might be time
for a change in tactics.

TZ: I think you have to start with Dale Junior’s relationship with Tony Eury Jr.
More often than not, I, too, find Earnhardt to be a bit overly demanding - and, not
very understanding - over his team radio, but I think that most people probably tend
to be a little more short-tempered when dealing with family at times. I think that
Junior probably doesn’t do the best job of translating what’s going on with the car
in the manner so that Eury can understand it, and as a result, they tend to let the
track start getting away from them near the ends of the races. And, yes … there
are times when he’d probably be a bit better off finding different grooves in the
track.

Bruce: The team is not used to finishing.. Not used to getting out there up front
now that they seem to have more consistent, improved equipment. I get the high
groove and yes, they should try different lines, but if it works it works.. the
high groove will give you more gear coming out of the corners and saves tires a bit
in the long run, but I’m not sure it’s worth it all the time like he does.. At least
he’s closer to the wall when a tire blows and then again, maybe he’s got some
lingering issues from past hits and he has a reason? Bet we won’t see the high
groove at Dover! And you’re right guys, he snaps / commands the crew when he needs
to be listening too… at least it seems that way.

That’s what we think. What do you think?

You should check out Tim’s post and discussion…

Should the no. 20 team have called for two right-side tires on Tony Stewart’s
next-to-last stop at the Coca Cola 600? 

And Bruce’s question this week…

My question is whether drivers should get over the idea of people moving over for them because they think they’re faster than they are?

There’s good stuff there.  We welcome your input.

Filed under: Casey Mears, Chip Ganassi Racing, Clint Boyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, David Reutimann, Haas CNC Racing, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Red Bull Racing, Reed Sorenson, Richard Childress Racing, Robert Yates Racing, Sprint Cup Series, Turn 3 posts 

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Jamie McMurray answers the Martinsville challenge

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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.

March 28, 2008 11:00 pm CDT 3 Comments

Kyle Petty at Vegas 2008Jamie McMurray started the day only four points short of the thirty fifth spot in Sprint Cup owners’ points. So close that climbing back into the warm and fuzzy side of NASCAR’s goofy qualifying bed was in easy reach, if only he could make this race on his own speed.  He did.

If he had not, the best case result for him would have been going into qualifying next week, 37 points out of 35th place.  It could have been a bunch worse.

Four drivers failed to make the field for the 2008 Goody’s Cool Orange 500.  John Andretti, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines and Kyle Petty are out.  Petty, the highest placed of the go-homers, will be at least 93 points out of the top thirty five when he gets to Texas.

Kyle the Good wasn’t whining - Scene Daily story:

“We missed this race at Daytona when we had fuel-pressure problems. We missed this race at California when we had brake issues. We missed this race at Atlanta and Las Vegas when we don’t understand bump stops and they kicked our butts six ways to Sunday and we had two of them fail.

“And that was our fault. You don’t just show up at a race and miss it. You put yourself in a position months ahead of time to be in this
position and this is where you’re at.”

There has been speculation that Petty Enterprises would swap the points of Bobby Labonte’s #43 with Kyle in a move that would put the #45 solidly back in the top 35.  But today NASCAR denied a request by Michael Waltrip Racing  to swap the owner’s points of it’s #44 and #00 teams - a move that would have eased the pressure on the UPS sponsorship by taking that team from 34th to 30th.  NASCAR has ruled that point swaps may only happen during the off season and must be due to fundamental changes in a team.

So Kyle and the #45 will face a year of fighting to make races and then struggling to make up a big points deficit to the top thirty fivers.  Too bad.

When you watch Sunday’s race ask yourself why four or five more cars on that track would be a bad thing.

Picture credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Filed under: David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Sprint Cup Series, The Pettys, Top 35 Rule 

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