• On Pit Row
• The Show
• The Crew
• Bench Racing
• Fast Lap
• Contact Us
• Advertise With Us

Subscribe

• NASCAR
• Sprint Cup
• Drivers
• Nationwide Series
• ARCA Remax Series
• NASCAR Headlines

Latest Headlines

• Smarter than the Average NASCAR Bear
• Leavin’ Faster than Pilgrims at a Porn Theatre
• Tight in Turn Two: I Suspect Cold Tires
• So Shoot Me - I Like NASCAR’s New Car
• Will NASCAR Really Be Any Different in 2009
• Pink-slips Flyin’ Like Hot Dog Wrappers at Martinsville
• Would Chopping Teams to 10 Cars Make Sense?
• Quick Hits: End of Season Recap
• Johnson’s Championships Without Honor?
• NASCAR Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Car Makers

Comments

• Charlie Turner on Tight in Turn Two: I Suspect Cold Tires
• Charles on Tight in Turn Two: I Suspect Cold Tires
• Leavin’ Faster than Pilgrims at a Porn Theatre | Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie on Pink-slips Flyin’ Like Hot Dog Wrappers at Martinsville
• Tom Fuller on Win a Great New DVD: Dale Earnhardt’s 10 Greatest Wins from A&E
• Charlie Turner on So Shoot Me - I Like NASCAR’s New Car

Sections

• A J Allmendinger
• ARCA Remax Series
• Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Auto Club Speedway
• Bench Racing Contests
• Bench Racing TV
• Bill Davis Racing
• Bobby Labonte
• Boris Said
• brad coleman
• Brad Kesolowski
• Brian France
• Brian Vickers
• Bristol Motor Speedway
• Bruton Smith
• Busch Series
• Car of Tomorrow
• Carl Edwards
• Casey Mears
• Chase for the Cup
• Chevrolet
• Chicagoland Speedway
• Chip Ganassi Racing
• Chrissy Wallace
• Clint Boyer
• Craftsman Truck Series
• Dale Earnhardt
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
• Dale Jarrett
• danica patrick
• Darlington Speedway
• Dave Blaney
• David Ragan
• David Reutimann
• Daytona 500
• Daytona International Speedway
• Denny Hamlin
• Diversity and NASCAR
• Dover International Speedway
• Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
• Eddie Sharp Racing
• Eldora Speedway
• Elliott Sadler
• ESPN
• Evernham Motorsports
• Formula One
• Frank Kimmel
• Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
• Germain Racing
• Gillette Evernham Motorsports
• Greg Biffle
• Haas CNC Racing
• Hendrick Motorsports
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Indy Cars
• Inside ARCA
• Iowa Speedway
• IRNMBSIL
• It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught
• J J Yeley
• Jacques Villeneuve
• Jamie McMurray
• Jeff Burton
• Jeff Gordon
• Jeff Hammond
• Jeremy Mayfield
• Jimmy Johnson
• Joe Gibbs Racing
• Joe Nemechek
• Joey Logano
• Johnny Benson
• JR Motorsports
• Juan Pablo Montoya
• Justin Allgaier
• Kasey Kahne
• Kenny Shrader
• Kenny Wallace
• Kentucky Speedway
• Kevin Harvick
• Kurt Busch
• Kyle Busch
• Live blogs
• Lowes Motor Speedway
• Marcos Ambrose
• Mark Martin
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Matt Kenseth
• Max Papis
• Michael Waltrip Racing
• Michigan International Speedway
• Mike Helton
• Monday Morning Crew Chief
• Nascaholics
• NASCAR
• NASCAR & the Media
• NASCAR Bidness
• NASCAR Fantasy Gaming
• Nascar Legends
• NASCAR officials
• NASCAR Rumors
• NASCAR Tech
• NASCAR video
• Nationwide Series
• New Hampshire International Speedway
• Nextel Cup Series
• On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio
• Penske Racing
• Phil Parsons
• Pocono Raceway
• Prelude to the Dream
• Red Bull Racing
• Reed Sorenson
• Regan Smith
• Richard Childress Racing
• Richmond International Raceway
• road course ringers
• Robby Gordon
• Robert Yates Racing
• Roush Racing
• Rusty Wallace
• Ryan Newman
• Sam Hornish Jr
• Scott Speed
• Shut Up and Drive
• Sprint Cup Series
• Stewart Haas Racing
• Talladega Superspeedway
• Testing news
• The Busch Bros
• The Daily Bugle
• The Fast Lap
• The France Famliy
• The King
• The Pettys
• the Rock
• The Waltrips
• The Wood Brothers
• Toledo Speedway
• Tony Stewart
• Top 35 Rule
• Toyota
• Turn 3 posts
• Warren Wallace

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega for the fourth race of this year’s Chase for the Cup, many teams have already shifted their focus from running well this year to preparing for 2009. Most teams have already set their driver lineups for the future and are already trying to add their new drivers to the mix this year. It seems that to everybody but the 12 Chase drivers, the 2008 season no longer really matters.

Already, Team Red Bull has pulled A.J. Allmendinger from the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota for this weekend. Allmendinger had the best finish of his career at Kansas last week, a 9th place run, but was removed from the car for Talladega and Charlotte in favor of Mike Skinner. Red Bull’s driver of the future, former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed, will take over the car at Martinsville and beyond, in preparation for a Raybestos Rookie of the Year run in 2009.

This leaves Allmendinger unemployed for the last month and a half of the season, meaning that his future employer has a shot at acquainting him with his 2009 team right now. Rumors point to Allmendinger moving to a Dodge team, either the No. 41 at Chip Ganassi Racing or the No. 45 at Petty Enterprises, next year.

As Reed Sorenson is leaving the No. 41, there’s the slight possibility that Allmendinger could replace Sorenson there by next week at Charlotte, or even the week after at Martinsville. Sorenson would then be free to join Gillett Evernham Motorsports, where he will replace Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10 Dodge next year.

In the past, drivers have finished out the season with their lame-duck teams before moving on. However, more and more owners have moved towards ousting lame-duck drivers towards the end of the schedule in recent years, and more and more departing drivers are asking for an early release.

Kurt Busch was forced out of the No. 97 Ford for the last two races of 2005 by owner Jack Roush after being detained for reckless driving before a race at Phoenix. As 2006 replacement Jamie McMurray was unavailable, as he was still under contract to Ganassi, Kenny Wallace drove the car that weekend, finishing 16th. Wallace’s solid performance, despite his lack of practice time in the car, contributed to Furniture Row Racing’s decision to enter him in a full Cup schedule in 2006.

Elliott Sadler was granted an early release by Robert Yates Racing in August 2006. Sadler moved to Evernham Motorsports, which had just booted Jeremy Mayfield from its No. 19 Dodge. Granted, Mayfield had made some acrimonious statements about owner Ray Evernham, but the team wasn’t planning on retaining him anyway after a major dropoff in performance.

While it’s not positive to think that drivers and owners are now more inclined to abandon contracts towards the end of the season, it’s starting to become a trend in Sprint Cup. When next season becomes the focus, teams will do whatever they can to build momentum that they can carry into Daytona.

If cutting a lame-duck driver is the solution, owners won’t hesitate as much anymore. If asking for an early release is the solution, the driver will go ahead and do it. The driver doesn’t have as much to lose because he’s already guaranteed employment for the future, but with a recent emphasis on driver development (and a lot of other talented drivers, such as Mayfield, currently unemployed), owners don’t need to scramble for solutions as much anymore.

Prepare for more driver musical chairs – here are this week’s five Quick Hits, all dealing with other rumors around the garage area:

5. Despite a 12-race sponsorship commitment from Wells Fargo, Kyle Petty is no longer wanted at Petty Enterprises in the No. 45 car, according to wife Pattie. She says that the team’s new management told Petty before the race at Watkins Glen that they didn’t want him in the car anymore.

She hopes that Chip Ganassi will consider taking Petty on for a part-time schedule next season, perhaps in the No. 40 Dodge that currently sits dormant. Petty drove for the former incarnation of the Ganassi team, Sabco, from 1989 to 1996, posting six wins and a pair of 5th place finishes in points.

4. Michael Waltrip Racing is entering a partnership with JTG Daugherty Racing for 2009, which will switch to Toyota power from Ford. Marcos Ambrose will drive the No. 47 Little Debbie/Clorox Toyota for JTG, which will be run out of Waltrip’s sprawling RaceWorld garage.

Waltrip is also looking to sign Dow Chemicals to co-sponsor David Reutimann’s No. 00 Toyota with Aaron’s Rent for next season. Granted that both deals go through, and that Waltrip puts together a sponsorship program for Michael McDowell, four cars in-house at MWR for 2009 is a realistic possibility.

3. If Allmendinger doesn’t join Ganassi, Mayfield is a candidate for the No. 41 ride. Mayfield tested the No. 41 at Lowe’s last week and ran one race for Ganassi this year as a substitute for the injured Dario Franchitti. The car’s Target sponsorship is secure, as the company has been a Ganassi partner for over a decade.

2. Paul Menard will abandon the sinking ship that is Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this season, bringing his Menards family sponsorship over to Yates Racing. Menard will likely drive a third car as a teammate to Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland. Currently, Menard ranks 28th in points, with Kvapil 24th and Gilliland 26th. The car will likely carry No. 32, No. 90, or No. 98: the first relates to Yates’ current numbers, 28 and 38, and the second and third are other numbers Yates has used in Cup before.

1. Here’s a wild one: 1989 Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace is reportedly considering joining DEI to replace Menard, according to his brother Kenny. After watching Mark Martin announce a comeback to full-time Sprint Cup racing with Hendrick Motorsports next season, Kenny Wallace said to the Speed Channel that it’s “really tugged on Rusty’s heartstrings.” Rusty has denied the rumor, citing a long-term contract with ABC and ESPN, but the possibility is still there.

Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners at Kansas: Denny Hamlin in Nationwide, and Jimmie Johnson in Sprint Cup.

Horses for courses is an old horse racing addage and as such maybe more appropriate for Dover Downs or some fairgrounds dirt track than for the wide, racey Richmond International Raceway. But looking at the drivers who have won races at RIR has to make you think that one kind of horse is best for this course. And that would be a Chevy.

Look at the top 14 drivers in the 2008 Sprint Cup standings through the race last week at Auto Club Speedway. Between them they have 15 Richmond victories. Only two wins - one each for Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne - came in non-Chevys.

The list of the win-less includes the Roush-Fenway trio of Greg Biffle, David Ragan and Carl Edwards along with Joe Gibbs Racing twins Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

Anybody but Kyle or Carl?

It is tough any week in 2008, to not pick Edwards or the younger Busch. But Carl’s Loop Driver Rating for RIR is only 17th best at 79.7 and his Ave Finish is a dismal 20.7. He has only run 53.3 percent of the last seven Richmond races in the top 15 and has led just 15 laps. Ugly.

Kyle Busch at least has the third best DR of 110.6 and has the best Ave Finish of 5.6 over the seven Loop Data era races. He also has six top fives and no DNFs in those seven races. He doesn’t drive a Chevy. But I think he could win this year in a Hudson.

The Bow-tie brigade is led by Kevin Harvick with a top Driver Rating of 118.9. Harvick also has category bests of 278 Fastest Laps, 2677 Laps in the Top 15 and 599 Laps Led. One win, four top fives and nine top tens round out Happy’s RIR resume.

Two drivers have three Richmond wins each in Chevrolets but only one of those guys still drives one. Tony Stewart has the fourthbest DR at 102.3 to go along with those three wins in a Joe Gibbs Racing Chevy. Smoke has had seven top fives, 13 top tens and tops out a couple of Loop passing stats.

Dale Earnhardt Jr has three RIR wins too. His DR is only ninth best at 92.4 and he leads the Loop Green Flag Passes stat. Junior has seven top fives, nine top tens and he does still drive a Chevy. Are you confident yet Green Nation?

This is not statistically relevant maybe and certainly not scientific, but to me, Stewart and Earnhardt lead the series in bewildering performances this year. It just seems that they should do better than they do.

Virginia native Denny Hamlin has the second best Driver Rating at 114.8 and has run 97.5 percent of all of his Richmond laps in the top 15. Hamlin is one of the drivers on the bubble this week as he sits 11th in points. That will almost certainly lead to a conservative approach to Saturday night’s race. I don’t see a win from Hamlin.

Can Kasey do it?

Kasey Kahne is fifth in DR at 98.2 and is one of the non-Chevy Richmond winners. Kahne’s situation may be a bit different from Hamlin’s. Kasey is 14th in points and depending on how those he is trying to catch are doing in the race, he may run a conservative pace or go balls out for the highest finish he can get. He has won twice this year, so the car is capable. Watch Kasey.

Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman are sixth and seventh in Driver Rating but both are out of Chase contention, driving for an unsettled Penske Racing operation and in Dodges. I can’t see a win there.

Clint Bowyer is eighth at 93.2 DR. Bowyer is also the bubble boy in the Race to the Chase. He has to run a race based on where he sits in the points. Taking away his aggressiveness may be a mistake, but it will be the strategy Saturday night.

Neither Jeff Gordon nor Jimmy Johnson made the top ten in Driver Rating for RIR, though both are two-time winners there. Gordon is only about 100 points clear of falling out of the Chase, so he will have to run somewhat conservatively, one would think. Johnson will be thinking only of the ten bonus Chase points that go to the winner of the race.

I look for former Chevy pilot Kyle Busch to win for ninth time in 2008 and give Toyota its first Richmond victory. The upset special will have to be someone out of the Chase race, who can let it all hang out for a win. That sounds like Brian Vickers, who still has an outside chance of making NASCAR’s playoffs. But he needs a bunch of points.

Watch the weather. Rain is forecast for the weekend and some teams may go all out for mid-race track position in case this race ends early. Kurt Busch used that strategy earlier this season for his lone 2008 win.  Maybe Penske does have a shot after all.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin sports Jimmy Johnson-like Loop Data stats for this week’s Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Whether that means he’ll win again is debatable, but the numbers are compelling.  A NASCAR Loop Driver Rating of 100 or above is very strong.  Three guys have numbers above 100 for Pocono this week.  But Hamlin, with 130.4 is far and away the leader in that stat category.

In fact, Denny leads in seven of the Loop’s 16 Box Score stats.  The others are Ave Mid Race Position - 2.6, Ave Position - 5.6, Ave Finish - 2.8, 75.9 percent Quality Passes, 92.6 percent of Laps in the Top 15 and 33. percent of all Laps Led.

In five career races at the Long Pond, PA track Hamlin has two wins, four top fives, five top tens and two poles.  Spell Denny’s dominance with capital “D”s.

Can Kurt Busch or Tony Stewart Shake Off Early Struggles?

Second and third best in the Loop are Kurt Busch with 113.4 and Tony Stewart at 102.2 Driver Ratings.  Kurt is the top Ave Points per Race gainer at 1094 in seven races.  He also leads in Fastest Laps - 208, Laps in the Top 15 - 1074 and Laps Led with 343.  He’s a two time winner with seven top fives and eight top tens.

Tony Stewart has one win, five top fives and 13 top tens at Pocono Raceway.  He sports a series high 300 Quality Passes and a second best 1032 (78.8 percent) Laps in the Top 15.

Pocono could be the place for either of these guys to start a 2009 run.  But I’m not confident.  I think Stewart is too distracted.  Kurt’s team, though they have a 2009 win, has not looked good most weeks this year.

There are three drivers with DR’s of 97 or better.  Ryan Newman - 98.7, Brian Vickers - 97.9  and, who else,  Jimmie Johnson - 97.3.   Johnson, with two wins, four top fives and eight top tens looks strong again, especially coming off the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard win on the similar Indy track.

Newman has won at Pocono too and has five top fives and six top tens.  But the winless Vickers. with four top fives is the Cup driver most likely to get his first ever win soon.  Pocono Raceway is the perfect track for him and his Red Bull Toyota.

Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards all have 90 plus Loop Driver Ratings.  Gordon is a four time Pocono winner.  Martin has 19 top fives and 30 top tens.  Edwards is a past winner and Kasey Kahne won here in June.

If this were an IQ test, you might flunk it if you didn’t pick Hamlin.  My pick is Vickers.  And my dark-horse is his Red Bull Racing Teammate, A J Allmendinger.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

NASCAR’s Loop data for Chicagoland Speedway pulls stats from only the three most recent races run at the midwest cookie cutter, er, intermediate track. There have been seven races held at the facility.

Twelve drivers have Loop Driver Ratings above 90.00. Seven have ratings of 102.3 or higher. Those are big numbers.

Matt Kenseth leads with 126.2 and an average of 462 points gained per race. Matt has category leading stats of 146 Fastest Lap, an amazing 792 Laps in the Top Fifteen (98.5% of all laps in three races) an Ave Position of 3.9 and 289 Laps Led - 35.9% of the total. Kenseth is looking good to continue his recent resurgence.

Second best is Kevin Harvick at 114.6 DR. Kevin is a two time winner at Chicagoland Speedway but leads only in the Quality Passes Loop stat with 75.0.

Another two time winner, new Sprint Cup team owner, Tony Stewart, is next at 112.2. Can Smoke keep focused on the current year as he plans for 2009 and Stewart-Haas Racing’s debut? This is where Stewart started his 2007 summer hot streak. Why not again?

The next four in the Loop are Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Only Earnhardt has won at Chicagoland.. Brian Vickers has an Ave Start of 3.5 and Kyle Busch an Ave Mid Race Position of 3.0. Jimmy Johnson is, well, Jimmy Johnson.

This has not been a particularly good track for 2008 stallwarts of Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne or Clint Bowyer. But Jeff Gordon has a win on the track and a twelfth best Loop Rating.

I would pick Stewart if not for the all the distractions of the week. I’m looking at Kenseth to win for the first time in 2008. The upset special is, if you can ever call him an upset, Jeff Gordon.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Tony Stewart remains win-less so far in the 2008 Sprint Cup Series. So close, so many times, it seems inevitable that Smoke will break through soon.

Stewart has the best Driver Rating - 108.1 - for Daytona International Speedway for the last seven races run in NASCAR’s Loop data stats. In fact Smoke has led 32.2% of all the laps run in those seven events - 415 total . He’s a two time Daytona winner. Often stated and maybe, overrated is the fact that Stewart has a history of getting hot when the weather does. He had the best car and led the most laps last week at Loudon, until the rain screwed him - and most of the rest of the field - up. Maybe that was a sign. But 2008 doesn’t have the feel of a Stewart championship season. Maybe it’s karma. I’d pick him this week, but not with confidence.

It ain’t all Smoke though.

Many of the drivers who have been tough this year, score poorly in Daytona Loop data.

2008 race winners, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin have Driver Ratings of 78.1, 78.4 and 72.2 respectively. Newly re-signed, Roush- Fenway pilot Greg Biffle is tied with Elliott Sadler at 78.8.

Ryan Newman is second best, no doubt helped by his Daytona 500 win in February, with a Driver Rating of 98.6, but no individual stats jump out.

Jimmy Johnson is a past winner and third in the Loop DR with a 95.5. Johnson has run the most laps in the top 15 with 985 for 76.5% and has a series best Ave Position of 9.8.

Johnson is followed by the Busch brother tandem - Kyle at 95.3 and last week’s winner Kurt with a DR of 93.00. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon are next, also in the 90’s. Earnhardt Junior, the former king of the plate tracks is tenth with a 87.5 Driver Rating and a couple wins.

I have to go with Stewart, but as I said, I’m not real sold on it. Other than Smoke, I like Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was strong in February and has been the best of the Hendrick Motorsport drivers so far in 2008.

For a dark-horse - and sooner or later you won’t be able to call him that - Red Bull Racing’s Brian Vickers.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Does life ever get in the way of YOUR pastimes? Sometimes life gets in the way of mine. This blog is mostly a blast for me to write in. This week it has been a monster. Hence the title of this post - a reference to the old horror movies I grew up loving. Maybe next week’s version of the Loose in Turn 3 experiment will be attack of the two-headed Turn 3. Until then, check out my part in this serial, right here.

What will become of Dale Earnhardt Inc?

Charlie: If Martin Truex Jr and Mark Martin both leave the team - and their sponsors go too - DEI looks like a buy-out candidate to me. How about this scenario? Dale Junior wants to take his Nationwide Series team where the money is - Sprint Cup. Tony Stewart wants to own at least a share of a Chevy team. DEI has top thirty five owner’s on the #8 and the #1. Junior and Smoke partner up and buy Theresa Earnhardt out, with Tony driving one car, someone else - maybe Brad Kesolowski - in the other. Junior stays with Hendrick Motorsports, as his daddy did with RCR. There are holes in the argument, I know. But it would be one hell of a story.

Bruce: If Truex and Martin leave, DEI becomes a museum. Otherwise, I can’t punch too many holes your idea Charlie. Actually, I wouldn’t want to. Maybe once Tony and Jr. take DEI over, they can move the 8 back to Jr. in HMS. LOL.

TZ: The notion of Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. co-owning DEI is a pipe-dream at best. Stewart will wind up in an ownership role once he’s done driving … Jr. will bring JR Motorsports to the Cup level within the next couple of years … and, DEI will continue to press forward in its same crummy state for the next few years before either someone else in the family that’s not named Dale takes over, or they just fold altogether.

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

Check out Bruce’s NASCAR Bits for this slippage in the third turn…

Do you think Kurt Busch giving up his points to Sam Hornish hurt the team overall?

And TZ at Do You Nascar has this…

With the recent folding of Chip Ganassi’s #40 operation due to lack of sponsorship, is this a trend that we can continue to expect in NASCAR with other teams that have struggled with sponsorship…. teams like Yates Racing?

Kyle Busch won the Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway and with his first Cup Series road course win has answered perhaps every question but one.

Rowdy….I really hate that nickname. Rowdy was Clint Eastwood’s character on the old Rawhide TV show. Kyle Busch is no Clint Eastwood. But, as my friend the Dude would say, I digress. Rowdy is now, in my opinion, a five tool racer.

The “five tool player” moniker is a baseball term. Five tool ballplayers are said to have it all. Wikipedia says this about them…

In baseball, a five-tool player is one who excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, baserunning skills and speed, throwing ability, and fielding abilities.

The road course win was the missing “tool” for the Shrub. In my version the five tools are really five track types that make up the Sprint Cup schedule. Kyle had already won on NASCAR’s prolific intermediate tracks. He has a short track victory at Bristol. This year brought a plate race triumph at Talladega. On one mile tracks, of every sort - flat Phoenix, concrete Dover and tough Loudon - he’s Jack the Bear.

Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick are five toolers. So is Mark Martin. Earnhardt Sr was one, but Junior isn’t. The list is short.

You can win a championship in the Cup Series and not be a five tool driver. Jimmy Johnson has won two straight Cups and he’s a good enough road racer that a win at the Glen or Infineon will probably come, but hasn’t yet. The un-answered question for Kyle Busch is - can he close the whole deal and win a Cup championship?

The evidence for Busch - 9 Cup wins, 15 Nationwide and 8 Truck Series victories - points to a yes answer to the question. Mark Martin fans would tell you not to count your chickens too soon.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - OnPitRow.com

I have been looking through the entry list for the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. I had plans to write something about road course ringers or some such.  Fact is, there aren’t that many ringers any more.  But there are an awful lot of experienced road racers driving Dodges this weekend in wine country.

Start with the Ganassi Racing trio of defending race winner Juan Pablo Montoya and teammates Dario Franchitti and Scott Pruett - strongest driver line-up in the race. Gillette- Everham has red hot Kasey Kahne with Patrick Carpentier - who will be good - and Elliott Sadler.  Penske’s Kurt Busch is strong here as is Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr is experienced turning both ways.  The Labonte brothers will make Petty Enterprises a factor. Robby Gordon might be a favorite to win this thing.

No manufacturer has a stronger driver roster for Sonoma this year than Dodge.

Photo credit: Photo Credit: Mike Doran

When Kyle Busch looks in the mirror these days, he may see Jeff Gordon staring back at him. I guess that wouldn’t be so bad if he saw Ingrid standing behind him too. Sorry Shrub. Don’t get you hopes up.

The mirror image comes from the similar ways the two NASCAR stars have dominated the Cup Series - Gordon in 2007 and Busch this season - the last two years.

After 13 races in 2007, Gordon had won three. Kyle has four wins so far this year. Gordon led second place Jimmy Johnson by 152 points while Busch has a 142 point advantage on Jeff Burton.

In the all important - at least to the NASCAR stat geeks - Loop Driver Rating, Gordon had a DR of 111.4 including five straight races of at least 120.0. Currently, Kyle Busch has a DR of 115.2 with four consecutive, single race DR’s of 120.0 or better.

Gordon won the Pocono 500 in 2007. His Driver Rating at Pocono Raceway going into the 500 is fifth best at 97.5. He is a four-time winner at Pocono and has a career Ave Finish of 10.2. Kyle Busch has a Driver Rating of 87.0 - 12th best - for the PA track and an Ave Finish of 16.7. Are you inspired yet?

Maybe we are looking at the wrong Busch. Brother Kurt has a DR of 116.6 and series best stats of 241 Green Flag Passes, 207 Fastest Laps, 343 Laps Led and 952 Ave Points Gained. But the two-time Pocono winner would be hard to pick, given his 2008 performances so far.

The Loop Stat stud of the week is Kyle’s teammate Denny Hamlin. In his four career Pocono appearances Denny has finished top five three times and won twice. His Ave Start - 2.5, Ave Mid-Race - 3.0, Ave Position - 4.6 and Ave Finish - 2.8 are all category leading. His Driver Rating is a stunning 133.1. Unlike Kurt Busch, Hamlin is having a very good 2008. He looks like the logical choice this weekend.

Smoke and Mirrors

Hamlin’s other teammate - Tony Stewart- has Pocono’s third best Driver Rating.  2008 has been somewhat a disappointment for Stewart fans. He remains win-less for ‘08, often falling victim to race incidents that aren’t his fault. His scathing, back-handed slap at Elliott Sadler after the Dover big one was funny. The result, not so much.  I wonder if the distractions of silly season are hurting Stewart’s on-track performance.  But after watching him do everything but take tickets at his Prelude to the Dream exhibition race at Eldora Speedway this week - and then win the feature race going away - I would say he no problem with focus during a race.  Smoke is a past winner at Pocono and has a couple of category leading stats too.  If the karma from Eldora carries over this could be the week that starts his annual summer streak.

Ryan Newman is the only other driver with a DR over 100 - 101.9 to be exact.  Newman has run more laps in the top fifteen than anyone else at the Green two and a half mile with 931.  That team has been frustratingly inconsistent since Daytona. I have a hard time pulling the Rocketman’s trigger.

Jimmy Johnson swept both Pennsylvania races in 2004. He has seven top tens and no DNF’s in his carreer here. Driver Rating of 93.8 is ninth best behind Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and my dark-horse pick, Brian Vickers.

Vickers’ DR of 97.0 is sixth best, he’s run 810 laps in the top 15 over the last six races and led 140 of them. The Toyota horsepower should be an advantage on the three long Pocono straights. Brian could win here.

But I’ve got to take Denny Hamlin.  Same Toyota motor, much better track record.  Mark it down.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, inc.

Blogroll

• Amy’s Bad Groove
• Answer This
• Bruce’s NASCAR Bits & Pieces
• Car a Day
• Catfish Show
• Church of the Great Oval
• Do You NASCAR?
• Fast and Fabulous
• Fast Machines
• From the Marbles
• Full Throttle
• In the Pits
• Kathy’s Pit Stop
• Laidback Racing
• Life in the Turn Lane
• Lug Nuts
• Motorsports Soapbox
• NASCAR Bloggers Full Throttle
• NASCAR Chase
• NASCAR Eclectic
• NASCAR Ranting and Raving
• NASCAR This Week
• On Pit Row
• One Bad Wheel
• One Lugnut Short
• Restrictor Plate This
• Rev’ Jim’s Rants
• Robby News
• Ryan Newman Fan
• The Backstretch
• The Chick’s View
• The Daly Planet
• The Race Kitten Report
• The View from Here
• Thunder Lounge
• Trixie’s Trailer Park
• Trouble in Turn 2
• TSR Fan
• Unrestricted
• Vroom
• ZuDfunck the “Dude”

Racing Websites

• ARCA and Toledo Speedway
• ASA Late Model Series
• Asian Motorports
• Backstretch Motorsports
• Cup Scene
• Inside the Pit Box
• Jayski’s
• Lori’s War Wagon
• Nascapper
• NASCAR Fanhouse
• No Fenders
• Race Space
• Race Talk Radio
• Racing News Digest
• Sports Mates
• Stock Car Pit Pass
• Stock Car Science
• The Backstretch Boys
• There’s Always An Angler
• USAC

Advertisement

Copyright © 2008 Bench Racing Productions, LLC. · All rights reserved.
Content may not be duplicated, or redistributed without express written permission.

OnPitRow.com | Bench Racing | Fast Lap | About Us | Contact Us
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Advertise with us!