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NASCAR teams may well be the smartest group of individuals assembled of any major sport.

The stick and ball sports are ripe with the stories of dumb athletes; who in spite of their own stupidity can excel in their chosen profession.  You don’t have to look too far back into history to see some of America’s most revered athletes doing something that defies reason.  The NFL alone has the likes of “Pacman” Jones, Michael Vick and Ricky Williams; who not only have done some stupid things, but illegal as well.

Compare that to the hundreds of NASCAR drivers, owners and team members that are rarely involved in these stupid acts.  Could it be that NASCAR team mates just need to use their brains to solve the challenges of this sport, more than raw physical ability?  NASCAR teams have engineers in all facets of the sport including the likes of drivers Ryan Newman and the late Alan Kulwicki.

Getting a 3500 pound race car to do what is necessary to make consistant fast laps falls onto the shoulders of the teams to out think the car.  Maybe the days of Cale or the Allisons or Pearson muscling a car for 500 miles are long gone because race teams have found ways to work smarter and not harder.

And if the teams are smarter than most then it stands to reason that the fans are smarter than those of other sports.

This leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

If you had the power to change one thing, and one thing only, about NASCAR, what would it be?

Let us know what you think and we may use your comment on this weeks ON PIT ROW radio show.  Listen live at 5pm ET on Tuesdays at www.onpitrow.com

Image credits: Hanna Barbara, findagrave.com

There has been a huge amount written since the end of the season about how much NASCAR will be different in 2009.

I have to wonder if NASCAR will indeed be substantially different than in the recent past.  Will the competition between the haves and the have-nots equal out?  Most likely, if anything it will broaden, forcing teams like Furniture Row Motorsports to greatly reduce their participation.  The resources that Roush-Fenway, Hendricks and Richard Childress have in comparison to the Pettys, Yates or Stewart-Haas is will keep the disparity wide.  The elimination of testing for teams on any track that NASCAR goes to in its five touring stock car series will result in the teams with sponsorship dollars, reallocating those dollars to other forms of testing.

Wind tunnels, seven post shakers and video game analysis will replace on track testing for the teams that are looking to spend money.  Teams that don’t have that money will fall further and further behind.  And if that happens, then NASCAR 2009, will look for all the world like NASCAR 2008, where two-thirds of the races were won by three drivers.

NASCAR likes to boast that there are more cars capable of winning each week than ever before.  Maybe that is correct–but they don’t win.  2008 saw Kyle, Jimmie and Carl win the vast majority of the races and that won’t likely change in 2009.  The names might change to Jeffy or Junior, The Biff and Happy; but the sport will be dominated by the big three car owners because they have the wherewithal to ride out “these tough economic times”.

And that leads us to this weeks BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

What team will be most affected by the loss of their driver; Stewart from JGR, Newman from Penske or Menard from DEI/Ganassi?

Let us know what you think and we just might use your comment on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show.  Listen live from 5-7pm ET, Tuesdays year round at www.onpitrow.com.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

NASCAR has banned testing on the Sprint Cup car that most drivers have called evil or worse and leaves their crew chiefs scratching heads or screaming into radios - “I already tried that!”. The ban will save money, the suits in Daytona claim. Most owners and their managers seem to agree. But is this move really more of a gesture than a real solution?

According to Mike Mulhern’s article on the subject of cost cutting in NASCAR, Toyota’s Lee White proposed something more radical - actually  limiting each team to as few as five cars.

“White says that during mid-season discussions the issue of limiting teams to just five cars was raised: “NASCAR is already putting holograms on the frame-rails of every car, so just tell the teams ‘You only get five cars. And when you start testing, design a car that can be adjustable to running speedways, intermediate tracks, short-tracks and road courses,’” White says.

OK, using the list above, one car each for plate tracks, intermediates, shorties and road courses leaves a team with one extra. That car would have to do multiple duty - hell all of these cars would. Damage your Bristol car in practice and what - break out the plate car? Remember when  - who was it Junior? Stewart?  - used his Bristol car at Daytona last year? And what about back to back to back cookie-cutter weekends like the Chase produces?

Then there is the travel complication. If you wreck your intermediate car at Fontana in February do you send it back to North Carolina to fix it before Atlanta and make do at Vegas with something makeshift? I could see mega-budget teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Roush-Fenway Racing  flying cars around - just as Formula One teams do -  to save time, using some of the dollars that NASCAR sees as savings. The small guys probably couldn’t do that.

Limiting the number of cars in a team seems like a legit way to cut investment and expenses. But five cars isn’t enough. With twenty unique cars being the norm right now, cutting to ten seems doable though. It’s the best idea that I’ve seen so far.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Well, everybody, the 2008 NASCAR season is finally over. After ten grueling months of hard-fought racing, drivers and teams have earned the right to two months’ rest and relaxation in preparation for 2009.

Except, of course, it’s not going to be all relaxation for anyone by any means, as personnel cuts in the Sprint Cup garages have reached the triple digits, dozens of drivers are looking for work, team owners can’t find sponsorship to save their life, the Nationwide Series only has about 20 full-time cars right now, the Camping World Truck Series doesn’t have manufacturer support in some cases anymore…

…like I said, two months’ worth of well-deserved R&R. We saw Jimmie Johnson win an incredible third consecutive Sprint Cup, becoming only the second driver to ever do so. Clint Bowyer won his first Nationwide championship after battling Carl Edwards to the final race at Homestead. And of course, Johnny Benson won his first Truck Series championship after coming into the season finale with a single-digit point lead over Ron Hornaday. This was one of the most exciting years in NASCAR championship history, to say the least.

Then again, Johnson took all the fun out of this championship by making a mockery of the Chase format. Bowyer, Edwards, and the lot proved yet again that the Nationwide Series is Cup Lite, as six out of every seven races were won by Cup drivers. Even the Truck Series finale featured Benson’s teammate Scott Speed mixing it up with Hornaday in the final laps, all but handing the championship to Benson…

…like I said, one of NASCAR’s most exciting years ever. We also saw over 43 full-time cars in the Sprint Cup Series for much of the season, with teams like Richard Childress Racing and Germain Racing (with newcomer Max Papis) adding still more to the car count for 2009.

Oh, but did I mention the fact that many Truck races didn’t have enough trucks to fill the field? That MSRP Motorsports start-and-parked a grand total of 61 times in 70 attempts this season in Nationwide? That only about 30 Sprint Cup, 20 Nationwide, and a handful of Truck Series programs have set their driver and sponsorship programs for 2009?

Oh, and did I mention that Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing were forced into a shotgun marriage by virtue of lack of sponsorship and performance, which helped lead to the elimination of nearly 200 jobs?

I’ll take my two months’ rest and relaxation, thanks.

For the time being, I’m working on a modest proposal on how to fix NASCAR. Yes, single-handedly. You’ll see that on here in… I don’t know, I’d like it to be a quality project, so bi-weekly installments? I have a life, you know, applying to colleges and whatnot.

In the mean time, thanks for reading and putting up with my Jekyll-and-Hyde optimistic pessimism, and see you in February.

Carl Edwards did all he could do to win the championship on the last day of the playoffs.

His win at Homestead-Miami Speedway while also leading the most laps gave him his only chance to derail the juggernaut that was Jimmy Johnson in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup.  Edwards knew going into Championship Weekend that his taking his first NASCAR cup championship was tenuous at best.  Jimmy Johnson was nNationwideot going to let Edwards spoil his quest for his third consecutive Cup championship.

Not only did Edwards win the race and loose the championship on Sunday but it was a “Groundhog Day” type experience.  Sunday’s disappointment came on the heels of a similar incident on Saturday.  Edwards won the  race on Saturday only to have to watch Clint Bowyer celebrate the championship.

Jimmy’s third Cup championship have all been under the new Chase format.  Cale Yarbourogh’s three came under the old system.  Arguments have been made that Yarborough’s feat was more impressive because he had to race the entire field throughout.

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

Is winning three championships in a row under the Chase format more or less of an accomplishment than winning under the old system?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comment on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show.  Listen live at www.onpitrow.com from 5-7pm ET on Tuesdays.  Or you can call the show live and give us your opinion toll free at 1-866-502-8255 and if you are deemed the Shell gunk free call of the day, you could win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead.

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR .

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

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

To win races in any series requires adjustment. If your car is tight in the turns, you play with stagger, tire pressure, track-bar settings and wedge. Drivers want the thing perfect and for the crews, it’s a constant search for that perfection.

Maybe NASCAR should take a cue from Bob Osborne and Chad Knaus. The Chase to the Cup ain’t perfect guys. The shrinking crowds and TV ratings should tell you that. Time to adjust.

The Bench Racing portion of our Tight in Turn Two  series attempt to help the Family France with there issues.

If you had the power to make one change and only one, what is that one change you would make to the Cup Series?

 Charlie:  I would make the difference in points value between the winner and the second place finisher of every race, 25 points. Increasing the points for a win has been one of my pet causes for a few years now. Watching Carl Edwards and the Office Depot Racing  team gambling on the track and in the pits has made what could have been a ho-hum late Chase, anything but boring. Just imagine if three or four other teams thought that stringing a few wins together might just get them back in contention.

Bruce:  Charlie, I thought we were supposed to have differing opinions on issues? Sheesh. I agree with you on the points per win. Make it more valuable to win and when someone has a win streak (If you can count 2 in a row a streak) or a successive number of wins, that would make it more interesting indeed. Someone 2 or 3 spots down in the chase could have a win, and make up a lot of ground rather than a point or two. Nice.

If I were to change anything in the NASCAR Cup series, I’d…well, then…no, maybe I’d…crap. There’s quite a few things that come to mind. Rule books, templates, rule enforcements, weather, qualifying, TV coverage, controlling fans from throwing things - it’s nuts! So many things to pick from and so little space to choose.

Hmm…despite many options, I’d say “drop the farce” of team ownership limits. The teams always find a way around the car team limits per owner.From dispersing ownership to wives and drivers and heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone’s dog owns a team.

Yes, it would “threaten” the smaller independent teams, but heck, they’ve been getting absorbed anyway. The smaller teams will just have to try to get under the roof of one of the big wigs from the get go and then, as they succeed, maybe break away at a later date.

That’s what we think. What do you think? Let us know in the comment section of this post.

Then, if you haven’t already done so, head over to Bruce’s NASCAR Bits and tell us what you think of Bruce’s topic this week…

In going with your theme of picking one thing, what would you do to help increase attendance in these tough economic times?

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

 

NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series enters the second-to-last race of the season at Phoenix with many teams still unsure about their 2009 plans. In recent years, most teams have already set their lineups for the following season by this point. However, plenty of drivers are still searching for employment, and plenty of teams are still attempting to put together the right packages to allow them to go racing next year.

A good amount of the field still lacks sponsorship for 2009 and beyond, and even top-tier teams are feeling the crunch. Longtime stalwarts such as Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing are having problems inking long-term deals in a crumbling economy. Four cars between them next season is a possibility, despite the teams running seven this year. Even Hendrick Motorsports recently had a modest round of layoffs that sent Stevie Reeves, Jimmie Johnson’s spotter, packing.

At last count, 35 full-time Sprint Cup seats have been filled by drivers for next season (not including Max Papis’ limited schedule with Germain Racing). Of those 35, cars for David Reutimann, Aric Almirola, Reed Sorenson, Ryan Newman, Juan Montoya, Bobby Labonte, and Chad McCumbee have either partial sponsorship or none altogether. Assuming that two open seats with full sponsorship (the No. 21 at Wood Brothers Racing and the No. 41 at Chip Ganassi Racing) are filled, and assuming the worst in regards to all other unsettled teams, we could only see 36 full-time cars attempting the race at Daytona.

This week’s Quick Hits is, in effect, a premature analysis of cause of death for some cars that may not be around come February. Be prepared to say farewell to any of the following next year:

5. No. 28 or 38 Yates Racing Fords: Yates has full-time sponsorship for Paul Menard from his family’s hardware store chain for one car next season. While team owners Doug Yates and Max Jones have suggested that they will add a third car for Menard, rather than replace either Travis Kvapil or David Gilliland, the team cannot afford to patch together limited sponsorships as they have this year.

The two current drivers have combined to run eight races with blank cars, and the majority of the rest with very limited sponsorship. Had Ford not filled in some holes earlier this year, the team would have run 15 of 72 races unsponsored. With many of those companies probably not returning in 2009, the team may only have enough sponsorship for one of its current drivers next year.

4. No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota: With rumors of a buyout by Gillett Evernham Motorsports at a standstill, not much is known of the fate of this team. Bill Davis has entered this car in NASCAR competition since 1993, and whether Maxwell House, MBNA, or Caterpillar was on the car, it has never been unsponsored. Davis has had these issues with other cars before, but never with its mainstay Cup team.

Right now, the team’s best hope is that Toyota decides to move up its sponsorship from the Truck Series to this car, but that’s iffy at best. If the team puts Michael Annett in the car, they may attract sponsors based on his raw talent and potential, but the deals might be similar in nature to what Yates has been doing this year. Those life-support deals won’t be enough to sustain a team for too long.

3. No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota: This is a team in disarray under a relatively new owner partnership. The team has no alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota past this season, no bona fide driver (with Brad Coleman getting the shaft in most of the team’s recent deals), and less than a full season’s sponsorship from DLP HDTV.

Recent reports have had the team switching to Ford and partnering up with the Wood Brothers for 2009, reuniting the Woods with Ken Schrader, who currently drives the No. 96. The Woods claim that their sponsorship for 2009 is all set, meaning the two could collaborate on finding deals for the No. 96. Regardless, rest assured that without some sort of alliance, this team will not be around in 2009.

2. No. 77 Penske Racing Dodge: Rumors keep swirling that Sam Hornish Jr. is going to return to the IndyCar Series with Penske for 2009, possibly to replace Helio Castroneves, who is currently facing tax issues. Regardless of Penske’s potential need for its IRL team, however, the results haven’t been there. The best American open-wheel driver of this decade hasn’t been able to translate his skills to the heavier stock cars.

If Hornish stays, look for Mobil 1 to stay with him. Mobil has been a longtime Penske sponsor and had been looking to expand to a full-time primary for a couple years before Hornish’s arrival. If Hornish departs, however, they may replace Kodak on David Stremme’s No. 12 Dodge.

1. No. 01 and 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolets: No one can say they didn’t see this coming. The No. 01 has had minor partners at best all year, and the No. 15 has neither driver nor sponsor for 2009 with Menard’s departure. Regan Smith’s win (cough) at Talladega has drawn some interest, but most agree that Aric Almirola has more promise than Smith, and any sponsorship attracted would probably go there.

The team may be merging with Chip Ganassi Racing, which would afford Smith a shot at the No. 41, Almirola’s needs permitting. J.J. Yeley has also stated that $12 million in sponsorship would land him in one of those cars for next season, but given his underwhelming performance this year, it might be a longshot.

On a more positive note, however, congratulations to last week’s winners at Texas: Ron Hornaday, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards in the Truck, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup races, respectively.

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