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From Bad Start to Devastating: Jimmie Johnson’s Daytona 500

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

February 29, 2012 3:22 pm UTC No Comments

The NASCAR gods are piling on Jimmie Johnson’s #48 team. The other shoe dropped from the pre-practice violations found on the Lowes Chevrolet.

Johnson, who gained just 2 Sprint Cup championship points at Daytona, will enter the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, dead last with a minus 23 points. Come on man, he didn’t even win the Cup in 2011!

Here’s the NASCAR press release.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 29, 2012) – NASCAR has issued penalties, suspensions and fines to the No. 48 team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rules infractions found on Feb. 17 during opening day inspection for the Daytona 500.

The No. 48 car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the rule book or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-2.1E (if in the judgment of NASCAR officials, any part or component of the car not previously approved by NASCAR that has been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance will not be permitted – unapproved car body modifications).

As a result, crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec have been suspended from the next six (6) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship events, suspended from NASCAR until April 18 and placed on NASCAR probation until May 9. Additionally, Knaus has been fined $100,000.

Driver Jimmie Johnson and car owner Jeff Gordon have been penalized with the loss of 25 driver and 25 owner points, respectively.

At least Chad Knaus gets a vacation out of it.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler – OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, NASCAR, Phoenix International Raceway, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Chad Knaus, It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught

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Fins to the Left Fins to the Right Daytona Pack Racing is All Right

by Charlie Turner

February 28, 2012 11:48 am UTC No Comments

The 2012 Daytona 500 was memorable for many things including the debut of Monday Night NASCAR.

I don’t write race recaps. I don’t enjoy doing them and there are really good, professional journalists who do that better than I ever could anyway. So go read Bob Pockrass or Dustin Long or Ryan McGee’s stories this week if you want to know what happened in the Daytona 500 and why it did.

Congrats to Matt Kenseth on winning the race and to Jack Roush for owning the front row of the grid in addition to the car that won the race. Nice start for the Roushies in 2012.

Dale Earnhardt Jr finished second, and looked to have a shot at the win late in the race. But it was not to be.

The Pack is Back. Pack racing at restrictor plate tracks is once again the rule. The proof came when, with a couple laps left, and Kenseth all alone out front with no one to draft with, the combo of Junior and Greg Biffle couldn’t catch him.

In the days of tandem plate racing, Matt would have been as toasted as Reilly Mansfield at a Saturday night gig. But he held on.

The pack racing led to some crazy wrecks. And Juan Pablo Montoya’s, yellow flag spin into a jet dryer was just bizarre . So was 15 hours, spread over two days, of pre-race fill by DW, MW and MJ.

I hope to hell there’s no weather in the forecast for Phoenix.

Photo credit: Round girl Cindi by BethAnne Heisler – OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Waltrip, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: bob pockrass, Dustin Long, restrictor plates, Ryan McGee

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NASCAR 2012 Daytona 500 Year of the Twitter

by Charlie Turner

February 27, 2012 11:46 pm UTC No Comments

Have you heard of twitter NASCAR?

Give me a break. As we wait for the restart of the Daytona 500, after a horrifying, firey, yellow flag crash that others will write about plenty, I’m listening to DW and Mike Joy talk about their twitter accounts.

Darrell let “slip” that his twitter had passed 100K followers this weekend. And that Brad Keselowski’s twitter had done this and someone else’s had done that. Mikey Waltrip is a twitter whore. The NASCAR garage is a twitter bordello.

I get it. We have a twitter account. Hardly worth mentioning. I tweet a few things that I think might be entertaining or enlightening. Mostly stuff about the show. I retweet smart things I see. I don’t live on it.

I remember, during 2011, asking Jeff Hammond (he wasn’t the only one) if he was on twitter. He said he didn’t do that social media stuff.

Last week, we had @HollywoodJeff on the show for the first time in 2012. He mentioned twitter and social media and our twitter accounts and social media and his twitter and..on..and on…socially…

This is a rant. I’m sick of guys who have all the attention anyway, using air time that should be used giving us info, instead using it to pump their f’ing egos.

Filed under: Darrell Waltrip, Michael Waltrip, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media

Tagged with: Add new tag

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Tony Raines and the Daytona NASCAR Dads Car

by Charlie Turner

February 26, 2012 9:28 am UTC No Comments

When we had Front Row Motorsports‘ driver Tony Raines live On Pit Row Tuesday, the team knew they were in the race but still lacked sponsorship for the Daytona 500.

Tony told us that he thought he’d heard of some interest, but didn’t know – or didn’t divulge – who had the dough.

Turns out Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s campaign is going to sponsor the #26 Ford Fusion in the Great American Race.

Makes sense. NASCAR fan demographics shade well to the right politically. George DubbYa knew that. So did Ronald Reagan. Remember Reagan in the booth when King Richard Petty won his last 500? NASCAR Dads?

Front Row and Raines are underdogs today in the 500. But so was Santorum 6 weeks ago and now he’s at the top of the polls. Karma is on the side of the #26 today.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt

Filed under: Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media

Tagged with: Front Row Motorsports, Tony Raines

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NASCAR Pack Racing Has Risen from the Grave

by Charlie Turner

February 25, 2012 11:24 pm UTC No Comments

Is it possible that NASCAR has found the perfect balance in restrictor plate racing?

Could the Family France have found harmony between 2011′s, new age, tandem – or pairs – plate racing and the old school, flash mob, chaos of recent seasons?

It sure looked that way in the Nationwide Series, Drive for COPD 300. Congrats to James Buescher, on surviving the wreck fest and winning the race.

Rookie driver John King pulled a similar rabbit out of the wrecks in Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NextEra Energy Resources 250, but that isn’t the point I want to make.

For maybe 90 percent of the NNWS race, pack racing was the story. Caused a bunch of semi-BIG ONES and wrecked a bunch of contenders. Fun stuff.

Then, for about the last 25 restarts (I know, it was about 4 really) the whole tandem-racing thing came back. Which I kind of – in the minority I think – like.

They still wrecked like they all owned body shops, but it was tandem wrecking, not pack wrecking.

I think I liked it. Cannot wait for Sunday.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: Camping World Truck Series, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, Nationwide Series

Tagged with: Drive for COPD 300, James Buescher, John King, NextEra Energy Resources 250, restrictor plates

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Big John? How ‘Bout Morganna?

by Charlie Turner

February 8, 2012 12:02 pm UTC No Comments

John Cena is no Morganna. Do you remember Morganna? Whether you do or don’t, she was a better fit for NASCAR than Big John. Big Morganna at least had something(s) that a guy like Tim Richmond might have related too. Cena is not a fit. I hope.

I tried but I cannot find a Winston Cup race where Morganna was the Grand Marshal. But I am sure that my, formerly adolescent memory, is not failing me. I can picture them -’eh her – up on the podium, wrapping Richard or Cale or Bobby, somebody in her loving… embrace….

There was a bit of complaining about Cena being the pick for Daytona 500 Grand Marshall. On Twitter, there was a virtual bitchin’ storm.

Good.

Get y’all’s Red-Neck on.

NASCAR needs just about anything that stirs the fan pot and gets The Kingdom of France aroused.

Real racing is a week or so away and it can’t come soon enough. Who cares who stands on the big stage three weeks from now - at the beginning of the race – if he doesn’t drive a race car?

Or have really big …. assets.

Credit: World Wrestling Entertainment

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Daytona 500, NASCAR

Tagged with: John Cena, Tim Richmond, Winston Cup, WWE

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