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Richard Petty vs Cale Yarborough: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Sweet 16

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

April 18, 2009 7:51 am UTC 10 Comments

The King against Cale. ‘Nuff said. The premier Sweet 16 match up of the Fast Lap region in the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Richard Petty. Maybe I’ll just stop there. I mean, he IS called the King. But I can’t, I have a contract. 200 Cup wins, seven Winston Cup championships and 123 poles. All records. So are the seven Daytona 500 victories, 10 consecutive wins and 27 wins in a single season. And he looks fabulous in a cowboy hat.

Cale Yarborough was the first driver to win three consecutive Cup Series championships -’76 – ’78. His 83 victories (562 starts) are fifth best all-time and 69 poles are third best. Was the Series runner-up three times and was Daytona 500 winner four times. Holds the record for most overall poles at Daytona with 12. Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

Yarborough had to defeat Dale Earnhardt Jr in round one and Dale Jarrett in the round of 32. Jim Paschal and Rusty Wallace had the unfortunate luck of drawing King Richard along the way. Now it’s Cale’s turn. Can he de-throne the King and move on to the Elite Eight? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett, Daytona 500, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, Rusty Wallace, The King, The Pettys

Tagged with: Cale Yarborough, Jim Paschal, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Richard Petty, Winston Cup

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Jim Paschal vs Richard Petty: 64 Greatest NASCAR Drivers Round 2

by Charlie Turner

April 10, 2009 7:35 pm UTC 8 Comments

One of NASCAR’s masters of the short tracks has the unenviable draw of the sport’s all-time biggest winner. Somebody has to do it as we try to get through round two and into the Sweet Sixteen in the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Jim Paschal competed in 421 Cup series races over a 21 year career. He won 25 times and had 230 top tens driving for, at one point, Petty Enterprises as Richard Petty’s teammate on the no. 42, and as the King’s replacement due to injury. Paschal also had success in the red, white and blue AMC Javelins, winning a Cup race in ’69. Jim was a short track master, winning only two World 600s on big super speedways.

Jim Paschal edged Handsome Harry Gant in his first round match and the King dispatched the unlucky Rusty Wallace. I suspect that Jim Paschal’s run in the Fast Lap region is about to end. But I could be wrong. Let us know what you think in the comment section.

Filed under: Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, Rusty Wallace, The King, The Pettys

Tagged with: AMC Javelin, Harry Gant, Jim Paschal, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Rusty Wallace, Winston Cup, World 600

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FISHIN’ BAIT… THA TOAD DUZ JAPAN!

by Art Almond, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

Awright y'all... I'm tha crazy dude that is known as... "Drawer-Dude" I draw funny pictures of this racin' cartoon character that I created... known as "PIT-ROAD-TOAD! You can see more Toad-Toons at my blog site... RACIN' RUCKUS

March 23, 2009 4:03 pm UTC 3 Comments

Today…

I went to tha grocery store ‘n saw ahh whole cold cabinet ahh fully prepared Sushi!

This visual left me queasy… ‘n reminded me that I had ahh TOAD-TOON that incorporated this… ahhh hmmm… popular food source that I did back in 1996.

I remember back when I did tha original frame that tha logistics of Race Teams from Mooresville, NC goin’ tahh Japan wuz ahh huge concern. Dale Earnhardt Senior, and Junior both attended. I think tha teams had tahh send their cars, ‘n all related equipment over via ocean freighter weeks in advance. Tha drivers ‘n all personnel flew commercially days prior!

Here are some interesting facts about the Suzuka City race in 1996.

1) It was the first time that both Dale Sr. and Dale Jr. actually raced each other.

2) Rusty Wallace won the event.

3) On a sad note, pace car driver Elmo Langley died from a heart attack while driving the pace car during an exhibition event. Elmo was the pace car driver that Dale Sr. would periodically “bump” from behind to everyone’s amusement… except for maybe Elmo’s!

4) In 1997 at another event at Suzuka City, because of rain, Goodyear used their much talked about “Rain Tires” for the first time in history!

A special credit goes to Dale Sr. who actually referred to sushi as fishin’ bait!

Filed under: Ask.com Racing, Comics, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Inc., NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Pit Road Toad, Richard Childress Racing, Rusty Wallace

Tagged with: Add new tag, Art Almond, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Drawer-Dude, Pit Road Toad, Suzuka City

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Richard Petty vs Rusty Wallace: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Match Up

by Charlie Turner

March 23, 2009 2:26 pm UTC 9 Comments

Talk about your bad draws. You’re one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, have over 50 wins and a Cup championship, but you are a BIG underdog. Titanic toss-up in the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Richard Petty. Maybe I’ll just stop there. I mean, he IS called the King. But I can’t, I have a contract. 200 Cup wins, seven Winston Cup championships and 123 poles. All records. So are the seven Daytona 500 victories, 10 consecutive wins and 27 wins in a single season. And he looks fabulous in a cowboy hat.

Rusty Wallace is eighth on the all-time victory list with 55 in 706 starts. He was the ’89 Winston Cup series champion and is tied for second with Ricky Rudd for most consecutive seasons with a win at 16. One of NASCAR’s most popular drivers during his career.

On the surface this looks like a romp. But that’s why you play the games so leave us your vote in the comments.

Filed under: NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, Rusty Wallace, The King, The Pettys

Tagged with: NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Richard Petty, Winston Cup

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Hall of Shame: That’s No Way to Treat Sliced Bread

by Charlie Turner

October 2, 2008 1:05 pm UTC 3 Comments

Mindy didn’t think much of Hall of Fame – or Shame – Racing’s decision to dump Joey – Sliced Bread – Logano from the No. 96 seat. She liked Carl Edwards big move at Kansas and apparently, she approves of the Aric Almirola in a fire suit.

Watch the latest Monday Morning Crew Chief right here, right now.

Filed under: Bench Racing TV, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Joey Logano, Kenny Wallace, Michael Waltrip Racing, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR Rumors, NASCAR video, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, The Waltrips

Tagged with: Aric Almirola, Carl Edwards, Hall of Fame Racing, Joey Logano, Ken Shrader, Kenny Wallace, Michael Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman

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Quick Hits: Talladega Superspeedway

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

October 1, 2008 5:56 pm UTC 2 Comments

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.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Jeremy Mayfield, Kenny Wallace, Kurt Busch, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR, Red Bull Racing, Reed Sorenson, Robert Yates Racing, Rusty Wallace, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series