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Live Blog: NASCAR Awards Banquet

Hosts: Charlie Turner, Steve Wronkowicz

December 5, 2008 8:00 pm CST

Quick Hits: Phoenix International Raceway

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 5, 2008 10:39 pm CST 1 Comment

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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.

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Dave Blaney, Germain Racing, Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, J J Yeley, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenny Shrader, Max Papis, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, Penske Racing, Reed Sorenson, Regan Smith, Robert Yates Racing, Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr, Sprint Cup Series, The Wood Brothers, brad coleman

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Over? Was it Over When the Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?

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.

October 30, 2008 6:04 pm CDT No Comments

So just how do you spell dunz-o? Ask Mindy. The latest Monday Morning Crew Chief video blog is up.

Check out Ms Monday’s opinions on Brian France’s toys, prison movies and Kyle Petty’s 2009 options. It’s all there and more. Watch the latest Bench Racin’ TV special right here.

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bench Racing TV, Brian France, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Craftsman Truck Series, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, NASCAR video, Ryan Newman

Tagged with: Bench Racing TV, Brian France, Chase to the Cup, Kyle Petty, Larry McClure, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR video, Ryan Newman, video blogs

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Quick Hits: Texas Motor Speedway

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

October 29, 2008 8:04 pm CDT 1 Comment

This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the third to last race in this year’s Chase for the Cup. By this point, all but the 12 Chase teams are in preparation mode for 2009, experimenting with new setups and personnel. Many drivers with limited Sprint Cup experience are attempting to make starts this weekend in preparation for next year, including Joey Logano, Bryan Clauson, and Brad Keselowski.

However, one of the most intriguing driver-team combinations attempting to make the race this weekend is Max Papis and Germain Racing. Papis, a former CART competitor who made two starts for Haas CNC Racing earlier this year, will drive a No. 13 GEICO Toyota for Germain in 18 Sprint Cup races next year, and possibly attempt up to 25 depending upon sponsorship. Papis will also attempt to qualify at Homestead, regardless of whether he makes the race this weekend or not.

This is the next natural step in Germain’s progression from a Truck Series-only team up to NASCAR’s top level. Formed in late 2004, the No. 30 truck has consistently been one of the series’ best, winning the championship in 2006 with Todd Bodine. The team added a second truck in 2005 and a Nationwide Series team in 2007, experiencing success with both.

Currently, Mike Wallace has that No. 7 Nationwide team 8th in series’ points. Bodine has the No. 30 in 3rd in the Truck Series, and Justin Marks has impressed in the No. 9 truck, winning a pole at Texas and finishing 8th at Daytona. Bodine also made one Nationwide start for the team in a second car this year, finishing 4th at Darlington. In other words, the brothers Germain - Bob, Stephen, and Richard - have managed to make all of their cars competitive, regardless of who’s in them or how often they compete.

With its expansion into Cup racing with Papis, Germain has picked the optimum time to move up the ladder. With many teams pressed for sponsorship in a difficult economic climate, the Sprint Cup field should be shrinking next year, making it much easier for a team that doesn’t plan on attempting all 36 races to make the most of its limited schedule.

Germain also has never expanded beyond its means to be competitive. While the 2005 season was a trying one for the second truck, much of that was based on Shige Hattori’s lack of stock-car experience. While Ted Musgrave only won one race in the No. 9 truck in 2006 and 2007, he also had 28 top-10s in 49 starts for the team and two top-10 finishes in points.

The team only moved up to the Nationwide Series after establishing a strong foundation with Bodine last year. In five races, the team had an average finish of 17.8 (negatively affected by a crash at Homestead that led to a 37th place finish) and led 15 laps at Gateway. They also waited to move up until finding the right driver (Wallace) and sponsor (GEICO), and the team has carved its niche in the series despite most of the wins and top finishes going to Cup “claim jumpers” running in both series.

Even with the recent trend of open-wheel flameouts, don’t expect Papis to disappear in the first year of his four-year contract with the team. Papis, unlike some of the other open-wheel drivers to give NASCAR a try recently, has been successful in many different forms of motorsport. He won a handful of CART races in the late 1990s with Team Rahal and has driven for Corvette Racing at Le Mans. He also won the 2002 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

Papis has also had his share of remarkable and memorable drives in other series. He nearly won the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona in a car that had been damaged by collisions. After unlapping himself in the final stint of the race, Papis pushed his car to the max, only losing by 64 seconds at a track in which fast laps can take nearly 2 minutes.

In other words, though we’ve all heard this before, Papis has the talent to succeed in a limited schedule with Germain. And unlike drivers like Villeneuve, Carpentier, Hornish, and Allmendinger, he has the team behind him to do it.

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

5. A few interesting notes from Motorsports Authentics’ sell sheets for 2009 die-cast:

At Stewart-Haas Racing, Burger King is featured on the B-pillar of Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet. Also, DirecTV is featured on the B-pillar of Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet. It is no longer on the No. 07 Chevrolet of Casey Mears.

At Gillett Evernham Motorsports, McDonald’s has vacated its post on the lower quarter panel of Elliott Sadler’s No. 19 Dodge. Allstate is also gone from the lower quarter panel of Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge.

Finally, Scott Speed will run a No. 82 Red Bull Toyota next year, as opposed to a No. 84. No word on why the change occurred.

4. A recent rumor suggests that Wood Brothers Racing is looking around the garage for a new partner after JTG Daugherty Racing’s defection to Toyota for 2009. That partnership could come in the form of a deal with Hall of Fame Racing, which currently fields Toyotas for former Wood driver Ken Schrader. Hall of Fame would also bring a top-flight sponsorship, in the form of Texas Instruments, and a bona-fide driving talent in Brad Coleman to the partnership. Hall of Fame’s current deal with Joe Gibbs Racing expires after Homestead.

3. An interesting note: No Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender has finished in the top 10 all season. Sam Hornish Jr.’s 13th at the Coca-Cola 600 is the best finish for any contender. Aric Almirola’s 8th at Bristol does not apply, as he is not registered for the award. Regan Smith’s win at Talladega, had it been upheld, would have been the only top-10.

2. While Kyle Petty has been unable to lay down any serious Sprint Cup plans for next year, he may have a full time Rolex Sports Car Series deal in place for 2009. Petty will run the No. 45 Orbit Racing BMW Prototype at next year’s 24 Hours of Daytona, and potentially beyond. No word yet on if the Wells Fargo sponsorship currently tied to Petty in Sprint Cup would transfer with him, remain in NASCAR, or both.

1. Kodak is leaving the sport after a successful sponsorship campaign that spanned over two decades and produced three Daytona 500 wins. Drivers like Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton, and most recently Ryan Newman piloted the gold cars for Morgan-McClure Motorsports and Penske Racing from the late 1980s to this year. Kodak will also abandon its sponsorship programs in all other forms of motorsports, including those in the Rolex Sports Car Series and Indy Racing League.

Finally, congratulations to Newman for winning last weekend’s Truck Series race at Atlanta, and Carl Edwards for winning the Nationwide race in Memphis and Atlanta’s Sprint Cup event.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Carl Edwards, Casey Mears, Craftsman Truck Series, Elliott Sadler, Germain Racing, Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Haas CNC Racing, Jacques Villeneuve, Kasey Kahne, Kenny Shrader, Max Papis, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Regan Smith, Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, The Wood Brothers, brad coleman

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

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.

October 2, 2008 1:05 pm CDT 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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Tight in Turn 2 Again

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 29, 2008 6:16 am CDT 2 Comments

Does an All Star event - in any sport - need to be fair to the competitors in the sport? Or is it more important that the contest be maxed out for ultimate fan interest?

NASCAR seems to be struggling with those questions and the additional issue of keeping the sponsors happy. Why else would they tweak the Budweiser Shootout? We’ll find out what you think in the Bench Racing version of this week’s Tight in Turn 2 posts.

The Budweiser Shootout will have a different format when it kicks off NASCAR’s Speedweeks next February. The 24 car all-star race will feature the top six cars in 2008 owners points from each of NASCAR’s four manufacturers. Do you like it or not?

Charlie: NASCAR has guaranteed that at least two, and probably more of its biggest stars will be watching this race instead of driving in it. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will not qualify. Two Michael Waltrip Racing cars will make it and so too, probably, will Travis Kvapil. It may not be a big deal, I guess. But tell me why they can’t start everybody? It would still be different from a regular Cup race. It’s a sprint. It’s short, fast, balls-out racing. Start 50 cars!

Bruce: I really like the idea that they’re changing it up to get more drivers in the “pointless” race. I think their approach is a bit blind sided by not anticipating that some of the better qualified drivers who could technically qualify for this race are going to be sidelined by drivers who don’t rate as high.

I would hope they re-evaluate their approach and take the drivers as they are, by years’ end, not who’s in what in the beginning of next year. Then, it would be fair, and mix it up a bit! Maybe they should add pole winners to the fray. That would get Ryan in at least. I’m sure they’ll come up with something to get Tony in!

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

Bruce at NACAR Bits and Pieces has this topic up over at his blog…

So is this probation on Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards warranted?

Filed under: Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR & the Media, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR, Ryan Newman, Tight in Turn 2, Tony Stewart

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Monday Morning Crew Chief Does David

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 21, 2008 3:01 pm CDT 1 Comment

David Ragan that is. Our Mindy Monday seems to like the fact that Ragan may be the new pilot of the UPS machine for Roush-Fenway Racing.

Check out the latest edition of the Monday Morning Crew Chief videos right here. It’s about magnets, package delivery and Stewart-Haas Racing maybe caving in to pressure.

Monday Morning Crew Chief #7. Let us know what you think.

Filed under: Bench Racing TV, David Ragan, J J Yeley, Kenny Shrader, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR video, Ryan Newman, Stewart Haas Racing

Tagged with: David Ragan, Joe Gibbs penaltie, magnets, Mindy Monday, NASCAR video, Ryan Newman, Stewart-Haas

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Quick Hits: Bristol Motor Speedway

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

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

Tagged with: Bristol Motor Speedway, Morgan-McClure Motorsports

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Brian Vickers Leads Half Wacky Qualifying at MIS

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

Tagged with: Michigan International Speedway

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Quick Hits: Michigan International Speedway

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

August 13, 2008 4:50 pm CDT 2 Comments

Starting this week at Michigan International Speedway, I’ve decided to focus most of my writing energy on a weekly column for Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie, entitled “Quick Hits.” Think of this as an introduction to the column, and in a way, to me, Chris Leone, as a writer. (For those of you viewing this column on Bleacher Report, we still haven’t figured out how to fix the RSS feed, so everything displays under Charlie’s page.)

After examining some of my past work, I felt that I would greatly improve as a writer by moving to a set weekly format, instead of the normal sporadic posts I’ve contributed to this blog. With greater regularity in posts, you, the reader, will be able to find greater continuity in what I write on, as opposed to my past irregular posts on topics from Martin Truex Jr. to why NASCAR needs a stock car series exclusive to road courses. Ever since shifting my focus from Bleacher Report to this site, partially due to time constraints, I’ve been more and more irregular with my writing. The column format is designed to fix that.

The tentative plan for this column is to start with whatever’s on my mind related to either racing or racing journalism itself, followed by five “Quick Hits”: the top five stories of the week, briefly recapped, with a bit of analysis thrown in for good measure.

I’ve always been a fan of weekly columns, since the first time I picked up an issue of Sports Illustrated and read Rick Reilly’s “Life of Reilly.” I can’t remember what exactly was the first topic Rick mused on, but I remember immediately being drawn to it, like a moth to a floodlight in the nighttime. I read that column for years, from whenever I upgraded from my SI Kids subscription to when he left the magazine to join ESPN the Magazine. I still read his stuff there, and I like to think that ESPN’s massive pages give him a little more room to work his magic.

I think I’ve always been fascinated by back pages as well. I’ve always found the body doubles, hyperlinks, and funny road-related photos in Autoweek’s “But Wait, There’s More” section amusing. Occasionally there are even some great quotes from NASCAR’s finest.

To be sure, by posting this on a Wednesday or Thursday every week, the column might be like Fox’s “King of the Hill”: quality, but often on too early for most people to appreciate it, or maybe even cut off by other pieces that take priority over it. I kind of like that concept though. I don’t feel as much pressure to write excellently as I did when I first joined this site; I feel confident in my abilities.

Without further ado, this week’s five Quick Hits:

5. Congratulations to Brad Coleman, who will make his Sprint Cup debut for Hall of Fame Racing this weekend. The struggling No. 96 team sits 39th in points behind the underwhelming performance of J.J. Yeley, whose third place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the team’s only top-10 of the season.

4. Congratulations are also in order for A.J. Allmendinger, who put his No. 84 Team Red Bull Toyota in the top 35 in owners’ points for the first time, guaranteeing him a spot in this week’s race. After missing 19 races last season due to DNQ’s, and the first eight races this year after being temporarily replaced, Allmendinger scored his first top-10 of his career in the tire fiasco at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

3. After causing a horrible nine-car wreck last week at Watkins Glen International that sent Bobby Labonte to a hospital, Michael McDowell will sit out the next three races, being replaced in the No. 00 at Michael Waltrip Racing by Mike Skinner. Fellow Toyota operation Team Red Bull did something similar with Allmendinger earlier this season, putting Skinner in the car for five races, and his performance improved markedly. Let’s hope McDowell, who has said he may be in the market for a new team next season, lands on his feet.

2. Nationwide Series phenom Joey Logano makes his Sprint Cup debut at Richmond International Raceway in a few weeks, driving a Joe Gibbs Racing car rumored to be sponsored by Gatorade. Logano will also run an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway to satisfy NASCAR requirements to compete in next year’s Daytona 500. Of note: Gatorade is a Pepsi product, and JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart are sponsored by Coca-Cola. NOS Energy, which sponsors Kyle Busch, is now also a Coca-Cola product.

1. The Ryan Newman sweepstakes is over, with the 2008 Daytona 500 winner set to join Stewart-Haas Racing next season as driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet. Sponsorship still has not been secured.

Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners: Johnny Benson at Nashville Superspeedway, and Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch at The Glen.

Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte, Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, J J Yeley, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, New Hampshire International Speedway, Red Bull Racing, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, Tony Stewart, brad coleman

Tagged with: A J Allmendinger, brad coleman, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, michael mcdowell, Ryan Newman

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A Road Course-Only Series: A Viable Option For NASCAR?

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

August 5, 2008 7:58 pm CDT 12 Comments

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen, August 2007

Based on the continued success of the Nationwide Series in Mexico City and Montreal, as well as the continued success of road-course ringers in those races year after year, I think it’s time that NASCAR looks into a major road course-only stock car series.

As the sanctioning body attempts to assert a global presence, with its expansion into Mexico and Canada and its ever-growing base of foreign drivers, I feel that adding a series for the road course ringers would only serve to broaden NASCAR’s fan base around the world.

Certainly, the American economy isn’t in the greatest shape right now, with many sponsors looking to cut back on investments. Neither are the sport’s top three series, with all three struggling to fill fields on many weekends. Not only that, a lot of open-wheel and sports-car specialists who have attempted to break into stock car racing haven’t succeeded - partially due to lack of sponsorship, partially due to limited adaptability to ovals.

But with the proven talents of many road course ringers in stock cars, finding sponsorship for a 15-race road course-only series would be easier than for the entire 36-race Sprint Cup schedule. The return on the investment, in the form of great racing, would almost be guaranteed. It’d certainly be an interesting series to watch.

Imagine guys like Ron Fellows, Boris Said, Jacques Villeneuve, and Max Papis battling in stock cars for a full season. Imagine a series where the “ringers” were Sprint Cup drivers like Jimmie Johnson or Ryan Newman looking to gain extra track time, as both of them are this weekend. Imagine how much it could’ve done for a guy like Dario Franchitti to spend a season in stock cars on tracks he’s familiar with.

Occasionally, guys in other NASCAR series with road course experience like Marcos Ambrose and Colin Braun might show up on the companion weekends. You could even see some guys from the Canadian Tire Series, such as 5-time champion Don Thomson Jr., last year’s champion Andrew Ranger, and current series leader Scott Steckly show up, perhaps moving up the ladder to one of NASCAR’s top three series.

While the car count would likely be in the 20s, a number considered small by NASCAR’s standards, it fits perfectly with the expectations for other road course reliant series, from the IRL to Formula One to the respective classes (LMP1, GT1, etc.) of the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am. Even the Canadian Tire Series, newly sanctioned by NASCAR, doesn’t regularly draw more than 20-odd starters. The series would fit those comparisons much better than, say, a comparison with the Nationwide Series and its 43-car fields and 35-race season.

Besides companion races with the Sprint Cup Series in Sonoma and Watkins Glen, and with the Nationwide Series in Montreal, the series could team up with the IndyCars in St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Toronto, Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, and Detroit. Heck, maybe they could even re-open the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the MotoGP bikes head to America. The series could go to Mexico as well, even without the Nationwide guys alongside them, and maybe even run at Daytona as a support race to the Rolex 24-hour event. That’s twelve races right there.

Sure, I understand that this is just a pipe dream, but it doesn’t make it any less enticing in my mind. I know I’d drive up to Montreal to watch the series. I’m sure a lot of other stock car fans would also enjoy the series, even if they considered it a novelty act. Maybe it’d even go a long way towards proving to Europe that stock car racing is one of the greatest forms of the sport in the world.

Regardless of the potential effects of the series, though, it’d just be cool to watch some more stock car races in the rain. That was really fun to watch.

Phot credit: Icon Sports Media , Inc.

Filed under: Formula One, Indy Cars, Jacques Villeneuve, Jimmy Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR, Ryan Newman, road course ringers

Tagged with: NASCAR, Nationwide Series

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