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Condolences to the Family and Friends of Terry Gibson

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

July 19, 2008 2:32 pm UTC 7 Comments

MSA Super Modified driver Terry Gibson was killed last night in a turn one crash, on the third lap of the first heat race of the night at Toledo Speedway.

I was there, but I didn’t see the crash. A friend that I was with did, and was concerned right away. It was some time before word began to spread that Terry had passed.

There was a sense of reverence among the fans and employees at the track. But also, the feeling that the racing would go on. And it did, once the wreckage had been cleared. Another night, in what can be a cruel sport.

God speed, Terry Gibson.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Toledo Speedway

Tagged with: blog, motorsports, MSA Super Modified, racing fatality, Terry Gibson, Toledo Speedway

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Monday Morning Crew Chief on Friday Afternoon

by Charlie Turner

July 18, 2008 4:39 pm UTC No Comments

Sorry it’s late but check it out. Mindy gets into the Shrub and a couple J J’s, NASCAR threesomes and bass fishing. You can watch it right here…until we get our video player fixed. It’s the Monday Morning Crew Chief, better late than not at all.

Filed under: Bench Racing TV, Chase for the Cup, Chicagoland Speedway, Haas CNC Racing, It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, J J Yeley, Jimmy Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch, Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex Jr., Michigan International Speedway, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR Rumors, NASCAR video, Penske Racing, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: blog, J J Yeley, Jimmy Johnson, Kyle Bush, Martin Truex, Mindy Monday, Monday Morning Crew Chief, motorsports, NASCAR, NASCAR video, rumors

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More Trouble for the Wood Brothers?

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Over ten years on the air and three on the net; see what can happen when I don't let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

July 17, 2008 9:58 pm UTC No Comments

Eddie Wood spent some time ON PIT ROW last Tuesday night.

The president of one of NASCAR’s most iconic teams, that has fallen on hard times of late, talked about the challenges of his single car team. The decisions that were made at Daytona in regard to qualifying and the subsequent need to rebuild the race car, into race trim after the first lap, were among the topics that Eddie addressed. Because the #21 is outside the top thirty-five in points it was necessary to get into the Daytona race on time, and to do that they needed to strip the race car of power robbing necessities like the fan belt and oil with a viscosity.

Eddie took responsibility for some of the problems the team has had and admitted that the new cars the team has built may have been a bit on the flexible side. They have taken measures to correct that problem, but will take some time to completely rebuild their cars.

With all the car problems the Wood Brothers have endured, it now looks as if they may have some serious sponsorship problems. It was announced this week that part-time WBR driver Marcos Ambrose will be competing full time in the Cup series in 2009 for Doherty-JTG Racing. The impact that has on The Wood Brothers is that JTG will be taking McKee Foods as the full time sponsor. McKee foods is the parent company of Little Debbie Snacks and a tri-primary sponsor for the #21.

Add to that loss the uncertainty of the Air Force sponsorship. The Navy has left one of the most stable Nationwide Series teams with the most popular Cup driver as that teams owner; Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s JR Motorsports. The Detroit News’ Doug Guthrie writes a great article about JR Motorsports loss of The Navy and the same scenario most likely could play out for the Wood Brothers with the Air Force.

If those two kicks in the butt aren’t enough, how about their third primary; Motorcraft? Motorcraft is a full fledged subsidiary of The Ford Motor Company. There isn’t much else that needs to be said about Detroit’s Big Three. GM is starting the process of cutting back its motor sports budget among its 10 million dollar overall cutback. If GM is starting to scale back, it won’t be long before Ford follows suit, causing more economic turmoil for the Wood Brothers.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., JR Motorsports, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Sprint Cup Series, The Wood Brothers, Top 35 Rule

Tagged with: blog, Dale Earnhardt, Doherty-JTG Racing, Eddie Wood, JR Motorsports, Jr., Marcos Ambrose, motorsports, NASCAR, Wood Brothers Racing

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Will General Motors Slash it’s NASCAR Commitments?

by Charlie Turner

July 16, 2008 10:21 pm UTC 2 Comments

If rumors are true, Chevrolet pushed hard – read; threw a bunch of cash around – to return Tony Stewart to the Bow-Tie brigade with Stewart-Haas Racing. And I believe it.

Peter M. De Lorenzo has a great piece in his Fumes column this week at Auto Extremist. It’s a great read by a writer who is very connected to the Motor City business scene.

De Lorenzo lists five key actions that are on the table right now for consideration by GM Racing. All of them would affect GM’s participation in NASCAR. They would all involve NASCAR cuts of one kind or another.

Read the article. Then come back here and let me know whether you think that the support of NASCAR by the big four automakers is on the wane.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Filed under: Car of Tomorrow, Chevrolet, Craftsman Truck Series, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, Nationwide Series, Richard Childress Racing, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing

Tagged with: autoextremist, blog, Chevrolet, GM Racing, motorsports, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, Peter M. De Lorenzo, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, Tony Stewart

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Who is NASCAR’s Monster of the Midway?

by Charlie Turner

July 12, 2008 7:22 am UTC 1 Comment

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.

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Chicagoland Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmy Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: blog, Chicagoland Speeddway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Kyle Busch, motorsports, NASCAR, NASCAR fantasy game, NASCAR Fantasy picks, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart

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The Return of Loose in Turn Three

by Charlie Turner

July 11, 2008 8:41 am UTC 5 Comments

I wonder which would be the bigger news on the 2008 press conference circuit, Tony Stewart’s partnership with Hass-CNC to form Stewart -Haas Racing, or an announcement that Dale Earnhardt Jr was indeed, moving his JR Motorsports up to the Sprint Cup ranks?

Thinking about that could get you all Loose in Turn 3.

It has been reported that Dale Earnhardt Jr’s JR Motorsports has lost the Navy sponsorship for the #88 Nationwide Series car for 2009. If you’re Junior, now what?

Charlie: I assume that this was not a total surprise to JR Motorsports. I also believe Junior, when he said it didn’t make much sense to run the Nationwide Series if it required the same investment as a Sprint Cup program. So, to me, the next step is to explore the feasibility of moving up to Cup. I mean, if you have to look for a sponsor anyway – and there are some Cup level sponsors in play – what do you have to lose? Coincidentally, it was leaked that Teresa Earnhardt is looking at selling DEI. It may not be the perfect storm, but that’s two situations that could work out to make a lot of sense, if the party’s involved want to talk. Otherwise I say JR Motorsports stays in Nationwide.

Bruce: Hmm. No Navy? Go Army!! Go Cup!! I don’t see why Jr Motorsports would not move to Cup if it’s the same kind of costs. Hopefully it will be similar results and better exposure in Cup to be able to retain the sponsor, regardless of who it is.

TZ: Honestly, I haven’t heard a whole lot about this rumor, so I can’t really speak to the validity of it. I’m also not a big expert on sponsors in the Nationwide Series in terms of who may or may not be in the market next season, but I would imagine that if the Navy pulls out, then someone else will be more than willing to step in. Whether it’s as a driver or as a car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a marquee name not only in NASCAR, but in all aspects of American entertainment. Now, whether or not he would want to keep that team at the NNS level or move up to the Cup, who knows. But, I still believe that now is not the right time. His focus right now should be on trying to win his first championship with Hendrick Motorsports, or at least getting into the rythm where consistent top-five finishes becomes the norm for that team. I’d expect him to give some more serious thought to moving JR Motorsports up to the Sprint Cup heading into the 2010 season.

That’s what we think. How about you?

Leave your feedback in the comments section then head over to TZ’s DoYouNascar for his question of the week…

Q: With Tony Stewart’s departure from Joe Gibbs Racing, who should they look to fill the #20 seat?

Bruce’s NASCAR Bits has this topic to chew on…

With the rumors of Ryan Newman signing on with Tony Stewart under Haas-CNC, and Jack Daniels as his sponsor, do you think his on-track performance will improve?

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media Inc.

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Hendrick Motorsports, JR Motorsports, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart, Top 35 Rule, Turn 2 posts