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Bipolar Bud Shootout Practice was Weird

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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 12, 2011 12:31 pm UTC No Comments

I watched final practice for the Budweiser Shootout Friday. In fact, I watched it twice. A am a geek after all.

It was strange. A dozen or so pairs of, what looked like, welded together cars taking turns blowing by one-another. Or, I guess, two-another.

I didn’t watch every minute. I had the Speed TV broadcast with Darrell Waltrip, Larry Mac and Mike Joy on the tube (dating myself again) while I worked on the late Fast Lap 140 NASCAR video.

I did hear DW say that he thought the drivers were making a mistake by spending so much of their time trying to see how fast they make their cars go in pairs. Might be better to drive in packs and get the cars handling in the turbulence of three wide racing, which is more of what they will experience during the Bud and, especially, the Gatorade Duels and the Daytona 500.

Made sense to me. I just thought it looked weird.

Photo credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: Car of Tomorrow, Darrell Waltrip, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Tech, SPEED TV, Sprint Cup Series 

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NASCAR Once Again Proves Who’s in Charge

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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.

January 19, 2009 9:03 pm UTC 3 Comments

When Budweiser was supplanted by Coors as the sponsor of NASCAR’s pole award, changes needed to be made with the Bud Shootout.

The season opening invitational exhibition race that had been for the previous years pole winners and assorted other notables, such as past Bud Shootout winners, had to change course.  After all the race that was sponsored and named for one beer company couldn’t be promoting drivers, teams and sponsors who had won another beer companies pole award.  More simply; it would be awkward for drivers who won Coors pole awards to be racing in the Budweiser Shootout.

NASCAR changed the rules for entry into The Shootout to avoid this awkwardness by basing entry on  manufacturers points from 2008.  This seemed like a great idea until drivers started changing teams, teams started folding and drivers became owners using different makes of race cars.

However NASCAR ran the numbers and the new #14 of Tony Stewart wasn’t going to be included in the New Bud Shootout.  No problem–lets change the rules.  Let’s throw in a wild card–yeah a wild card will make this all work.  We’ll base it on past champions for each car make and if there isn’t a past champion then it can be almost anyone who drives for any manufacturer.  This just shows that indeed NASCR is in charge of it’s race series and whatever needs to be done will be done to ensure that the drivers that need to be present will be present.  Tony should be in the Shootout, but how he got there is pretty convoluted.

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

Why did NASCAR add the “wild card” to the Bud Shootout now?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comment on this weeks show.  Tune in to ON PIT ROW Tuesdays from 5-7pm ET at www.onpitrow.com

Filed under: NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Sprint Cup Series, Stewart Haas Racing, The France Famliy, Tony Stewart 

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This Budweiser Shootout was pert’ near perfect

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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 10, 2008 1:38 am UTC 10 Comments

Untitled Post“I want a billion dollars and a monkey.” I got what we all hope is just a bite-sized sample of the kind of race the 50th Daytona 500 will be a week from now.

That was one hell of a race, that there Bud Shootout. And it was won by one hell of a driver too – the best restrictor plate racer there ever was, according to second place Tony Stewart.

Smoke said that Dale Jr is probably better at this plate racin’ stuff than his daddy, Dale Earnhardt the Legend. All Senior did was win more times in Florida than the Marlins.

I don’t know about all of that. I do know that I had a big smile on my face at the end of that race. I mean even Tony Stewart seemed happy.

And NASCAR has a real race car in this Car of Today. To a man – announcers, ex-drivers, former crew chiefs – all praised the Car formerly known as the Ugly Little Freakin’ Toad.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, in mid-whoop as he ran his first victory lap in a couple years yelled “We got us a race car boys. Maybe a 500 winner!”

I’ll take that same finish right now. I’d take a whole bunch of different outcomes too. Just keep giving me races where the guys can pass each other and 25 or so of them are doing it.

But if I get the billion dollars and the monkey, I’ll make do.

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images

Filed under: Car of Tomorrow, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett, Daytona 500, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR, Nascar Legends, Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart 

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Bench Racing’s top 18 Budweiser Shootout countdown

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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 7, 2008 10:29 pm UTC 1 Comment

Untitled PostOK, Kurt Busch is on the pole for Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout but does that mean anything? It might. Check out our countdown of compelling Bud Shootout factoids and impress your friends at the 2008 NASCAR kickoff party.

70 – Total laps in the race, up from the 20 run the first year of the event in 1979

44 – No, not DJ’s UPS truck car number. It’s the most laps led in a single Bud Shootout, by Greg Biffle in 2005

22 – Largest field in event history in 2002 also the number of career starts by Awesome Bill from Dawsonville

19 – Dale Earnhardt Jr’s starting position in ’03, the farthest back anybody has started and won also the number of consecutive starts by Mark Martin, most by any driver also the number of lead changes in 2001, the highest number since the race began

18 – Number of different pole winners in 2007

7 – Number of poles by Jeff Gordon in 2007, most of any driver

6 – The most career Budweiser Shootout victories held by the late Dale Earnhardt

5 – Number of drivers to win in their first Bud Shootout start (Buddy Baker 1979; Dale Sr 1980; Jeff Gordon 1994; Dale Jarrett 1996; Denny Hamlin 2006)

4.5 – Best average finish of any active driver owned by Tony Stewart

3 – Winners who started on pole (Darrell Waltrip 1981; Bill Elliott 1987; Ken Shrader 1989) also number of wins by Tony Stewart and Dale Jarrett, the most of any drivers in this years field

2.75 – Best average finish by a driver with multiple starts; Senior

2 – Most consecutive victories by Ken Shrader (1989-90), Neil Bonnett (1983-84) and Tony Stewart (2001-02)

1 – Laps led by Rusty Wallace (1998), Neil Bonnett (1982-84), Dale Earnhardt (1980) and Dale Jarrett (2004) in the Budweiser Shootouts they won

.08 – Earnhardt’s victory margin in seconds over Sterling Marlin in 1995, closest in Bud Shootout history

There ought to be something in there that can stump your family Schwab. Enjoy the race.

Oh and thanks to the NASCAR P R folks – they did the work.

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett, Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kenny Shrader, Mark Martin, NASCAR, Nascar Legends, Rusty Wallace, The Busch Bros, The Waltrips, Tony Stewart 

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Daytona is the site of “Brew wars 2008″

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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.

February 7, 2008 10:28 pm UTC 2 Comments

The wrong beer company is on the pole for the Bud Shootout.
kurt BuschOn Thursday the Bud Shootout drivers stepped up to the podium and drew for starting positions in the pre-season non-points race. The big winner was Kurt Busch, who grabbed the Budweiser bottle with the number one attached to gain the pole in his Miller Lite Dodge.

The car sponsored by the race sponsor drew the number 8 starting position, as new Bud driver Kasey Kahne will start outside of row four. Other libations in the field show the #07 Jack Daniels Chevy driven by Clint Bowyer starting 21st. Crown Royal will have their #26 Ford of Jamie McMurray starting fourth.

For the entire lineup click here.

The Bud Shootout is the first time every year that the teams, crews and drivers hit the track for real. All the testing is circumspect at best. Testing is more about questions than answers. But once the cars hit the track for the shootout, everyone will be able to see who is strong and who were pretenders during practice.

To paraphrase DW; “Lets go racing boys”.

photo: NASCAR PR

Filed under: Brian France, Clint Boyer, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR, The Busch Bros 

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