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Hey, ESPN: Pick It Up

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 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.

February 23, 2011 4:41 pm UTC No Comments

Hey everybody. How goes it? Long time no talk, eh? I’ve been pretty busy. Not too busy to accurately predict the winner of the Daytona 500 (Twitter link to prove it), but still, college has been kicking my butt. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about. We’re here to talk racing – and how a particular network doesn’t exactly know what the hell they’re doing with it.

I give ESPN a lot of hell for the way they present their programming. Rightfully so, I think – the Worldwide Leader has gotten pretty lazy without any real competition. From stupid errors on SportsCenter to subpar NASCAR coverage, the great sports network with which I grew up is no longer so great, and its on-air “talent” seems to embody that term less and less.

Consider Monday’s episode of “Around the Horn,” where its four panelists attempted to discuss Trevor Bayne‘s miraculous Daytona 500 win. Save Tim Cowlishaw, who actually writes on the sport, the other three panelists – J.A. Adande, Woody Paige, and Kevin Blackistone – basically panned, in ignorance, what it took for the young driver (younger than me, even – damn, I feel old) to take his first career victory on the sport’s biggest stage.

And I’ll be damned if I don’t call them out on it.

No, it’s not a good idea to get sports journalists to write on sports they don’t really know (I have some basketball articles that I’ve written if you question that assertion). I understand that ATH is designed to deal with all the big stories in sports, and thus save for Daytona, Indianapolis, and the Chase, NASCAR doesn’t get too much love. Fine. But is it too much to ask for the panelists to do five minutes’ worth of research before the show?

We’ll spare Cowlishaw from this discussion; he knows his stuff. Paige and Blackistone do not.

When asked by host Tony Reali about the race, Paige decried the two-car tandems that dominated throughout Speedweeks. Are they the ideal? Nah. Did they add something fresh and interesting to the race, though? Yes. Yes they did. I’m often like Paige, in that I often cry for things to go back to the way they were – particularly in 1998 or so – but this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Judging by how the drivers reacted, restrictor plate racing was at its most harrowing and challenging all month. And that’s what we want, isn’t it?

Blackistone’s accusations are far more unforgivable. He drew a comparison to a speed-skating race from a past Olympics, where one skater said he’d just hang out in the back and wait until the end of the event, once everybody else had crashed out, and take the victory.

News flash, “Professor Blackistone.” You need a little re-education in the facts.

Let’s look at the data, shall we? Trevor Bayne was the third-fastest car in preliminary qualifying for the Daytona 500. He only started 32nd due to a last-lap wreck in his Gatorade Duel. He spent 135 laps in the top 15, eighth best among his competitors. His driver rating of 108.2 was fourth best. His pass differential of +48 was second only to David Ragan’s +61, and if not for jumping a lane change on a late restart, they might have finished 1-2.

I understand that Bayne only led six laps of 208, but he was there all day and everybody knew it. Nobody wrecked in front of him like Blackistone insinuated, either; the wrecks were, almost universally, behind him. He got to the front right away and stayed there all day. Can’t help it if people wreck behind you.

This is the problem with ESPN in general. Nobody knows what the **** they’re talking about anymore, and the network often doesn’t care, employing a series of idiots for the sake of over-the-top debate. And the lower down the totem pole your sport is, the worse their errors are. (I won’t be surprised if they call the Indianapolis 500 a NASCAR race this year.) Now that ESPNEWS has basically been consolidated to a 30-minute loop of college basketball highlights, the “entertainment” notion has all but taken over completely. And as long as they’re handling NASCAR, the coverage is going to be a joke. I hate to say this, but give me Digger, or give me death.

That’s all I got for now, folks. Once college slows down the fantasy column will be back. See y’all then.

Filed under: Daytona 500, ESPN, Trevor Bayne

Tagged with: Daytona 500, ESPN, Trevor Bayne

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Gatorade Duels A True Tradition

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

February 17, 2011 10:29 am UTC 1 Comment

I’m a huge fan of the February weekday tradition, the Gatorade Duels.

Formerly (and maybe should still be, but that’s another blog) the Twin 125s, the unique way in which the field is set for the Daytona 500 will be run today at 2 PM on SPEED. Since the Daytona 500′s inception the qualifying races have been part of the Daytona experience. Not only do you get a preview of what Sunday will be like, but you get so many great stories to last until Sunday. The transfer spot, the underdogs, the surprises. Dale Earnhardt had the incredible streak of 10 consecutive wins in the Twin 125s from 1990 through 1999.

For racing junkies its a bonus to see cars on the track with something on the line. These races whet the appetite for Sunday’s big race. I can’t wait until they drop the green flag today.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway

Tagged with: Dale Earnhardt, Daytona, Daytona 500, Gatorade Duels, NASCAR, speed, Sprint Cup, twin 125s

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New Points System Needs Qualifying Bonus Points

by Matt Mercer, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

February 9, 2011 3:02 pm UTC 1 Comment

I watched NASCAR Now yesterday and they had an interview with Denny Hamlin.

Over the course of the interview, Denny was asked what he thought he needed to do in order to defeat Jimmie Johnson and win a Championship. His first response was to be a little more aggressive during the early part of the Chase, since he did leave some points on the table. It’s his second response that screams to making this new points system better – Denny said he wanted to qualify better.

Now, I’ve been a proponent for years of awarding qualifying points, even if its just 1 point. Other racing leagues do it and it makes the weekend better. I’m sure most longtime fans of the sport remember when qualifying was fun, when it was important, when you wanted to go to the track Friday, when the drivers wanted to qualify well. For several years now, qualifying is treated more like a glorified practice run than a chance to start near the front of the field and get some publicity for his team and sponsors going into the race.

I really don’t see a downside to awarding 1 point for winning the pole. Guys will work harder to get that spot, and imagine Chase race weekends – all 12 guys going for it because every point counts. Starting on the pole means you’ve got a great shot at leading a lap early on and set the tone for the rest of the race. Come on, how can you not want that if you’re NASCAR? Let’s make the Gatorade Duels more fun and award the Daytona 500 polesitter 2 points, outside the front row 1 point, and each Duel winner 1 point. The Super Bowl of NASCAR just got a lot more fun.

These are the kind of changes that would earn some fans back and make new ones. The best of the best proving it on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Let’s make it happen.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc

Filed under: Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, NASCAR

Tagged with: bonus points, Chase, Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, Gatorade Duels, NASCAR, NASCAR Now, qualifying

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Double J and The Luck of A Golden Horseshoe

by Clance' McClannahan, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

Clance' McClannahan, famous author behind The Church of The Great Oval and also one of the much appreciated Contributing Authors at Thunder Lounge.

February 27, 2010 12:04 am UTC 1 Comment

How much does luck really have to play in NASCAR? Auto Club Speedway was a perfect example of both good luck, bad luck, skill and strategy.

Race Day at ACS started out cloudy, with the threat of rain looming overhead in in the future. Lovely Katharine McPhee, Season 5 American Idol runner-up, performed the National Anthem, after stating “I’ve never watched a NASCAR game before.” Personally, I am really glad she said that prior to the first inning, or it might have been embarrassing for her later.

Andy Garcia was able to give the command. “ Gentlemen, start your engines!” and still be politically correct.

Pole sitter Jamie Mac led the race for about 5 seconds, and then Juan Pablo Montoya politely said “Excuse me?”, and took the lead. If you would reach far back into your memory…(I mean, it’s a stretch for me), you will remember that JPM led 60 laps at ACS in October, and in one truly horrendous moment, lost that race. Juan Pablo Montoya meant serious business and opened up a lead of more than 3 seconds by Lap 12. By Lap 29, Jimmie Johnson’s good luck began to show, and the 42 car’s not so good 30th lap, gave him a brush with the wall. Soon after…it was Good vs. Bad for JPM, Kasey Kahne and a few others. Namely Dale (**NOTE to Jr. Nation: Dale doesn’t want to be called Jr. or June Bug, anymore).

In the meantime, a war was beginning to rage. Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson had begun the battle that would continue throughout the race, which culminated in one of the finest moments in NASCAR History.

Lap 97 began to get a little more interesting. Now we will get into the good luck, bad luck, strategy (?) syndrome that happenedthat day.

Martin Truex Jr. loses power. Later, Martin Truex Jr’s engine blows.
JPM begins to battle with Jeff Gordon for 5th position. Harvick and Johnson continue to dance the Flamenco (to impress Juan Pablo Montoya) for 1st and 2nd, not being able to decide who would lead and who would follow.

In one of the most endearing and heart breaking moments of the race, Kasey Kahne, being conscientious of the bleak economy, decided he would help out some poor souls, who needed to make some money to feed their kids, by making sure they had jobs replacing the sod he tore up.
Ryan Newman’s engine blew up. DNF. Again. JPM, looking very competitive, was out of contention once again, after a great 140 laps. It also, was due to another kaboom of a large quantity of moving parts, critical to the car continuing to run..

Kevin Harvick discovered that one of Jamie Mac’s pit crew has a part time job with Cirque du Soleil. Scary.

Then there was Dale Earnhardt Jr. It seems like the last few years, if it’s going to happen to someone it will be Dale Jr. Personally, I don’t think he has any better or worse luck than many driver’s. I think his worst luck is the scrutiny he is constantly under. Much more than other driver’s. Broken Axle. Axle Broken. Race over for the 88.

Jimmie Johnson seemed to be going backwards for a small moment in time. Then… From out of the blue…comes JJ again. Jamie Mac, startled, said “”How can he be leading? “He was on pit road, wasn’t he?!!”
Why yes, he was. Double J won. 48/48.
Luck? Strategy? All of the above?

Kevin Harvick , at the end of the race, summed it all up, in one sentence. Possibly one of the finest quotes in NASCAR History. I am honored to have been able to do small tribute to that little quip at The Church.
“They have a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass.”
…And that, Dear Fans, was the finest finish to a race I have seen since the Daytona 500.

*What wondrous events shall LVMS bring us this weekend? Aw…the suspense is killing me!

Filed under: Auto Club Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Diversity and NASCAR, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR, NASCAR Conspiracies, Ryan Newman

Tagged with: American Idol, Andy Garcia, Auto Club Speedway, Cirque du Soleil, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona 500, diversity, Golden Horseshoe stuck up his, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, jimmie Johnson Golden Horseshoe, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Katharine McPhee, Kevin Harvick, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR, Ryan Newman

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Daytona 500 Shark Fin Soup

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 19, 2010 12:13 am UTC No Comments

The 2010 Daytona experience was a little weird. It was.

Don’t get me wrong. Weird can be good.

For example – did you think there was any way to make the Car Formerly Known as “Of Tomorrow” look uglier? That shark fin thing may or may not have made for better racing, but the cars looked like parade floats or something. Not a fan.

I am a fan of Danica Patrick and her fledgling stock car carreer though. Good start. Next.

Nice debut by Martin Truex Jr in the no. 56 NAPA Camry. That Jamie McMurray kid did OK too.

I wonder what kind of odds you could have gotten on Dale Earnhardt Jr finishing as the best of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the 500?

Potholes? You people haven’t seen potholes if you thought that little thing at Daytona was a pothole. Lake Lloyd is a pothole. And everybody watching that race living north of Cincinnati knew that cold patch wasn’t going to work to fix that divot for long. Let me tell you about potholes…

Sprint Cup round two is the Auto Club 500. Jerry Wilson - the Diecast Dude – will be there for On Pit Row. Watch this space, and the Twitterverse, for his updates. It could get interesting.

Photo credit: Round Girl Jen by BethAnne Heisler for On Pit Row

Filed under: Auto Club Speedway, Car of Tomorrow, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR, On Pit Row on the road

Tagged with: Auto Club 500, BethAnne Heisler, Daytona 500, Diecast Dude, Round girl Jen

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Can McMurray, Ganassi Sustain Daytona Success?

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2012 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

February 15, 2010 1:48 pm UTC No Comments

Almost nobody expected Jamie McMurray to win the 2010 Daytona 500. It was his first race with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing after four lackluster years as the fifth driver at Roush Fenway Racing, and nobody knew whether or not the combination would work out.

Chip Ganassi was the first owner to give McMurray a shot in Cup, promoting him in 2002 when Sterling Marlin was injured, and McMurray rewarded him by winning in his second career start. But it took McMurray almost five years to win again.

He’s never made a Chase (despite coming close for Ganassi twice in the mid-2000s), and plenty of folks thought his career was dead in the water after the four years of middling performance at Roush.

The combination of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing before last season was also a huge question mark, although Juan Montoya’s consistent performance throughout the regular season and early part of last year’s Chase answered his side of the equation. Martin Truex Jr., on the other hand, struggled desperately to perform, and left the team for Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the year.

This opened the door for Ganassi to bring back McMurray, and he rewarded the racing magnate’s judgment by winning the biggest race of the year.

Now, the biggest question is what kind of team McMurray’s will be for the next 35 races of the season.

Glory at Daytona can be used to propel a driver into the championship hunt. Ernie Irvan and Davey Allison used their 1991 and 1992 victories, respectively, to assert themselves as legitimate championship contenders. Irvan in 1991, Allison in 1992, and Sterling Marlin in 1995 (the year of his second consecutive 500 win) had their best career finishes in points coming off of Daytona victory.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a great season in 2004 after winning the Great American Race for the first time. His six wins that year were a career high, and although he slipped two positions in the final standings from his career-best third in 2003, he was a legitimate title contender the whole year.

Jimmie Johnson’s 2006 victory in the race led to his first career Cup title, despite regular crew chief Chad Knaus being suspended for the race. Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett each won the first race of the season the year after winning championships, in 1999 and 2000 respectively.

But plenty of drivers have seen their triumph at Daytona lead to a long dry spell.

Let’s start with last year. Sure, Matt Kenseth also won the next week’s race at California, but he missed the Chase for the first time in his career as well. Neither Ryan Newman (2008) nor Kevin Harvick (2007) have won points-paying Sprint Cup races since their respective Daytona 500 triumphs.

Michael Waltrip wasn’t able to turn either of his Daytona 500 triumphs, in 2001 and 2003, into season-long success, falling to 24th and 15th in points those two years, respectively. His win in fall 2003 at Talladega remains his final Cup win to date.

The worst season by a Daytona 500 winner in recent memory, however, belongs to Ward Burton, who finished 25th in points after his triumph in 2002. Burton started the season by leading at least one lap in the first five races, but 15 finishes outside the top 10 in the first 19 races of the year killed any hopes he had of championship contention. By the end of the next season, he was no longer employed at Bill Davis Racing.

The big question, then, is this: Will Jamie McMurray have a Sterling Marlin type of season after winning the Daytona 500, or a Ward Burton year?

We know that Chip Ganassi’s equipment is stellar in every racing series he enters. His IZOD IndyCar Series teams have won the past two championships, his Rolex Sports Car Series team is always contending for the title, and Montoya elevated the Sprint Cup team to a new level last year. The equipment and resources are certainly available.

McMurray’s also got a fire inside after the past four years at Roush. He needs to prove that he’s still “got it,” or perhaps that he ever “had it” at all; three of his four wins in Sprint Cup came on restrictor plate tracks, where anything can happen. This currently puts him in a category with Waltrip, as both were marketable mid-pack drivers who collected all of their mid-career victories in plate races.

McMurray needs to return to the form that nearly propelled him into the first Chase in 2004, and the Ganassi equipment has to stay as strong as it was last year. But if one or both of those things doesn’t happen, we could see yet another fluke Daytona 500 victory.

Filed under: Daytona 500, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Jamie McMurray

Tagged with: Dale Jarrett, Davey Allison, Daytona 500, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Ernie Irvan, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, Ryan Newman, Sterling Marlin, Ward Burton