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Putting Penske’s Switch To Ford In Perspective

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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.

March 1, 2012 11:58 am UTC No Comments

Kurt Busch, driver of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on June 26, 2011 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images for NASCAR)

SONOMA, CA - JUNE 26: Kurt Busch, driver of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on June 26, 2011 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Penske Racing announced today that they will be making the switch from Dodge engines to Fords in 2013, ending a 10-year relationship with the brand that saw Penske-prepped Intrepids, Chargers, and Challengers take 42 combined Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series wins. Among the highlights of the relationship were Penske’s first Daytona 500 victory, eight Chase for the Sprint Cup berths, and the 2010 Nationwide Series championship. 2011 Chase contender Brad Keselowski will drive a Ford at the sport’s highest level for the first time, while new addition A.J. Allmendinger will drive for his fourth Ford-powered team since 2004, counting his three years in Champ Car.

This won’t be team owner Roger Penske’s first time with Ford in NASCAR, either. From 1994 to 2002, Penske fielded Thunderbirds and Tauruses for primary drivers Rusty Wallace, Jeremy Mayfield, and Ryan Newman. The relationship started off hot, as Wallace would win eight races in 1994 and 15 in his first three years as a blue oval driver. He would add eight more victories from 1997 to 2001, while Mayfield would add three more from 1998 to 2001 and Newman would take his first career victory in 2002.

Penske left Ford after the 2002 season to join Dodge, then only two years into its return to NASCAR and struggling to establish a solid footing in the sport. The brand would succeed at Daytona, sweeping the front row in 2001 and winning in 2002 with Ward Burton, and had a championship challenger in 2002 with Sterling Marlin. But all that promise didn’t lead to much; Marlin’s third place in 2001 points made him the only driver to crack the top 10 either year.

The switch would pay immediate dividends, as Newman would match Wallace’s feat by winning eight races with a new manufacturer in 2003. Wallace would add a win himself, and where Dodge had only scored 10 wins with 10 cars in 2001 and 2002, Penske had nearly doubled the brand’s win total in 2003 alone with two cars. Kurt Busch would join the team in 2006 and have a handful of good seasons with the team, Newman would add a Daytona 500 win in 2008, and Penske Racing would become far and away Dodge’s most prominent and important team as the 2000s went on.

Meanwhile, many of Dodge’s other teams would either leave the brand or fall off the map entirely. A series of sales and mergers turned former flagship teams Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises into the same entity, which joined the Ford ranks in 2010. Chip Ganassi Racing would merge into Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2009, switching to Chevrolet. Bill Davis Racing defaulted on its Dodge contract by running Toyotas in the Craftsman Truck Series, eventually joining them in Sprint Cup in 2007. Other teams, like Melling Racing, Ultra Motorsports, and A.J. Foyt’s NASCAR operation, simply folded.

Penske has worked with just about every major company in motorsports. In fact, he has a history of establishing long relationships with brands, then ending them for something better. It’s happened more than once in the past few years; the most notable instance came last year, when the team dumped a long association with Mobil 1 to resume a partnership with Pennzoil that had ended after 1990.

This move has huge implications for everybody involved, particularly the manufacturers. For Ford, it’s a signal that they’ve come all the way back after a handful of lean years. As recently as 2008, Ford only fielded eight full-time cars, lowest in the series. While five of those came from the perennial contender Roush Fenway Racing, Wood Brothers Racing would cut to a limited schedule for 2009 and beyond, and the two Yates Racing cars wouldn’t exist beyond 2009. But Richard Petty Motorsports and Front Row Motorsports (theoretically a continuation of Yates Racing) would add seven cars in 2010, while Roush would keep its fifth car alive through a transfer of owners’ points. That would give Ford 12 cars for 2010; adding the two Penske teams to this year’s Fords, the brand will have a powerful 14 car lineup in 2013.

The story is much more bleak for the lame-duck engine manufacturer. In 2008, Dodge had 13 full-time, fully funded, and competitive Sprint Cup teams. Five years later, Dodge will be left with only one: Robby Gordon Motorsports, whose participation in the series is limited at best. Unless they makes a serious play for an existing team to switch manufacturers, or gives a smaller operation a major boost, Dodge may be all but gone from stock car racing’s highest level next season.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Brad Kesolowski, Penske Racing, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman 

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Mayfield v. NASCAR: Where Do We Go From Here?

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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.

July 29, 2009 12:49 am UTC 13 Comments

Part three of three, the final part in an in-depth (and perhaps entirely unnecessary) deeper look into the Jeremy Mayfield v. NASCAR case. I’ll stop discussing it, I promise.

So what does the future hold for Jeremy Mayfield and NASCAR, and what is going to make or break this court case? We know now that Mayfield won’t be returning to the track, instead focusing on the legal battle, meaning that this could drag out for a long time.

The documentary that Mayfield claims to be producing could play a huge part in the resolution. If Mayfield has documentary footage that can aid in his eventual vindication, then his attorneys need to submit that evidence – unedited – to the judge at some point.

If that documentary footage disproves NASCAR’s claim that the drug test they administered on July 6 was “held up,” then it begins to unravel NASCAR’s case of “real science and sworn affidavits,” as Ramsey Poston said.

Lisa Mayfield’s claims against her stepson also will play a huge role in the resolution to this struggle. If, as she claims, Jeremy Mayfield used meth at least 30 times in her presence, then his case is shot. He’s done. We’d have simply witnessed one of the best and most logical defenses of a guilty man in recent memory.

On the other hand, if she is guilty of all that Jeremy Mayfield has accused of her (namely, that she lied in the affidavit because NASCAR paid her to, that she has a vendetta against the driver, and that she killed Terry Mayfield, her husband and Jeremy’s father), NASCAR has done more than just shooting itself in the foot. They’d have sabotaged their entire case due to confidence that her status as a Mayfield family member and the sanctioning body’s deep pockets would pull them through.

Until and unless that or something else unravels their defense, however, expect this battle to drag on for quite a while. Neither side is, at this point in time, willing to relent.

Mayfield, however, has to start checking himself again before he speaks. Grandiose claims of a major sponsor and suggesting that NASCAR “doesn’t want it” aren’t great public relations moves. As stressful and damaging as this saga has already been for both sides, if Mayfield doesn’t keep his emotions in check, he’ll be shooting himself in the foot. Erratic behavior will only lead NASCAR to claim that he exhibits traits of a drug user.

If Mayfield’s case falls apart, the sanctioning body will probably crush him into defeat, and we’ll probably never see the two-time Chase driver again. It’d be the same as in any other case where the individual takes on the higher power and loses.

However, if NASCAR’s defense unravels, and the public begins to scrutinize their defensive tactics, expect to see a settlement offer for Mayfield just to go away. But would Mayfield accept such an offer? Sure, on one hand, it seems to be admitting defeat and vindication for the driver. At the same time, however, it could be viewed as NASCAR paying Mayfield to shut up, and he obviously isn’t the type to buy into that.

Given NASCAR’s latest claims that Mayfield lied about his chronology of the events of July 6, this battle will probably last through the end of the year. The only certainty at this point is that we won’t be seeing Jeremy Mayfield in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series anytime soon.

Filed under: Jeremy Mayfield 

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Mayfield Saga: Is NASCAR Wrong?

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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.

July 28, 2009 1:05 am UTC 27 Comments

This is part two in a three-part series on the endless Jeremy Mayfield saga. Today’s post questions the accuracy of NASCAR’s statements over the past 80 days.

It’s interesting to consider NASCAR, not Jeremy Mayfield, to be in the wrong, if only because the grand majority of folks think it goes the other way around. After watching Mayfield’s 20-minute interview with WBTV in Charlotte, in which he raises a lot of good points that deftly counter NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston’s statements, it’s not a total reach.

His claims make logical sense to the conspiracy theorist, and it’s interesting to analyze them even when they seem unlikely. Taking Adderall and Claritin D can lead to a positive result for methamphetamines. By making him go through NASCAR’s rehab program, NASCAR chairman Brian France and program administrator Dr. David Black could cite Mayfield as living proof of the strength of the sport’s drug policy, one that has taken a beating over the past two and a half months.

Mayfield doesn’t even cite NASCAR’s suspension of Tim Richmond in the late 1980s, not long before his death, as a previous example of the sport throwing one of its drivers under the bus. Richmond, too, claimed his innocence, sued NASCAR, and was eventually reinstated, but much like Mayfield projects, never returned to the track because no owner was willing to hire him.

It’s also interesting to read into a lot of NASCAR’s claims over the past few months. Some can easily lead a person to suspect foul play, or at the very least exaggeration; others can just be misleading. For example:

• Consider, first and foremost, the fact that the results of both of Mayfield’s drug tests with NASCAR were not released until over a week after they were taken. Given that Mayfield was attempting to get his B sample tested between May 1 and May 9, that gap perhaps makes sense. But consider that David Black’s corporation, Nashville-based Aegis Labs, claims it only takes four days to complete a drug test. Consider also the high-profile nature of the situation. The fact that Mayfield’s July 6 test results took nine days to come out perhaps gives credence to his suspicion that NASCAR spiked his drug test; if NASCAR had gotten a positive result, why wouldn’t they have released it immediately the day they got the results? If the test simply took longer, then what explains that?
• Consider NASCAR’s claim that Mayfield attempted to dilute his July 6 drug test by ingesting large quantities of water. Mayfield had already taken a drug test that day, only a few hours prior to NASCAR showing up. The average person can urinate anywhere from 3 to 7 times per day, but it’s difficult to keep going when you have nothing with which to replenish your system. Seeing as Mayfield’s All Sport sponsorship no longer exists, water is a smart way to rehydrate, in turn producing more urine for another sample. NASCAR could have easily picked up on the presence of water in Mayfield’s sample and used it to their advantage in this way.
• Consider a claim that Mayfield cited in an interview with Sirius’ Nate Ryan and Buddy Baker on July 16. Mayfield noted that Brian France had recently claimed that NASCAR has positive drug tests “very frequently,” implying that many within the sport have tested positive for something. Furthermore, France’s July 3 remarks showed a man firm in his belief that NASCAR’s policy was strong, but were very light on specifics. If positive drug tests happen so frequently in NASCAR, assuming that multiple drivers’ tests have come back dirty, why is Mayfield the only driver to have received a suspension? Or, if France was only referring to legal prescription drugs that the sanctioning body allows, why would France have left his comments so vague?

Chances are, there are better, more truthful explanations for all of the issues raised, but with the unreliable nature of conflicting information, we can only speculate. (I am pretty positive about the pee test, though. It’s hard to force yourself to go when there’s nothing in the system.)

One of the most interesting and perhaps ironic quotes in this case comes from Ramsey Poston, NASCAR’s spokesperson, in response to Mayfield’s independent test results. The PDF features minimal information, but includes a specimen number and negative results to tests for amphetamine and methamphetamine.

In response to the PDF, Poston said, “They seem to be a little light on the details, don’t you think?”

Poston’s response is ironic, given NASCAR’s relative lack of specificity throughout this entire case. When the new drug policy still lacks a list of banned drugs for drivers, when their story of Mayfield’s forced drug test on July 6 is (at the very least) far less comprehensive than Mayfield’s version, and when Mayfield’s test results took over a week to be released (bringing into some question how the tests were handled), one could suggest that perhaps the pot is calling the kettle black.

Photo courtesy Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Jeremy Mayfield 

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Mayfield, Hitchcock and Spillane equals Plots, Subplots and Double-Crosses

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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.

July 19, 2009 9:30 pm UTC 7 Comments

If it walks like, flies like, quacks like and craps like a duck… maybe its a dog.

That is where I’m at with the whole Jeremy Mayfield soap opera.  So little makes sense that I’ve had to try and think way outside the box.  After I finished writing my last Jeremy Mayfield post, I had to try an figure out what exactly was going on with the two diametrically opposed stories of Jeremy and NASCAR.

The only thing I can come up with is the belief that NASCAR and Jeremy Mayfield are working together for the betterment of the sport.  What if Jeremy were actually working with NASCAR to help throw up the largest smoke screen in sports history?  What if NASCAR were using Jeremy willingly to mask a bigger scandal with bigger names involved?  True conspiracy theory stuff here.  This is true 1950′s double cross movie stuff.

So little else makes any kind of sense.  Comments have been make by Brian France in passing that there were other positive tests in the garage area.  If those positives reflected badly on some of the bigger names in the sport wouldn’t it be in NASCAR’s best interest to divert the attention?  I was told this weekend while covering the weekly series at Toledo Speedway, from the usual “reliable source” that the Shane Hmeil “bust” was intended to scare straight a high profile NASCAR driver.  I don’t know if that is true, but it is a story that I believe COULD have happened.

Just like I can believe that NASCAR could be looking to use a down and out driver/owner to mask other ills in the sport.  Why Mayfield you might ask?  Because Mayfield is believable in the roll.  You can stretch your belief system to either believe or not that Mayfield is a drug user.  He has had enough weird behaviors in his past to believe he could be guilty of what NASCAR alleges; just ask Roger Penske or Ray Evernham.

Yet at the same time he shows none of the outward signs of the typical methamphetamine user.  There are no rotten teeth or sunken eyes.  As any good private dick from the 50′s might say; “Somethin’ stinks like a four day old carp.”

It’s the stuff that Alfred Hitchcock or Mickey Spillane could be proud.

Filed under: Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Conspiracies, NASCAR Rumors, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio 

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Jeremy Mayfield Continues to Swing for the Fences

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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.

July 16, 2009 9:06 am UTC 4 Comments

NASCAR says Jeremy Mayfield’s latest drug test again shows positive.

Mayfield says he has at least two other tests, taken with an hour, before and after NASCAR’s, that show a negative result.  Mayfield was on Sirius/XM’s “Late Shift” last night with Nate Ryan and Buddy Baker.  Mayfield again claimed innocence and attacked NASCAR and specifically Brian France.

While the entire saga is starting to wear thin with race fans. The entire affair has those same fans wondering where it will all end.  Mayfield is fighting for his good name.  You have to wonder why would someone who was guilty go through all of this.  If he were indeed guilty of using meth as alleged, the best course of action would have been to quietly go though NASCAR’s rehab program and be back racing as soon as possible.

If that were the course he had chosen, he would have been back behind the wheel by now with the fans solidly behind him, rooting him on.  America loves the under dog and they especially love a reformed under dog.  You don’t have to look any further than Major League Baseball’s Josh Hamilton.  Hamilton’s drug use, struggles with recovery and ultimate success made him the 2008 media darling of baseball.

Mayfield didn’t follow that path, instead looking to prove his innocence in court.  Now, multiple drug tests and spiraling subplots later, Mayfield seems obsessed with clearing his name and the racing be damned.

Mayfield’s “stepmom” – a term he prefers not to use – has now said that she witnessed Jeremy snorting meth thirty times.  Mayfield has counter-attacked by claiming his “father’s wife” shot and killed his father then went to Jeremy seeking money.  According to Jeremy, when he refused to support Lisa Mayfield, she sought out NASCAR as a paid informant.

This mess may take years to come to fruition but it is very sad for all involved.  Jeremy never seemed to have the stereotypical drug user identifiers except for the occasional propensity to say the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time.  You do have to wonder why would NASCAR choose Mayfield as the scapegoat if he weren’t going to be a willing participant.

Mayfield has claimed that if NASCAR takes him to the wall as a drug user then the other more high profile drivers, who have also tested positive, could be spared.  Brian France did say that there had been other positives in the garage area.

Mayfield continues to fight a fight that appears he cannot win.  If he does -  or if NASCAR backs down –   Jeremy could get a big enough settlement to get back in the racing business.  If he loses the battle not much will be left except the reality TV circuit.

Filed under: Brian France, Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR officials 

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NASCAR Charges Mayfield with Fraud

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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.

June 6, 2009 9:16 am UTC 3 Comments

How much bad PR is NASCAR willing to foist upon itself?

The court of public opinion, for the most part, has not been kind to NASCAR in light of recent penalties waged on small teams.  Jeremy Mayfield’s drug test, Carl Long‘s fine and suspension along with Robby Gordon’s fines sure look like NASCAR is singling out the little guy.

NASCAR is not admitting to any type of favoritism to its larger teams, but it is hard for the casual fan to wonder about all the suspensions and fines that were levied against Hendrick Motor Sports and their crew chiefs, Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte.   HMS was on a two year run of fines and suspensions that were no where near the severity that has been levied against Long.

NASCAR has not fared well in the fan’s perception of how they have handled the entire Jeremy Mayfield situation.  From not having a list of banned substances to allowing Mayfield access to the race track after he was banned, NASCAR has looked foolish at times during this process.  Mayfield may be guilty of what NASCAR alleges, but even if he is, NASCAR has positioned itself to be the bad guy.

Mayfield filed a lawsuit to regain his rights to drive and own a race car.  This is a logical step and one that fans can see the merits in.  It is the American way to fight for what you believe in and Mayfield is using the court system to try and accomplish that.  But what has NASCAR done?

First they petition to have the hearing moved to Federal court thus delaying the proceedings that would have brought the matter to a timely conclusion.  Now to add even more bad press and to further sway the public’s opinion toward NASCAR’s persecution of the little guy they file a counter suit against Mayfield.

In that counter suit they claim Mayfield willfully violated the substance abuse policy, breached his NASCAR contract and of defrauding competitors of earnings.  David Newton at ESPN.com has a great article on the legal wranglings and is definitely worth the read.  The counter suit on NASCAR’s part smells more of revenge seeking.

With all that NASCAR has been trying to do in the past three weeks to try and show fans that they are concerned over the product they are putting out, why would they revert to the pettiness of a counter suit?

NASCAR does not want drivers, owners, crew members or anyone else involved in the sport to question their decisions and directives.  Carl Long, after his appeal was denied talked about the fatherly way the sport had been run under Bills Senior and Junior and how it is no longer so.  The first two France family members had a feel for how to run a business where all of it’s stars are independent contractors.  The current regime seems to have forgotten that the fans come to watch those independant contractors; not NASCR officials.

To paraphrase from baseball; “How do you know if a NASCAR official did a good job? Because you never noticed he was there.”

Brian France and the entire NASCAR heirarchy is getting noticed way too much.  And much of that notice is their own fault.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: ESPN, Hendrick Motorsports, How to fix NASCAR, Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR officials, Nextel Cup Series 

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