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Double J and The Luck of A Golden Horseshoe

by Clance' McClannahan, Special To NASCAR commentary,NASCAR video,NASCAR pictures, 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 CST 1 Comment

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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, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR, NASCAR Conspiracies, Ryan Newman, jimmie johnson

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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Tony Stewart Gives NASCAR Fans the Show They Crave at Daytona

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

July 5, 2009 8:47 am CDT No Comments

Tony Stewart was able to make the last lap pass of his former teammate, Kyle Busch, to win the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

However; in the process, Busch went spinning in a last lap wreck that saw him get airborne and land on Kasey Kahne’s car, very reminiscent of the final lap at Talladega where Carl Edwards went into the spectator fence.

The Shrub was able to get out of his mangled race car and walk toward the garage, where he was intercepted by track personnel that escorted him to a safety vehicle for a trip to the infield care center. Busch was later released with no injuries other than a bruised ego. Busch was able to get past Stewart on the white flag lap when Tony slowed, trying to make his pursuers lose momentum and avoid the last lap onslaught.

The move backfired on Stewart with Busch taking the lead and then going into full blocking mode. Stewart was able to get his #14 just up to Busch’s quarter panel when they touched, sending Stewart to a win and Busch to the wall. Stewart explained:

It’s nobody’s fault, it’s just racing. I mean, it’s a product of the environment. It doesn’t mean the environment is bad, it just means that’s the way it is. Like I said, he did what he had to do, and he defended his spot and we held our(s). It wasn’t even that we tried to hold our ground, we just got on his quarter panel, and that’s just how you suck up. As soon as he moved, I didn’t anticipate him moving, and went across the nose.

Stewart had the dominate car all race as he never fell outside the top three. During the seven pit stops for the Burger King car; each time he came in first and left first.

One other thirteen car melee took out some of the cars battling for the final positions in The Chase. Most of the cars involved in that incident were able to repair their cars and finish the race. Twenty-eight cars finished on the lead lap, with Jeff Gordon bringing up the rear of the lead lap cars. Mark Martin ended his day in 38th and David Reutimann finished 36th, severely hampering their efforts to make it into the Chase.

Therefore; this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW is:

Aren’t the finishes at Talladega and now Daytona, exactly what NASCAR fans say they have been missing from the other tracks?

Let us know what you think and we may use your comments on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. Listen live every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET. Give us a call on the Bench Racing Hotline at 1-800-645-2946 and if we pick your call as the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Call of the Day you will win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead.

photo credits: Jerry Markland (wreck), Rusty Jarrett (Stewart)/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, David Reutimann, Daytona International Speedway, How to fix NASCAR, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, NASCAR, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart

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Kasey Kahne Delivers a Win for The Kings

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

June 22, 2009 8:38 pm CDT No Comments

Kasey Kahne wasn’t much of a road racer until winning the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on Sunday; taking the King of Beers and the King of NASCAR to victory lane.

Other than sitting on the pole in 2008, Kahne had done little when faced with going left and right to think that he would be able to take Richard Petty Motorsports back to victory lane. A journey that lasted ten years since John Andretti last won for The King. Andretti’s win came during the Petty Enterprises years; before mergers and re-locations made the once dominant team a mere shadow of itself.

There is very little of the old Petty Enterprises remaining in the new team owned by George Gillett. The win comes within days of Gillett announcing that he has sold his interest in the Montreal Canadians hockey team. Rumors have been circulating since the race in Michigan that RPM may be within weeks of a huge downsizing.

Could Kasey Kahne soon be the only driver left from the four that started the season? Elliott Sadler, AJ Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson could all be without a ride and Kahne could be in an un-supported Toyota soon. Petty let the cat out of the bag before the race at Michigan that Chrysler had not been sending checks and the money to run four teams was running thin.

That brings us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

With all the recent and pending changes at Richard Petty Motorsports again; what does Kasey Kahne’s win do for the team?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comments on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. Listen live every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET here. Or call the show at 800-645-2946 and if your call is voted the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Call Of the Day you will win a Kevin Harvick bobble head.

photo credit: Robert LaBerge/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, Nascar Legends, Reed Sorenson

Tagged with: AJ Almendinger, Elliott Sadler, George Gillet, Kasey Kahne, Reed Sorenson, Richard Petty Motorsports

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Will Bobby Labonte Replace Ticketmaster

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

February 3, 2009 8:17 am CST No Comments

During the NASCAR Media Tour, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. president Bruton Smith and most of his companies promoters have called on drivers to help sell tickets.

Whether Smith is looking for Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon or Junior to spend some time in the ticket booth or just to present a more “fan-friendly” face to the fans; NASCAR is scrambling to fill seats. It has been a long time since many tracks have had to hustle to get its tickets sold. For over a decade the line from Field of Dreams held true; “Build it and they will come.”

Well this isn’t a corn field in Iowa and tracks are struggling to have their races look full to the television cameras. But if you were a former ticket owner at a particular track who had not purchased tickets this year; would you change your mind if you recieved a phone call from Kasey Kahne asking you to re-up? Would you venture off to Darlington if you thought Bobby Labonte might be at the ticket window?

Do fans feel slighted by NASCAR’s elite drivers? The truth is that most fans believe that the majority of NASCAR personalities are quite accessable and give their time as much as possible. Fans line the walkways to and from the garage area at all tracks hoping to get a look at and maybe an autograph from, their favorite driver. Those drivers more times than not will take time to sign something or otherwise interact with the fans.

Rarely are those fans critical of the driver for not doing more. And that leads us to this weeks BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Should NASCAR drivers be expected to do more to help track owners and promoters sell tickets?

Let us know what you think and we may use your response on this weeks radio show. Tune in to ON PIT ROW, Tuesdays from 5-7pm ET at www.onpitrow.com Give us a call and let us know what you think about THE BUZZ or anything NASCAR at 1-877-502-8255 during the show.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Brian France, Bruton Smith, Dale Earnhardt Jr., How to fix NASCAR, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Bidness, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

Tagged with: Bobby Labonte, Bruton Smith, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, NASCAR, SMI, Tony Stewart

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Real Men of Genius May Have Missed with Kasey Kahne

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. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

December 10, 2008 2:50 pm CST 1 Comment

The consensus “biggest 2008 story in NASCAR” seems to be Tony Stewart leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to return to Chevrolet with his very own team. I can’t argue much with that. Maybe if Jimmie Johnson wins seven Sprint Cup Championships in a row, Jimmie will get his due.

This time last year, the big story was Dale Earnhardt Jr leaving that Budweiser red, DEI no. 8 for greener - as in Amp Energy Drink green - garages at Hendrick Motorsports.

That left Budweiser scrambling a bit to find a replacement for the most popular driver in NASCAR, to sell their suds. They picked Kasey Kahne. And it all kind went thud from there.

We Looked for the clever commercials of Kasey fighting off mutants - instead of MILFS. There were none. So when I saw this headline from Foxsports.com yesterday, I was interested in the story.

Earnhardt rewards sponsors; Bud’s exposure plummets

The telling numbers are these…

For the year, Earnhardt generated $26.15 million in value for his three sponsors — Amp Energy, the National Guard and Mountain Dew. That’s five percent more than what he delivered in 2007 for his former primary marketing partner, Budweiser.

With Earnhardt’s move, Budweiser put its support (and dollars) behind Kasey Kahne in 2008. It ended up with $11.75 million in exposure value, less than half of what it received with Earnhardt in 2007.

It isn’t like Junior had that much more success - if any - than Kasey. Junior won the Budweiser Shoot out (oh the irony) a qualifying race at Daytona, a Cup race at Michigan and qualified for the Chase. Kahne won the All Star race at Lowes Motor Speedway- he was voted in by the fans, remember - and two Cup races, but failed to make the Chase. Apparently though, winning isn’t everything. More from the Fox article…

In 12 of the 37 races tracked, the driver who delivered the most value for his sponsors was not the winner of the race.

I don’t know what this all means. It certainly is very important for NASCAR teams in these economic times, to have drivers that are more than just good. Does anyone think that the impending merger of Dale Earnhardt Inc with Ganassi/Sabates would have happened if Junior were still there? Would Petty Enterprises be in the soup if they had somehow signed a Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon or Kurt Busch years ago?

We want to congratulate the Gillette Young Guns for their 2008 NASCAR Marketing Achievement award. The Gillette folks have been helpful to us here at ON PIT ROW. But look at the line up of the Gillette Young Guns. Those are the kind of drivers that you need today just to survive in NASCAR.

Filed under: Clint Boyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Denny Hamlin, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Lowes Motor Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Bidness, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, The Busch Bros, The Pettys

Tagged with: Amp Energy Drink, Budweiser, Dale Earnhardt Jr., DEI, Gillette Young Guns, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR marketing

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Getting out of the NASCAR Broadcast Rut

by Charlie Turner

September 13, 2008 9:12 am CDT 1 Comment

Ch..ch..ch..changin the way I get my NASCAR.

I was looking for something to function as background noise awhile back as I did some work on the laptop. The house was empty. I am not real good with silence.

Normally, I would turn on a baseball game but my Detroit Tigers are paining me. I don’t do reality TV shows and Speed had some non-racing programming, which, to me, is like the Weather Channel doing drama. Pass.

So I got out my copy of the Daytona 500: Fifty Years of the Great American Race, from A & E Home Video. The A & E folks had sent us some of these to use as giveaways for ON PIT ROW and OnPitRow.com, in return for helping to promote them. It’s a great DVD about the history of the race with some terrific interviews. But the DVD has another feature which I had forgotten about.

You can watch a condensed version of the Fox Sports broadcast of the 2008 Daytona 500 or you can choose to watch the race from the in-car, driver’s eye view and get the in-car audio of Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr or Kasey Kahne. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed this thing. I didn’t get much accomplished on the laptop.

A few days ago, folks representing Direct TV contacted us about promoting their NASCAR Hot Pass programming.

I see references to Hot Pass all over the net. Reading posts at Amy’s Bad Groove this past week, she mentioned catching Tony Stewart’s semi-melt after the Richmond finish on her Direct TV Hot Pass channel. As someone who spends way too much time following this stuff, I feel kind of guilty not having access to Hot Pass and the depth of info that is available.

The guilt comes from writing about what’s happening in NASCAR when I have increasing difficulty watching the network TV coverage. The in-car content on the DVD kept my attention. Direct TV Hot Pass has way more than that.

I have another problem as well. I have to sell my lovely bride that we need this. I could use your help. The person, or persons that supply me with the successful argument-excuses that convince the boss, will get a Daytona 500 - 50 Years of the Great American Race DVD.

If you sign up for Direct TV you can add NASCAR Hot Pass for the rest of the season for only $29.95 or you can add Hot Pass to your existing Direct TV plan for the same $29.95. Sign up through our affiliate link here and save. For more information about Hot Pass call 877-770-6928.

Help me out. I’m going to buy Hot Pass anyway. But I could use some grief-reduction strategies.

Filed under: Bench Racing Contests, Chase for the Cup, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona 500, NASCAR & the Media, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming, NASCAR video, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona 500 video, Direct TV, Fantasy racing, Great American Race, Hot Pass, in-car camerar, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart

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