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5 Drivers to Watch in Montreal

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

July 31, 2008 2:12 pm UTC 4 Comments

When the Nationwide Series makes its second stop to Montreal this Saturday, the star power from last year’s race will be missing. Defending winner Robby Gordon won’t be there, and neither will the driver that got the trophy and the points, Kevin Harvick. Still, the second visit promises to have no shortages of contenders and storylines. In particular I’m focusing on three Canadians, an Australian, and a Kansas boy I profiled last week.

Patrick Carpentier – PC, my favorite Sprint Cup rookie this season, is skipping the race in Pocono this weekend in order to try and win the race in Montreal. Carpentier is from Quebec, and was thisclose last year in his first NASCAR race at any level. I think he has a great shot to win, and would love to see him do so. In his first run with the #9 team in Mexico City this year he finished 5th.

Ron Fellows – Fellows is the ageless wonder of NASCAR road racing but his game appears as good as ever. He owns multiple wins at Watkins Glen, where the series will be next week, and has a strong car under him this week as he wheels the #5 JR Motorsports Chevy. Fellows ran competitively last year driving for KHI, and will most likely do so again Saturday.

Jacques Villeneuve – Villeneuve is one of the wildcards in the field this weekend. He didn’t compete last year as he was focused on Sprint Cup. Villeneuve’s car this weekend – the #32 Braun Toyota – is no slouch, as it currently sits 15th in the owners standings and has been driven by Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, among others. Even more personal, the Montreal track is named after his father, the late Gilles Villeneuve. Jacques didn’t win here in F1, but would no doubt love to do so this weekend.

Marcos Ambrose – “Kangaroo Meat” has received the bulk of attention with the series returning to Montreal. Ambrose dominated the race last year and most likely would have won, if he hadn’t spun Robby Gordon out under caution and received his payback on the restart. Ambrose hasn’t run as well as he did last year, but this race could very well turn that around. Yes, I’m faulting Ambrose for his own actions in regards to Gordon last year.

Clint Bowyer – A year ago, it was his RCR teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton making the journey to Montreal to compete in this race while Bowyer staying in Pocono. This season the roles are reversed and it could present an interesting challenge to the Emporia, Kansas native in his quest to win the Nationwide Series championship. He will be a rookie at this track and perhaps even more risky, will turn his first laps on the track when he receives the green flag. If he escapes with a top 15, he should feel very, very lucky.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Busch Series, Clint Boyer, Formula One, Jacques Villeneuve, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Pocono Raceway, Robby Gordon

Tagged with: Clint Bowyer, gilles villeneuve, Jacques Villeneuve, Marcos Ambrose, mexico city, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, patrick carpentier, Pocono, racing, Robby Gordon, ron fellows

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Scott Speed Will Be Sprint Cup Racing Soon

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 30, 2008 7:18 pm UTC 6 Comments

Red Bull Racing development driver Scott Speed was our featured guest INSIDE ARCA Tuesday night. Scott is heading to Pocono Raceway this Saturday in his Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota Camry, with a two race ARCA RE/MAX Series win streak and a real shot to make it three in a row.

Speed is the first ARCA driver to win three races in 2008, having won early in the season at Kansas Speedway in addition to the last two at Kentucky Speedway and Berlin Raceway. The Red Bull driver is part of a very strong 2008 rookie contingent in ARCA’s top touring series. That group includes series point leader and Roush-Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

We’ve talked with Scott several times now. I really like the guy. He’s brash, confident and always seems to be enjoying himself. He does not embody the corporate NASCAR image. Very refreshing. But it’s obvious, in discussion, that he takes his racing career very seriously.

Steve asked him about his 2009 plans which, Scott said, look to include a full Craftsman Truck Series campaign and several Sprint Cup races. So I asked about the balance of this 2008 racing season.

Although he didn’t give any details, Scott did say that he is getting a lot of seat time in the Cup cars and that he was pretty sure he would get a few races in Sprint Cup before the 2008 season ends.

Don’t let the antics fool you. He’s going to be good at this. I can’t wait.

Photo credit: Bob Costanzo – ARCA

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, ARCA Remax Series, Brian Vickers, Car of Tomorrow, Craftsman Truck Series, Dover International Speedway, Eddie Sharp Racing, Inside ARCA, NASCAR Rumors, Red Bull Racing, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: ARCA Remax Series, Pocono, Red Bull, Red Bull Racing, ricky stenhouse jr., Roush-Fenway Racing, Scott Speed

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Mark Martin Setting Himself Up For More Heartbreak

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

June 21, 2008 8:12 am UTC 8 Comments

An item came across NASCAR.com and it made me shake my head. Mark Martin one of my 3 favorite drivers in NASCAR history, seems to have made another guarantee. In the story last week at Pocono, he said that he plans on winning at the Brickyard in July. I have no doubt Mark can win the race. I remember 10 years ago at Indy when he had a better car than Jeff Gordon throughout the day, yet couldn’t get around him at the end. I remember when Mark left the 6 for the 01 last year, he said he would have his best chance ever to win the Daytona 500 – and he did, but came up inches short. It saddens me to see someone that’s a traditional pessimist, like Mark, get exciting for something just to be heartbroken again. I felt the heartbreak of the 2002 season because he was so close. Two years later, in the inaugural Chase, Mark arguably had the best team but accidents and bad luck struck again. At that Daytona race 16 months ago, I watched him lead those last several laps as I had a kung-fu grip on a pillow in my room, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this could be the race of his life. It was the race of his life… he finished second again, and I fell to the floor with the air knocked out of my lungs. To be a Mark Martin fan, it’s similar to what being a Red Sox fan must have been like until the 2004 playoffs. In the back of your mind, you know something will happen. I don’t know how many fans understand how much Mark means to his fans, and the heartbreak his fans have gone through with him. Many times, it takes the man himself to keep us fans from going crazy.

Fast forward to this season’s race at Phoenix, which saw Mark lead a bunch of laps and appeared to be on his way to victory. What did Mark have to lose by staying out and gambling? He pitted from the lead, had the best car, so fuel mileage should have been on Tony Gibson’s mind. Yet, it didn’t happen, and surprise, Mark lost. The guarantee at Indianapolis is interesting. He qualified well at Pocono, yet seemed to fall back more and more during the race. DEI seems to be focusing on Truex and Menard at the moment, which is perfectly understandable. The prospect of Truex leaving would put one foot in the ground, I don’t see anyone tearing down the door to get into DEI the way guys would at Gibbs right now. In a certain sense, I think Mark may have to win at Indy to keep DEI relevant. Rumors swirl about the future of the Army sponsorship, given that the 01 has had limited sponsorship, and Bass Pro Shops could be leaving for Tony Stewart’s revamped Haas Racing.

I didn’t like the movie Groundhog Day. I hate recurring dreams. Most of all, I know deep down that Mark Martin won’t win the Brickyard this year. He’ll have a flat tire with 3 to go, he’ll get crashed out by a car 9 laps down, he’ll blow his engine on the white flag lap. The worst part? I’ll still be making him my pick to win. Some habits won’t go away.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Daytona 500, Haas CNC Racing, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Brickyard 400, Daytona 500, DEI, Haas CNC Racing, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR, Pocono, Sprint Cup, Tony Gibson, Tony Stewart

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Loose is Fast in Turn 3 at MIS

by Charlie Turner

June 13, 2008 4:51 am UTC 3 Comments

Michigan International Speedway is my favorite NASCAR track. It doesn’t always feature the most exciting racing of the season. The races usually feature three or four main stories composed of different dominant cars separated by long, hot stretches of stock car endurance driving. But it’s fast. And it’s loud and it smells good. That’s what makes it number one in my book. The smell of rubber and racing fuel. And I’m there. I get to a fair number of events every year, but I always get to the Michigan races. I can count on the smells of MIS.

If you get Loose in Turn 3 at MIS – and don’t lose it – you will probably be fast. My cohorts – TZ at Do You NASCAR and Bruce of NASCAR Bits and Pieces - are always quick. Check out their comments on my Turn 3 question this week.

I’m stealing the theme for my question from a comment made on a post at Bench Racing by One Lugnut Short.

Would requiring race tracks that host multiple races, to have different race lengths for each race resolve the complaints of those who want to take races away from the Poconos and Californias?

Charlie: Actually, it would for me. Having one 500 mile race each at Pocono and California is fine. But make the other 400 or – as my buddy Steve-O wants – even 300. There is a big difference between 400 and 500 in strategy. One long, endurance test is fine. Make the other race something else. I know this won’t quell the clamor for taking races away from these tracks. But if that doesn’t happen – and it won’t at California I promise you – at least this solution creates variety.

Bruce: Would making different races at the same track different lengths resolve complaints? No, I don’t think so. Most detractors have their ulterior motives and I’m not sure race length is an issue with most. I have always thought that shortening up some of the events would be good though. It would be good for television ratings and good for the drone affect some races can develop on this viewer. I really like the length of the Nationwide races. Not too long, but not a dash and we still see mechanical failures at those set distances, so I’m not sure the overall affect would be detrimental. On the other hand, being shorter, you might see more aggressive strategies that would cause other physics issues (IE: 2 cars, one space). If I had a say, I’d say go for it.
TZ: I like the forward thinking in regards that diversity in the races themselves could make things a bit more exciting, but in all reality, no I don’t see that solving anything. Some people may tend to gripe about a track simply because they just got done watching a boring race, but for me, very seldom will hear me say anything good about the racing at California, Texas, or Michigan … why? Because whether it’s 200, 400, or 500 miles, the tracks themselves just simply do not alot for entertaining racing.

That’s what we think – how about you? Leave your thoughts in the comment section here, then check out the other blogs for our takes on TZ’s question…

Assuming that he was seriously contemplating the move, do the recent penalties awarded to Haas CNC Racing deter Tony Stewart from pursuing future ownership with that organization?

And make Bruce’s deal this week is…

So another Pocono race has come and gone. If NASCAR retains two races at Pocono, (And I don’t see why they won’t) do you think the track management should at least repave the track or is there something they can do to change up the action?

Filed under: Haas CNC Racing, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR Bidness, Pocono Raceway, Sprint Cup Series, The Pettys, Tony Stewart, Turn 2 posts

Tagged with: blog, California Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, MIS, motorsports, NASCAR, Pocono, Sprint Cup Series

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Winning Solves Everything for Kahne at Pocono

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 9, 2008 11:00 pm UTC 4 Comments

Kasey Kahne had the field covered at Pocono on Sunday.

Kahne beat Brian Vickers and perennial Pocono winner Denny Hamlin to the finish line for his second win in three weeks. After a race that found many of NASCAR’s elite complaining about everything at Pocono except trees, Kahne looked refreshed when he stepped out of his Budweiser Dodge.

Kahne had to battle back from 36th place after a botched pit stop forced him to return to pit lane to complete a four tire stop. Originally crew chief Kenny Francis called off a four tire stop to just take two, but not everyone got the message and lugnuts had already been removed from the drivers side of the race car when Kahne sped away. Francis explained it this way:

I got us in a pretty big hole there at the beginning of the race, just tried to take two tires, called off a four tire stop and called a two tire stop, and I thought I saw the tire changer out of the corner of my eye and didn’t realize he had hit some lugnuts already in the front, and got us all the way in the back, 36 or something. And Kasey did a great job driving it back up through the field.

Numerous drivers took pot shots at the racetrack over the week, complaining about the quality of the racing surface, the length of the race itself and the heat. Which leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

What should NASCAR do about the races at Pocono?

Let us know what you think about the buzz and we may use your reply on this week’s show. Check out ON PIT ROW at www.onpitrow.com tuesday at 5pm ET, followed by INSIDE ARCA.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Denny Hamlin, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Kasey Kahne, Pocono Raceway, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: blog, Brian Vickers, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, motorsports, NASCAR, ON PIT ROW, Pocono, Pocono Raceway

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Look for a development driver to win Saturday’s Pocono 200

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

June 5, 2008 2:25 pm UTC 5 Comments

The ARCA/ReMax Series will head to Long Pond, PA this weekend to team up with the Sprint Cup Series, and with the Trucks in Texas and Nationwide Series in Nashville, this could be the spot in which someone impresses the right person and moves up through the ranks. This race has been dominated by either Cup rookies moving down to get track experience, or a hotshoe from a Cup team gaining experience for a future foray into the series.

Since 2003, Cup drivers or Cup development drivers have won 8 of the 10 races at Pocono. These drivers include Casey Mears twice, Scott Riggs, Ryan Hemphill, Travis Kvapil, Chase Miller, Chad McCumbee, and Michael McDowell. Only the series’ great one, Frank Kimmel, broke the streak, taking the July races in 2005 and 2006. Also competing in these races have been drivers such as Kyle Busch, David Reutimann, and David Ragan. Previous polesitters have included Mears, Riggs, and Kvapil, as well as David Stremme.

As for the 2008 edition, there is no shortage of candidates to win. This season has been an exciting one in the series, as young drivers have come in and performed exceedingly well. Current points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr., second-place Matt Carter, and sixth-place Scott Speed have all won this year. Speed also won the Truck race at Dover, and will compete in Friday night’s Truck race. Still, there are others who will pose a threat. You can’t discount Kimmel, who still maintains a top points position despite working on a shoestring budget with his own team. He could use a win, and it could come as soon as this very weekend.

One thing is for sure, the ARCA/ReMax Series is entertaining again, and this race fan is more than happy to see the return of its glory days.

Photo credit: AP

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Casey Mears, Craftsman Truck Series, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Eddie Sharp Racing, Frank Kimmel, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series