Busch, More and Less

There are a lot of things about Kyle Busch that are “less”. He’s reckless, relentless, and a prick. OK, the last one isn’t a “less”, but I could use less of it. However, there was something totally different I saw in Kyle Busch this weekend, he was careless.

First be clear of the difference. While I’m all on board with the fact that what happened with him and Jr. at Richmond was a “racing deal”, it was also based out of Busch being over aggressive and really not caring about his fellow competitors. There’s no need for us all to go down that road, but we’ve seen a lot of similar instances where he over drives the car and as a result someone else is severely put at a disadvantage. (e.g. Johnny Benson) That’s him though, that’s how he drives. I don’t have to agree with it, but it’s exactly what we’re going to get every week.

What happened with Shrubbie this weekend was totally different in my mind. I didn’t get to see enough of the Truck and Nationwide series races to truly break them down, but I did see every lap of the pre happy hour practice and the entire race Sunday. In both he had major incidents that crippled his cars and both were very unlike Busch. Neither saw him over drive the car, neither saw him make a move that put him in jeopardy, what it seemed like to me was that for a split second he had a lack of focus and in that split second he paid a price.

I’m not 100% convinced that all the travel and additional racing played the only role in his mental breakdowns, but it has to be in the debate. I know that he’s flying top notch private jets, has travel arrangements that rival rock stars, and most of all is young…but he’s not partying all night and getting up to work a desk job. Driving these cars/trucks in these hot conditions take a toll on the body and mind.

The truth of the matter is that the Sprint Cup has to be his number 1 priority. And he is putting together the kind of year that people dream of. He’s the favorite to take the championship at this point and 9 times out of 10 is a factor in the finish of a race. I know everyone is out here preaching that Kyle Busch is the greatest thing since Joey Lagano, but we’ve seen people put together great years and fall back into mediocrity. Do I expect that to happen? No. However, when you have this kind of shot at the biggest honor in your sport, you have to take it and take it seriously. Yes, he may help in getting the owners point championship in the trucks and yes, he may be a factor in the Nationwide cars. However, if he accomplished both, but doesn’t get the Cup do you think it will be worth it?

Maybe he just had an off week. The thing is, he didn’t run out of talent, he didn’t get bad equipment, and no one else forced his errors. He wadded up 2 perfectly good cars in 2 very lackadaisical situations. If I’m Joe Gibbs I wouldn’t put the handcuffs on him yet. However, I would pay attention over the coming weeks and if similar situations start to occur then I would have to look at stepping in.

SMI buying Kentucky Motor Speedway?

Alright, I’ll admit that living in Kentucky and being under 2 hours to the track has me fairly excited about the possibility of SMI flip flopping some things and getting Kentucky Speedway a shiny new Cup date. I’m sure everyone outside of the immediate impact zone is frothing at the mouth over which potential track could be losing a date. I’m more focused on how this is going to affect teams testing.
It seems every week there is at least 1 Cup team at the track testing something. While it isn’t 10 minutes down the road from Charlotte, it is close enough to squeeze in during the week and since it mirrors so many of the other tracks on the schedule already the teams get some pretty useful data.
I’ve always heard that the teams have never wanted Kentucky to receive a date because they value that testing ground so much, but now it seems as though plans are in the works to break some hearts in the garage.

Can't get over The Hump

The rumors are swirling through ESPN and several other sites that Humpy Wheeler is set to retire from his position with Lowe’s Motor Speedway. I guess that shouldn’t come as a total shock because he is 70 years old and has been doing this for 33 years. The thing is that for 33 years he’s been doing it better than anyone else. Take a minute and think about it. How many “promoters” come to your mind? There are some, but none that do it like Humpy.

The apparent torch bearer in the NASCAR realm is most likely Eddie Gossage. The problem with that is that his antics aren’t lovable and are anything but traditional. While Humpy is jumping on soap boxes and playing a carnival barker, Gossage is more like a salesman from a kiosk in the mall that won’t stop until you’re well out of range. While Humpy is blowing up buses and bringing out car devouring metal monsters, Gossage is putting bounties on helmet throwing and throwing up disparaging billboards.

It’s a totally different era now. Maybe Eddie has it right for today’s world of blogging and up to the minute television updates, but there was something “just right” about Humpy and the way he approached business. It was that throwback track promoter touch that made him so likeable to me, a link to the past that the younger generation of the France family has seemed to care so little about.

NASCAR has grown tremendously and for that I’m ever grateful. There are new fans, new opportunities, and entirely new ways to enjoy the sport we all love. In order to move forward we’ve had to shed some of the tradition and I’ve come to accept it. The crops of driver’s who had to work all week on their cars in order to have them ready for the weekend are thinning to near nothing. Every kid with an ounce of talent is signed to a development deal in the womb and given equipment that is worth more than some teams made in the 80’s. The times are changing and if I’m going to lose my links to the past I at least want them to exit with respect. If not for the Humpy Wheelers of the sport then I have no doubt that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy this sport the way I get to on a daily basis.

Have fun in retirement Humpy, you’ve earned it.

Strange practice speeds

It’s a good day when you check online for practice speeds and your driver is well into the top 3 on the track. It’s gives you a little extra sense of hope, but once that wore off I noticed something weird. The speed differential between 1,2, and 3 in practice is minimal at .059 mph. While you want any advantage you can get, that doesn’t appear to be an unheard of difference. My concern is the difference between 3 and 4 is 1.371 mph and that is a HUGE jump between 3rd and 4th place. This isn’t even taking into account that 4th place is Kyle Busch and you know with 100% certainty that he’s getting every drop of speed out of that car it will give. It’s even worse when you take a look at Matt Kenseth you posted 45th in practice and was 7.238 mph slower than the #1 spot of The Dinger.

I’m just now getting a chance to look at all this, but it seems like A LOT of cars are lost right now and I’m not sure what that’s going to mean for Saturday night. That’s a ton of speed for a team to try and find in qualifying and 1 more practice.

Maybe I’m reading to much into it.

Electric Grandstands

In order to move on with my thoughts and my life I guess I need to address the turn 3 fracas with Kyle Busch and Dale Jr. As a fan I was violently angry and shared in a profanity laced tirade from the back stretch. However, trying remove my biases I've still got my issues.

My first being that Kyle Busch keeps getting a pass for "racing deals". Things happen, but there has to be some responsibility or culpability in everything. Kyle Busch is consistently reckless with his car and his attitude. If that exact scenario plays out with Jeff Burton or Mark Martin then it would be easy to write off as a major disappointment, but Shrub seems to do it over and over. If there was a teenager who constantly sped through your neighborhood and eventually ran down a kid who ran out in the street to get his ball...would that be a "driving deal"? I know, it's a little extreme of a jump but time and time again this kid's actions are written off. The announcers are always baffled at how Kyle Busch can run with the car sideways, but I'm under the impression if he could figure out how to drive with the car straight he might finish more races. Is he talented? You better believe it. He can wheel anything with 4 wheels under it. I'm just not ready to sign over the world to him because of his quick start.

I've heard several defenses with the biggest seeming to be a reference to Earnhardt Sr. and Texas Terry. Really? This kid racks up some wins and we feel we need to compare him to a legend? Let's forget the fact that once you've added up multiple championships that you get a bit more leeway in on track incidents. Instead let's focus on the biggest difference, when Dale Sr emerged from the #3 Chevy he made a point to apologize. Terry didn't seem to care what he said, but he still said it. Maybe he didn't mean it, maybe he did, but regardless he showed remorse. Kyle Busch is a cocky prick who feels there's no need to accept any responsiblity. We're just taking up space in his world and we need to get out of the way.

So with all that said...I'm over it. I'm moving on to Darlington and gearing up for another great race. In the words of my dear wife who felt the need to text me as I was walking through the crowd at RIR Saturday night.

F18

F18

In order to move on with my thoughts and my life I guess I need to address the turn 3 fracas with Kyle Busch and Dale Jr. As a fan I was violently angry and shared in a profanity laced tirade from the back stretch. However, trying remove my biases I've still got my issues.

My first being that Kyle Busch keeps getting a pass for "racing deals". Things happen, but there has to be some responsibility or culpability in everything. Kyle Busch is consistently reckless with his car and his attitude. If that exact scenario plays out with Jeff Burton or Mark Martin then it would be easy to write off as a major disappointment, but Shrub seems to do it over and over. If there was a teenager who constantly sped through your neighborhood and eventually ran down a kid who ran out in the street to get his ball...would that be a "driving deal"? I know, it's a little extreme of a jump but time and time again this kid's actions are written off. The announcers are always baffled at how Kyle Busch can run with the car sideways, but I'm under the impression if he could figure out how to drive with the car straight he might finish more races. Is he talented? You better believe it. He can wheel anything with 4 wheels under it. I'm just not ready to sign over the world to him because of his quick start.

I've heard several defenses with the biggest seeming to be a reference to Earnhardt Sr. and Texas Terry. Really? This kid racks up some wins and we feel we need to compare him to a legend? Let's forget the fact that once you've added up multiple championships that you get a bit more leeway in on track incidents. Instead let's focus on the biggest difference, when Dale Sr emerged from the #3 Chevy he made a point to apologize. Terry didn't seem to care what he said, but he still said it. Maybe he didn't mean it, maybe he did, but regardless he showed remorse. Kyle Busch is a cocky prick who feels there's no need to accept any responsiblity. We're just taking up space in his world and we need to get out of the way.

So with all that said...I'm over it. I'm moving on to Darlington and gearing up for another great race. In the words of my dear wife who felt the need to text me as I was walking through the crowd at RIR Saturday night.

F18

My trip in Twitter

Here's all my "tweets" from the Richmond trip. From about an hour after we left until I was home safe and sound.

Forgot the tickets and had to go back. Only lost an hour, but not a good start.
Past bristol. Need a nap.
There's a lot of guys in cowboy hats.
80 miles out of charlottesville
Rowdy at 2.
Showing buck and bass twitter. Like a deer learning to walk.
Just got back from Rowdy HQ. Good peoples and good times. www.rowdy.com trust me, you need to check it.
It's official, NO BACKPACKS at the track. Going to try and cram mycamera gear into my Dale Jr. cooler.
Hunting for another cooler and grabbing lunch.
For all concerned...we have eaten.
Heading out to the track!!!
In traffic.
walking to the track.
Getting scanners.
At the speed stage.
This speed camera needs to show some love. I'm with dale sr.
Met up with bass. Good people... Get rowdy.
Made tv.
I think jr has put a dent in the gordon hatred.
Someone just said who is number eleven.
Getting ready to do work son.
June looks good.
Harvick is honked up.
Hooked up that is.
Jr in car audio is funny.
Fight in the stands.
Oh no. My wife loves the Dinger!
Wow!
Shoot out. Denny is locked though.
How bad does he want it?
I think they're gonna riot.
Bass masters is my hero.
Up and moving...heading out of Charlottesville in a few. LONG haul home today.
Some times you've just gotta eat at denny's.
Back home safe and sound. Good to see the wifey and my babies
1200 Miles in 3 days and a long day at the track makes Monday morning rough.

Talladega Afternoon

So apparently I got married at just the right time. Last year I was in Jamaica for the 1^st ever Talladega to feature the Car Of Tomorrow. I came home to hear complaint after complaint about single file boring racing. Well, apparently something changed between then and now. Yesterday’s race was chocked full of excitement and I don’t care what Poole says, it was fun.

Side by side racing? Check
Lead changes? Check
Fresh faces at the front? Check
Fan favorites leading laps? Check
Big crash carnage? Check

If this is the kind of racing that I can expect from here on out at the 2.66 miler in Alabama then I’m all for it. Maybe they could release wild animals onto the track during caution, but I just don’t see it getting much better from a NASCAR stand point. With that said, I do think after the surface wears down some more, the drivers get more used to the car, and the crews get a better handle on the package we could see better racing…but that’s nothing Mike Helton can address.

Kyle Busch is on fire. There’s nothing else anyone can say but that. He’s winning everything he can win and finishing up front everywhere else. Even with the year he’s having Jeff Burton has the points lead and Jr is looming. Jeff “Gee I’m glad I’m not Ward” Burton is really impressing me over the past 12 months. His resurgence at RCR is amazing and couldn’t happen to a better guy. I hope he keeps on this pace and we seem him involved in the title picture from here on out. As for Jr. I stood in the living room yesterday after the “big one” and said “Jr. has to get in that top 20 and then what does he do? Top 10 again. I know a lot of people want to bash him until he gets that win, but when you get wrecked and turn out a top 10 finish…well, that’s the definition of a Championship year. I’m not saying he’s gonna win it, but I am saying he’s going to be a factor ALL year long.

In Race Updates - Dega

-getting ready for some green flag 'Dega
-Gibbs out the gate quick.
-Kyle can't be happy. This will be fun to watch.
-the 17 can't get a break can he?
-These guys at the front can't just ride all day can they?
-Didnt even take a full commercial.
-"rude" now that's funny.
-I think I'd be nervous with the 15 behind me too.
-I'm not sure I'd be so concerned about swapping leads.
-this blocking is a little rediculous.
-so what exactly was Kyle Busch thinking?
-jr and tony may put on a clinic now.
-time to hit the grill.
-when did Sadler move up front?
-I think Jr and Denny have something to work out next week on the short track.
-this is a really good race.
-this isn't exactly the list of names I thought would be up front.
-Stremme is gonna make a claim for that seat.
-alright, maybe menard won't have the finish I thought he would.
-Why do we need virtual looks when we have good footage?
-26 to go.
-Why do I have the feeling there's gonna be someone we are not thinking of stealing -this win?
-there goes over half the legit contendors.
-wow!
-well, its off to Richmond.

Forget testing the track, test the drivers

In the VERY recent history of NASCAR the France family has changed a lot of things. They’ve changed the car, the schedule, and the name twice. They’ve added the top 35 rule, limited the amount of past champions provisional’s, and changed qualifying procedures. We’ve been given The Chase featuring the top 10 and immediately had it expanded to the top 12. Why is NASCAR so quick to change tradition yet so stubborn to make changes in areas like drug testing?

Auto racing has tons more implications with drug use than the other “stick and ball” sports. If Kobe Bryant snorts to lines and kicks back a few pain pills before a game the risk of serious injury to other players is minimal. Obviously if he were doing those kinds of drugs injuries to himself wouldn’t be a concern. Arguably there’s a chance that he could be out of control and in turn injure another player, but even ending a career pales in comparison to what can happen in racing.

The amount of concentration a driver must have to basically wrestle a piece of machinery that’s easily a step and a half past the edge of scary is amazing. Could you imagine doing that under the influence? Surely even the staunchest of ignorant people who feel they can drive home from the bar half lit wouldn’t even consider trying to run in a 43 car pack at Talladega. A driver who is impaired is a danger to themselves and even more importantly is a danger to the other drivers and crew members. What Aaron Fike did was inexcusable. While I feel he could earn a second chance, he would have to do so under some nearly impossible conditions before I would ever allow him near a wheel. That brings me back to my initial point, testing.
In a sport where your life is literally on the line every time you take the track, including races, practice, and testing, why would you not have mandatory testing? The discussion tends to revolve around random testing, but in this situation I could see mandatory testing for the entire entry list every weekend being plausible.

So why does NASCAR seem so uneager to move forward? I’ve actually come up with a few reasons.

The 1st has to do with repercussions. This morning I heard a caller on The Morning Drive say that testing should be handled by the individual teams. If my phone hadn’t been dead I would have loved to call in to explain how insane that is. Let’s say I’m team owner X and I have the popular driver John Doe on my team. Earlier this season I’ve extended my contract with Doe’s primary sponsor for 3 more years at high money. Why? Well, he’s safely in the top 5 and would be hard pressed to miss The Chase at this point. He’s also a marketing dream. His Super Bowl ad was voted top 5 and women loved it. His merchandise is flying off the shelf and there’s talk he may be taking Michael Waltrip’s seat on TWIN. Then I get back his drug test. He’s apparently smoked some weed and taken high amounts of pain pills. I immediately set a meeting and we discuss the situation. He assures me that he’s only smoked a few times and it was nowhere near race day or the track. Doe also explains that his high intake of pain pills is tied to that accident he had at California. He assures me it’s not a problem and he’s easing back in the coming weeks. Since my drug testers, my driver, and myself are the only ones who know I decide it’s best for my business to sweep this under the rug for the time being. However, what I don’t know is that John Doe is taking handfuls of pain pills before he gets in the car just to get through the race. And 2 races from now he makes an error that causes Jeff Burton to break his neck and possible never walk again.

After running that scenario in my head I thought, “Wow, NASCAR itself could end up in the same boat.” I think NASCAR is somewhat scared of what will happen if a Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, or heaven forbid Dale Jr. fail a test and set on the sidelines for a year or longer. It’s severely short sited and scary, but it could be true as well.

The only way for testing to work is for a 100% 3rd party entity to handle all testing and in turn make the teams, owners, and management hands off except for the results. That’s how the major sports do it and that’s even how the WWE does it. If I live in world where the WWE has more credibility than one of my favorite legitimate sports then we have a problem.

NASCAR’s other big fear has to be in unionizing. When the details of a drug testing policy go into place, someone has to be in the negotiations representing the drivers. Things like penalties, when a test is made public, what parts are made public, etc. are all things that are collectively bargained by the players union in the NFL, MLB, and NBA. True, while NASCAR is using drivers as independent contractors they can decide the rules in which everyone lives by, but this is the kind of issue that could easily bring the drivers together in a union. I’m not sure the drivers even understand their power in this sport. If the next Darlington race comes around and there are 4 cars on the entry list how fast do you think NASCAR would be to listen to union demands? What I don’t think NASCAR is realizing is that by steering away from mandatory testing that they could be encouraging a union even more due to “unsafe work conditions”.

NASCAR needs to pay attention closely to what’s happening in the other sports. In the past 2 years every single major sport, even the ones who score much lower ratings than NASCAR, have been pulled into congress to discuss drug testing. Sure, they were focused on steroids and HGH, but if a congressman with a need for some spotlight gets wind of the Aaron Fike story we could be seeing the same thing and I don’t think that’s what any of us want.

Off Week

Well, NASCAR decided to have an off week and it turns out I needed it too. 4 wisdom teeth removed, 2 MAJOR projects at work, and prepping for a full on family vacation to Disney World.


At some point I'll try and put together my thoughts on the Bristol race (which I thought was a good race). Until then I'll just pick up from here. Today I'll be back in the saddle with my in race opinions for anyone interested in following.

Bristol - All the In Race Thoughts

Here's all the in race thoughts from my twitter account. Starts at the bottom and works to the top.

• way to go childress. great finish.
• tony has to be in a great mood.
• drama.
• i just saw the blue flag thrown.
• looks like juniors car is coming.
• KARMA.
• I guess that's how jimmie says bye to a legend.
• Somebody invited chilldress to the party.
• Ouch. Kyle with the bad luck. He about saved it.
• Casey mears can't get a bit of luck.
• Junior doesn't seem to like running behind aric at all. Guess it doesn't matter now.
• I was expecting more from the busch brothers today. Of course the day aint over.
• Looks like stewart did.
• Did we miss that restart?
• You've really got to appreciate what juan pablo did his rookie year.
• I really wanted dj to have a much better showing in his last race.
• Good luck with that one mikey.
• Debris. Really?
• Bowyer looks strong. Real strong.
• Of course ken helped a little with that.
• Robby looks a little loose.
• Easy shrub.
• Green green green.
• Engines are hot.
• Oh yeah, dw's mt dew car is sweet.
• Getting ready to fire em up.
• catching up on fox coverage.

In race updates

I'm going to try a little something new today. (Obviously it's new, the whole blog is new.) During the race I'm going to post updates via my twitter account. By updates I don't mean, "Lap 34 leader Carl Edwards.", but more like "Ouch, that loose lug nut just kicked Sadler in the no no place." It's purely experimental, so I'm not sure exactly what everyone should expect...but I think it could be a pretty cool deal.

You'll see the last 20 updates in the right hand column of this blog. Also you can follow them on my twitter page.

http://twitter.com/backedNthefence

If you sign up for a twitter account, you can have the updates sent to your cell phone via text message or to you favorite instant messenger.

Different schools of thought

Last year during the fall Bristol race I found myself in a house divided. My stepfather and a few others seemed uneasy with the race. It wasn’t the “old Bristol” and they weren’t happy. However, I was excited with what I was seeing. It wasn’t the “old Bristol”, but it was great racing.

I loved the beating and banging that Bristol had always given us. Sheet metal peeled back, panels crushed in, and cars looking like they’d tried speeding through a concrete forest. Rusty and Jeff, Dale and Terry, and countless other bump’n’run/beat’n’bang type races captivated me. I won’t lie, I missed some of that. However, I didn’t miss watching cars ride around for a third of the race under caution.

We also got something from the new surface that we’d never seen to this new extent. Passing. Bristol has always been a 1 ½ lane track at best, but this surface has made for legitimate 3 wide passing in the turns. No longer do you have to tune your car to 1 groove. A driver can search the track for the line that fits his current setup. Not only that, but as opposed to nearly wrecking the car in front of you in order to get around them you can pass. You can pass high. You can pass low. You can finally work the track.

Maybe there’s a happy medium. Maybe once the new surface gets a bit more seasoned we’ll see a compromise between passing and bumping that will please everyone. For now however, I’m just excited that we’ve got great short track racing to watch this Sunday.

Oil lids, tires, and the burning Busch

So much has happened since my last entry and I'm not sure where to start. First things first, I've got to say how happy I am that Robby Gordon's Daytona penalty has been rescinded. Sure, he's out another $50k, but if teams could buy 100 points for $150k then you'd see points races in the 10's of thousands.

Speaking of penalties, the oil lid just "came off" did it Jack? Sure it did. And the passenger window clips came loose just enough to let some of that extra heat and possible fumes get out. When you're caught, you're caught boys. The thing that has blown my mind on this whole situation is that the garage has turned into the media's dream. Every single place you can turn there is someone ready to call out the Roush Fenway team. I've never seen anything like it. Last year when the 48 and 24 had their little incident with the body I never heard anything from other teams. Even the team members with their own tv/radio shows skirted the topic. Things are changing in the garage and I'm anxious to see where this is all headed. Obviously the Toyota official that made the initial comments about Jack had his own agenda. He'd previously worked for Rousch as well as currently working for Toyota, a company that Jack Roush likened to the Japanese Kamikaze bombers from Pearl Harbor just over a year ago. However, Elliot Sadler didn't have a real subversive agenda in calling out the Cat in the Hat, nor did Dale Jr. That didn't stop them though.

Speaking of Toyota, Kyle Busch is doing work right now. I think people are making a little too much of the truck, Nationwide, & Cup trifecta. I could name about 10 drivers right now that could do something close to the same. If you can be a solid contender in Cup, you can do the same in all 3 I believe. However, regardless of the type of car Shrub is wheeling his car like nearly no one else. He's the definition of checkers or wreckers. He's so close to the edge that I think he'll go ever several times this year and catch some dnf's, but the risk/reward will pay off in points. The #18 is a contender and there's no other way to put it.

Finally, the big topic of the race was TIRES and the reactions to them. In a tactful way Jr., Gordon, and several other drivers crushed Goodyear with their comments. If that wasn't bad enough Tony Stewart did the equivelent of smacking Goodyear's mother in the mouth and kicking their dog. NASCAR said they wanted the personalities back in the sport and they've got it. We'll have to see how they react to one of their top tier drivers dog cussing one of their top sponsors.

As for the tire itself, I can see the drivers point. No one, and I mean no one, had a handle on their cars. All I've ever heard is how tight the COT is and Sunday it looked like they were driving on snow. Teams saw minimal tire wear at best and nearly everyone tapped the wall once. I understand Goodyear didn't want drivers hauling off into turn 1 at 200mph and popping a right front, but I'm gueesing teams didn't want to be sides ways at 170mph exiting 4 either. Goodyear missed it and they'll fix it, but it'll take more than a week. I heard Jeff Hammond say that Goodyear should start up a full Cup test team that runs year round. When he said it I thought, "That's a great idea." Then after a while I couldn't figure why this hadn't been something already in the works. If they're a non-competitive team they could tire test every track with all 4 makes if they like.

Now for the good news...Here comes Bristol!

The COT is The Car

Rarely do I pray during a NASCAR event. With all the issues in the world and in my life in general I think it’s almost selfish to ask God to take time to help Jr.’s “tight in and loose off” condition. On the rare occasion that I do, it is in fear and shock to what I’m seeing. In the past few years I can think of a few times I have done what could almost be considered begging to the Lord during a race. Labonte’s car on fire at Chicago, Mikey on fire at California, Jr. with a neck brace on lying on a back board at California (I think it was there), Reutimann’s hit at California as well. This past week watching Jeff Gordon smack that wall live I felt a deep dark feeling. I leaned forward and almost in a trance started saying, “Please drop the window net. Please drop the window net. Please drop the window net!” I was genuinely afraid we had lost another legend. Come race day I’m liable to shoot several profanities at Kyle Busch and hope he loses a tire, smacks the wall, bends his suspension, but casually walks out of the infield care center for an interview. It’s fun to root for someone and its fun to have a rival to root against. However, there is no circumstance in the world where I would want to see harm befall any of these drivers. That brings me to the Car Of Tomorrow/Today…the current car.

Thank you NASCAR. The hit Gordon took in Las Vegas was ridiculous. If his angle was a little different, I’m not sure any of the safety equipment could have done a bit of good. It’s amazing that after all this time people still find a way to complain or question this car. The number one fact is that this car is safer for our drivers. “Oh, it drives a little tight?” Really? I bet those dirt cars you drove were a little free. I bet those late models didn’t have the best “front end geometry” in the world. The driver’s are adapting and the crews have adapted fairly well. It just seems like the fans can’t adapt.

Why in the world is anyone having an issue adopting this car? It seems like every COT race I can think of ends with a side by side finish or at least with drama in the finish. Yes there are some runaways, but that will always happen. When I think of the current car I think of Jimmie and Jeff at Martinsville, Burton and Busch at Bristol, and tons of other good finishes. Not to mention some great side by side racing and passing. Carl may have ran off at the end of the Las Vegas race, but that was because Jr. and Biffle were locked in a pretty tight battle for 2nd.

The COT is here and more important than anything else it is keeping these drivers much safer. Not only that, it truly is giving us better racing. The drivers and crews may have to adjust, but as long as the product is better then that’s something those healthy paychecks should take care of.

It gives you wings

There has been a ton of talk over the past 48 hours about David Ragan's Las Vegas finish. While I agree that it is a great improvement, I must also think we need to be weary of jumping to conclusions. When did 1 top 10 become an arrival? Derrick Cope won the Daytona 500 and as best I can tell that didn't exactly spark a memorable career.

My point isn't to take away from Ragan's finish, but to say that in a sport where consistency is king there is someone else that I am becoming thoroughly impressed with.

Brian Vickers.

He has quietly been putting together something rather special. We're 3 races into the 2008 season and even though he has had to qualify on time for all 3 events, Brian has competed in all 3 events. Not only has he competed, he's performed as well. Right now the Red Bull car is setting pretty at #13 in the point standings, which is a ride saving run at this point. Red Bull can't afford to spend another season trying to get into every event on speed and thanks to the #83 they won't have too.

Last year, in a startup team no less, Vickers was the flag ship for Toyota. Sure, Michael Waltrip had the commercials and David Blaney was praised for his consistency, but Vickers was the guy. He averaged 1 position better than Blaney for the year, but more importantly he was in the mix for wins. Until he had a problem in the 600 last year it seemed like he was on a mission to get Toyota its 1st win. If it weren't for the Gibbs switch I had every dollar on the #83 bringing Toyota its 1st Cup points win. While the Busch/Stewart/Hamlin trio may be the odds on favorite to hand deliver a trophy to Tokyo, I'm still not counting out the kid who looks a little too much like the Notre Dame leprechaun...hey, it is March isn't it?

Double Standard

Boy meets girl. Boy and girl begin a relationship. A problem arises that causes them to separate. Boy makes an outrageous attempt to win back girl. In the end everyone's happy. There's a million ways to fill in those details, but at its heart that is the basis for around 492,924 movies. Everyone seems to tell the same basic story a different way.

Yesterday while everyone on air was pining over NASCAR's ruling to allow Carl Edwards to keep his position after his tire rolled across the infield I could help but think, "Has anyone told Robby Gordon about this?" I'm guessing not, because if so he probably would have taken a hard right at the start finish line, drove up the stands, and right up to whichever box NASCAR officials had their throne's positioned.

In essence, Carl's team lost the tire across the infield because someone not paid by RFR was not only in the pit stall, but in the way. As the team pleaded their case the NASCAR officials decided that while the tire that the #99 team was responsible for did in fact roll across the infield, it was something out of their control. I say hogwash, and I don't know if I've ever said that.

Robby Gordon was sent a part by his own manufacturer that looked, smelled, and tasted like the right part. The part actually had the correct part number on it as well, except that one number did not end in a -. If there's no number after the -, then why have the -? Just have another number, but that's another argument. Sure Robby's team should have checked, double checked, and then triple checked...but that works BOTH ways. Do you think that throughout the day that any team up and down pit road used the phrase, "Excuse me kind sir, but we have to make our pitstop now. Could you kindly move yourself back a few steps?" Probably not. My guess is that several crews said, "Get the F@#* outta the way man!".

In my opinion NASCAR made a judgment call yesterday and it was probably the right thing to do. I'd hate to see someone lose a top 5, let a lone a win because some of the tv crew didn't know their boundaries. I just hope the boys at the #7 garage had the tivo going, because NASCAR may have just given them their closing argument for the appeal.

All Wet

Far be it from me to complain about NASCAR making decisions that are way above my pay grade, but yesterday was painful. Delay after delay after delay sucked every drop of momentum out of what was a wonderful Speed Weeks. Think about it. Coming out of Daytona fans had already seen 2 Jr. wins, Toyota become a solid contender, and a very exciting finish to the 50th Daytona 500.

What now?

That's easy to answer...frustration and a lack of caring. NASCAR can control everything from the camber on your tire to where you park your motorcoach, but they can't control the weather. Mother Nature decided to quite effectively rain on everyones parade. It's her right, it has to be frustrating doling out the weather to the entire world...however, it's no more frustrating than watching Fox fill time by trying to get drivers to name that gopher.

Sunday seemed to drag on forever and ever. This is coming from someone who gave up at 11:30pm and refused to set around until 2am to get the official word. It seemed like the track officials weren't ready for this and that is unacceptable. It's your track and it's your job to make the experience everything it can be. However, that's not what I'm wanting to focus on right now. My concern is with the total dissipation of momentum we've now seen.

Everything was wonderful. Ratings were up and the build was on. It was only a couple of days before the 500 that I had realized the annual (and ridiculous) week off after the 500 had vanished. I've always hated it because of the halt it puts on the excitement. Right now a week off seems like a highschool kegger compared to what California has been. Denny Hamlin, Casey Mears, and Dale Jr. were eliminated quickly due to water "weeping" into the track. Couple that with the lifetime of gopher coverage and it's a bad day. Finally throw in the fact that we cut completely away from the race for several hours while they tried to decide what to do and you've got the air let out of the casual fans collective balloon. I'm watching next week. I'm recording the race this afternoon and I'll watch the Nationwide race tonight, but I'm not the fan they're trying to attract...they had me at hello. They're trying to keep the casual fan interested and I believe this weekend was a sucker punch that may have ko'd some people.

Off with his head!

"Seriously?"

That was the 1st word out of my mouth when I saw the penalty levied against Robby Gordon. For full disclosure I'll admit that I have never really cared for Robby Gordon. He's just rubbed me the wrong way a few times. However in the past couple of years he's earned a lot more respect from me. I've always known he can drive, that's never been a question. In time thought I've seen some maturity. For example, after responding a bit foolishly and way over the top during the Canadian Busch Race last year he stepped up and made a tremendous peace offering to Ambrose. I think it said a lot about his character.

It has to be nearly impossible to be the last of an all but extinct breed. The owner/driver just doesn't exist in this sport anymore and surely not on a successful and competitive level. Kyle Petty hasn't been a factor in so long that when he knocks out that 1 top 10 for the year we all smile with pride. He'll hand over his ride soon enough. That leaves Robby trying to put it together like so many of the drivers from history have done. Competing against mega super power teams like Hendrick and Rousch-Fenway every day. He's on his 3rd manufacturer in as many years.

I'm impressed he's still in business, let alone competitive.

And competitive he was at the 500 to open the season. He stayed out of trouble and rode out a long day where the contenders were finding themselves spinning through the infield and slamming into walls 1 or 2 at a time. In the end he locked up a nice top 10 finish and started out the season with a tremendous advantage over a number of teams trying to get into the top 35 before Martinsville.

The problem was that he didn't keep his nose clean before the race. The fact that the #7 Dodge had template issues less than 3 weeks after changing manufacturers doesn't shock me. The fact that it was the nose shocks me even less. With today's cars, the nose is the only manufacturer specific part on the entire body. So it makes perfect sense that there could be a template issue, but apparently NASCAR saw it as something more.

$100,000
To most teams, that is the most insignificant part of any penalty. My guess is that to a team like Gordon's this is a ton of money and it will affect them tremendously.

Crew Chief out for 6 races
This is a issue for most teams, but for Robby it is going to hurt. As a team they don't have the depth and tools that a Hendrick has. Chad Knaus was sent home from the Daytona 500 2 years ago and his team still won. Why? Because Hendrick has about 3 guys per team that can crew chief for almost any other team. They've also got 17,325 engineers set aside for the left front shock. My guess is that at Robby Gordon Racing the Crew Chief handles more than about any other team.

100 driver & owner points
This could be the nail in the coffin for a team that is going to fight for a top 35 spot. Look at Michael Waltrip last year and see what a 100 point penalty will do. Coming out of a whole is nearly impossible with todays competition level. However, Robby is guaranteed starts in all of the 1st 5 races and he's offset his penalty with a very solid finish in the 500.

I understand NASCAR's stance of ruling with an iron fist over today's car. After all the fuss people are starting to see that this new car is going to help with cost and competition, but I think that they missed the mark a little bit here. Some things are situational and need to be looked at from a different vantage point. Robby has said he will appeal, but we've seen time and time again how productive that can be. If I were him the 1st thing I would point out is that Dale Jr.'s team had an illegal deck lid and spoiler on their car, it was placed on after inspection, and the received far less of a penalty.

500 thoughts

I’m not sure if I’ll have time to formulate a perfect blog entry for the 500, but I want to jump in and address a few things while they’re fresh on my mind.

The gopher cam is garbage. Shhhheeewwwww, I’ve been dying to get that off my chest. I spent my day with several family members watching the race and the gopher cam became the running joke of the day. If we were drinkers, I’m sure it would have quickly become a drinking game…and speaking of drinking…

AMP is undrinkable swill. I’m a fan, I do my part, I picked up a can, and then proceeded to attempt sips at this medicine like energy drink. I’ll admit, it does cause an increase in energy. If I were paralyzed and bed ridden, I can guarantee that this drink is enough to make me get up, walk over, and drop it in the garbage can.

On to some more positive notes.

I realize that for the most part of the race the 18 and the 11 were stinking up the show, but the rest of the field were all over each other. I thought it was a fairly enjoyable 500 and didn’t find myself bored at all. However, I had been dying for some competitive Cup racing and may have been blinded by finally getting it. We had a great finish and overall I had a great day watching it.

Congratulations to Richard Penske. I’m not a Newman fan and dislike Busch, but I am extremely happy for Penske to finally get a Daytona 500. Roger is a legend in the racing world and it would bother me if his time eventually passed without a 500 win. Just as it bothers me that Mark Martin is winding down and looks to retire without one as well.

I’m waiting for the influx of Hendrick hatred to begin. Jeff had a suspension issue, it happens. Jimmie just seemed off, but looked as though (like usual) they had worked the car to a decent finish before he was wrecked. I truly believed Casey was on his way to a top 3, if not a win, just seconds before he was turned into the wall. As for Jr., a ninth place finish after some questionable (at best) pit strategy is a fairly good save. If people want to read too much into Sunday, that’s fine, but HMS isn’t going away.

Great days for Reed Sorenson, MWR, and GEM. I also have to say that Sam Hornish Jr. really impressed me with how he paced his race out. It’s just one race, but don’t be shocked if he doesn’t walk away with rookie of the year.

Overall it was a very good start to the year and I can’t wait for California. I’m so happy that we don’t have the week off that we’ve had the previous years. Let’s get to racing and stick with it. If any break is needed I would think it would be the week prior to the Chase starting, but that’s a whole other blog all together.

Oversaturated? No. Over covered? Yes

To understand the myth of Dale Jr. oversaturation one will have to understand smart business practices. Do you ever wonder why ESPN rarely shows the Seattle Mariners, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, or even the White Sox on a regular basis? However, it seems as though weekly they televise a Red Sox or Yankees game. The reason behind this is pretty standard. The Yankees have the largest fan base in all of baseball followed by the Boston Red Sox. This is very significant to tv ratings across the country. Everyone is expected to draw viewers in their market, but these 2 teams span ALL markets. For example, in Kentucky there is a heavy saturation of Cincinnati Reds fans. Even so, there are healthy amounts of Yankee and Red Sox fans (amazingly no Kansas City Royals fans).

My point? Regardless of what you think about his driving ability, Dale Jr. has by FAR the largest number of fans in NASCAR. It's not debatable, it's fact. I'll also admit that a lot of these fans don't delve deep into the sport and just care about "their guy". So news outlets know that in order to draw interest to their print, tv, radio, and internet option that they need to cover Jr heavily to improve their user base.

Right now some people are wrongly holding this coverage against Jr. In the past several months Jr has done very minimal appearances and interviews. I know it doesn't seem that way, but set back and think about it. How much have you heard from the driver of the #88 and compare it to the amount of ridiculously shallow topical coverage from the media. When there is news I, as a fan, need to hear it. The thing is, there's been no news. Once Jr. said he was leaving, that was about all you heard from him. However, every radio show and media person went on and on and on and on and on about where he would sign. Then he signed and we heard from Jr. Then it was media coverage going on and on and on and on about numbers...then sponsors...then wait, that's it. Dale Earnhardt Jr. "news" dried up. He's had no real "announcements". He's had no major developments. That's the biggest problem I think he's had. Stopping creating news hasn't stopped Sirius, XM, Rowdy, nascar.com, Nascar Scene, Speed Channel, ESPN, etc from needing to attempt to bring in that massive Jr. fan base. So we've had 3 good months of the same old information hashed and rehashed continually. I know I'm sick of it myself, I could just imagine how someone who's not a Jr. fan would feel. Really...how many times do we need to discuss the following?

• "How's he going to fit in?"
• "What's he learned from Jeff and Jimmie?"
• "What's Jeff and Jimmie learned from him?"
• "What's the difference between DEI and HMS?"

Here it is in short...He's going to fit in fine. If there is going to be "ego" problems, it's something we won't see until MUCH later in the season. The season hasn't started and until a few test days last week the amount of time anyone has had to "learn" anything has been far too short. As for the difference between DEI and HMS? 6 Championships.

Let's move on.

In my mind Junior is far from oversaturated. He's got a massive legion of fans dying to hear from him and dying for new information. Has the coverage of Jr. been a bit much? Yes. However, that's on the people covering the #88. There is only so many ways that the same small news bits can be covered and stretched into 3 months of waiting for the season. I think we've all had our fill of it and tomorrow that all stops.

Finally, I’m getting excited

So far this off season I’ve been somewhat detached from NASCAR. Sure, I check rowdy and several other places to keep up on the happenings. I spend my evenings calling and making funny comments to my stepfather about his Japanese alliances (He’s a Tony fan.). I catch some pre-season thunder on Speed and while I’ve been excited about Jr’s move to Hendrick, it’s not really set in yet.

Until now.

Just because of pure pride I was ecstatic to see the #88 on top of the speed charts in Daytona. However, even as big of a fan as I am I wasn’t ready to hand over the title just yet. It’s Daytona. Steve Hmiel once said Jr could take a John Deer tractor to a top 10 finish at a plate track and that’s probably pretty accurate. While I’m still not ready to engrave Dale Earnhardt Jr on the inaugural Sprint Cup Trophy I have elevated my expectations tremendously.

The fact is that Jr is garbage at Vegas, at least how it was traditionally configured that is. Even the new configuration has given him some issues. The progressive banking is similar to Homestead where his finishes have left something to be desired as well. That looks as though it is starting to change after setting 8th on the speed chart in both the a.m. and p.m. test sessions yesterday. In my mind it has shown me that the extra resources are already making a difference. Most importantly, you can see a bounce in Lil’ E’s step. When he speaks there seem to be tons of passion, emotion, and hope in his voice. Something is different and I think more than anything it is that a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

He’ll always have the weight of his father’s legacy on him. Similarly he’ll also carry the weight of being the poster boy for the sport, for being the most popular driver, and for being despised by some for the amount of coverage he receives. I think that’s enough to carry for any one person, but being at DEI he had so many more crosses to bare. He was the figurehead and with Thereasa keeping herself out of the spotlight as much as possible, he was the spokesman for the entire company. Now he’s a driver and regardless of what some think…the boy can wheel a car. Now he can apparently wheel it at Vegas. Now I’m excited.