Sprint Cup 2012: Race 4 - Bristol Bangin'

While it sure lacks the drama of the August night race, there’s something about a Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway that makes watching the sport especially fun. While in the August race, drivers are consciously working to secure their position in the Chase, the stakes are equally important for some marginal teams in the spring race as time is getting short, one more race after this one, to lock into the guaranteed starting positions afforded drivers in the top 35 in owners’ points.  In this sponsor driven market, the assurance that an owner’s car decked out in sponsor advertising is dearly important so investors know their product will be marketed by making the show.

David Reutimann is a driver in the hot seat. Mired in 40^th place in owner points for Tommy Baldwin, his job was to keep the #10 car in the top 35 to assure a starting position for Danica Patrick for the 10 races she is scheduled to run for Stewart-Haas races. Baldwin and Stewart struck this deal specifically to make sure that would happen. Reutimann who showed potential when first working with Michael Waltrip racing had fallen off considerably especially in 2011 leading to his dismissal from that team. That Reutimann was bitter and bad mouthed others during the buildup to the Daytona 500 did not help his value as a driver looking for a true regular ride. He starts 19^th for tomorrow’s race right in the thick of the action His effort must show a noticeable move upward this week and do likewise next week to lock down that valuable starting spot for his team.

Much buzz surrounds the sport given Dodge’s situation for next year having unveiled their new race car after their flagship team, Penske, had announced its plans to race Fords next year. Much of the buzz suggests Richard Petty Racing might return to Mopar where he once had such a rich history; however, Richard Petty’s operation ended its relationship with Dodge and moved to Ford after the 2009 season. It gets its cars and engines from Jack Roush’s operation and given its tight finances isn’t about to start its own engine program. Conjecture has also focused on Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing; however, they are locked in with Richard Childress Racing and their joint engine program. Dodge has nowhere to go where an engine program exists. How’s this for intriguing possibilities? James Finch racing with Kurt Busch has a capable driver if he can control his tempter and abusive manner who’d provide past champion provisional positions. Front Row racing has David Ragan and David Gilliland, but is also severely underfunded. Whether any of the other operations that don’t engage in defiling the sport with start and park rip off operations would be likewise good candidates is open for speculation. If Dodge can help create an engine program and teams gain enough financing, the likes of Busch and Ragan would at very least be strong top 20 candidates.

Let’s face it, no matter what Dodge’s intentions are, we’d have to bet they are probably no better than a 50/50 chance of being in NASCAR racing next year unless they have the resources to attempt to reverse a sport that’s still obviously in contraction mode.

Some other noteworthy teams that are in danger of losing top 35 standings include the #13 Bob Germain Ford driven by Casey Mears currently in 35^th place. Richard Childress Racing’s #33 car shared between Austin Dillion and Brendon Gaughan is in 34^th spot with a 32^nd starting spot. Landon Cassill in the #83 Burger King ride starts 29^th but is only in 36^th place in the owner’s bracket. A real shocker finds the #22 Penske Shell/Penzoil Dodge with A.J. Allmendinger in 33^rd in points while James Finch’s entry in the #21 Hendricks powered Chevy with Kurt Busch is in 32^nd spot.

Considering Bristol’s remarkable ability to grind up racecars, these teams are on pins and needles with only California to go to earn their assured starting berths.

Here’s how they line up. Let the beating and banging begin!!!!

POS		CAR		DRIVER		MAKE
1	-	16	-	Greg Biffle	-	Ford
2	-	22	-	A.J. Allmendinger	-	Dodge
3	-	39	-	Ryan Newman	-	Chevrolet
4	-	24	-	Jeff Gordon	-	Chevrolet
5	-	2	-	Brad Keselowski	-	Dodge
6	-	78	-	Regan Smith	-	Chevrolet
7	-	43	-	Aric Almirola	-	Ford
8	-	99	-	Carl Edwards	-	Ford
9	-	20	-	Joey Logano	-	Toyota
10	-	5	-	Kasey Kahne	-	Chevrolet
11	-	27	-	Paul Menard	-	Chevrolet
12	-	9	-	Marcos Ambrose	-	Ford
13	-	18	-	Kyle Busch	-	Toyota
14	-	29	-	Kevin Harvick	-	Chevrolet
15	-	56	-	Martin Truex Jr.	-	Toyota
16	-	15	-	Clint Bowyer	-	Toyota
17	-	1	-	Jamie McMurray	-	Chevrolet
18	-	88	-	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	-	Chevrolet
19	-	10	-	David Reutimann	-	Chevrolet
20	-	11	-	Denny Hamlin	-	Toyota
21	-	17	-	Matt Kenseth	-	Ford
22	-	48	-	Jimmie Johnson	-	Chevrolet
23	-	14	-	Tony Stewart	-	Chevrolet
24	-	13	-	Casey Mears	-	Ford
25	-	55	-	Brian Vickers	-	Toyota
26	-	38	-	David Gilliland	-	Ford
27	-	51	-	Kurt Busch	-	Chevrolet
28	-	30	-	David Stremme	-	Toyota
29	-	83	-	Landon Cassill	-	Toyota
30	-	42	-	Juan Montoya	-	Chevrolet
31	-	34	-	David Ragan	-	Ford
32	-	33	-	Brendan Gaughan	-	Chevrolet
33	-	31	-	Jeff Burton	-	Chevrolet
34	-	93	-	Travis Kvapil	-	Toyota
35	-	36	-	Dave Blaney	-	Chevrolet
36	-	47	-	Bobby Labonte	-	Toyota
37	-	26	-	Josh Wise*	-	Ford
38	-	74	-	Reed Sorenson	-	Chevrolet
39	-	98	-	Michael McDowell	-	Ford
40	-	249	-	J.J. Yeley	-	Toyota
41	-	87	-	Joe Nemechek	-	Toyota
42	-	32	-	Ken Schrader+	-	Ford
43	-	23	-	Scott Riggs	-	Chevrolet

Sprint Cup 2012: Race 3 - Viva Las Vegas

The biggest lesson from the first two races of the 2012 season is that it is way too soon to draw any lessons from what’s happened so far. The fellows at NASCAR.com, Bill Kimm, Mark Aumann, and David Caraviello call attention to the futility of making the chase after two races for drivers not in the top 30 by the second race, and how much the first two races set the tempo for the season looking particularly at how Kevin Harvick’s and Kasey Kahne’s seasons have misfired so far. Well, take a look at how the cars are lined up for Sunday, Kahne starts on the pole and Harvick starts third. What better assurance of heading for a solid finish at the end of the race that a good start? Besides that, the organizational support for both these drivers is very strong. Kasey Kahne with his crew chief, Kenny Francis, are awash in resources they’ve never had before while Kevin Harvick has the flagship ride for the Richard Childress team.

Also worth noting, this weekend, Dodge will unveil its new Sprint Cup car for 2013. Chrysler is throwing a party, but who’s going to be there. Roger Penske is moving his two entries to Ford next year leaving a hapless start and park operation by maverick driver/owner Robby Gordon left as the only remaining Mopar ride. Earlier, Gordon announced his intention to sell his team, and its status is far from healthy. Meanwhile, who would possibly move to Dodge and face having to setup a Dodge engine program. Richard Petty Racing’s deal runs out with Ford at year’s end, but its hardware is provided by Jack Roush. The only other team getting any mention is Chip Ganassi’s Earnhardt/Ganassi operation which is engaged in a joint engine building operation with Richard Childress. The Earnhardt heritage leans heavily toward remaining Chevy. Is Dodge is a position to attempt to offer a deal to any existing team that would e too good tor turn down mindful that it would need to setup its own engine operation and face the same challenge that has led Penske to choose Ford in the first place. For Dodge to remain at Sprint Cup, the prospect of gaining existing teams does not look like a strong option, but then the option would be to field what would amount to a factory team of its own, but where would the resources come from?

Perhaps in its current state of contraction, NASCAR’s #1 series can only truly support three manufacturers. Once upon a time, there were Plymouths, Mercurys, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, and Buicks active in NASCAR most of which won championships. However, beneath the brand name and what autonomy each brand had, it was essentially a three way conflict between Ford, GM, and Chrysler. That a fourth manufacturer could fit in has always been shaky witnessing American Motors short excursion with Bobby Allison among others in the 1970’s.

Starting Field

(Position, Car #, Driver, Make)

1           -- #       5         Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet

2          -- #        8         Kyle Busch, Toyota

3          -- #       29        Kevin Harvick , Chevrolet

4          -- #       88        Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet

5          -- #       15        Clint Bowyer, Toyota

6          -- #       48        Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet

7          -- #       14        Tony Stewart, Chevrolet

8          -- #       20        Joey Logano, Toyota

9          -- #       16        Greg Biffle, Ford

10        -- #       56        Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

11        -- #       17        Matt Kenseth, Ford

12        -- #       51        Kurt Busch, Chevrolet

13        -- #       55        Mark Martin, Toyota

14        -- #       22        A.J. Allmendinger, Dodge

15        -- #       9          Marcos Ambrose, Ford

16        -- #       24        Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

17        -- #       11        Denny Hamlin , Toyota

18        -- #       39        Ryan Newman            , Chevrolet

19        -- #       1          Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet

20        -- #       2          Brad Keselowski, Dodge

21        -- #       99        Carl Edwards,             Ford

22        -- #       31        Jeff Burton, Chevrolet

23        -- #       33        Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet

24        -- #       47        Bobby Labonte, Toyota

25        -- #       21        Trevor Bayne, Ford

26        -- #       27        Paul Menard,   Chevrolet

27        -- #       43        Aric Almirola, Ford

28        -- #       78        Regan Smith, Chevrolet

29        -- #       42        Juan Montoya, Chevrolet

30        -- #       83        Landon Cassill, Toyota

31        -- #       10        David Reutimann, Chevrolet

32        -- #       13        Casey Mears, Ford

33        -- #       26        Josh Wise*, Ford

34        -- #       38        David Gilliland, Ford

35        -- #       34        David Ragan, Ford

36        -- #       49        J.J. Yeley, Toyota

37        -- #       93        Travis Kvapil, Toyota

38        -- #       36        Dave Blaney, Chevrolet

39        -- #       98        Michael McDowell, Ford

40        -- #       87        Joe Nemechek , Toyota

41        -- #       32        Ken Schrader, Ford

42        -- #       37        Timmy Hill*, Ford

43        -- #       30        David Stremme, Toyota

                                                           

Did Not Qualify                                                        

44        -- #       23        Scott Riggs, Chevrolet

45        -- #       7          Robby Gordon, Dodge

For the hype about the new FR-9 engine, these qualifying results don’t speak well for Ford’s power in qualifying. Notice how well Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing are doing with Toyota power. The established teams are clearly in control with only two small or new operations in the top 30 with Landon Cassill in 30^th for the new BK Racing, Regan Smith in the Furniture Row team’s car that won Darlington last year in 28^th with hardware from Childress, while Kurt Busch represents the independents well in 12^th place. None of the major teams have a single entry below 29^th, Juan Pablo Montoya in the #41 Chevrolet which crashed during practice. And what has this column had to say about reducing the number of starting entries?  Below #30, how many teams can truly be called competitors?

Racing conditions should be superb on Sunday with temperatures in the mid 70’s and mostly sunny skies.

Sprint Cup 2012: Progress Report after Two Races

What can be learned heading into race #3 of the 2012 Sprint Cup Season as teams unpack to race in Las Vegas? With two races on almost opposite ends of the continent on very different tracks – there’s not a lot to discern but let’s look at what story lines are emerging as the season gets in full swing.

First: No one is sitting higher on the hog than the #11 crew chief, Darien Grubb, last year’s championship chief now heading the #11 FedEx Toyota team with driver, Denny Hamlin, a championship contender in 2010 who fell apart last year. The Joe Gibbs entry has been the class of the field in the first two races.

Second: It’s way too early to read anything into the following. Here’s how the four Hendricks teams are doing so far ranked by points position.

5 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

22 – Jeff Gordon

32 – Kasey Kahne

37 – Jimmie Johnson

Check back around Coke 600 time and see where they are!

Third: Has Michael Waltrip racing finally joined the big boys? So far his teams are all in the top 20 with two in the top 10.

6 – Martin Truex, Jr.

7 – Mark Martin & friends

17 – Clint Bowyer

Fourth: There’s definitely a learning curve to be mastered with the new EFI (fuel injection) technology. Tony Stewart’s efforts by using old school techniques cost him dearly at Phoenix. Other teams have had a variety of issues in the first two races.

The #48’s day of reckoning will be Tuesday when NASCAR will conduct its appeals hearing for crew chief, Chad Knaus, and car chief, Ron Malic. The prospects for winning appeals in NASCAR are slim and none even for a penalty reduction.

The NASCAR teams participating in this weekend’s action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will face a somber environment recognizing the last major race at the track was the finale to the 2011 IRL season where an early race accident killed Indy 500 winner, Dan Wheldon in a horrific fifteen car wreck on the 11^th lap October, 16, 2011. Former Indy 500 winner, Juan Pablo Montoya, who races for Chip Ganassi, also an Indy Car owner will have art in his paint scheme to honor his former IRL colleague.

Sprint Cup 2012: Race 2 -- Phoenix, starting the rest of the season

In Sprint Cup racing, there’s the Daytona 500, the Chase (the final ten races of the season which determine the championship) and the rest of the season. The rest of the season begins tomorrow. Little from the Daytona 500 has much to do with the outcome of moving on to Phoenix other than introducing new team alignments for the 2012 season and all the new paint schemes. Perhaps it is no wonder then, that the old and familiar in new places is the starting point for tomorrow’s Subway 500, actually a 312 lap, 312 mile race measured in kilometers.

Mark Martin in his new ride, the #55 Aaron’s Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing sits on the pole highlighting the crafty old veteran with his new team. He smoked the field in qualifying, an especially difficult endeavor this day, only the second race on the new Phoenix surface and configuration where many cars had trouble gauging their setup.

Here’s how they line up:

1- #55 Mark Martin. Toyota

2- #14 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
3- #78 Regan Smith, Chevrolet
4- #48 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
5- #42 Juan Montoya, Chevrolet
6- #39 Ryan Newman , Chevrolet
7- #16 Greg Biffle,. Ford
8- #29 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
9- #20 Joey Logano, Toyota
10- #5 Kasey Kahne. Chevrolet
11- #31 Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
12- #18 Kyle Busch. Toyota
13- #11 Denny Hamlin, Toyota
14- #9 Marcos Ambrose, Ford
15- #22 A.J. Allmendinger, Dodge
16- #15 Clint Bowyer, Toyota
17- #47 Bobby Labonte, Toyota
18- #43 Aric Almirola, Ford
19- #51 Kutt Busch, Chevrolet
20- #27 Paul Menard, Chevrolet
21- #1 Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet
22- #83 Landon Cassill, Toyota
23- #36 Dave Blaney, Chevrolet
24- #99 Carl Edwards, Ford
25- #56 Martin Truex Jr, Toyota.
26- #17 Matt Kenseth, Ford
27- #23 Scott Riggs, Chevrolet
28- #2 Brad Keselowski, Dodge
29- #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr,. Chevrolet
30- #24 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

Remainder:
31- Casey Mears (Ford), 32- David Reutmann, (Chevrolet), 33- Josh Wise (Ford), 34- David Ragan (Ford), 35- JJ. Yeley (Toyota), 36- David Gilliland, Ford, 37- Michael McDowell (Ford), 38- Joe Nemechek (Toyota), 39- Robby Gordon (Dodge), 40- Brendan Gaughan (Chevrolet), 41- Travis Kvapil (Toyota), 42- Mike Bliss (Ford) 32- David Stremme (Toyota)

Penske Returns to Ford in 2013

 

NASCAR's Silly Season begins early as major team announces manufacturer change for next season.

Roger Penske announced that his NASCAR operations, two Sprint Cup and two Nationwide series teams will be switching from Dodge to Ford in 2013. This is the last year of Penske South’s contract with Chrysler Corporation to field Dodge entries.

Penske noted: When we weighted the plusses and minuses of the opportunity, it was apparent to us that we need to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. We have been trying to do it alone, but having the opportunity to benchmark with someone like Roush, who's been world-class, you could see the performance this past weekend with [Matt] Kenseth and how good their cars are. We thought it was time for us to evaluate other options."

The move ends Penske’s 10 year association with Dodge affecting the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Chargers driven by Brad Keselowski and the #22 Shell/Pennzoil A.J. Allmendinger car plus the two Dodge Challengers. Penske’s teams have been moderately successful with a Penske car securing at least one win each year since being associated with Chrysler; however, most of that success was with Ryan Newman before his departure to Stewart-Haas. With the contraction of NASCAR in recent years, Evernham and Petty’s merger then subsequent merger with Yates eliminated those Dodge entries for Fords while Chip Ganassi’s operation merged with DEI and ran Chevrolets. As such, that left Penske as the sole Dodge contender and not a true championship contender.  This left Penske with no other cars against which to benchmark his entries, a factor cited in his move to Ford, noting, “What I like is, we'll be able to benchmark our Penske engines against the best in the business at Roush-Yates." This assumes Penske, a fiercely independent competitor, continues to build his own engines and does not purchase them from Roush.

Where this leaves Dodge is uncertain. They are working on a 2013 version of the next generation race car, but unless an existing team or teams switch to Dodge, that appears unlikely given that Petty’s move to Ford was in association with merging with a strong Ford presence and too the extent that Ganassi’s operation promotes the Earnhardt brand, Chevrolet is intimately associated with that manufacturer. All other strongly competitive teams have strong ties with their manufacturers and are not likely to change with Hendricks, Richard Childress, Stewart/Haas and Earnhardt-Ganassi solidly in the Chevrolet camp. Michael Waltrip Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing appear solidly Toyota. Ford would then expand to Roush/Fenway, Richard Petty, and now Penske. Beyond that, other teams at this point are a long distance off from strong competition and that one entry switching to Dodge would suddenly become prime competition – the drivers, the facilities, and technical expertise simply are not there.

Roger Penske raced Fords from 1994 to 2002 during most the heyday of Rusty Wallace’s career, perennial championship contender up against the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. The #12 car emerged as a second entry with some success first with Jeremy Mayfield and then Ryan Newman, who at this point had his greatest success with Penske.

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The Ax Falls on the 48 Team: "D" Post Infraction Costs Johnson 75 points and even more for Chief Knauss

5 time champ's 2012 season starts upside down.

As if Juan Pablo Montoya’s crash into a jet dryer truck didn’t cause enough of an explosion, NASCAR ignited a bigger blast this week as the penalty was determined for the #48 team’s tampering with the aerodynamic properties of the five-time champ’s Daytona 500 car was announced today.

Prior to cars hitting the track for Daytona 500 practice, Jimmie Johnson’s car failed inspection because the D pillars which connect the roof to the rear deck lid were illegally modified. The team was allowed to replace them with compliant parts and race for qualifying, the Twin 125’s, and the Daytona 500 were a second lap crash eliminated Johnson from the race yielding a 42^nd place finish.

In the “Ouch this Hurts” department, crew chief, Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec are suspended for six races that would put them out of action until April 18^th pending appeal. Further, they face probation through May 9^th. Knaus owes a $100,000 fine. The worst blow of all is both Johnson loses 25 driver points and owners Jeff Gordon lose 25 owner points, putting them at a horrific -23 points down in the standings. With the new points system enacted for the 2011 season, Johnson is 70 points behind Matt Kenseth.

Chad Knaus is no stranger to the NASCAR dog house. Alterations to the rear quarter panel resulted in Knaus and Jeff Gordon’s chief, Steve Letarte’s suspension at the beginning of the 2006 season. Nevertheless, not only did Johnson win the Daytona 500 with crew member, Darien Grubb calling the shots, they’d also win in Las Vegas two races later.

Knaus and the Hendrick organization defended their error indicating they have run this same alteration in previous races and no mention was made then. Knaus surely faced further scrutiny resulting from radio chatter overheard during last fall’s Talladega race where Knaus instructed Johnson to damage the rear end of his car had he won the race, "If we win this race, you have to crack the back of the car. Got it?" No doubt, that put Knaus under especially tight scrutiny particularly at his next restrictor plate race.

To Knaus’s defense, winning involves pushing every possible advantage to its furthest degree of tolerance looking for every advantage to win. When victory can be measured in milliseconds small fractions of an inch enter into design specs. Doing so involves risk, and now the #48 ride is behind the 8-ball starting a most difficult season ahead.

Johnson and crew have essentially two full races to make up by the 26^th race in Richmond next December. How successful they will be should be evident by week 10 at which time the clear challengers are clearly defined. That race, coincidentally, will be the series’ next restrictor plate race at Talladega on May 6^th. Working toward the race of reckoning, Richmond, September 8^th, Johnson, Knaus and crew can surely make up the difference to enter the top 10 in points and every win, and almost certainly there will be some, will up his position in the chase. All we’ve seen thus far, the 2^nd lap wreck and the severe points penalty should be distant memory; however, one should never forget, losses in February count as much as races up to the onset of the chase. 2012 will be the 48 team’s toughest challenge yet.

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Sprint Cup 2012: Monday Night NASCAR???

For the first time since the event's inception in 1959, yesterday's Daytona 500 was postponed due to rain. The original plan was to race this afternoon, but the best laid plans can wind up sopping wet. Given tight deadlines and timing with the series' next event in Phoenix, Arizona and the necessity for teams to travel back to Charlotte, load up, and head west -- delaying for another day would put teams against the wall needing to be ready to run on Friday. The Daytona 500 will run tonight at 7:00 pm. This is the first time NASCAR's top series has run in prime time on a weekday night carried by a major network.

Could this be the shape of things to come?

Some of mankind's greatest discoveries have come by accident, but clearly NASCAR needs a shot in the arm far greater than Danica-mania can provide. Monday Night Football was once a huge success which helped to propel the NFL to its current level of unrivaled popularity. The BCS National Championship, the World Series, the NCAA basketball finals all play on prime time TV. Would this work for NASCAR? What are the benefits? What might be drawbacks?

Would the TV networks, Fox in particular embrace the idea?  The Daytona 500 takes place in February during "sweeps" month. Would that be a plus or a minus. We'll call it a plus if it means one less night of American Idol! If the race started at 8:00 pm, how ridiculously late would the race be over?

For the sport's biggest event to be a prime time spectacular has the potential to be a huge success for fans at home and would generate a lot more buzz during the course of the week just the way a Sunday Night or Monday Night football game does.

The move might not be good for the gate receipts at the track.Much of the audience is there attending a destination event. NASCAR fans travel from all round the nation to attend. For many spectators, a Monday night event would mean a minimum of two days' vacation time where given the proximately of the airport, fans can make a Sunday afternoon race, a weekend's event.

Tonight's race which still has the possibility of some rain delays could help tell this story. Monday Night NASCAR? Could be? Should be? or Shouldn't be?

Fans await a good race tonight, and let's see what the followup coverage and numbers show.

The Word NASCAR Does Not Want to Hear: CONTRACTION

More and more seats covered with tarps, major race teams reducing in size, fewer quality rookies banging on the door attempting to push their way into the spotlight, sponsors fewer and harder to find, racing fields filled out with teams not even equipped to complete the race, NASCAR is in a state of contraction. While the competition and the highest level is as intense as ever as drivers like Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon race for championship honors, to say that there are 35 fully prepared teams deserving of being locked in on the basis of owner points is a real stretch and looking at how many rides just showed up, made an appearance, and were nowhere to be found got progressively worse as the season continued, often showing as many as seven teams “starting and parking.”

Thirty three cars start the Indianapolis 500 and there is always competition to make the field. While there is no question NASCAR is a far healthier sport than IRL, NASCAR needs to accept the current situation, cut its losses and position the sport to be ready for growth when conditions are favorable once again, but some of that favorability will be how much NASCAR improves itself. Prior to 1998, not all contests featured 43 starters. The notion of “start and park” was unthinkable as every team was looking for every advantage to make the field and push for being locked in.

On the track and in the stands, NASCAR’s world is shrinking and it’s time to respond boldly. Since 2007, attendance has plummeted and numerous race tracks have reduced their seating capacity including Atlanta (which also was cut back to one race), Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California (which has also been cut to one race), and Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicago land Speedway, Darlington, Homestead, Kansas, Martinsville, Phoenix, Richmond, and Watkins Glen. Fifteen out of twenty five of the current facilities are reduced with Michigan reducing its seating by over 25%. There’s not a hotter ticket in NASCAR than Bristol Motor Speedway, but its Spring, 2010 race broke an astounding 55 consecutive sold out streak. Seeing an increasing amount of seating area covered by tarpaulins at Dover’s Monster Mile, a track that is fed by Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC surely must raise an accountant’s green shade.

In 2007, the last year before the recession hit hard, there was no such thing as “start and park,” however, a phenomenon which started off as, “Oh we’re sorry, hang in there Joe, has become a money making scheme thanks to what Nemechek turned into a scam initially feeding off the goodwill of NASCAR in 2009. Joe was a good family, a family guy. He even had U.S. Army sponsorship for awhile and his mom would be the person with the pit crew holding the stop watch and clipboard. He lost his brother, John, to a racing accident in the early days of the truck series at Homestead, Florida. Nemechek was a hugely successful Busch (Nationwide) series driver, but never got it all put together at the senior level squeezing out four wins but ten poles earning the nickname “Front Row Joe.”

Starting the 2009 season, Nemechek didn’t have a ride being dismissed by the Furniture Row operation. Courageously, or so it would seem, he decided to be an owner/driver immediately connecting him with another one of the absolute good guys in NASCAR history, Alan Kulwicki, who won the 1992 championship on a low budget. Tides of good will were his to be had wishing a fellow who had more than paid his dues over a long career. However, the season had barely started, and something happened quite regularly, by the first pit stop, where was Joe. “Front Row” Joe was nowhere to be found on the track having pulled into the garage opting out of the race, but still collecting the purse for whatever finishing position he’d  gain earning at least a cool $20,000 a race for not competing. If that were at the expense of a driver who failed to qualify but had every intention of competing, how much of a good guy, was “nice guy” Joe now.

Soon the phenomenon started to snowball. Phil Parsons and Brian Humphreys, miserable failures as owners in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series would find some starving driver, throw him in the car to do the same and entering the 2010 season, “Start and Park” became a regular feature on race day with anywhere from four to seven drivers calling it quits at most events on the schedule. Showing up and not competing has been very good for some scabs who’ve learned how to make lots of money by not racing. Imagine a football team that walks off the field after the first change of possession or a baseball team that bolts after the first half inning – instruct the first three batters to strike out, and go home. That’s what is earning a lot of money for teams who “start and park.” The only caveat is that cars are not cheap nor is transportation; however, purse money is not a team’s sole source of income; however, how many people would really want a Michael McDowell t-shirt?

The following owners earned more than one million dollars on “start and park” races. We’ve attempted to back out those races were they could argue they competed.

Owner/Car #/Drivers/Earnings

Andrea Nemechek, #87 (Joe Nemechek) -- $2,456,583.00

Phil Parsons, #60 (Michael McDowell, Todd Bodine, Josh Wise) -- $2,391,688.00

Tommy McMillan, #46 (Erik Darnell, J.J. Yeley, Scott Speed) $1,722,883.00

Michael Hillman, #68 (Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Mike Skinner, Todd Bodine) $1,549,476.00

Robby Gordon, #7 (Robby Gordon, Reed Sorenson, Scott Wimmer) $1,304,231.00

Timothy McSweeney, #30 (David Stremme) $1,067,310.00

Bob Jenkins*,   #55 (J.J. Yeley, Jeff Green, Travis Kvapil) $1,051,588.00

*not to be confused with Bob Jenkins, former ESPN NASCAR host/announcer; currently with NBC Sports for IRL Racing.

Just how pernicious is this practice that “nice guy” Joe has turned into a minor industry? Consider the owners listed above earned a whopping $11,543,759.00. Not only that, this scam now infects the top 35 as the #13 Bob Germain car backed out of at least three races while earning a position in the valuable top 35 in owners points guaranteeing entry into the first five races of 2012. With the contraction of fully sponsored teams which include: one entry from Roush/Fenway, car #6; one from Richard Childress, car #33; and the shut down of Red Bull Racing, cars #4, 83; the prospect of teams with no intention to compete but only to freeload off of the sport could extend into the top 35 if fledgling teams do not succeed in the 2012 season.

Forty eight cars (including those which have quit races frequently in 2011) attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 sending five cars home; however, as the season progresses, there will seldom be many races with perhaps no more than one car in excess of the 43 to fill out the field, but as slight as entries were last year, fully sponsored cars intending to complete the race were bumped by teams that pulled off and quit.

Can anyone call this sporting?

It’s a hideous joke showing a sport that has not come to terms with its contraction.  There simply are not enough fully sponsored entries to assure a full field of competitive rides, and further, some teams that will genuinely attempt to compete for greater glory are tremendously under funded. Given in excess of 11 million dollars was wasted on do-nothing, no compete race entries, certainly fattening up the purse for real race entries might improve the quality of competition and make full-fledged, fully committed race teams struggling to take on the stellar teams.

We cannot drive home the point enough that the Indianapolis 500 only starts 33 cars in its field and it is the nation’s most prestigious race outside of NASCAR.

So what’s realistic?  A sport in decline must work aggressively to push forward. All aspects of NASCAR racing needs to be polished up and unproductive pursuits must be eliminated. We’ve identified a multi-million dollar scam that is directly decreasing the quality of competition while probably not enough spread across 36 racing dates, assuming a crowd of 60,000, that would yield only a five dollar ticket cost reduction, it is significant money that can be devoted to propping up other aspects of the sport.

Taking the case of the Indy field, ten cars fewer than Sprint Cup, NASCAR has two non-points events with much smaller starting fields, the Bud Shootout the week prior to the Daytona 500 and the Sprint All-Star Race in May the week before the Coke 600. The only fans’ misgivings over the smaller field would be if his or her favorite driver did not meet the entry requirements – though there is some excitement to reverse that when one’s favorite driver wins a pole and qualifies for the Bud Shootout or wins a race and qualifies for an automatic all-star bid. Perhaps the concept of 35 automatic entries has outlived its usefulness and there should be more motivation to have to qualify to make the field. Regardless, from every angle examined, the 53 car field is no longer sustainable and must be reduced. The start and park concept cannot be tolerated.

We’ll examine additional issues NASCAR must deal with in this age of contraction and report its progress to resolve them. Clearly when one looks at the completion of the 2011 season where the championship was not determined until the last lap of the race and the competition was so close it required a tie-breaker for Tony Stewart to overcome Carl Edwards against the backdrop of many awesome challenges, the dawn of the 2012 season certainly could seem one that confirms the Charles Dickens’ paradox, “These are the best of times, these are the worst of times.”

Stepping up with that which brings in more sponsorship support, more quality drivers fighting to enter the ranks of the elite, and more fans attending races and watching on television is the responsibility of NASCAR’s management, its race teams, and broadcasters to address aggressively as we await one of the most energy charged seasons in recent history. More story lines that bring great interest like Danica Patrick’s entry into Sprint Cup and achieving goals like winning the Nationwide Poll are certainly positive signs.

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Sprint Cup 2012: Race 1: Daytona 500 -- Starting Field

The starting field for the 2012 Daytona 500 looks good for Jack Roush, Ford (Roush/Yates engines) and the champ, Tony Stewart. With Carl Edwards on the pole and teammate, Greg Biffle sharing the front row, with Tony Stewart, 2011 champ, and third Roush team member, Matt Kenseth in the 2nd row, the Harley Earle Trophy might have a Ford in its future, while Tony Stewart is one of those drivers like Dale Earnhardt Sr. who wins everything in sight at Daytona except the big one, could this be his year? Meanwhile, NASCAR’s most popular driver and former Daytona 500 winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares the third row with perhaps a surprise, Regan Smith. Ford engines are so strong that what is surely a start and park team, the Phil Parsons owned #98 Ford driven b Michael McDowell starts 11th. The top 11 are all Fords (5) and Chevrolets before Joey Logano shows up as the top Toyota in 12th. Marginal entry and frequent parker, A.J. Allmendinger now in the #22 Penske entry is the top Dodge in 15th.

The Lineup:
 1- Carl Edwards, #99, Ford
 2- Greg Biffle, #16, Ford
 3- Tony Stewart, #14, Chevrolet
 4- Matt Kenseth, #17, Ford
 5- Dale Earnhardt Jr., #88, Chevrolet
 6- Regan Smith, #78, Chevrolet
 7- Marcos Ambrose, #9, Ford
 8- Jimmie Johnson, #48, Chevrolet
 9- Jeff Burton, #31, Chevrolet
10- Elliot Sadler, #33, Chevrolet
11- Michael McDowell, #98, Ford
12- Joey Logano, #20, Toyota
13- Kevin Harvick, #29, Chevrolet
14- Kyle Busch, #18, Toyota
15- A.J. Allmendinger, #22, Dodge
16- Jeff Gordon, #24, Chevrolet
17- Robby Gordon, #7, Dodge
18- Ryan Newman, #39, Chevrolet
19- Jaime McMurray, #1, Chevrolet
20- Kasey Kahne, #5, Chevrolet
21- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #6, Ford
22- Mark Martin, #44, Toyota
23- Brad Keselowski, #2, Dodge
24- Dave Blaney, #36, Chevrolet
25- David Ragan, #25, Ford
26- Martin Truex, #56, Toyota
27- Aric Almirola, #43, Ford
28- Kurt Busch, #51, Chevrolet
29- Danica Patrick #10, Chevrolet
30- Clint Bowyer, #15, Toyota
31- Denny Hamlin, #11, Toyota
32- Bobby Labonte, #47, Toyota
33- David Gilliland, #38, Ford
34- Joe Nemechek, #87, Toyota
35- Juan Montoya, #41, Chevrolet
36- Casey Mears, #13, Ford
37- Paul Menard, #27, Chevrolet
38- David Reutimann, #93, Toyota
39- Landon Cassill, #83, Toyota
40- Trevor Bayne, #21, Ford
41- Tony Raines, #26, Ford
42- David Stremme, #42, Toyota
43- Terry Labonte, #32, Ford

Did not qualify:

44- Michael Waltrip, #40, Toyota
45- Robert Richardson Jr., #45, Toyota
46- Bill Elliot, #97, Toyota
47- Mike Wallace, #37, Ford
48- Kenny Wallace, #09, Toyota
49- J.J. Yeley, #49, Toyota



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2012 Sprint Cup -- Setting the Field: How Will Your Driver do in 2012?

The future could look like the past as no matter how you look at it, if Jimmie Johnson isn't the best bet, who is? How about the two guys who fought to the last lap for last year's title or the fellow who has four cups to his credit.

The 2012 Sprint Cup Season begins Sunday with the Daytona 500 as a season with numerous changes prepares to run. Mechanically, the big change is the use of fuel injection which appeared to cause trouble for one team in the twin 125’s as Kenny Wallace’s guitar lost fuel pressure, for the rest of the field, there was no apparent difficulty and possibly some advantages. The other big change is of course one of personnel including crew chief changes at the highest level with Darien Grubb leaving Tony Stewart to work with Denny Hamlin, while Steve Addington moves to Stewart Haas to supervise Tony Stewart’s crew. The Stewart Haas operation is enhanced by the addition of Greg Zippedelli who will serve as competition director and be chief for the 10 rides of Danica Patrick in the #10 car. Some drivers suffered demotions, most notably David Ragan giving up the #6 at Roush/Fenway to run for Front Row. David Reutimann was fired from Michael Waltrip Racing and will race the majority of the season in the #10 car for Tommy Baldwin. Clint Bowyer moves from Richard Childress to Michael Waltrip as does Mark Martin who will share the #55 ride with Michael Waltrip. Kurt Busch fired from Penske will race for James Finch. We’ve attempted to find a rational means to pick which drivers will be in the chase and who will win the championship. We considered a number of factors starting with last year’s results, how consistent drivers perform year-to-year, and the overall strength and resources of the ownership. A total of twenty factors were considered total. We’ll only rate the top 30 drivers since beyond that mark there are two many variables and the tams involved, quite simply lack commitment or are unproven at this point.

 Rank/Car #/Driver/Score

1- #48, Jimmy Johnson, 68 pts.

2- #14, Tony Stewart, 64 pts.

3- #99, Carl Edwards, 64 pts.

4- #24, Jeff Gordon, 64 pts.

5- #17, Matt Kenseth, 57 pts.

6- #29, Kevin Harvick, 55 pts.

7- #11, Denny Hamlin, 53 pts.

8- #18, Kyle Busch, 53 pts.

9- #5, Kasey Kahne, 45 pts.

10- #2, Brad Keselowski, 41 pts.

11- #88, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 41 pts.

12- #16, Greg Biffle, 40 pts.

13- #39, Ryan Newman, 39 pts.

14- #51, Kurt Busch, 36 pts.

15- #15, Clint Bowyer, 35 pts.

16- #31, Jeff Burton, 33 pts.

17- #27, Paul Menard, 30 pts.

18- #41, Juan Pablo Montoya, 30 pts.

19- #9, Marcos Ambrose, 29 pts.

20- #56, Martin Truex, 28 pts.

21- #1, Jaime McMurray, 28 pts.

22- #20, Joey Logano, #25 pts.

23- #22, A.J. Allmendinger, 24 pts.

24- #34, David Ragan, 20 pts.

25- #78, Regan Smith, 19 pts.

26- #47, Bobby Labonte, 17 pts.

27- #43, Aric Almirola, 13 pts.

28- #38, David Gillilland, 13 pts.

29- #13, Casey Mears, 11 pts.

30- #36, Dave Blaney, 7 pts.

Part-Time Rides (performance dependent on appearances)

1- #55, Mark Martin/Michael Waltrip

2- #21, Trevor Bayne 3- #33, Elliot Sadler

3- #6, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

4- #10 Danica Patrick/David Reutimann

The remainder of the field consists of either unproven or substandard teams, five of which could win the honor of being in the top 35 in owner's points, the importance of which will be sufficiently clear in the first five races.

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NASCAR 2012 is Here!!!

The Rightminded Fellow has been in hibernation since the end of the Ravens run to the playoffs, but the engines are fired up, the cars are shined up and 36 races await us. The 2012 NASCAR season has many questions and stories to follow.


The new face of NASCAR?



1- Danica, Danica, Danica!!!!

Danica Patrick has left the IRL for a full-time gig in NASCAR racing the full season for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Nationwide Series and ten races in the #10 car for Stewart Haas with some of the sport's most difficult courses carefully selected by her boss, the champ and former open-wheeler, Tony Stewart.

The true measure of her accomplishments will be her work in Nationwide and whether she is is top 10 or top 5 quality driver in her first full-time ride. The Sprint Cup races are truly a trial by fire. She's a master of the media, and one heck of a hard worker.

2- Fuel Injection

Gone are the days of old fashioned carburetors, distributors, and all the other gizmos in a mechanical fuel and ignition system. NASCAR joins the 21st century with electric fuel injection which might optimize performance but won't change the look of racing much at all other than all the old fuel mileage calculations are no longer relevant. The old "fuel mileage" specialists are starting fresh.  With other technology changes, history has shown some teams are ready for change and some lag behind. With the introduction of the "Car of Tomorrow" the Roush stable was not prepared and did not become competitive until almost a year under their belts.

3- Contraction

Two top teams are down to three teams with the #6 car only racing part time for Roush/Fenway and the #33 does likewise for Childress. Red Bull's two car effort is gone. Looking over the possible 2012 teams, some appear to be marginal operations some of which will surely just show up to get NASCAR welfare including the #87 Nemechek wreck on wheels and another effort from Phil Parsons.

4- Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis Move to Hendricks

Even with the lame duck, Red Bull operation, the driver/crew chief combo of Casey Kahne and Kenny Francis provided a most competitive ride as they did when Richard Petty's operation struggled. Now they will have all the resources they can imagine with the #5 car, but they'll also share an effort with the most elite drivers in the sport, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

5- Those Naughty Busch Brothers

Younger brother, Kyle,  acted the part getting arrested driving at reckless highway speeds in a high performance sports car and then rear ended Ron Hornaday in a deliberate attack in a Truck Series race leading to suspension from his Sprint Cup ride for one "chase" race as punishment. He also angered his primary sponsor M&M candies. Nevertheless, despite all eyes on his nasty ways he won the Bud Shootout in spectacular fashion in a swing shot pass on the champ in the final seconds of the race. If this twerp ever grows up, he could be the sports' most dominant driver. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch, received national recognition from Forbes Magazine as one of the nation's top 10 most hated athletes. His temper tantrums and verbal abuse of his pit crew accompanied with rude conduct including verbally blasting an ESPN reporter led to his firing at Penske now racing for the low budget team of James Finch where there will be no margin for boorish behavior.

6- Junior Nation

This is Dale Earnhardt's year to show something. Having made the chase was the first step in the driver's recovery but now he needs some visits to victory lane. He signed a five year extension with Hendricks last year so presumably he won't be hearing the pitter-patter of little Danica feet getting ready to jump in his ride, but despite some promising races last year, there were too many that showed the same old lame excuses. Is his admiring minion of fans ready to accept, Junior might never be a true championship contender; however, to be considered a good racer, he needs to take a checkered flag here and there. The move working with Steve Letarte eliminates the support issues as he couldn't have a better leader pushing his team.

SORRY!

Apologies are in order to folks who've enjoyed reading Right Minded Fellow and the topics and issues we've discussed. The unfortunate truth is this site is the work of one individual who simply can only sustain so much effort beating the drum on how totally dysfunctional the American political system has become. Let's be honest, Barack Obama is not simply a political figure with a different point-of-view. he represents a fundamental threat to the United States my father and his generation fought to preserve in World War II, a land of liberty and opportunity where the pursuit of excellence and entrepreneurship (aka "Yankee know-how") prevail. Western Europe is learning the hard lessons of where their socialist governments lead as the dominoes are falling around the northern shore of the Mediterranean, Greece, Italy, and perhaps next, Spain. When European leaders lecture an American President on deficit spending, the implications are terrifying. Obama and his party's push to take over the health care industry, cow-tow to labor, pursue unworkable and unrealistic energy policies, while attempting to divide society into arbitrary class distinctions is beyond hateful and in some applications borders on pure treason. Add to that, the grounding of Obama's approach not only represents Sal Allinksy radicalism but is also a product of the syndicated crime network known as the Chicago Democratic Party machine shows we are not simply trying to elect a more favorable President, but this is the beginning of a civil war between the culture that gives so much and a decadent hopeless culture that the lessons of history assure us of failure.

Meanwhile on the other side, the Republican Party is a joke. Newt Gingerich has proven to be a hate-mongering demagogue who would rather destroy his party than deal with the ups and downs of primary politics. Rich Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, and Rick Perry with their insistence an oppressive and archaic stance on using the state as a vehicle to indoctrinate faith-based stances is contrary to American democracy. The values of rather well-to-do white (mostly male) citizens is far too exclusive for a national party.

Whatever happened to a political party that represents strong free enterprise or Capitalistic economic principles, embraces limited government, strong defense, and person liberties?

No, the so called Libertarian approach is not realistic and while in theory might have much to offer, the American Libertarian movement sure attracts its share of screwballs not the least of whom is Ron Paul whose notion that turning back the clock to the 1830's  and all that implies would save the day. Hardly!  While having government honor the principles of the US Constitution is a noble cause, closer examination of Paul's statements such as income tax being constitution is a lie on the face of it.

These are just a few ideas that show how futile trying to articulate the current situation in our culture has become and it quite frankly gets overwhelming and depressing to keep banging the drum.

While, the Right Minded Fellow does some serious soul searching and looks for inspiration on broader topics, the 2011 football season was a magic ride up through last weekend when this Ravens' fan's dreams were squashed. There is much to discuss including some serious concerns as the 2012 NASCAR season nears.