Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie

Is Tony Stewart headed for Cup team ownership?

How much more interesting would the Sprint Cup Series be if Tony Stewart were to become a team owner?

According to Fox Sports’ Lee Spencer that possibility was the hot rumor around the Phoenix International Raceway garage on Friday.  It seems that Tony may be talking with Haas CNC Racing and Chevrolet about a partnership that would return Stewart to the Bow-tie fold as a driver-owner.  And where there is Smoke - there is news.

Lately a few of us had speculated that that Stewart might be a candidate for the #33 seat and General Mills sponsorship at Richard Childress Racing.  Others, like my buddy Steve, think that Stewart’s relationships with Joe Gibbs Racing and various pals will stop any potential defection.  I wonder if Chevrolet felt that way about their JGR connections before the Coach and the kid said sayonara?

to read the rest of this post go to the new home of the Bench Racing blog.

We've moved the home of Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie to the new OnPitRow.com site.  We'll continue to post over here for awhile, but please check out the new site and change your bookmarks. Thanks.

Earnhardt Junior's new duds coming to a store near you....

We've moved the home of Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie to the new OnPitRow.com site.  We'll continue to post over here for awhile, but please check out the new site and change your bookmarks. Thanks.

As long as you live in Daytona, that is. Adidas, one of Dale Earnhardt Jr's new marketing partners is prepping for the launch of their new Three Stripes Dale Jr fan gear.

"Dale Jr. will debut his new three stripes on February 17 at Daytona 500. Working closely with the adidas Innovation Team, they have created a race suit featuring advanced ClimaCool technology. With extreme temperatures in the car, ClimaCool will lower Dale Jr.’s body temperature and combat fatigue, allowing him to be more alert and responsive in those final laps."

Two days prior to the race, Adidas will roll out their Dale Jr fan gear at The Sports Authority in Daytona. I wonder how those stores will do that week? Here's a link to more pics of Dale Jr's new Adidas duds.

What does NASCAR testing mean?

With one week of testing in the books and the second week under way--what have we learned?  Anyone--anyone--anyone?

We have seen that the cars from Hendrick Motorsports are fast.  Is it learning if you already know the answer?   The Toyotas have been fast in all test sessions.  But, perhaps they have the most to prove and are just not part of the sandbag parade that has been so prevalent in years past.

It hasn't really been much of a secret that many teams would come to Daytona testing without much to prove and would, therefore, go through the testing sessions without their best cars or intentions.

There have been exceptions to the rule.  Years past would see new car owners, new manufacturers or new drivers with a message to send and Daytona in January was a great place to send that message.

Could that be what Toyota is using the 2008 test for?

This week the Fast Lap asks:

1) With Morgan-McClure being the latest team to close their doors due to lack of sponsorship dollars, who might be next?

2) Are the speeds being turned by the Toyotas at testing, indicative of their 2008 performance?

3) Would Teresa have allowed Junior to open a nightclub in Charlotte and risk distraction?

4) Darrell Waltrip ran a poll to see if he should boogity-boogity-boogity, or not.  How do you vote?

Let us know how you feel about these questions, or anything else that happened since last February in Daytona.  If we like your comments, whether we agree or not, we may use them on the air during Tuesday's ON PIT ROW.  Leave us a comment on the blog or call the show--toll free at 1-877-502-8255 between 5-7pm ET on Tuesdays.

The votes are in--OPeRs have been awarded

ON PIT ROW's OPeR awards were held on Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

Some surprise winners received their first OPeR while others, including SPEED-TV, continued on a win streak.  Jeff Gordon was shut out of an OPeR for the first time in memory. Here are the results as voted on by the ON PIT ROW staff:

Best and worst driver:

Best driver award goes to Jimmy Johnson for his late season drive to the championship.
Worst driver award goes to the transport driver that got caught trying to sneak his girlfriend into the race track and being snagged by NASCAR and his bride.

Best and worst crew chief:

Best crew chief is awarded to Chad Knaus for making all the right decisions when it counted most.
Worst crew chief is David Hyder for his ill fated attempt to add rocket power to the Michael Waltrip stable.

Best and worst owner:

Best owner OPeR goes to Rick Hendrick for not only providing the best equipment to the best teams but also bringing in the biggest name in the sport for 2008.
Worst owner goes to, hands down, Bobby Ginn for promises not kept and his ability to "big time" a major sport.

Best and worst team:

Best team is a given.  I said the #24 and #48 garage as a combo.  Charlie lobbied for just the #48 team for obvious reasons. I finally succumbed.
Worst team was the #10 team with Scott Riggs at the helm most of the year.  This was a team with high hopes on a team that was on a roll in 2006.  Expectations were not met.

Best and worst post race interview:

Best interview goes to Matt Kenseth as he was able to talk to reporters while teammate Carl Edwards was trying to clean his clock.
Worst post race interview was actually no interview at all.  Kyle Busch wins for his "walk away" as Junior was getting into Kyle's wrecked car.   Foreshadowing at its finest.

Worst attempt at "adjusting the the rules":

NASCAR's insistence on not doing anything about the ridiculous Top 35 rule gets the OPeR for sheer stupidity.

Best Jr. High School-like Drama:

The entire Dale Earnhardt Jr. saga played out like the best he said-she said drama of all time.  The parties that be, played the public for all they were worth with the multiple press conferences and the never ending speculation in regards to numbers and sponsors.  The whole thing played out like an episode of Hanna Montana.

Best and worst Radio/TV personality:

The best TV personality for 2007 was the newcomer--Kyle Petty.  Kyle was glib, refreshing and willing to give true insight into what drivers are thinking.  We can't wait to hear more from Kyle in 2008.
Bill Weber wins the worst Media Personality award for his lack of personality.

Best and worst Nascar Network:

SPEED-TV wins again.  They consistently put on a great show.  Their pre and post race shows are the best.  Combine those shows with the qualifying and race coverage of the Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA and you have a winner.
ABC/ESPN was the big loser.  Again great expectations from fans and NASCAR were not met on any level.  They need to step up and get it done in 2008.

Best guest to appear ON PIT ROW:

This was the hardest award to give because of all the great people who have made ON PIT ROW so much fun to do.  Charlie took Lloyd Moore; the oldest living NASCAR and ARCA winner.  I took Jeff Hammond from the sheer number of times that Jeff made time for us.  Not only is he always entertaining, but there were several times that Jeff went above and beyond to get to a phone to be on the show.  Special honorable mentions go to Lee Spencer from Fox Sports and to David Poole from Sirius and the Charlotte Observer.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Fickies / Getty Images for NASCAR)

The worst of NASCAR 2008

Alright NASCAR, we wouldn't want you to get too big a head or anything.  As I sit here preparing the tactics I will employ in the twin tasks of stalking roasted turkey and dealing with the likely disappointment the Detroit Lions will leave me with tomorrow - I thought I would remind the France family that 2007 wasn't perfect.

• It all started in Daytona.  The much anticipated debut of Toyota in the Nextel Cup Series along with the masterfully assembled and promoted flagship team of Michael Waltrip Racing crashed before it ever got started due to a stupid attempt by someone at MWR to doctor the fuel in Waltrip's own NAPA Camry.  The resulting penalty was devastating to Mikey, his sponsors and the team.

• Has there ever been a rule - in any sport - so universally reviled as the obsolete "Top thirty five" qualifying deal?

• There just should have been some way for the surviving Earnhardts to work things out.  In the perfect NASCAR world, Dale Junior fans and everyone else involved from sanctioning body to media to sponsors would want to have Junior driving that #8 Budweiser Chevy. The story was a huge distraction throughout the first half of 2007.

• After signing a high profile, big ticket contract with Waltrip's startup Toyota team, classy ex-champ Dale Jarrett suffered through a wasted year as he struggled to make races and showed poorly when he did qualify.  Jarrett's last full season in cup should have been better.

• Maybe DJ and sponsor UPS knew something when he left Robert Yates Racing for the joys of Toyota racing.  The slide of RYR has been fast and steep.  The one-time Ford super team is just a shadow of itself and will now operate as Roush - East.

• Craftsman Truck driver Aaron Fike's arrest for alleged heroin possession in the parking lot of an Ohio amusement park.  Nuf' said.

• Robby Gordon's meltdown in Montreal.

• ESPN's coverage of the Nextel Cup.  The early season Busch Series broadcasts gave me hope.  The fact that they never fixed the pathetic NASCAR Now with the awful Eric Kuselius should have been warning enough.  The race broadcasts went steadily downhill. 

I'm probably forgetting something significant.  But my stomach is growling and I better go dig out my Honolulu Blue and Silver turkey hunting gear.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Earnhardt Jr gets a break and a test session with the A-team

Man, I would have loved to be at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the CoT tests on Monday.  Of all the places that I could have been this year, that's the one I pick. Dale Earnhardt Jr's first real day with the Hendrick Motorsports team.

Driver's number one and one "A" weren't there. Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson were elsewhere for the test.  The actual testing for HMS was being handled by team CoT test pilot David Green, Cup driver Casey Mears and the new guy.  The new guy being - excuse my assumption - driver one "Aa", Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I have seen the following quote a couple places.  This is lifted from Lee Spencer's column.

"It's been wild how all this has worked out, how much attention this got, how hard some of it was and how much fun some of it was," Earnhardt said. "As excited as it was, I don't ever want to do it again. Hopefully, we'll have a great time at Rick's and he'll keep me as long as I want to drive."

I'm betting that the great time started in earnest yesterday at AMS.  Still sore from the latest weirdness in the (I'll bet he won't miss it much) #8 car, Sunday - Earnhardt's recent memories of life at DEI might have faded for a few hours.

Only three more to go Junior.  They'll keep the seat warm for you.

Picture credit: Rusty Jarrett - Getty Images

No big surprises in NASCAR's Friday news

Here's a shocker.  The Hendrick Motorsport's CoT Impalas of Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kyle the younger Busch grabbed the top spots in qualifying for the Saturday night Sprint Nextel Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.  It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they finish that way tomorrow night as well.

I was a bit caught off by the announcement that Robert Yates will retire at the conclusion of the 2007 season.  The move clears the way for Doug Yates to take the reins of the 2 car Ford team.  Canceled in the move is the earlier announced merger with the law firm of Newman-Haas-Lanigan.  I guess the accident chasers will have to find another failing team to prop. 

If N-H-L is looking for another dance partner, maybe Michael Waltrip Racing would suffice. David Reutimann, one highly thought of, fast riser in the garage is worried that sponsorship may not surface for his MWR ride for 2008.  He's talking.  He would be as hot a property as is left in the fast evaporating NASCAR Hot Stove league.

Speaking of the Nextel Cup silly season -  with the announcements of Regan Smith  for the #01 at Dale Earnhardt Inc, Travis Kvapil headed for the #88 for the new Yates Racing and - surprise - Dario Franchitti probably taking the #40 at Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates, and friends, the field is thinning fast.

Sadly, Kenny Wallace looks like the short-term solution to the #88 vacancy.  So, the Herminator is available.  So are, David Stremme, Scott Riggs, Joe Nemechek, Sterlin Marlin and Tony Raines.  Step right up sponsors!  That'll be $ten mill please.

The other two big, non-news items were;

1. Hendrick Motorsports knows who the sponsor for Dale Jr will be.  But Rick Hendrick announced that they won't announce it just yet.  Got t's to cross. I's to dot.  And that sticky number deal is still keeping them up at night.  Apparently the #28 has crept into the conversation.  Wake me when it's over - please.

 2. Joe Gibbs Racing will not be invited to Chevrolet's 2008 planning meetings.  Duh?

I think that about covers the Friday night headlines.  Pick up your subsciption to the Daily Bugle wherever bird cage supplies are sold.  Good night and good news.

NASCAR teams play musical chairs with their beer sponsors

After 14 years--Coors Brewery has decided to leave the sponsorship of Chip Ganassi's #40 Dodge.

There is always plenty of speculation this time of year about changes in the world of NASCAR.  Driver changes, manufacturer changes, and sponsor changes usually head the lists.  The "what ifs" start surfacing about mid summer as teams drop out of contention for a shot at a championship (in years past) or qualifying for the Chase for the Championship.

Sometimes you get caught off guard; as happened this week with the announcement that long time Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates sponsor Coors Light would be moving along in 2008.

"After much evaluation on both of our parts, we agreed that having Coors Light back as a sponsor on the #40 Dodge was not going to meet the marketing objectives of either organization," said Chip Ganassi Racing Teams' President Steve Lauletta. "Coors has been a tremendous partner over the last 14 years and we wish them nothing but the best. We continue to weigh our sponsorship opportunities for the #40 and an announcement on that will be forthcoming. CGRFS has always prided itself on not only our long-term partnerships but also on our ability to attract new sponsors to the sport - just as we did earlier this year with Wrigley and Memorex."

Budweiser has been looking for new opportunities since Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided to fly the DEI coop and it looks now like DEI may be a front runner to land Coors as a replacement for Bud.  Could Regan Smith be the new--younger--hipper spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Brew?  Don't count against it, as we could see Kasey Kahne as the new Bud (Light)-man, Regan pushing lo-cal Coors and Kurt Busch continuing to hawk the Miller Lite brand.

  Or could the drop-dead curveball be Kasey driving the #9 Coors Lite Dodge?  Where have I seen something like that before?

photos: (#40)  ON PIT ROW-BethAnne Heisler       #9 (ta-sports.net)

Five questions while waiting for things to dry out at MIS

This is new territory.  We rarely have an open week in the schedule before posting our questions for the week.

This week Mother Nature is playing havoc with the race schedule.  After two days of waiting out the rain--having a small window and getting the track dry just in time for the rains to come again.

NASCAR will try again on Tuesday morning.  If it doesn't happen then its major restructuring of the schedule.

The Buzz ON PIT ROW is:

What could NASCAR do to minimize the risk of having to run a postponed race in November?

The Fast Lap this week asks:

1) Ricky Rudd is retiring again--is he a hall of Famer?

2) For the absolute last time--who deserves to have the #8?

3) There were only four cautions in the 250 mile Busch race at MIS.  Was it boring?

4) Also for the last time--Sprint/Nextel or AT&T/Cingular--who should prevail.

Let us know how you feel; about these questions, or anything else that happened during the wet week at MIS.  If we like your comments, whether we agree or not, we could use them on the air during Tuesday's ON PIT ROW.  Leave us a comment on the blog or call the show--toll free at 1-877-502-8255 between 5-7pm edt on Tuesdays.

Fuuullll Puuulll! The other Red Nation

My ear drums are in recovery mode this rainy Sunday morning.  I took a break from NASCAR and MIS last night and accepted and invite to attend the National Tractor Pulling Championship in nearby Bowling Green, Ohio.  The NTA Championship is a big event around here and I had never been to one.  Never, really had any interest.  New things are cool though and I had been goaded into this for weeks.  I had a blast.

The crowd was huge and enthusiastic - reminded me of an infield crowd at a Cup race - and the announcers were terrific.  All night there were challenges to hear from the Green fans (the predominant, John Deere crowd) and calls of support to the Red Nation (Case - International, I think).  It was pretty wild.  Most of the  fans sported clothing relating to tractor pulling and their favored brands - but many of the Red Nation wore hats with the soon to be scorned #8 of the Budweiser Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

We know for sure now, what we have expected all along.  Dale Jr will not drive the #8 in 2008 for Hendrick Motorsports.  The number shall remain with DEI and the evil step mom. 

I don't think it matters that much.  The number gets it's significance from the driver - not the other way around.  Mark Martin was #6 for much longer than Junior has been the #8.  Martin is the #01 now.  Wasn't that hard either.

In a matter of weeks - maybe days - the most popular driver in the Nextel Cup Series (take that Jeffy)  will begin to build value in a new number.  It won't take long for his fans to adapt.  Unless your a Red Nation tractor pull fan and the new sponsor's colors are green!  Another vote for Mountain Dew.