Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie

Head to Head driver challenge: Dodge vs Ford

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

So Robby Gordon is switching from Ford to Dodge - who cares you say?

Ford fans ought to.  At the end of the 2007 Nextel Cup season, the Blue Oval brigade looked to be a solid number two in the manufacturer’s championship race going into 2008’s innaugural Sprint Cup Series season.  The thinking was Roush-Fenway Racing had slipped up and fallen behind the CoT and general testing  programs of the big Chevy outfits.  The Ford faithful assumed that Jack Roush would straighten out the problems and restore Ford to at least competitive equality with the dominant Hendrick-Gibbs-Childress troika.

Observers of preseason testing are telling us otherwise.  The Joe Gibbs Racing move to Toyota has boosted that brand’s prospects.  Many experts think that Toyota may well jump to number two status.   Boris Said told us on last week’s ON PIT ROW that the speed and sheer numbers of the Toyotas will make it very tough for his Ford team to qualify for non-road course races.

Ford vs Dodge

The real question is;  can Ford keep from falling to fourth, behind Dodge in the Cup Series?  Look at the rosters of the two makes and compare.

Ford teams will field eight fulltime teams in 2008, led by Roush-Fenway’s fivesome.  Dodge enters 2008 with a lucky thirteen.   Seven of Ford’s eight have top 35 owner’s points while Dodge gets twelve of it’s thirteen in each of the first five races.  So far it looks like, advantage Dodge, if quantity counts.  If you’re one of those quality folks - here’s my personal Power Ranking of the Ford vs Dodge NASCAR battle.

1. #17 Ford -Matt Kenseth - past champ, two time 2007 race winner and Chaser
2. #2   Dodge - Kurt Busch -  see above
3. #99 Ford - Carl Edwards - three time race winner in 2007 and Chaser
4. #12 Dodge - Ryan Newman - 12 career wins, no Chase but a solid 2007
5. #9   Dodge - Kasey Kahne - Bad 2007 but won 6 in 2006 - just a hunch
6. #16 Ford - Greg Biffle - Missed the Chase but got a win
7. #26 Ford - Jamie McMurray - see Biffle
8. #42 Dodge - Juan Pablo Montoya - 2007 Rookie of the Year won a race too
9. #43 Dodge - Bobby Labonte - past champ finished ahead of Kahne and Montoya
10. #41 Dodge - Reed Sorenson - his 2007 points put him here
11. #6   Ford - David Ragan - ditto
12. #19 Dodge - Elliott Sadler - very tempted to rate higher
13. #7   Dodge - Robby Gordon - ditto
14. #38 Ford - David Gilliland - The Yates team is Ford’s wild card, they hope
15. #40 Dodge - Dario Franchitti - I think the 2008 ROY will drive a Dodge
16. #28 Ford - Travis Kvapil - see Gilliland
17. #21 Ford - Bill Elliott et al - Awesome Bill’s provisionals will payoff later with starts
18. #45 Dodge - Kyle Petty - Must stay in the top 35
19. #77 Dodge - Sam Hornish Jr - My pick for ROY, but I’m hedging that bet
20. #10 Dodge - Patrick Carpentier - Going to have a tough time qualifying to race

I give the nod to Dodge.  Kurt Busch and Kenseth are a push.  Maybe the Ford boys get a slight edge in slots 3 through 8 but Newman and Kahne have championship capability in them - it’s close. The Dodge advantage is in depth and the fact that it’s major teams are all agressive and growing.  I like the look of Gillette-Everham, Penske, Ganassi-Sabates and even Petty Enterprises over Roush Fenway and the struggling Yates and Wood Brothers.

Picture credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Where are the Kasey Kahne Budweiser commercials?

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.

I was cruising the magazine rack at a local bookseller. Images of Dale Earnhardt Jr., draped in various Amp Energy Drink uni's - and to a lesser extent National Guard garb -  are everywhere.  No surprise there but it makes me wonder.

This time last year, and for several years past, Budweiser was the beneficiary of the immense popularity of NASCAR Nation's favorite driver.  That Bud #8 and Junior in Bud duds were everywhere.  I wonder what value is attached to all that incidental exposure?  Advertisers know the answer.  How much less did Bud fork over for the privilege to sponsor Kasey Kahne and his #9 Dodge?

And where are the Budweiser commercials featuring young citizen Kahne?  I keep watching for them.  Bud has had great ad campaigns.  Some of Junior's Bud commercials are classics.  The one where the Mutant Guys are chasing Junior's #8 is a favorite.  Kasey has done some very funny spots as well.   

Maybe they will combine and have Kasey chased by drunken AND desperate housewives, this time.  We may find out during the Super Bowl.

Which of the Preseason Thunderers has the most to prove?

Even after an admittedly short, semi-off-season without NASCAR's Chargers and Impalas, it's tough to guard against putting too much stock in the daily results of the Preseason Thunder testing going on this week in Florida.

The NASCAR news for the last couple days has been full of reports of how Kyle the Younger Busch has been faster than anyone in Daytona.  Kyle's switch from his Hendrick ride to a Gibbs Toyota would have been the big story most years in the France Republic. But 2007 saw his story barely make the top five, behind the loss of the late Bill France, a couple of Earnhardt related sagas and the Gibbs to Toyota switch.

One of our Fast Lap questions ON PIT ROW this week asked who has the most to prove at testing this month.  It might be Kyle, and if it is, he is showing some pretty good stuff so far.

Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing team and even his manufacturer of choice, Toyota, have plenty to prove to sizable numbers of NASCAR watchers too.  Staunch Tony Stewart/Chevrolet followers are going to take plenty of convincing that Smoke's kidnapping by them evil fereners was, in the long run, a good thing.  Tony being fast out of the 2008 box would help with that.

I'm sure that Earnhardt Jr feels some pressure to start well and he probably will.   How about Michael Waltrip, who may be feeling heat from sponsors and his manufacturer?  Do you think that J J Yeley might have a little extra motivation to put that Hall of Fame Racing Camry in front of a Gibbs car or two?

Yates Racing is looking for sponsorship.  Gillette-Everham Motorsports sucked last year and has all new sponsors - and partners - to please.  On and on and on, throughout the garage the pressure -  if it ever let up at all during the shortest winter in sports - is back on in full.  Thank you NASCAR.

Picture credit: Sam Greenwood - Getty Images for NASCAR

The Outlaw Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kahne is going down.  Well, probably not, but having fun with those who have screwed up is good tonic for me - having made more than a life's fair share of boners myself.

A friend of mine spent the best part of last weekend in jail.  Nobody got hurt and the fact that it happened was not a big shock to anyone with knowledge of the parties involved.

I found a listing for a movie that was showing on local cable Saturday night.   I took the listing to the copier and enlarged it, made a note, and pinned it to my buddy's office wall.  The note read:  " The John Doe(real name withheld because even I have a heart) Story.  The movie was "Holiday in Handcuffs".  No really it was.

Kahne has been charged with battery for his altercation with a security guard at Homestead in November.  Answer this has more to say about the whole deal. 

I don't know what happened down there.  But if I worked with that security guard,  his having been knocked on his ass by Kasey Kahne might not be the most humiliating thing to come out of this thing.

Live Blog - NASCAR Awards Show

Watching NASCAR's year end awards banquet and show from the Waldorf in New York City is, to me, a painful experience.  But doing what I do, I feel compelled to watch it. That's kind of funny actually because I don't always feel compelled to watch the races.  Anyway, since I have to do this, I was hoping that some of you would join me in my pain. 

Steve and our producer/photographer Beth Anne have promised - under threat of me making their email addresses public on MySpace - to show up at some point and I have dropped pleading hints around the NASCAR blogosphere as well. 

So with the help of this great Cover it Live software we'll try our best to resurrect Joel, Tom Servo, Betsy and Crow of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fame and totally de-construct NASCAR's most ludicrous night.

Jailhouse marketing 101 NASCAR style

Headline: Kasey Kahne Cuffed. WTF?

By now I'm sure you've seen it.  Kasey and a Homestead-Miami security guard had a "coming together" after Cup practice on Saturday.  The details are under investigation by Homestead detectives.  The meat of the story follows:

"Police were called and Kahne spent several minutes in handcuffs before being released. The security guard was checked and released at the infield medical center...

I wonder.  Could this be the beginning of the transformation of Klean Kut Kasey Kahne into....BUD MAN?

Think about it.  This is Kasey's last race before taking the reins of the Clydesdale team.  Might be time to roughen up the old image.  With two-plus months before Speedweeks begin, he even has time to sprout some kind of scruffy, half-beard - just like Dale Junior.

Kasey's new Budweiser Dodge looks awesome

That new #9 Budweiser Dodge of Kasy Kahne for 2008 looks good!  If you have not seen pictures of Kasey's new ride, check these out.

That number nine on there will help me - at least - forget the Budweiser #8 a little quicker.  The swooshes on the passenger side of the car need to be on the other side of the number though.  Unless Evernham Motorsports plans to run in reverse as much in 2008 as they have this season.

I still have a little trouble buying beer from Kasey - but I'm sure he'll help Anhueser Busch sell plenty of it before that sponsorship moves on again.

Is it just me or does the Car of Tomorrow have less quarter panel space for decals than the current car?  On both the Budweiser #9 Dodge and Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88 Amp Energy Drink/Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevys the size of the fender graphic seems a bit small.

Now Kahne and Earnhardt Jr can focus on winning

Just win baby.  That is the famous saying of Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.  It's been awhile for old Al and Raider Nation.  It has been too long for two of NASCAR's most popular and talented stars, as well.

Two days of press conferences, sponsor and number talk are over.  Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kasey Kahne have announced their liveries for 2008.  A summer of rumors and tumult can now settle in to an autumn of racing, at last.

The blogatorials will redirect focus on the Chase to the Nextel Cup Championship, the crowning of Carl Edwards as the last Busch Series champ and tight and interesting Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA ReMax Series stretch runs.

I wonder if either Earnhardt or Kahne can get it together enough to win a race this year. 

Kahne was a six time winner in 2006.  His Evernham Motorsports team  fell behind the curve early in 2007.  Recent strong qualifying runs and a near dominating performance at Bristol in the night race -  if it wasn't for that #99 car -  have had Kasey close.

Dale Junior drove desperately in the closing races of the Race to the Chase for the Cup.  He seemed always to be running in the top five, only to be taken out by engine problems or a dominant drive by someone else.

With the pressures of the business end of NASCAR reduced a bit, I look for both of these guys to get a win in somewhere in the final nine races.  How about Kasey at Charlotte and Martinsville for Junior?

Picture credit: Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

NASCAR press conference logic

First came word of Hendrick Motorsport's Wednesday press conference set to finally let us all know Dale Earnhardt Jr's new number and sponsors.  That was followed within minutes, it seemed, by Evernham Motorsports announcement of their own presser for Tuesday. 

It's probably a good thing that Monday is the rain date for the New Hampshire Chase kick-off.  Otherwise these guys might have been upstaged by Doug Yates debuting the #28 Candy Bar Car for Travis Kvapil's 2008 campaign.

Junior's deal will be held in Dallas - the coincidental home of PepsiCo's annual meeting - so some combo of Amp Energy Drink and Mountain Dew along with The National Guard seems a lock.  Steve was at least one of the first to call Mountain Dew for Junior way back.  But no body predicted the National Guard back then.  I'm real interested in what the cars will look like.

The new speculation is that the car may wear the #88 - the number run by J R Motorsports Busch Series entry and by Yates Racing in Cup.  What number could possibly be better?

The Tuesday meet-up is a bit more shrouded in intrigue.  Diligent reportage by The Daily Bugle staff - which is me, Steve wants no part in this - has come up with a more secluded, laid back location for the Kasey Kahne revelations, as pictured here. 

So much for the come back of the Coors Light #9.

As always, your comments to The Daily Bugle are welcome.  So are tips.

NASCAR's second twelve has winners too

Fourteen different drivers have won races in the 2007 Nextel Cup Series.  Three of those winners failed to make the Chase to the Nextel Cup.

Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and Juan Pablo Montoya each captured a win this season.  Despite the hype that smothers the twelve Chase qualifiers - including the winless Clint Bowyer - I like the chances for upsets from the ranks of the non-champ contenders. 

Does anyone think that Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Mark Martin are incapable of pulling out a win in the next ten races?  What about Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle or even Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte.

I believe that this year's champ will come from the trio of Gordon, Johnson and Stewart.  It wouldn't surprise me though, if three or four non-Chasers manage to grab the checkered flag  before we're all done.

Picture credit: allposters.com