Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie

So far so good at Bristol

Things remain quiet on the NASCAR Nextel Cup scene this morning.  Both the Craftsman Truck and Busch Series teams are testing at the repaved Bristol Motor Speedway.  This made it pretty much impossible to schedule drivers for ON PIT ROW live today.

When the Bristol re-do was announced, most drivers were apprehensive.  I'd say that expectations were mostly negative.  The track was repaved and variable banking added to ease the transitions from the corners to the straights.  It sounds as though the Bristol folks may have created an even more exciting venue.  Check this out from NASCAR's media site.

“Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday were the first ones out there and all three of them went to the top to see if they could run up there,” Gaughan said. “It was definitely interesting to see guys [drive] two grooves off the bottom.”

The second, and perhaps third, grooves will develop as more laps are run on the track. The rubber from the tires will expand the grooves, resulting in more side by side racing.

“It definitely gives you a better opportunity than ever to pass,” said Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota. “We're all so used to running the bottom groove it's awful hard to make yourself go up there. But that outside groove is going to be good once they get rubber on the track.

“It's definitely smoother and they've done a tremendous job. The transitions are better both going into the corners and coming out of the corners. It's just going to take a little time to get some rubber on it to get it seasoned. The place is going to be pretty awesome once that happens.”

The resurfacing job has even converted drivers who were against the project, like points leader Mike Skinner (No. 5 Toyota Tundra Toyota).

“When we were told they were going to redo this place, we were very, very concerned but it's an A-plus,” Skinner said. “It really isn't any different. It's Bristol.”

A third groove at Bristol?  Can't wait to see that.  The Busch cars try it out today.  We'll have highlights.

NASCAR's top seven stories for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

The NASCAR media site has story suggestions every week.  I presume that these are intended to feed the local, general sports media. 

1. Gordon Targeting All-Time Brickyard Victory Lead - Michael Schumacher has five career wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Gordon is tied with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears with four.  The good news is, none of these other guys are ever going to get six.

2. Speaking of the Mears Family … - Casey Mears is the nephew of the above mentioned Rick.  It's Indy, ya gotta have a Mears story, don't ya?

3. The Road to the Championship Runs Through Indy - You would think that they could come up with a new suggestion.  It's only been six out of thirteen times, after all.  Come on NASCAR.  Use some imagination for cryin' out loud.

4. Just Like Old Times: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Returns to ESPN/ABC - Yawn.            
5. From Open Wheel to Stock Cars - Not bad.  I might use this one myself.  Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, Robby Gordon and Kasey Kahne all probably grew up wanting to win an Indy 500 more than a Brickyard 400.  Times change and money gets in the way.
6. The Ultimate Double: Montoya Has a Chance - Another good one.  Montoya could be the first to ever have wins in the 500 and 400.
7. NASCAR at Indy: Yet Another Aspect of Bill France Legacy - A strong finish.  Bill France brought NASCAR to Indianapolis.  Define visionary for me.

Watch for these and other insightful stories in your local fish wrapper and nightly news babble.  Unless you live in a city with a real racing writer.

Dave Despain to guest ON PIT ROW

Preeminent racing journalist, Dave Despain is scheduled to guest ON PIT ROW Tuesday, 07-24-07 at 5:30pm EDT.  The host of Speed Channels "Wind Tunnel" and "Inside Nextel Cup Racing", Despain is never without an opinion about anything in the world of motorsports.  You can talk to Dave by calling 1-877-502-8255 on Tuesday, 07-24-07 at 5:30pm EDT.  Or leave a comment with your question and we'll ask Dave for you, then listen to his answers on Race Talk Radio Thursday at 7pm EDT.

From Wikipedia:

Dave Despain (born May 20, 1946) is an American motor sports journalist. He is the host of two Speed Channel programs: WindTunnel with Dave Despain and NASCAR Inside Nextel Cup.

A native of Fairfield, Iowa, Despain was a former motorcycle racer who joined the American Motorcycle Association in the public-relations department. One day in the 1970s, producers of ABC's Wide World of Sports asked him to appear on camera for its coverage of a prestigious bike race at Daytona International Speedway. Despain agreed, and a new career was launched. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, Despain was a pit reporter for both motorcycle and NASCAR races at CBS.

He then moved to ESPN as host of its prerace show, NASCAR Today. His final appearance on November 12, 2000, is still fondly remembered by both fans and critics. After that race, ESPN stopped carrying NASCAR races after being outbid for a new contract (although ESPN returned to NASCAR in 2007). Despain also filled in for Bob Jenkins on SpeedWeek, and hosted some programs featuring drivers walking away from scary crashes.

Despain joined Speed Channel in 2000 (then known as Speedvision), launched WindTunnel--a motorsports talk show--in 2003, and replaced Allen Bestwick at Inside Nextel Cup in 2005.

Dave Despain hosted a one-time series named Dave Despain On Assignment that documented the history of the Daytona Beach course and Daytona International Speedway, however no more episodes of the series were ever made. Now the series's only episode appears on the weekends of the Daytona 500 and the Pepsi 400.

Despain lives in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Wendy, ten dogs and five potbellied pigs.

Also scheduled is Indy Star columnist Steve Ballard at 6:35pm EDT.

This could well be one of the few times that ON PIT ROW deviates from our NASCAR format and talk about other forms of racing as well.  Tune in, its sure to be a lot of fun.

photo:   speedtv.com

Suit up--Strap in--NASCAR starts its Race to the Finish

The off week is over!  Thank God that's done and we can get on with the rumor mill, signings and bad behavior.  Funny how all three of those can be attributable to Kyle Busch.  Several announcements are expected at Indy before the Allstate 400.  Not only will we get to see Junior's new Mountain Dew paint scheme, but expect to hear an announcement about Rowdy's new team mates as well.

Who will the (un)lucky teammates be?  Kasey and Elliott; Martin and Paul; or Kevin, Jeff and Clint?   Best sources seem to think that DEI makes the most sense.  But don't forget about the whole DEI/Ginn buy out/merger/JOA.

While we wait to see those stories work themselves out--lets take a look at these:

The Buzz ON PIT ROW is:

With Carl Edward's wreck in a dirt late model race and trip to the hospital in Nebraska this weekend; should team owners have a say in their drivers off track activities?

The Fast Lap this week asks:

1)  Who will win a championship first--Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Kyle (Rowdy) Busch?

2) What must ESPN do to live up to its NASCAR broadcasting legacy?

3) Bobby Ginn is being compared to JD Stacy who came into NASCAR in the 80's--bought up a bunch of teams and was gone within a year.  Is this a fair comparison?

4)  Should NASCAR increase its drug testing policy because of the Aaron Fike incident?

Let us know how you feel about these questions or anything else that happened during the off week.  If  If we like your comments 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.

photos:  images.usatoday.com (Edwards)  racingone.com (Fike)

photo credit:  Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Holy cow NASCAR - somebody start a rumor or something

Maybe everybody was watching the British Open, the European Grand Prix or the Pan-American Games.  Perhaps they watched their grass grow. 

I know that the Nextel Cup Series is on hiatus this week.  But somebody needs to make something up, or something.

If a Busch Series race happens in Missouri and nobody talks about it - did it really happen?  It happened, but the splash was pretty small.

Nice win by Reed Sorenson at Gateway.  I think many forget that he's only 21 years old and probably made the move to the Cup series a bit early, last year.  Nextel Cup can humble even the most talented drivers. 

One youngster whom it seems is incapable of humility is Kyle Busch.  Larry McReynolds thinks that he has the answers to the enigma that many call the shrub.

"Kyle Busch has so much talent, whether he's in a Busch car, a Craftsman Truck or a Cup car. He's the closest thing that I've seen to the late Tim Richmond. The kid has more car control than the law allows, but he's got to learn how to control his emotions and the things he says. He's a great kid, and sometimes we forget that he's only 22 years old. But he's in a big-man's sport so he's got to act like a big man."

There's more to Larry's article.  I just wonder how many people felt the same way about another supremely talented young driver - Robbie Gordon.  Some horses can't be tamed. 

Golf's British Open and NASCAR's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard have something in common.  The Nextel Cup Championship has come to mean so much in NASCAR that the importance of individual wins has been trivialized a bit.  Winning certain races, though, is still extra special.

It's hard to win a PGA tournament or NASCAR race.  Ask Reed Sorenson.  But to win a tournament at Carnoustie or race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will never be a footnote in a career. 

If Sorenson can win this week, it won't be so quiet.

Picture credit - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

I'm told NASCAR success comes from time not gold

Three new organizations made huge financial commitments to the NASCAR Nextel Cup series this year.  None of the three found the success they sought.

Ginn Racing has been news for the past week with the firing of established drivers Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek. The Ginn group may change even more.  Merger and buyout rumors persist.  Dale Earnhardt Inc. is the most mentioned partner.

Michael Waltrip named two time Winston Cup champ Terry Labonte as his replacement in the #55 NAPA Camry for the Indy race, stoking talk of making a permanent driver change.  Meanwhile, the other two Camrys in the MWR stable continue to struggle.  There is now talk that Burger King and Domino's may bail on the #00.

Red Bull Racing is no stranger to throwing mega bucks at racing series.  The one Toyota team that appeared to take a long term view of it's driver line up, struggles to make races.

Last Tuesday ON PIT ROW, I asked veteran NASCAR crew chief Booty Barker what main advantage super teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing have over satellite or independent outfits.  I suggested the obvious - money - and he disagreed.

To Barker, the advantage is their longevity. 

Hendrick Motorsports has been around since 1984.  Rick Hendrick has plenty of cash, sure.  But over 30 plus years, he has built a collection of good, talented people.  Then, once in a generation, a Jeff Gordon falls to you.  Or a Mark Martin, in Roush's case. 

It was a great interview.  In it's light, the struggles of the new wanna-be teams is understandable.  Great success would have been an accident. 

Red Bull Racing essentially funds itself. Waltrip and Ginn did a masterful selling job to assemble the sponsorship that kicked off six full-season Cup teams.  Unfortunately they may have oversold expectations.  There is no long history of success to fall back upon. 

Waltrip's decision shows NASCAR sponsor's pressure

Michael Waltrip announced that two time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte will drive the #55 NAPA Toyota Camry in the Brickyard 400.  I know, it's not really the Brickyard 400 anymore.  I am still in withdrawal from the Firecracker 400 renaming.  Give me a break.

Mikey is saying all the things that an owner should say.  Many critics of Waltrip's operation have suggested - insisted - that he step down and concentrate on running the team.  They mostly want someone else driving the car.  Michael had this to say.

"While we've planned to bring Terry back for the Watkins Glen road course event, I felt having him in the car next weekend at Indianapolis would be a great opportunity for me to continue to evaluate my entire organization from an owner's perspective,"

So much for attempted face saving.  Putting Texas Terry in the car also puts the NAPA car in the race.  Name change or not, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is arguably NASCAR's second biggest show.  NAPA Auto Care wants to be seen in the race, not just in the commercials.

While commenting on the Fast Lap blog a short time ago, I wrote that perhaps one possible Kyle Busch landing spot could be the #5, NAPA Chevrolet with Dale Earnhardt Inc.  I was half joking when I wrote it.  Think it through though and it isn't the craziest scenario I've heard or read this past couple weeks.

Picture credit: Rusty Jarrett - Getty Images

It's awflully quiet in NASCAR land - too quiet

Things in the NACAR world have been eerily quiet the last few days.  With the Nextel Cup teams enjoying their last off week of the season, there is a scattering of sources for stories.  Even the NASCAR beat journalists have been hard to hear. There is, however, a sense of impending drama in the air.  You just know that the Lee Spencers, David Pooles and Dustin Longs of the racing world are digging for the scoop.  When they find it, we bloggers will pounce.

Until I find something pounce-able, how about a bit of Race to the Chase and Chase to the Last Nextel Cup speculation.  I found this in a commentary by Tom Jenson on SpeedTV.com.  It's typical Jenson - a great read.  He gets into the planning many of the teams that seem locked into the Chase are making for the remaining pre-Chase races.

Hamlin said as much last weekend at Daytona. “We feel like we're comfortably in a spot right now where we can experiment on things and we're kind of going to take this week and Chicago in particular and just throw something out there and see what happens,” Hamlin said. “… We're going to try things that have never been tried before … by any other race team so we're going to take the weeks that we know we can be competitive and go with what we know there and the weeks that we don't know what we have like here and Chicago just throw caution to the wind.”

Remember a few years back, the inaugural year for the Chase, when Jimmy Johnson had a runaway early season and seemed to coast into the final ten races?  There was talk then that the team was experimenting with setups and testing for future Chase races.

The #48 team lost their edge.  Stumbling out of the Chase starting gate,  The Lowes team never got back in form and Johnson had to wait until 2007 for his championship crowning.

I was surprised to read Hamlin's disclosure of his team's plan.  With the actual points premium being earned by winning pre-Chase races, I would have expected a different strategy.  Win 'em all and be confident that you can continue to perform in the big ten.

Picture credit: tThe Sunday Hauler.com

Marlin, Nemechek out--Almirola in at Ginn/(DEI)

Barely half way through the Nextel Cup season, Ginn Racing has restructured their driver lineup for the remainder of the year.

  Joe Nemechek has been relieved of his driving duties on the #13 and Ginn has mothballed that operation due to lack of sponsorship.

Regan Smith will assume full-time driving duties in the team’s #14 Chevy, beginning with the Nextel Cup race July 29 in Indianapolis. Smith replaces Sterling Marlin.

Aric Almirola has signed with Ginn Racing and will become Mark Martin’s co-driver in the #01 U.S. Army Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2007 season.  He will also share the ride with Martin in 2008. His first race in the #01 will be Aug. 12 at the road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y. As part of his contractual obligations, Almirola will compete in five remaining Busch races for Joe Gibbs Racing this season.

Almirola was quite miffed with JGR after qualifying on the pole and leading the early laps at Milwaukee, for Denny Hamlin,  during a Busch Series event.  He was removed from the car, by sponsors request, midway through the race.

Sterling Marlin had this to say to Dave Moody on "Sirius Speedway" Tuesday afternoon:

"I was planning on cutting back next year but still would have liked to finish the year out like you're supposed to and do everything that was in the contract that we're supposed to do and we just don't look like we're gonna do it."
... I've had some guys call already and we've just got to get this contract worked out. Like I said, I've got a contract with them. We've just got to come together and see what we're gonna do. Let the lawyers handle it and if I want to run somebody's car next year I can run somebody's car [for] 15-20 races next year. Or, somebody's Busch car. I still enjoy racing, still enjoy it a lot. The travel part of it is getting old but as far as firing a car up on Sunday, there's nothing like it. We'll see what happens. I've got a ton of things going on around here but it's still fun to race, too."

This move also ends, for now, speculation that Mark Martin will return full-time in 2008 to chase his first Sprint Cup title.  Martin had been rumored to be looking to make at least one more serious run at a championship in 2008.

Also on the outside, looking in is Joe (Front Row Joe) Nemechek who is known as for his proclivity of putting race cars on the pole.  Nemechek has been given his release and is free to look for other opportunities.

Ginn Racing that was being heralded as quite the up and coming team early in the season has fallen on hard times due to lack of major sponsor commitments.  The #01 car, shared by Mark Martin, Regan Smith and now Aric Almirola was the only Ginn car with a full sponsorship from the U.S. Army.  The #13 and #14 had only partial sponsorship deals to start the season.  That lack of full-time sponsorship has caught up with them now as they try to revert back to the two car team that Bobby Ginn bought into originally.

This also sets up the highly speculated merger/buy out of Ginn with/by Dale Earnhardt Inc.  Rumors have been flying that Ginn and DEI will have a new, combined relationship before their cars hit the track at Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400 in two weeks.

Martin Truex Jr. has said he his committed to DEI in the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy.  He, along with the #14 and #01, gives DEI/Ginn three-Fourths of their allotted team lineup.  Where does that leave Paul Menard and the speculation that Kyle "Rowdy" Busch will sign to drive what was the #8 of Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

Look for Menard to be given his walking papers and Busch to sign a long term contract with DEI/Ginn, perhaps as soon as this weekend.  Busch has been doing everything in his power to get fired from Hendrick Motorsports ever since the presser that announced Junior was coming to Hendrick.

The final piece of this puzzle is; where does Budweiser fit for 2008, with Rowdy or Regan?

photos:  scenedaily.com, nascar.com, robiecapps.com,

Chicagoland Speedway is in the mirrors as the Nextel Cuppers lay low for a week

Let's see a show of hands.  All those who want to see Chicagoland Speedway get a second Sprint Cup date, raise your mitts.  Tony, past winners at the aforementioned venue are ineligible to vote.  Anyone else?  Anyone?  OK, class dismissed.  Enjoy your vacation.

I just watched the tape of Sunday's race.  It was not what you would call, compelling drama.  Unless you wondered if the fence would hold.  Sorry Smoke.  Cheap but easy.

Anyway, now we have a week of testing news, silly season rumors and, likely, a presser or two to stir, or perhaps clear,  things up.

This is a tough week to try and schedule guests for ON PIT ROW.  It's always difficult to get big-name guests for a regional radio show like ours.  Understandably, drivers and crew personnel want to disappear into their families and private time on these rare off weeks on the Nextel Cup circuit. 

I want to give a big slap on the back to Steve for scheduling Booty Barker, crew chief for the #70 Chevrolet driven by Johnny Sauter  and Brad Keselowski, JR Motorsorts newest Busch Series pilot.

Barker is one of the most articulate people in NASCAR.  His NASCAR Performance appearances on Speed are terrific and we are pumped up to have him.  As one of the crew chiefs for Haas-CNC Racing he has insight into the satellite team phenomena in Cup.  Booty has been near the top of our want list.  I have some questions in mind.

Keselowski has been one of the big stories in the Busch Series the past couple weeks.  Coming off his lead lap, top 15 finish in his first race in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car, he remains hot.  He also has a sore throat.  We're hoping his voice holds at least until about 5:45 EDT tomorrow.

Nice job Steve.