Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie

ON PIT ROW gets a scoop

Young and talented Michael McDowell joined us ON PIT ROW tonight.  Steve had been working on getting the young gun ever since the ARCA ReMax wind-up at Toledo Speedway a couple weeks ago.

At first he was busy testing with Michael Waltrip Racing.  Last week, he was busy in meetings with MWR.

We got him tonight and he taped a liner for us before his appearance.  In the liner he described himself as such:

"Michael McDowell, driver of the #00 NAPA Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing."

He went on to tell us that he will  indeed drive that car this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and for the rest of the Busch Series this year for MWR in the NAPA Auto Parts sponsored Camry.  In 2008, he will drive Nationwide Series races in the same car until David Reutiman moves to the #44 UPS Camry.  At that time McDowell will move into the - as yet sponsor un-named - #00 MWR Nextel Cup Camry.

Michael McDowell might be a bit of an unknown to NASCAR fans.  Don't be surprised if he enters the Cup Series with a Nationwide win in his pocket.  He has already won on every kind of track imaginable , including Mexico City , where the Nationwide Series travels early in 2008.

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

NASCAR's Watergate

Conspiracy theorists are everywhere in the world of NASCAR.  Dale Earnhardt Jr is the most conspired against person who never appeared in an X-files episode. 

It's always something isn't it?  In the past, his step mom was scheming to keep his much loved number - Eight-gate.  Lately with eight (there's that number again) DEI engine failures in his Bud  Chevy , rumblings of  Engine-gate have been  common.   When a wheel came off of his car Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the blanket, Theresa-gate is what most of Junior Nation probably thought.

But it looks like Earnhardt and the DEI folks are out of the latest weirdness in the kingdom of France. Water-gate.  Denny Hamlin apparently ran out of fuel as he led the field to the final re-start.  He claims it was due to water in his fuel.

"All day we'd been getting water in our fuel," Hamlin said. "The water displaces fuel and so we weren't getting the full potential of fuel. We just took it apart again and pulled some gas out of the fuel cell and once again, we got water.

How about this quote from the Dave Blaney's camp - thanks to Lee Spenser:

"We didn't know what was going on (with the engine)," said Blaney's crew chief, Tommy Baldwin. "We drained (the fuel cell) and it was half water, half fuel. I'm guessing maybe it was because we were one of the first ones, us and (Hamlin), to get fuel this morning."

Even NASCAR's John Darby is getting Gate-shy, I guess.

"There's no reason to think about conspiracy, going back to the fact you have a Chevrolet team and a Toyota team. There's no connection there that would make anybody think of some evil spirit trying to sabotage somebody's race car."

Oh really?  So, where were Ray Everham and  Jack Roush on the night of October 27, 2007, huh?

Hamlin finds water at drought plagued Atlanta

Jimmy Johnson wins again at Atlanta to sweep the season series in Georgia.

A late race wreck fest led to opportunities lost for Kurt and Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.  Johnson only led eight laps but they were the last eight to gain the victory and close the points deficit on team mate and the co-owner of Johnson's car, Jeff Gordon.

The last caution and the one that led to an attempted Green-White-Checker finish was caused as Denny Hamlin, who was leading at the time, couldn't get up to speed.  Original thoughts had Hamlin running out of fuel on the restart but it was later determined that Hamlin and at least one other car - that of Dave Blaney - had water in their fuel cells. 

After receiving the contaminated fuel samples from the two teams, John Darby, Nextel Cup competition director conferred with Sunoco officials:

"What you don't know is when the water got introduced," Darby said. "What doesn't make sense about it, if you look at the 22 and 11, you're dealing with a Chevrolet team and a Toyota team. It's not like three teams out of one organization have the problem.

"We're trying to backtrack to see where this came from. There's no reason to think about conspiracy, going back to the fact you have a Chevrolet team and a Toyota team. There's no connection there that would make anybody think of some evil spirit trying to sabotage somebody's race car. Our focus is on trying to understand where the water came from, especially in one of the largest drought states."

The Buzz ON PIT ROW is:

Is NASCAR becoming like the NBA-you only need to watch the ending?

The Fast Lap this week asks:

1)  Is Chad Knaus the best crew chief ever?

2) Is there anything to the Dale Jr. cospiracy theories?

3) Who is to blame for the tire problems, then wrecks, at Atlanta; Goodyear, NASCAR or the crew chiefs?

4) Does the GREEN -WHITE-CHECKER finish need adjusting?

Let us know how you feel about these questions, or anything else that happened in front of half empty stands at Atlanta.  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 edt on Tuesdays.

Goodbye Snickers

Ricky Rudd finished 18th today, in the Pep Boys 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  I confess that I saw none of the race.  But I know that Rudd drove the #88 Snickers Ford Fusion to a lead lap finish.  I had to look it up.  The stats showed that he didn't lead any laps or even run any in the top ten.  The #88 started 38th and finished 20 spots better.  I don't know any details beyond that.

At about the time that the green flag dropped, we had an incident at our home.  Our dog had some kind of seizure.  We ended up having to.... you know.  She was about fourteen years old and we have known for some time that this was coming pretty quickly.   Her name was Snickers.  She had Snickers decals on her food dishes and her bed.

I'm glad Ricky Rudd had a good day in Snicker's car.

Picture credit: Ricky Rudd.com

NASCAR looks Back to the Future

I am always impressed with the info that Jeff Hammond imparts ON PIT ROW, but one thing really piqued my interest when talking with him on Tuesday. 

The talk of big name drivers working part-time schedules turned to Jeff mentioning such NASCAR icons as Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts and David Pearson, who would only run in the big races and not for points.

I asked Jeff if this could be the beginning for more of an emphasis on an owners championship instead of a drivers championship.  Jeff agreed that it was quite possible that the team concept of NASCAR could become more apparent as teams could have two drivers for a variety of reasons including injury.

I can see how this could be a part of the whole franchising thing that has been bounced around by the NASCAR wags recently. 

It is hard believe that NASCAR drivers weren't always totally focused on winning the championship and cared more about specific race wins.  Maybe that had more to do with these drivers concentrating on making a living for their families, which racing may not have offered in the 50's and 60's.  Hopping in a race car to win a big purse at Daytona or Darlington was attractive for the big names, but schlepping around the Southeast to run 100 short track races that paid little wasn't able to put food on the table on a consistent basis.

Two weeks ago we had NASCAR old timer Lloyd Moore on the show and he said he needed to make a living and racing wasn't the way to provide for his family.

While todays drivers obviously don't have that problem; their dissatisfaction can be traced more to the "outside" demands placed on them by more and more sponsors.  This problem will only get worse as drivers have to appease not just one major sponsor, but multiple major sponsors. 

The days of one car- one driver-one sponsor are disappearing.  Carl Edwards' #99 Office Depot Ford will have AFLAC as its primary sponsor for at least 8 races in 2008.  Edwards will have to do appearances for Office Depot and AFLAC, thus cutting what little personal time he has.

Using multiple drivers in a car and having the car win the championship, instead of the driver, could lighten the load for these teams front man.  The other added benefit from the teams owners perspective is having driver specialists on the payroll.  Got a driver that sucks on a road course?  Have a road course driver on the payroll.  Your guy isn't much at the restrictor plate tracks--throw your plate specialist in the ride four times a year.

As the song says: "Everything that is old, is new again."

You can listen to the entire interview with Jeff Hammond at Race Talk Radio on Thursday at 7pm. and archived there, thereafter.

NASCAR changes according to Hammond

My favorite part of being involved with ON PIT ROW is the people that I get to work with.  Last night, Jeff Hammond was one of our guests.  Jeff has been a pretty regular part of our show for three or four years now and there is more than one good story attached to his appearances with us.

We weren't sure that we were going to get him yesterday.  The craziness of trying to do a live radio show and actually hook up with busy NASCAR people to participate is tough.  Steve had been trying to make the Hammond connections all afternoon and we had resigned ourselves to failure.  Then at about 6:30 pm we got a cell phone call from an out of breath Jeff Hammond - who said he had run in from somewhere on his property, to do the show.  Pretty cool stuff for us.

Earlier in the show, we had as a guest, Michelle Thierault - Busch East and ARCA ReMax Series driver and participant in the Toyota NASCAR All Star Challenge over the weekend. Michelle is a big talent and is on track to get to one of the major series in NASCAR soon - maybe even the Cup Series. I asked Jeff what he thought was going to happen with all of the new, young talent entering the NASCAR ranks.

Hammond predicts a large turnover in the driver ranks of NASCAR's top series.  No real surprise there.  But he also told us that he thinks that drivers like Tony Stewart , Jeff Gordon and others will go the Mark Martin route - opting for more part-time participant status in the Cup Series.  He feels that the importance of winning the Cup Series championship will revert to more of what it was in the old days - less important than winning races - especially the high profile races like the Daytona 500, the Brickyard and Bristol night race.

No body is better connected in the NASCAR garages than Jeff Hammond.  We don't see him as much as when Fox Sports is the lead dog in NASCAR TV coverage.  Even so, Jeff is very visible on Speed doing the Trackside show.  He is also a big part of the Direct TV Hot Pass programming.

I had a chance to watch some of the Hot Pass stuff recently.  If you are a NASCAR geek, it is a fantastic way to experience a race.  Currently, you have five different drivers to choose from each race and you essentially become part of the crew for that driver.  There are multiple split screens, in-car camera views, full scanner audio and commentary by guys like Jeff Hammond and Larry MacReynolds.  It's frickin' awesome.  Get a dish and buy it.

Update:  The Black Flag Blog has a very cool contest running where the creative creature in you can win Direct TV Hot Pass prizes!  Check it out.

Gordon and Johnson were surgical at Martinsville

I was watching mid-pack action at about the 100 lap mark of Sunday's Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway.  Denny Hamlin was banging off of everyone in sight, locking his brakes going into turns.  Smoking his tires.  I wondered about his sanity.  There were nearly 400 laps  left in the race.  What was he trying to accomplish?  He finished sixth, which is good - but man it looked like a struggle.

Meanwhile, up towards the front of the race, Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson were smoothly in command.  Surgical. That's the word that popped into my head.  The two of them - it is becoming harder for me to separate them this season - have been dissecting their competition all year.  Sunday was a continuation. 

Now Marc is sure to slam me with some "old guy" reference, but it reminded me of the movie version of *M*A*S*H*.  The movie starred Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould as Hawkeye and Trapper John.  They referred to themselves as the "Pros from Dover".  I've always remembered that.  Gordon and Johnson will make me think of it from now on too. 

Joe Gibbs Racing's Logano shines again

It won't be long before the talk about who will drive Joe Gibbs Racing's fourth Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series. 

JGR development driver and child prodigy Joey Logano won the NASCAR Toyota All Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway Saturday night.  There isn't much left for Logano to prove in the feeder series.  After winning the Busch East title this year, he only needs to wait for his 18th birthday in may of 2008 before jumping Gibb's Nationwide Series program.  The fourth Sprint Cup Series Camry will be warm and ready, not long after that.

Michelle Theriault didn't fair as well in the All Star Showdown.  She wrecked out and finished at the back of the field.  When last we saw Michelle, she was driving the wheels off her No. 37 GLOCK Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS at Toledo Speedway in the ARCA ReMax season finale.  We will ask her about both as she joins us ON PIT ROW this Tuesday.  If you can't listen live go to RaceTalkRadio.com on Thursday and catch Michelle's interview and visits with Jeff Hammond and another surprise guest.

As they say in the race promotion biz...BE THERE!

Picture credit: Michelle Theriault.com

Jimmy Johnson owns Martinsville

It was a song that was probably going to be sung, but the usual Jimmy Johnson - Jeff Gordon duet is getting old at Martinsville.

Their mastery of the Virginia paper clip is well documented, but it looked for a while like there may actually some new blood would surface at NASCAR's shortest Cup track.   Early race runs by Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Burton and even Jeff Green offered hope for a bit of change.

The race was slowed by a record 21 caution flags that saw almost a third of the race run at pace car speed.

But at the end, it was again Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon who were the big winners.  Other than Ryan Newman's second place finish--the day eventually belonged to the remaining Chase Fighters.

The Buzz ON PIT ROW is:

Does a four race battle by Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon keep your interest if you're not a fan of either?

The Fast Lap this week asks:

1)  With all the cautions for single-car spins early on;why was NASCAR so slow in throwing one when David Ragan's car was ready to be T-boned at the end?

2) Was the Carl Edward-Matt Kenseth "Fist-Conference" for real or a joke?

3) How could, or should, The Chase be fixed?

4) What would you like to see done with the CoT?

Let us know how you feel about these questions, or anything else that happened while clipping the paper in Virginia.  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 edt on Tuesdays.

Photo:  Jeff Smith/Getty Images/NASCAR