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

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 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)

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 discussion ala the Fast Lap blog

Steve and I are always looking for ways to make ON PIT ROW more interesting - for ourselves as well as our listeners.  For about seven years the show has featured a segment called the Fast Lap.

Our Fast Lap format is a familiar one to sports talk listeners.  We are asked four questions - for the four corners on most NASCAR tracks - and are limited to 30 seconds of response time.  The arguments that ensue make the time limit a bit arbitrary.  We have fun with it.

This year we started posting our Fast Lap questions on Mondays here and at our Fast Lap blog at the Thunder Lounge site.  We take comments that we get before our live broadcast - Tuesdays 5-7 pm edt - and use them as discussion points during most shows.

The Fast Lap discussion doesn't end there though.  The Fast Lap blog is intended to be a comment blog.  We hope to keep the debate over the four questions going throughout the week.  See, your initial answers are limited, supposedly,  to 100 words or less - like the time limit on the radio show.  There is no word count limit on what I call counter commenting, or debating the merits of your fellow responders.

This week's debate has been pretty lame.  Just way too much agreement.  The following is an example:

4 Responses to “Life in the Fast Lap lane is good for Jimmy Johnson”

1. 1…
   Richmond has always been a good show. Bristol this past August was too. OK, there weren’t a ton of wrecks, but there was a ton of door-to-door action all over the place.

   But, I think what a lot of people feel makes Bristol so “special” is the tempers flaring, and the drivers getting into that “super” beating and banging mode. Guys getting knocked out of the way, and occasionally ending up in the fence or taking a little ride on the “loop”. This past race, the chrome horn wasn’t needed as you could just go around in another groove.

   Richmond was plum crazy. There wasn’t a lap go by where someone wasn’t pushing it 3-wide in the corners. It was incredible, and that new surface (OK, it’s 5 years old now but still) is really coming into its own.

   It’s no doubt one hell of a show, and no wonder they just had their 32nd sellout in a row.

   2…
   I’m going to have to go with Hornish on this one, mainly because he’s been through the motions a few times before.

   As long as both can keep their fenders clean, and roll through, I think they will be fine though.

   Franchitti should at least have one thing on his side in the back of his mind… “If I wreck, I’m in a much safer vehicle”.

   3…
   This is a toss up, really. And I’ll quote The King directly when he flat out said that indeed they would need to look for someone with better business access. In his words, “they” [PE] know “racing” folks, and there are a lot of people out there that know many more “business” folks. He went on to say that [PE] needed better access to potential sponsors, and that was just the nature of the business.

   What that means specifically to a PE-GEM merger or partnership is anyones guess.

   As for signing Patrick Carpentier, who knows. He did run well up north last month, but can that translate to an oval? Maybe, but who knows.

   4…
   Heck, I’ll spot you the 5, and just take Gordon and Johnson. And from there, I might just spot you Johnson too.

   Even with Jimmie having a “20″ point spread at the moment, I still think that this whole deal is Gordon’s to lose. He hasn’t been points racing for the better part of a month or more, and once he “goes back” to his other approach, he’s going to tear it up. That approach would be the one that put him atop the standings by over 300 points.

   Richmond was the beginning of this transition back into “the points groove”, as he could have pushed it a little harder, but kept it pointed in the right direction (no thanks to Junior) and brought it home in 4th. Two weeks prior he very well may have pushed it harder, but it’s time to get back into it, and go for #5.

   That being the case, Johnson will be strong as well, but can he keep it together for 10 races, as that pressure mounts to repeat his performance of 2006, and successfully defend his title?

   Hamlin’s my dark horse pick, he’s been flying under the radar, but between him, Flip-Flop, and some shady Holliday Inn meetings, I don’t know if they’ll have that finite extra “push” that they would have had.

   Luke said this on September 11th, 2007 at 11:13 am

2. Kumbaya my boys, kumbaya. I sense too much agreement among the throng after last night’s ON PIT ROW and reading Luke’s comments here. But right is right.

   1. The Richmond races are always among the “prettiest” on the Cup schedule. Add to the look the ultra competitive nature of the track and the surface and RIR is maybe my favorite track. I like Bristol because it is unique and the night race a true sport spectacle. That said, the racing this year - at least for the lead - couldn’t hold a candle to Richmond.

   2. Sam hasn’t shown much so far in his Busch Series starts but I give him the nod here for slightly more experience and better equipment/team support from Penske. But I have doubts.

   3. Toss up. I’ll go with the Carpentier rumor because I did on the show(I think) but I am not really sold on the idea. The Pettys almost certainly will merge with someone. Too bad the Diamondback’s group went with H O F. The marketing contacts that those guys have are exactly what PE needs. But a strong driver to team up with Labonte would help as well.

   4. I took the field on the show. Can I change my mind? Actually, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch look good to me. Throw in the RCR cars and Hamlin and the field has a chance. Pucher’s chance at least. I’m not putting any money on though without big-time odds.

   charlie said this on September 12th, 2007 at 11:05 am

3. You know, the funniest thing Richard Petty said?

   Oh, Kyle’s all right. He runs about as well as he feels that day.

   That killed me. It was quite funny. Although, to be honest, that’s probably about right. I can’t imagine being in Kyle Petty’s shoes.

   Luke said this on September 12th, 2007 at 11:22 am

4. 1- The Bristol night race was a dud. At least for one trip around the sun, a night in Virginia was by far more entertaining than the one up on the border with Tennesee. Most of that had to do with getting fans aclimated to seeing a new way of racing with the CoT. It’ll return to form by this time next year.

   2– Hornish would seem to be the logical choice. But who ever accused me of using logic? All defectors will have a hard time making races. Just getting into these fields is a monumental task. Visiting the truck series may be the best bet any have in getting some seat time for next year. But to answer the question–Hornish.

   3– I can see the Petty-GEM deal getting done. It seems that Kyle and Ray have some mutual respect. I could see Kyle taking a managment role in a new partnership and leaving the driving to Carpentier.

   4– If I had a million bucks lying around–which I don’t–I’d throw it down on the Hendrick boys in a NY minute. Sure “the field” includes the Gibbs cars and the RCR cars; but my money, as much as it pains me, would go with Hendrick. That really does cause me pain.

   Steve said this on September 16th, 2007 at 6:54 am

You can find the questions here.  We invite you to join the conversation.

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

NASCAR rumors are what they are but The Coors Series sounds good to me

When it was announced last week that Coors Brewing Company was leaving the #40 car and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates the popular guesses were that  that the beer maker might move to DEI to replace Budweiser or maybe nostalgically re-connect with the past and a certain #9.

Today rumors have surfaced that NASCAR may have found the replacement for Anhueser Busch as the title sponsor for the number two north American racing series, NASCAR's Grand National Series.

Lots of speculation has floated since early this season when the Bud folks announced that they were going to focus their NASCAR marketing in Nextel Cup and let the long running Busch Series sponsorship go. 

Wal Mart, Subway and Dunkin Donuts were prominently talked about - along with the rumored $30 mill that the family France was supposedly asking for the naming rights. 

For me, none of those names had the right sound.  I had begun to think that the powers at Anhueser Busch might reconsider once Dale Earnhardt Jr left them for greener sponsorship. 

Who knows if this latest NASCAR rumor will prove to be the real deal?  I admit though that I kind of like the sound of the Coors Series.  As an avowed Yankee hater there is no way the Subway Series was going to work for me.

From the strictly business standpoint, this looks good for Coors.  They drop the lead sponsorship of an underachieving Cup team and replace one of their main competitors  as title sponsor to a hugely successful sports entity.  I like it.

Dunkin Donuts Series? No competition.