Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie

Au revoir Jacques, that was fast

Jacques Villeneuve has apparently decided that NASCAR Sprint Cup racing ain’t his glass of wine.

Villeneuve will take his prodigious talent to the sports car ranks, leaving Bill Davis not only without a once rumored partner-buyer but short a full-time driver for the second BDR Toyota Camry. Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson will share the driving duties for now in the #27 car.

I never felt confident in Villeneuve’s commitment to Sprint Cup racing. Almost as soon as he started testing for Davis in 2007, rumors started floating that Jacques and his business partner Craig Pollack were interetsed in partnering with, or outright purchasing a Cup team. Davis was the most rumored target..... 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.

Junior Johnson’s trying to haul his moon to Daytona

Moonshine and NASCAR - now that’s getting back to your roots.

NASCAR legend Junior Johnson is going to drive the pace car at the 2008 Daytona 500. That’s fantastic. I wonder if Tony Stewart will bump draft him during the yellows?

On top of Junior in the Pace Car, Johnson’s Midnight Moon will be sponsoring Jeremy Mayfield’s Chevy for Haas CNC Racing. Piedmont Distillers, the makers of Junior’s legal shine is hoping that the exposure  .....Go to the new home of the Bench Racing Blog for the rest of this post!

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.

Brian's new NASCAR vs Humpy's old NASCAR

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.

Who would you rather have in charge of promoting your race track - Brian France or Humpy Wheeler?

Prince Brian is known for statements like the following - which was in answer to the question....

"Would you agree that NASCAR has been a little too heavy-handed in administering punishments? Going forward, will you be perhaps less inclined to fine for points and money for transgressions like shoving or swearing?"

Brian France " Well, I would certainly agree that we're relooking and making sure that our policies of enforcement don't make it where our drivers can't express themselves. There are lots of characters in our sport. There's lots of emotion flying fast and heavy at the events.

If you were in our position, what you're always worried about really isn't necessarily the specific incident, it's really escalation. That's what commissioners and officials in any sport are mostly concerned with."

OK, thank you Brian.  Now for Humpy - aka The PT Barnum of auto racing...

We need to make this car of tomorrow work ... [Do] whatever NASCAR's got to do to make it work, and get us back to racing, [to] where we were putting black donuts on the side of the cars and not making felony offenses out of 'em.  And when we do that, it's all going to change and turn around and we can do all of the other stuff ... ."

I don't want to get into dissecting the whole State of NASCAR address from early this week.  Darren Fauth and others have done a fine job that.  Besides, Steve and I argued about the whole thing for too long ON PIT ROW.

It's pretty obvious -  despite the France Republic's spinning of things -  that NASCAR sees problems within the kingdom.  I live in a city that seems to always be paying some consultant big dough to identify problems or quantify opportunities - or benchmark this or evaluate that.  Guess what?  They keep finding that the city has problems - just as NASCAR has issues.

Enough talk about it already.  What NASCAR needs is a good ol', car-smashing slobberknocker.  Big Bill France and Bill France Jr. were brilliant, visionary businessmen.  Maybe Brian will prove to be one as well.  But the elder Frances were elite promoters - and Prince France has yet to make his mark in that category.

Auto racing is a promoters business. I think I'd be listening to Humpy.

Picture credit: Newsrecord.com

What's up with Yate's sponsorship woes?

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.

It was sad news last week that Morgan-McClure Motorsports was closing up shop and leaving NASCAR Sprint Cup competition.  It has been a long time now since the MMM #4, in bright yellow Kodak livery, was one of the iconic car-number-sponsor combinations at the Daytona 500.

Fox Sports and Speed TV's Jeff Hammond was a guest ON PIT ROW last week and we asked him if any of the other longtime teams were in imminent danger of giving up the ghost.  The question had been one of our Fast Lap debate questions early in the show.  Both Steve and I had speculated that BAM Racing might be the team most in trouble. 

Surprisingly - maybe shockingly - Hammond brought up Yates Racing.  He said that you have to look at the fact that one month short of the Daytona 500, neither of Doug Yates' Ford Fusions has a primary sponsor. 

Now, the Yates teams aren't the only NASCAR teams looking for money.  But they should be an easier sell than most.  Yates Racing, under the Robert Yates Racing banner has a history of success.  So did Morgan McClure.  Doug Yates is bringing back one of the great, historic - iconic - car numbers in the history of NASCAR by putting the #28 on Travis Kvapil's car.  But the #4 didn't seem to help McClure.

The thing that should worry the suits in Daytona and Charlotte though is the fact that both Yates Fords are solidly in NASCAR's top thirty five in owners's points and are guaranteed starts in the first six races of 2008.  If a team with those assurances can't find backing, what will happen when those teams and sponsors without the owner's points sky-hook, start missing races?

Picture credit:  Rusty Jarrett - Getty Images for NASCAR

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.

Back in the Fast Lap saddle again

It's once again time to take a look at the 4 most pressing questions of the week.

Thanks to Christmas and New Years Day falling on our usual broadcast day, ON PIT ROW took an unprecedented two weeks off.  We hope you were able to take some time from your holiday festivities and catch the re-air of some of our favorite hours.

This week the Fast Lap asks:

1) ESPN Classic will be airing some of the best Daytona 500s of the past.  What was your favorite?

2) Who has the most to prove during early season testing?

3) Have we seen the last of Kenny Shrader in a Cup car?

4) Would franchising solve some of NASCAR's problems?

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.

photo: biglittlebooks.com

and the OPeR goes to... (our NASCAR awards)

Once again it's again time for ON PIT ROW's version of NASCAR'S awards--the OPeRs.

Each year Charlie and I give out our awards for the past NASCAR season.  Although there may be some rogue awards to series other than Cup; we tend to keep the OPeR prizes centered on the Cup Series. The categories that we will award our form of praise on; include such normal themes as:

Best and worst driver

Best and worst crew chief

Best and worst owner

Best and worst team

But we also add some categories that may be a bit different as well.  These will include;

Best and worst post race interview.

Worst attempt at "adjusting the the rules".

Best and worst Jr. High School-like Drama

Best and worst Radio/TV personality

Best and worst NASCAR network

Best guest to appear ON PIT ROW

Maybe we should add: most inappropriate image shot during a New York visit.

Give us your nominations for the above categories, or some other categories we may have missed, and we will give an opinion and present the official OPeR on the show this Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

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: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR ought to take the award show on the road

Seven days later is not the title to a  NASCAR zombie movie.  It is more than enough time to get away from New York City though.  Last Friday NASCAR held it's latest version of the annual awards show at the Waldorf in The Big Apple.

I understand some of the reasons that NASCAR moved this thing to New York years ago.  The desire to have the end of the year celebration of the sport in the media and hype capital of the world foremost of all, I would think.

The France Family organization has been fantastically successful at the publicity game.  NASCAR is firmly entrenched in mainstream, American society now.  So much so that the head of the Family France, Sir Brian the Lesser, came out recently and committed the company to better serve the constituency that is responsible for NASCAR having anything to hype in the first place - stock car racing fans.

One of the changes that should be made is to move this awards deal somewhere else.  I suggest someplace where actual NASCAR fans could have some access to their heroes.

Las Vegas has been suggested and would be a fine location.  But why not move it around - choose a different city to host Champion's Week every year?  The National Football League does this with it's Super Bowl.  College basketball moves the Final Four each year as well, to the great benefit of the host communities.

Corporate insecurity would prevent NASCAR from having Nashville become the permanent host of the awards - they've spent too many years trying to shake the old "moonshiners" stereotype.  Going home to the south every couple years would be a reward for those fans that built the sport though and Nashville or New Orleans would be terrific locales for the banquet.

Detroit - The Motor City - has hosted a Super Bowl and has a Final Four coming up.  What would the Big Three automakers do to have their biggest racing investment visit the home town?

Moving the show would give fans of different regions at least the feeling of having an opportunity to be a part of the celebration.  Right now, the whole deal has that feel of "New York exclusivity" to it.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

What next for Dale Junior and His Siblings, Inc?

Dale Earnhardt Jr is looking forward to washing away the bad taste that Nextel Cup 2007 has left him.

Before leaving for Australia and a couple weeks in the relative outback and after winning another of NASCAR's Most Popular Driver awards he told listeners that he wished he could start 2008 right now.

"I'd trade it in if I could start the Daytona 500 tonight or tomorrow,"

Say what you will about Junior's 2007 season in Nextel Cup - off the track, life has been pretty good to THE REAL DALE EARNHARDT INC.

Let's see, there's the new contract with Hendrick Motorsports - that just has to be the biggest in the sport, doesn't it?  Couple that with whatever he has worked out with new sponsors, Amp, the National Guard and Adidas.

His JR Motorsports is thriving, with a new-found star in-the-making in Brad Keselowski driving the #88 Navy sponsored Nationwide Series entry. 

Infield Parking is goin nuts with growth.  Alabama Motorsports Park is being named Dale Earnhardt Jr Speedway, with a 7/10 mile D-shaped oval, a three mile road course and cart track.

Now Junior is down in the land of Kangaroo Meat telling worshippers that in a perfect world, someday he would come back there and race Holdens in the V8 Supercar Series full time.

We had David Poole ON PIT ROW Tuesday and he said that he had seen the quote and thought that Junior was just being nice.

I'll be surprised if the Earnhardt bunch doesn't buy the whole series.  Afterall, they don't have one of those yet.

Picture credit: Autoracingdaily.com