Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie

Pruett and Montoya kiss, makeup and win at the Rolex 24

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.

NASCAR sometimer Scott Pruett again teamed with Cup sophomore Juan Pablo Montoya to win the Rolex 24 hours at Daytona.

What is significant is that after doing that last year they went to Mexico City and put on one of the most entertaining Busch races of the year.  Pruett was steamed at Montoya for running into him at the conclusion of the race and did everything but question JPM's ancestry.  But it did show us what we could expect from the former F1 star all season long.  Montoya is a racer and he isn't going to back down to anyone--not even arguably the best North American road racer there is.

Lets hope 2008 has as many or more of this type of fireworks.

This week the Fast Lap asks:

1) Chip Ganassi Racing's three-peat at the 24 hours is unprecedented.  Why isn't he as successful in Cup as he is in sports cars or open wheel?

2) What is more impressive -- sharing a forth of the driving duties of the Rolex 24 or doing 4 hours of restrictor plate racing solo?

3) There is quite a seasoned group of rookies along with some young hot shoes running in Cup in 2008.  Who will win the ROTY?

4) DJ or Rusty in the booth?

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: autosport.com

Rusty visits "ON PIT ROW"

Rusty Wallace spent some time ON PIT ROW on Tuesday night.

Rusty talked about his ownership and design of Iowa Speedway and the new Riverside Motorsports Park to be located outside of Fresno California.  The 7/8ths mile oval will have a replica of the old Riverside road course inside the oval; much like Iowa Speedway has its 2.5 mile road course inside.

The ESPN/ABC broadcaster told of his relationship with his broadcast partners, Jerry Punch and Andy Petree and how they have progressed through the NASCAR season.  Rusty believes the team will be even stronger in 2008.  He said is now a broadcaster first and his many other responsibilities are able to be juggled around that.

Rusty Wallace Inc. Racing will be expanding to two teams to compete on the Nationwide Series in 2008 with David Stremme and 18 year old, Chase Austin sharing the new #64 Atreus Homes/Jimmy Johns Chevrolet.  Wallace's son, Steven, will continue as the full time driver of the #66 with similar sponsorship.  The move from Dodges in 2007 to Chevrolet in 2008 will mean Richard Childress Racing will supply engines for the team.

The CoT was on Rusty's mind as he agreed with Fox Sports and Speed's Larry McReynolds:

"The cure for the CoT is stickier tires.  That's all it will take.  Call them stickier or softer or whatever; when you have equal cars with  hard tires there is no chance for good racing.   Let the tires wear faster  like they do at  places like Darlington and  you'll get some great racing--in multiple grooves."

Rusty gave is views on The Chase and how it has affected Jeff Gordon and NASCAR.

To hear the entire interview with Rusty and the rest of ON PIT ROW; tune in to www.racetalkradio.com on Thursday night 11-29-2007 at 7pm ET.

photo: BethAnne Heisler/ ON PIT ROW-Bench Racing Productions, LLC

Wallace had to work a tough room today

NASCAR fans are getting punchy about there passion these days if the group that I hung with today, during the Dickey's 500, is an indication.

I was with a bunch of friends fooling around with slot cars and watching the race from Texas Motor Speedway.  There is a sense of inevitability in this year's Chase to the last Nextel Cup.  Most of the people that I know group Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon into and amalgam.  There is no separation between them unless you are a fan of one or the other.  There weren't any Johnson or Gordon fans in the group that I was with tonight. 

The Ford and Mopar fans have run up the white flag.  That's white flag as in surrender, not green, white, checker.  Tony Stewart's fans and the RCR hopefuls are looking to Daytona. 

So, since the race winner seemed to be inevitable - and it turned out to be so - the room got ugly.  And Rusty Wallace became the focus.

When Rusty made the comment;

"This race is going to finish in the dark."  Duh?

He was attacked like a T-bone in a piranha tank.  Rusty Wallace had a bad night in a basement in Toledo tonight.  Personally, I have enjoyed Wallace as a color analyst on the ABC broadcasts.   I have to admit though that today was not his finest performance.

Only thirty points separate Johnson and Gordon with two races to go in the 2007 championship and they are the last contenders.  If your job has to do with keeping the interest of the rest of NASCAR nation, you had better be on your game.

All Wallace all the time redux

The news that Kenny Wallace will be driving the Robert Yates Racing #88 at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night is good.  Ricky Rudd's shoulder injury is a shame but not unfortunate.  For Herman, at least.  The Herminator is one of the few remaining, real personalities in the increasingly corporate world of NASCAR. 

At Indy for the Brickyard pre-race activities, Wallace seemed to be everywhere.  And everywhere his reception by fans was superstar-like.  Whether on the Speed stage for a Trackside appearance, on the music stage to intro a concert or at an appearance to race remote control cars against Richard Childress, Kenny's fans were loud and boisterous.  Just like him.  I hope he does well with the Yates opportunity.

Steve and I managed to catch up with Rusty Wallace in the garages at MIS a couple weeks back.  He had just finished interviewing Jeff Green for an ESPN segment.  He was mobbed by fans.  He is mobbed by fans always.  We grabbed an opportunity to ask him if he would be willing to be a guest ON PIT ROW.  You had to be there to appreciate this.  He was just like you see him on the air.  Smiling, appologizing for not having his schedule with him and writing down his assistant's cell number so that we could call and schedule with her.  Then he posed with us for  the picture you see here. 

Rusty was a guest on our show three years ago. He was terrific.  Around Toledo Speedway are many stories of his good nature and down-to-earth personality.  I think about this when watching him doing the color commentary on race day.  His in-booth performance is getting better each race.  You can tell he loves the sport.  It must have been tough covering his son Steve, driving a Rusty Wallace Racing car, when the young man struggled. 

Finally while we're on this world of Wallace - hey Geico.  How about a new Warren - or is it Lauren - Wallace commercial? 

Picture credit: Kenny and Rust : Beth Anne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

NASCAR's Tim's Garage works for me

I have been wanting to come up with themes for certain, categories of posts that I write here at the Bench Racing blog.  One such category would be media themed articles.  Face it - one of our favorite things to do is criticize the TV folks.  Nothing new there and we certainly don't take ourselves as seriously as the Daly Planet.

I don't have anything like a planet.  I do have a horn though.  So, with apologies to Spiderman and J Jonah Jameson, here's honkin' at you kids.

My pal Steve waxed enthusiastically about Rusty Wallace and his debut as talking head for the ESPN Nextel Cup broadcasts in an earlier post.  I think that Wallace did a fine job.  He certainly seemed more comfortable talking about the Cup cars.

Was Rusty the star of the broadcast or maybe Suzi (blue, forty two....hut....hut,hut) Kolber?

No way.

I play this game every time a different network is going to take the NASCAR ball for the first time.  What can they possibly do graphically, that hasn't been done - and how cheesy will it be?

The best of show goes to Tim Brewer and the learning aids in Tim's Garage. The technology used for the touch screen display of Dale Earnhardt Jr's engine coming apart was geek candy.  I'm sure this stuff is being used in training or teaching environments.  It was great.

Brewer himself was at last, put in the right circumstances.  Tim's constant Cheshire Cat smile was kind of discomforting during the in studio shots of him on NASCAR Now.  In the garage, he was at home and did a very good job.

That's it for the first edition of The Daily Bugle.  As always, your comments are welcome.  Just be kind.