On Pit Row

NASCAR Haiku

Charlie Turner — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:49:23 +0000

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The Pit Crew Challenge

was typical of NASCAR.

Modest to a fault.

Do All-Stars Get Loose in Turn 3?

Charlie Turner — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:33:00 +0000

Yes it’s NASCAR’s All Star weekend. Speed TV has begun a 48 hour marathon of All Star coverage, beginning with the Pit Crew Challenge and ending some time long after the race winner has been feted. I’m not a huge fan and luckily for me, the ARCA RE/MAX Series is in town and that will keep me busy and distracted. I’ll have to TIVO most of the All Star coverage. That is a plus for me.

The race itself will probably be pretty good. And yes, even All Stars get Loose in Turn 3. The captains of the blogs, Bruce’s NASCAR Bits and Pieces and Tim’s Do You NASCAR? join me again to carve up three different NASCAR issues in this week’s Loose in Turn 3 triple play.

My question this time is a scenario and it goes like this….

NASCAR world has been turned upside-down. All of the drivers are free agents - the ultimate silly season has been declared. You are a team owner and you have three seats to fill with five year contracts. What manufacturer and which three drivers do you stick yourself with?

Charlie: Toyota is my car choice. I believe that Jack Roush is right - Toyota will take over NASCAR. Jimmy Johnson heads my team. He’s a two time champion with at least ten years left in him. Kasey Kahne is my number two. All he needs is equipment. Kyle Busch has to be in because it seems that he doesn’t even need that!

Bruce: That’s loaded. Does you having picked mean I can’t pick those now? I’m sticking with Ford.. Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and I like Kasey Kahne also. Clint is quietly consistent and I’ll take that any day of the year… heck, I won and online league by being in the top 5 every race with only one win. Jr: He’s pretty consistent this year and he’s showing what he can do with good equipment, so I have faith in him. Kahne: The only thing that held him up last year was a poorly programmed computer program that caused the team to make incorrect adjustments… once they got back on track, they’ll be good to go, or more to the point, Kahne will be good to go on my Ford powered team. (Yea, Yea, the guys will all have to break their manufacturer contracts to be on my team, what of it? That’s what silly season is all about!!)

TZ: Like Bruce said… definitely a loaded question. I’ve gotta go with Charlie on the manufacturer for my team, though. Forget about tradition and what got this sport where it is now. If I’m a team owner, I’ve got dollar signs in my eyes, and I’m going with the new wave, which has to be Toyota. As for my team itself, from a business perspective, I start with Jimmy Johnson for immediate on-track success and a bid at the Cup, and I actually build my team around him. Back-to-back titles, how can you argue with that? Then, I back him up with Carl Edwards. The cat’s only 28 years old, he wins, he does great with the media and I see him as a solid partner for Johnson. I finish up with the youngster to protect the future on my company, and for that I look no further than the 22 year old David Ragan.

OK, that’s what we think. What do you think?

Tim’s post query is…. There’s been a lot of talk about the “changing of the guard” in NASCAR this year. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have been running hot. Are they the future of our sport?

Bruce’s post starts with this…. Seasoned drivers and when is it their turn?

Enjoy the discussion and the All-Star extravaganza this weekend.

Photo Credit: Harold Hinson/HHP Images

Enough All-Star Goofyness Already

Steve Wronkowicz — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:17:52 +0000

Just give me some old fashioned Saturday night hell-bent-for-leather stock car racing.

Twenty-nine drivers are entered in the Sprint Showdown race to transfer the winner and first-loser into the Sprint All-Star Race. I can live with that; its not too far of a stretch to let the second place guy into the Big Race. Letting the fans vote in another driver is a bit far fetched, for a serious race, but this is an all-star event so we can throw some belief out the window.

Using the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge to determine pit stall selection for the race is a bit off the wall, but again, I’m in on that one. The format of the pit crew challenge is a bit hokey. However, giving the over the wall guys some kudos is worth putting up with the made-for-TV antics of the event. I am a bit bothered knowing that Brian Vickers’ winning team is a PCoT (Pit Crew of Tomorrow). It was nice thinking that these guys who are changing tires and filling the tank are day to day mechanics. At least in this Red Bull machine that is bull.

Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race, with however many segments of whatever length is a worthy and entertaining all-star event. It ranks well ahead of many such stick and ball events. It is well ahead of the NHL and NFL events. The NBA all-star weekend is entertaining but the game itself isn’t very well received. Major League Baseball still does it best. The focus is more on the game itself, not the preliminary events. Sure the homerun hitting contest appeals to some; just as basketball’s slam dunk contest does.

What NASCAR does NOT need however is the Pennzoil Victory Challenge. Sorry Pennzoil but this is possibly the most ridiculous and demeaning event to grace an all-star event in years. Having drivers make “drag racing style” burnouts and 360’s before heading to a “finish line” to be judged on time and style points puts NASCAR back twenty years–maybe thirty. Who hasn’t become bored with these displays after a win? The whole burnout/360 thing has been done to death and now NASCAR, Pennzoil and Lowes Motor Speedway are throwing it in the fans faces, not only after races, but now before it begins.

Give me a NASCAR Legends Race or a Crew Chief or Media Race on the 1/4 mile at Lowes if you’re in need of some extras to fill some time and keep the live audience entertained. But, you can keep your burnouts and donuts.

And one last bit of craziness was reported by Jay Busbee at From the Marbles. Patrick Carpentier will allegedly strip naked and run the pit lane if he is voted in as the third transfer.

“If we don’t race our way in, I promised I would run naked down pit road if they voted me in,” says the former open-wheel racer. “We’ll see if they give me that chance.”

Read Jay’s full take on the Carpentier Streak here.

I can do without the hoopla of the All-Star Race. Especially the made for TV stuff. Just give me the Consi and the A-Main and I’d be a happy race fan.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Wind Tunnel vs Tunnel Vision

Charlie Turner — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:02:40 +0000

I would like to welcome everyone to tonight’s meeting of Nascaholics Anonymous. I’m Charlie and I am a Nascaholic. But I admit it and I’m trying to get help.

Are you one of the afflicted? Here are some of the signs.

You have pictures of Wendy Venturini and Krista Voda covering an entire wall - or room - in your home.
You write in a NASCAR blog more that you talk to your family.
You know the date and time of the next Goodyear tire test for Cup Cars, but forgot Mothers Day.
You get pissed when someone disses one of your favorite NASCAR celebrities.
Your objectivity blurs when what you want to be true about something in NASCAR, just isn’t so.

There are many more symptoms. I admit to having some - not the room full of pictures one! - and John Daly should fess up too.

J D’s The Daly Planet has another one of his NASCAR TV show reviews of Dave Despain’s Wind Tunnel special for the NASCAR All Star weekend. Once again, the Planet shows its disdain for Despain. I guess it’s more that John sees disdain in Despain’s attitude towards NASCAR. John has written this stuff before, taking the lead in blaming the demise of “Inside Nextel Cup” on Dave’s hosting skills. Here’s a bit from the Planet’s post…

Although Despain has a long and distinguished history with NASCAR, his current relationship with the sport is prickly at best. He seems to continually be on the verge of exasperation where every NASCAR topic is concerned.

Dave Despain was a guest ON PIT ROW last night. I admit, he is one of my favorite people in the media. ON PIT ROW is a mostly NASCAR Cup Series show. That’s what we talk about. Dave knows this. But I have never - not one time - gotten any feeling that he has a negative - or prickly - bias towards NASCAR racing. He’s a pro.

Speed TV and NASCAR must agree, or prime, showcase opportunities like last night’s All Star special and the acclaimed - even by Daly - show about the history of Daytona International Speedway would go to hosts ….

“….more informed about the specifics of the sport”

I’m going back to the meeting now. You are more than welcome to join me, J D.

If you have more ideas for signs of Nascaholism tell us.

Made for TV Fast Laps on the Menu

Charlie Turner — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:22:19 +0000

Well Darlington didn’t disappoint did it? Between the edge-of-your-seat suspense of waiting for the next car to hit the Lady in Black’s turn four exit wall and the plain gorgeousness of the spectacle of Darlington at night - if Saturday didn’t have it all, it sure had most of it.

The popular favorite to win - Greg Biffle - made an early exit. Biffle edged out Elliott Sadler for pickle-boat status. Not at all what Greg’s fans pictured when he was topping 200 mph at the Darlington Speedway tire tests back in March.

The front of the race belonged to Kyle - boo me, throw beer at me, because I don’t care what you think - Busch. Again. NASCAR is better with someone successful to hate, don’t you think?

We’ll find out what you think. This is the Fast Lap after-all and that’s what the Fast Lap is all about. What do you think of the following four fast, made for the internet questions about what’s hot on the Cup Racing scene?

1. Should the Darlington race stay on Mothers Day weekend or move back to Labor Day?

2. Should NASCAR be concerned with Jeff Gordon’s complaint about Carl Edward’s car looking as if it is going down the track sideways?

3. Is Greg Biffle’s frustration with getting 2nd rate equipment a reason for not signing a contract extension yet?

4. Which retro paint scheme looked best at Darlington; Junior’s, Elliott’s or Kvapil’s?

Tell us what you think. Limit each answer to 100 words or less. Then come back often to defend your positions from the slings and arrows of your fellow Fast Lapper’s. This is the Fast Lap ON PIT ROW. We have plans for the best - and silliest - of the comments we get here. You might just get an invitation to defend yourself on the radio - live.

Try our “Rattles from the Catch Can” Quiz and Win Stuff

Charlie Turner — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:50:50 +0000

Do you think you are up on the latest from the NASCAR internet? Take a shot at our first ever quiz. We’re calling it Rattles from the Catch Can. The plan is to take the names of all those who get perfect scores - seven for seven - and that would be 7 correct answers for you contest lawyers out there, and we will pick a winner. The big winner will get, let’s see…

DVD “The Daytona 500 - 50 years of the Great American Race”
ARCA RE/MAX Series official hat
Crown Royal-Dan Lowry 400 # 26 Jamie McMurray hat
Boris Said - No Fear Racing T-shirt - great shirt!
1 set of “ON PIT ROW”/ “INSIDE ARCA” Mardi Gras beads

All you have to do is play - and keep playing ’till you get it right! Make sure that you enter your email address at the end. It’s how we validate your score.

If you want to feature this contest on your blog or site by all means be our guest. And let us know what you think of our first “Rattles from the Catch Can”.

Busch Rolls Over the Lady in Black

Steve Wronkowicz — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:02:22 +0000

Kyle Busch again made the rest of the Sprint Cup drivers look out classed.

Amid a chorus of boos when introduced and a general lack of fan support The Shrub once again proved to be the class of the field at the newly repaved Darlington Speedway. “The Track Too Tough to Tame” handed out more Darlington Stripes than I can remember in recent history. Drivers seemed to have problems negotiating the 200 mph back straight speeds once they hit turn 3.

The race which saw 40 cars beat the 12 year old track qualifying record was slowed by 8 caution flags. But cautions nor a pit penalty, for a loose lug nut, could slow down Rowdy as he led 169 laps and beat Carl Edwards by more than three seconds. Busch commented on the fan’s less than kind greeting:

“I’m here to race, If I win it just makes them more upset and crying on their way home.”

Busch seemed to revel in the fan’s disgust for his actions the week before. Fans were still blaming him for wrecking fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at Richmond on his way to a possible victory. Upon exiting his car in victory lane, he bowed to the mostly jeering crowd in disdain.

Which leads to this weeks BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Will fan’s dislike for Kyle Busch keep increasing with each win and is it good for the sport?

Give us your comments and we may use them on this weeks ON PIT ROW. Listen to the live stream on Tuesday from 5 to 7pm ET, then stay tuned to INSIDE ARCA from 7 to 8:30pm ET.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

The Darlington Stripe is Forever

Charlie Turner — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:54:49 +0000

Darlington Speedway no longer hosts the venerable Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend. NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation had good reasons for taking that date from the Lady in Black and giving it to California Speedway - or whatever they call the So-Cal track now.

The Rebel 400, Firecracker 400 and Rockingham are gone too, from NASCAR. The tradition trickles away.

But this past weekend stamped one NASCAR tradition emphatically on the sides of most of the Dodge Challenger 500 field. The Track Too Tough to Tame still puts her mark on those who want to challenge her. Long live the Darlington Stripe.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

The Track Too Tough to Tame for Fantasy Picks

Charlie Turner — Sat, 10 May 2008 13:36:01 +0000

Kevin Harvick was - by all statistical evidence - the right pick for last weeks Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. It didn’t work out. Picking winners in NASCAR racing often doesn’t. You can begin to doubt the viability of the stats.

But the drivers who rated right behind Harvick for RIR were two of the most dominant and - as it turned out - controversial guys in the event.

Denny Hamlin led 381 of the 400 race laps but finished 24th - due to a tire going down under green and his attempt to draw a caution. The controversial part came of that try for a yellow flag.

Kyle Busch finished second. He got there by - some say - driving through Dale Earnhardt Jr while going for the win. There has been plenty of hash and re-hash on that subject.

Harvick had a dominant position in the NASCAR Loop stats for RIR. The spread between drivers at Darlington Raceway is tighter and there are only three races in the Loop database for the Lady in Black.

Fantasy Picks for the Track too Tough to Tame

Some weeks ago, Steve and I interviewed several of the NASCAR internet community’s most knowledgeable writers for our first 7 Post Podcast. We asked each of our guests who their pick would be for Darlington in May. Most chose Greg Biffle. Goodyear had just completed the spring tire test at the South Carolina track. The news that Biffle had topped 200 mph on the back stretch was big. Maybe that was an influence on the picks. Or perhaps those blogger folks are pretty smart too.

Gregg Biffle has the top Driver Rating of 126.1. He is the top dog in Fastest Laps with 141 and Laps Led at 346 or 31.3% of the last three races at Darlington. Greg has the second most Laps in the Top Fifteen the third best Ave Running Position of 5.2. Top those numbers with three top tens and two wins and The Biff looks good this week.

Jimmy Johnson looks good every week, doesn’t he? Second best Driver Rating, Fastest Laps, Laps Led and the top Ave Finish of 2.3 make it so again. JJ has two top fives and eight top tens.

Hamlin has only raced twice in Loop races at the Lady. He has the third best DR of 119.2 in those two and two top fives and four top tens all together. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Busch has only one top ten ever and a Driver Rating of 85.7 which is 13th.

Darlington has been good to Ryan Newman. Ryan is fourth in DR with 116.4 and number one in Ave Running Position of 4.951. Five top fives and six top tens show his consistency at this track.

Jeff Gordon has gained more total Loop Points per Darlington race than anyone else - 540 compared to Biffle’s 498 - and has the best Ave Finish - 1.7 - and Laps in the Top Fifteen - 1091 for 98.8%. Gordon is also a seven time winner here. Yikes!

Earnhardt Jr, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne all have similar DR’s - 99.6, 98.8 and 97.8 respectively. None of the three has ever won at Darlington. The only Loop stat that jumps out is that Junior has zero Laps Led.

I’m going with Jeff Gordon as my fantasy pick. That Ave Finish stat of 1.7 and his top Ave Points Gained combined with his history at the track and the fact that he is, well, Jeff Freakin’ Gordon finish the self-argument for me.

If you want a driver outside the Loop stat top ten, take Jeff Burton.Steady Jeff has two wins, eight top fives and fourteen top tens at Darlington to support his 2008 success.

My dark-horse pick is Bobby Labonte - hopefully in that Speed Racer-painted #43 again.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

The Growth Potential of ARCA’s Young Drivers

Matt Mercer — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:10:15 +0000

Yours truly made the journey to Rockingham last Sunday to witness history, the return of racing to the rechristened Rockingham Speedway. While I hope the race is shortened a bit heading into future years (312 laps is too many for these cars, 250 would be excellent – and still longer that most) I hope it will still attract this sort of young gun all-star field it did this year. In that light, based on my own personal observations from the infield, the garage, and pit road (hey, this new gig is awesome!) I am ranking the top young drivers in the race that I see going on to bigger opportunities down the road. Given that this race was contested on a track that hadn’t seen official racing in years, I feel it was a good measure to see who could withstand the pressure and who can manage a race the best. Here we go:

Honorable mentions: Matt Carter, Billy Leslie, Scott Speed, John Wes Townley

Each of the four had circumstances that kept them from my top 5 list, be it accidents (Speed) or early trouble (Leslie), or simply not running as well as the top 5 (Carter, Townley). Speed may have a Cup ride in his future, but he went out early, so he isn’t on my top 5. Leslie and Carter ran well early in the race, but faded as the race went on. Townley, in my opinion, is Todd Kluever with three names. He may get pushed beyond his talent level, and won’t last.

5. Matt Hawkins – I didn’t know much about Hawkins before the race Sunday, but he looked like a driver who can make the most out his equipment during this race. He seemed to be driving a smart race, and didn’t bang up his car so that he would fall late in the race. Hawkins looks like he may need a little more seasoning, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him advance within the next year.

4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Stenhouse is a talent, but the fact he drives for Roush could hurt his growth potential unless he signs with another team. He is making a solid transition to stock car racing, and I believe he will be going Truck racing for Roush at some point soon. But I don’t see him sticking with Roush long-term, simply because Colin Braun is ahead of him and a Cup ride may be out of the question. Here’s an interesting scenario, how about Stenhouse ending up with his open-wheel owner, Tony Stewart, in a few years?

3. Michael Annett – I’ll be the first to admit, I wasn’t sure Annett was everything he was billed to be simply because I hadn’t seen enough of him to make a judgment. That’s out the window now, as I became very impressed with him during the race, particularly how he worked his way into the top 5 and really got better as the race progressed. I think Annett could step into a Truck right now and compete for top 10s.

2. Austin Dillon – What gives Dillon the tiebreaker over Annett in my mind is Dillon just turned 18 days before the Rockingham race. I had done a bit of research into Dillon prior to the race, most of his notoriety had been his use of the #3 – some don’t like it, but those people never believe anyone except Dale Earnhardt drove with that number. I think it’s cool that he is using it, as a way to honor his grandfather’s underappreciated career as a driver. Dillon won at Greenville Pickens Speedway in the Camping World East Series a few weeks ago, and has been a force on the dirt tracks in the southeast as well. I would be interested to see if he drives an RCR Nationwide car next season, once he gets a little more experience. He’ll be hard-pressed to rise as fast as the number one driver, but certainly has the opportunity if he possesses the talent. I think he just might.

1. Joey Logano – Seriously, you expected anything else? The kid’s the real deal. Leading 257 of the 312 laps was insane, and it felt like he led even more. Visually, that car was flying around the track… prompting a running joke between myself and my buddy to wave bye periodically. I got my trusty cell phone and used the stopwatch function, and almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Logano at some points was running almost a second faster than second place, and the top lead I clocked him with was 20.6 seconds… when he nearly lapped the field. Of course, it helped that Denny Hamlin’s Cup team was on hand to pit the car, the #20 Nationwide team was on hand to lend moral support, the Venturini team was looking like they just won the lottery. An interesting side note to that is seeing Wendy Venturini not stray far from that pit stall. Still, bringing this back to Logano, Gibbs has to run this kid in every Nationwide race from Dover through Homestead. I know I’ve heard something about 18 races, but if at all possible, it needs to be more. If it becomes a legitimate possibility that he steps up to Cup for 2009, that will only help. I’ll go out on a further limb, and says Gibbs brings out an R&D car this year for Logano to run, most likely at Richmond, as he has done before. It’s easy to see what Mark Martin saw years ago, and why Gibbs pushed so hard to sign him. Soon, the rest of the racing world will see as well.

So, there is my list. Agree? Disagree?

Photo credit: ARCARacing.com

Maybe Kyle Busch Just Got Loose in Turn 3

Charlie Turner — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:52:18 +0000

Do you think that “the incident” at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night was evidence of the “vengeance of the Shrub”? After-all, Dale Earnhardt Jr did spin out of the lead because of contact with the guy who used to have his seat at Hendrick Motorsports.

Just about everybody that we have talked to in the last week - from Larry McReynolds to Joey Logano say that they think this was a racing deal. Plain fact. I just can’t find the stones to argue that.

I may not agree with Tim Zaegel or Bruce Simmons though, as we each give our opinions on three separate, NASCAR related topics in this week’s Loose In Turn 3 go-round. Here’s my question of the week.

Should NASCAR drop the “ruse” of team owners being allowed only four Cup teams?

Charlie: First, you have to believe that the present rule is a false one. The rule was written with a real intent to limit the size and power of the super-team organizations. The advent of satellite teams for the Hendrick, Gibbs and Roush’s of the NASCAR world has effectively circumvented the spirit, if not the actual law, of the original ruling. That said, there is still a limiting effect on the big teams which gives an impression that teams like Hall of Fame Racing and Yates Racing are maintaining independence. I say let the ruse continue.

Bruce: I think it’s ridiculous that they pretend to have a team limit. First, owners, their wives, their kids, heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone’s dog shows up as an owner some day. Now that we have satellite teams forming with partnerships, it’s getting even more complicated. (I’ll avoid the ridiculous term here for the moment) So if a team has a limit, is there a limit to how many satellite teams a team can have a team under with a team? (Look out Dr Seuss)

TZ: I think that between the both of you, you two hit the nail on the head on this topic. There is one thing Charlie said though, about Yates Racing maintaining independence, because they would actually be involved in the basis of my argument on this. Yates is the beneficiary of Roush-Fenway in so many ways, it’s not even funny. Roush plays a huge role in their engines, they’ve been trying to help them lock on some sponsorship deals, and in 2010, they’ll probably be handing them a driver. To answer the question though, not only should they “continue the ruse” as Charlie put it, but I would actually like to see them limit it to three teams - that’ll never happen though.

There you have it. That’s what we think. What do you think?

Continue the discussion with Tim’s post:

Do you think that the Nationwide Series will ever truly develop its own identity and if so, what will it be?

Bruce’s post asks for comment on this:

Denny Hamlin is having the worst luck in the world.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Bump Linkin’ Thursday

Charlie Turner — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:02:47 +0000

The next time you are at the gas pump, wringing out your wallet for a few measly gallons of the cheap stuff ($3.79 a gallon today in our little town) remember the little people of NASCAR, who are struggling right along with you. Right.

I’m one of those people who buy their gas ten bucks at a time. That used to last me awhile - now, not so much. But I’m bored. Stopping every day at the Speedway helps me pass the time. And that brings me to my Rant for the day. Sorry Bob, I have to steal your handle for a post.

Today as my 2.64 gallons of low-test was rushing into the tank and the “dollars spent” countdown flew by - $10-$9-$8….$4-$3-$2-$1…..$.99……$.98…..$.97…….$.96…..$.95 - are YOU getting pissed yet? Just exactly how little - what, fraction of a quarter of a gallon of gas, is that pump spitting into my tank that takes over 1 second to meter out? Strictly as a PR move the Petroleum Retailers Association should re-set those pumps to slow down when they get to the last 2.5% of a gallon - or 10 seconds, from the end. I hate that.

Thank you, I’m better now. Thanks to a tweet from Team Ford Racing at Twitter is thispost by Earl Barban, crewman of the #28 Ford at Yates Racing. Travis Kvapil’s Fusion will be sponsored at Darlington by by Lafayette Ford and painted in 60’s retro Fred Lorenzen livery. How cool is that?

Joey Logano fans - or nervous followers of Tony Stewart - may be interested in the podcast of our interview with Joey from Tuesday’s ON PIT ROW. You can download it here.

Mike Maruska has a nice interview with John Newsome. Its pretty funny, but not as funny as this ditty at One Lugnut Short. There’s plenty to write about this week so I’m sure we’ll be back. There’s still a chance to win a 5o Years of the Great American Race DVD too.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Larry McReynolds Belongs ON PIT ROW

Charlie Turner — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:18:57 +0000

The ON PIT ROW guest line-up today is headed by a guy who belongs. Fox Sports NASCAR analyst and veteran crew chief Larry McReynolds returns to talk about last week at Richmond and the up coming Darington and Charlotte weekends.

Speaking of Richmond, we’ll talk to Dan Lowry, winner of the Crown Royal contest that made him the title sponsor of the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Kerry Tharp, NASCAR’s Director of Competition Communications will join us as well.

Listen live starting at 5 pm EDT right here at OnPitRow.com.

Starting at 7pm, INSIDE ARCA is loaded too. Carolina 500 winner Joey Logano will tell us about his dominating victory at The Rock. This is our first chance to talk to Joey and we have plenty of questions.

Our ARCA Insider Phil Parsons will be here as will regular guest Patrick Donahue, crew chief for Eddie Sharp Racing. It was a tough weekend for ESR. We’ll ask Patrick what happened.

We get a preview of the ARCA RE/MAX Series’ race at Kentucky Speedway next Saturday with Tim Bray, Director of Communications for the Speedway.

The night of ON PIT RADIO will wind up with the ARCA Short Track Report and a visit from ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series’ Nick Gullatta, winner at Winchester last weekend

Join us at the Toledo Speedway Bar & Grill or tune your radio to Fox Sports Radio 1230 am in Toledo or on the net at OnPitRow.com.

Fast Laps and Dancin’ with the Lady in Black

Charlie Turner — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:50:50 +0000

Darlington just might be my favorite race track in the world. Or maybe it’s Richmond. Both are traditional and unique in their own ways. But the Track Too Tough to Tame is quirkier, which gives Darlington the edge in my mind.

There was a lot to like about Saturday’s Dan Lowry 400 from Richmond International Raceway though. I liked the way it looked - Richmond under the lights just looks good. The Speed Racer #43 with the newly re-upped Bobby Labonte at the wheel was spiffy.

Richmond was heartbreaking too. What else could you call Nationwide race winner, Denny Hamlin’s flat tire after leading the Sprint Cup race all night and getting almost within sight of sweeping his home town weekend.

And the disappointment of Green Nation and Dale Earnhardt Jr himself was palpable. So close they both were to ending the winless streak at two years, only. Now it goes on, with Kyle Busch a target to transfer the frustration to. Racing deal or not, the Shrub took out NASCAR’s most popular driver.

Next up Darlington. Newly paved and soft-walled the old Lady will be different than before. While waiting to see, try testing your NASCAR chops on these four newly paved Fast Lap questions.

1. Was NASCAR’s two lap penalty to Denny Hamlin adequate for stopping on the track to bring out his own caution?

2. Is Kyle Busch’s style similar to Earnhardt Sr’s?

3. Will Joey Logano’s domination of the ARCA Carolina 500K vault him into a full time Cup ride before the end of 2009?

4. Kyle vs Junior or Kyle vs Steven?

All loyal Kyle Busch apologists are saying Rubbin’ is Racin’ this week. It is. And the Fast Lap is about rubbin’ too. Rubbin’ other NASCAR commentors the wrong way. Rubbin’ your superior NASCAR knowledge in the faces of your friends. Bring it on. We’re planning a new Fast Lap podcast for the new OnPitRadio Page at OnPitRow.com. We need you more than ever.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Hamlin wins… Hamlin loses… Shrub shrubs… Junior ponders

Steve Wronkowicz — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:33:24 +0000

Hollywood couldn’t have scripted the weekend’s racing any better.

NASCAR’S doubleheader at Richmond International Raceway along with ARCA’s return to Rockingham Speedway proved to be a great weekend. Friday nights Nationwide Series race at Richmond was entertaining enough throughout; but came to a old time ending. For all you old-schoolers out there; Kyle Busch and Steven Wallace played some bumper tag during the race and then, partook in a post race helmet grabbing–finger pointing–screaming incident. The Saturday highlight shows ran with the video of Shrub sticking his head into Wallace’s car and Steven grabbing Rowdy’s helmet; only to see Kyle jerking his head free and nearly falling on his butt. All this on a Friday night.

Saturday’s Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond again provided for some exciting racing through much of the event and had set itself up for an entertaining finish. Denny Hamlin was dominating the race–leading every green flag lap until a slow leak developed in his right front tire. Hamlin decided to ignore the slowly deflating tire until it was too late and the tire blew out on the race track.

“You don’t have days like this,” said Hamlin, “Dominating days like this just don’t happen. There’s just nothing you can say other than it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Hamlin’s troubles set up a battle between Dale Earnhardt; Jr and Kyle Busch to determine who would go to victory lane. Junior was looking to get his first win in two years and Shrub was looking to post another win for Joe Gibbs Racing. What happened was a last lap skirmish that has Junior lovers and Junior haters seeing two very different race endings–an ending that saw Clint Bowyer take home his second Sprint Cup trophy. Lovers are looking to hang Busch from the nearest engine hoist and haters are applauding him for his hard driving style.

Which as usual leads us to this weeks short and sweet BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Who was to blame for the Shrub and Junior dust up?

Then to finish off the weekend, the ARCA ReMax Series re-opened “The Rock” to competitive racing and saw future Cup star 17 year old Joey Logano dominate the race in his Venturini Motorsports Chevy. Sprint Cup vetren Ken Schrader came in second as only five cars finished on the lead lap. For more on the ARCA event check out arcaracing.com. and listen to INSIDE ARCA via live stream Tuesday at 8pm ET immediately following ON PIT ROW which can be heard on selected radio stations in the Midwest or right here at onpitrow.com from 5 to 7pm ET.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Tony Stewart’s Likely Replacement Takes the Carolina 500 Pole

Charlie Turner — Sat, 03 May 2008 20:28:48 +0000

17 year old Joey Logano topped qualifying today for the ARCA RE/MAX Series’ Carolina 500 at Rockingham Speedway.

Young Joey has been the fastest all week at the resurrected North Carolina Speedway and will lead a field of 50 starters for Sunday’s race. Here’s what he had to say about this week.

“We actually came down here and did some fuel mileage testing at the
Rock,” said Logano. “I haven’t done much racing this year but we did a
lot of testing-probably ten times so far this year. I turn 18 on May
24th and then I can start running Nationwide races. This is Venturini’s
car and we’ve had a good relationship with the Venturini family so it’s
fun for me to get back out there and run a little bit. This is my first
time driving for [the Venturini family]. Big Bill and Little Bill are
great guys and it’s like a family atmosphere in the ARCA garage so I’ve
enjoyed it.”

Those Nationwide Series races will be contested in Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas.

The starter for tomorrow’s race will be Joe Gibb’s Racings’ - for now - Tony Stewart. If Stewart leaves JGR, as appears more likely almost every hour, Logano may well be his replacement on the Cup team. Just an added bit of interest for an already, much anticipated race on Sunday.

We’ll have the winner of the Carolina 500 as a live guest on this week’s INSIDE ARCA. Listen to it live right here at OnPitRow.com Tuesday night at 7pm edt.

Photo credit: arcaracing.com

Soliciting Solutions for Boring Racing - a Contest

Charlie Turner — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:34:34 +0000

To paraphrase one of my favorite lines all-time from a racing movie…

“Pete, do you ever get tired of (substitute “bored with”) the racing? Lately, sometimes I get very tired.” (ditto)

Ferrari driver Jean Pierre Sarti to Yamura pilot Pete Aaron in “Grand Prix”.

As popular as NASCAR is, people are never satisfied. That’s probably good. Mike Mulhern has a proposition to make things more exciting…

A simple proposition – give one bonus point for each lap a driver leads. If a man leads 150 laps at Daytona, he gets 150 bonus points, for example.
Or perhaps, considering tracks are different lengths, give one bonus point for each mile a driver leads.

Mike contends, and I agree, that putting all of that value on leading laps would make for much more competitive racing for the lead. More lead passes - more exciting races.

That’s what he thinks. What about you? How would you spice up Cup racing?

Put your suggestion in the comment section and I’ll pick a favorite or two and send those people a copy of “Daytona 500: 50 Years of the Great American Race” from A&E Home Video.

Our last contest was won by the Reverend Jim. Don’t let him win again.

Harvick’s the Fantasy Pick for Richmond

Charlie Turner — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:58:53 +0000

Is Tony Stewart going to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and if he is, what does that mean for the rest of 2008? Those are the big questions that the NASCAR community is dealing with this week. What seemed like just another rumor ON PIT ROW a week ago has grown to ominous status since Talladega. The latest evidence seems to have Stewart heading for a different - likely Chevy powered - organization. Mike Mulhern has a good read on that and the other dominoes ready to fall in the 2008 silly season.

Stewart has the fourth best Richmond Loop Data Driver Rating going into the weekend in Virginia. His 102.2 trails his red-hot teammates Kyle Busch at 109.00 and Denny Hamlin with 111.3. Stewart is a three time winner at Richmond while the others are win-less. Get this - Stewart’s career Ave Finish at RIR is a very good 11.3. But Busch and Hamlin have averaged 6.2 and 6.5 respectively. The scenario bodes well for Joe Gibbs Racing but be honest. Do you pick Tony over the two youngsters?

Kurt Busch has the fifth best Driver Rating at 100.8 and has a win and six top tens. But Kurt’s 2008 looks like a write-off year for the Blue Deuce. I pass.

Dale Earnhardt Jr captured his last Cup Series win at Richmond two years ago and he has three wins total here. Junior sits tenth in the Loop with a DR of 89.9 - do you sense a quicker drop off than most weeks? Earnhardt trails four big names who have had, more or less undistinguished first nine races this year. Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne are Richmond winners. Greg Biffle is not. The best Ave Finish of the bunch is Newman’s 10.0. The most impressive Loop stat of the group is Kasey Kahne’s 249 laps led in the last six races.

Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards are all well back in the Loop pack, although Gordon and Johnson have led 305 and 213 Loop laps respectively. Johnson swept the races last year and Gordon (2) and Burton are RIR winners. This has not been a good track for Cousin Carl.

Any one of those drivers could win this race. So could Martin Truex Jr, Mark Martin or Clint Bowyer. I just can’t pick those guys if I base my choice on Loop stats.

The stud this week is Kevin Harvick. Happy leads the Loop Driver Rating at 121.2 - ten points better than second place. In fact he tops out in more than half of the Loop Box Score categories. His Ave Position is 5.6 and Ave Finish 5.5. Harvick had 259 Fastest Laps, 2267 (94.5%) Laps in the Top Fifteen and 599 Laps Led - 25% of all of the laps run the last six races. No driver is even close.

Kevin Harvick has been very steady this year. This looks like the week to break through with a win. For a dark horse I’ll take Virginia native Elliott Sadler. Those GEM cars are looking better lately and home cookin’ can’t hurt.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Rack ‘em Up–Fifty at a Time

Steve Wronkowicz — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:27:06 +0000

The Rock lives again.

Thanks to new owner Andy Hillenburg; Rockingham Speedway will again roar to life this weekend as the ARCA RE/Max Series visits the famous racetrack that is held near and dear by many NASCAR fans. After a four year absence of competitive racing, the city of Rockingham has embraced this revival of big time stock car racing.

There are several twists to the ARCA event. Bringing back two day knock out qualifying will be a hit amongst fans. Qualifying, that at last count, would see fifty-seven cars vie for fifty starting positions. That’s right FIFTY starting spots. While NASCAR has vehemently held to its forty-three car fields, ARCA and The Rock will venture where few have been willing to go in recent years.

Charlie has long beat the drum for expanded fields in the Sprint Cup Series; it took Hillenburg and ARCA to realize that bigger may well be better. There are some inconveniences involved. There are only forty-three pit stalls, so poor qualifying teams will be sharing pit space until cars start falling out of the race. The front runners will be lapping back markers within laps of the start, causing some huge traffic problems. But this race has all the makings of a must attend event, from both a fan and team standpoint.

Hillenburg was a guest ON PIT ROW on April 29th and made a point of mentioning that this event could become one of the best attended “one off” races for drivers who don’t normally drive on the RE/Max circuit. Kenny Schrader and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. will compete. Tony Stewart will be on hand to wave the green flag; while Stewart crew chief Greg Zippadelli will be piloting the pace car. Ricky Rudd will be parading in the 51st starter with a lucky fan in the passenger seat.

When asked about the possibility of Rudd tossing the passenger and starting the race, Hillenberg replied:

We will only have enough fuel in the car for Ricky to make the required parade laps; therefore ensuring that doesn’t happen.

On-track testing begins at 2pm on Friday. The first round of qualifying is set for 11am on Saturday, with the second round slated for 2:30. The green flag is set for noon on Sunday to be televised on SPEED. Be sure to tune in to our ARCA Insider Phil Parsons and the rest of the SPEED team for live coverage.

Fifty cars - FIFTY. If ARCA can pull this off, then NASCAR will need to take a serious look at expanding their fields as well. It will give more teams and more importantly, more sponsors more for their sponsorship dollars. And we all know it’s not about the dollars–it’s about how many dollars - and cars.

photo credit: rockinghamspeedway.com

My Window Net Came Loose in Turn Three

Charlie Turner — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:40:28 +0000

Did you see the ARCA RE/MAX Series race from Kansas Speedway Saturday? Former Formula One driver Scott Speed won the thing but he had to come back from a black flag for a window net infraction. According to Speed’s crew chief, Patrick Donahue, there was no attempt to find a competitive advantage in tweaking the nets - even though Speed’s teammate nearly had the same fate. Nope, it was simple, human error, which I am intimately familiar with. I work with Steve.

Both Donahue and Speed were guests ON PIT ROW last night. Scott’s interview was short but memorable - “kick ass” according to Speed himself. Listen to it Thursday at 7pm edt at RaceTalkRadio.com.

So things got a little loose ON PIT ROW and now they will get Loose in Turn Three. TZ from Do You NASCAR?, Bruce of NASCAR Bits and Pieces and I will hash out some NASCAR opinion and you are REQUIRED to comment. Please.

Would NASCAR be better off if it had never instituted restrictor plates?

Charlie: In the era BCoT - Before the Car of Tomorrow - races at Daytona and Talladega were contested by plated cars and were pretty much universally complained about by owners, writers, bloggers and the drivers who drove the cars. Fans usually gasped in wonder at the close, three and four wide racing and the big wrecks that the plates promoted. I would say that more casual fans got their vision of what NASCAR is by seeing highlights of plate races than anything else.

Restrictor plates brought NASCAR more excitement and more fans per race than any other innovation the Frances tried. Plates also, almost certainly, saved lives at Talladega and Daytona, where unrestricted cars would have ended up in the stands at some point without action to slow the cars down. Plates are a good thing.

Bruce: I agree with Charlie. Without plates, it would have been a matter of time before a car ended up in the stands. I go back to pre-plate days, remembering a car pulling around another car on the backstretch of Talladega and doing it’s own backflip at 200+ mph. Thank God it wasn’t in the bootleg in front of the stands.

And for the record, I’ve always liked plate races. Even if the drivers don’t think it’s racing, it has to be some form of racing requiring the same degree of experience or the same names wouldn’t be up front in most of them.

TZ: Interesting question for me, because here’s the deal…restrictor plate races TYPICALLY bore me to tears - at least with the old car, anyway. And, really, I think my grudge against the plate races started back in 2003 when I made the trip out to Daytona to watch Greg Biffle win the race on fuel mileage, though I know that’s not really the norm. It’s just in the past there’s not a ton of passing, and the guys for the most part always seemed to play it overly safe through the first 7/8’s of the race but that doesn’t seem to be the case this year.

But really, even before this year, the plate races have been a great commodity for NASCAR to carry. Much like the road courses they bring a certain level of diversity to the schedule that really helps keep things interesting. I enjoy being able to watch a different type of race each week.

Once more, that’s what we think. What do you think? Let us know what your thoughts are on these two topics too.

TZ’s post at DoYouNascar.com : NASCAR recently took a win away from a driver in the Camping World Series on technical inspection grounds. Should this be the new practice?

Bruce’s Bits and Pieces post : Does Dale Earnhardt Day merit all the attention it gets on April 29th?

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.