Bump-Drafts.com

Can These Drivers “Reset” After Break?

Jim — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:01:07 +0000

In 2009, a well-respected driver found himself in a real hole after four races and the break before Bristol. After a respectable top 20 finish at Daytona, disaster struck with consecutive 40th place finishes at Fontana and Las Vegas, compounded by a 31st place run at AMS. All of that to say, the veteran driver found himself in the gut-wrenching realm of the “go or go home” neighborhood.

It seemed like a shame. After all this top-caliber driver was in the twilight, recently signed with a new team, leaving his fans thinking he might have a shot at an elusive championship. The script wasn;t playing out.

The driver? Mark Martin. Fortunately, he got hot after a win at Phoenix and he pulled off a second-place run in the standings that found him eager to come back for more this year. Likewise, 2009 rookie Joey Logano also got off to a tenuous start, before his growth, combined with the talents of his team and the resources of Joe Gibbs Racing vaulted him in to a 20th place finish for the season.

So, out of the drivers hanging out around NASCAR’s “Mendoza Line”- 35th place- are most likely to pull out of it? Which ones are in real danger of missing races?

Let us take a look….

No Serious Worries

Thanks largely to skill, 2000 champion Bobby Labonte (30th) should largely be able to manhandle his TRG ride out of the mire and muck. The same could be said of JTG Daugherty/ MWR’s Marcos Ambrose (28th). Thanks to skill AND equipment, the force is with Ryan Newman (29th).

OK, Barring the Unforeseen

The following drivers SHOULD be o.k., that is, unless bad fortune or finances renders them stuck in the garage. Penske teammates Sam Hornish, Jr. (31st) and Brad Keselowski (33rd) had best hope no one named Jimmie Johnson or Denny Hamlin feels the need to settle old scores. They have the skill- Hornish being a former IRL champ, and Keselowski has certainly shown no fear of running with the big dogs. On the other hand, a payback or one false could really set them back.

Travis Kvapil (32nd) and Mike Bliss (34th) are NASCAR survivors. There’s some questions concerning equipment, and yo always have to wonder if there’s enough finances to weather the storm, but no question, both have done great jobs in the past of being able to wheel a clean car home.

David Gilliland (37th) and Max Papis (38th) seem to always to get their cars in the show somehow. Rookie Kevin Conway (40th) has managed not to embarrass himself, other than the fact his sponsor gets him a few snickers.

Looks Like Trouble

Robby Gordon’s (36th) 43rd place finish at AMS couldn’t have come at a worse time. The racing jack of all trades has managed to cobble together a good enough car to survive these past several seasons with spit wads and and duct tape, but a fan can’t help but be a bit concerned that the times have caught up with him.

Road racing ace Boris Said (35th) may represent Gordon’s best shot at a return to the top 35. Like “Flash,” you know the skill is there, but the “26” car has been consistently among the slowest all season long.

Bench Racing Down Memory Lane

Patrick Reynolds — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00:43 +0000

The past four years in the late winter and early spring Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville, NC has hosted the Legends Helping Legends Fundraiser. Proceed from the day go to help someone in need that has made an impact on the world of motorsports. The stories traded on the day help keep the sport’s history alive and paint a colorful picture of the characters that laid the stock car foundation.

Announcer Bill Connell, Nationwide star Sam Ard, and famed crew chief “Suitcase” Jake Elder have benefited from the previous three events. This year Rex White lent his name to the program. White was the 1960 champion of what is now NASCAR Cup racing and was named to the 50 greatest drivers’ list in 1998.

A difference to this year’s benefit is that White is in good shape both in health and finances. The Hall honored him and the day was used to contribute to a community fund assisting past racers and not just one individual.

Among the drivers meeting fans were Bobby Allison, Carl Long, Travis Kvapil, Ronnie Thomas, and Cecil Gordon. Mechanics included Lou LaRosa, Waddell Wilson, Billy Nacewicz, and Travis Carter.

But it was from a section of journalists who gathered and donated their time that I enjoyed some tremendous racing tales. Steve Waid and Tom Higgins sat next to each other along with Ervin Brooks, whose dad Earl was a former Grand National driver.

Waid shared the fact that he and Ken Squier had recently filmed a documentary in Daytona about Bill France Jr. I asked a little further about Squier and how he is passing his time. I used to hear his voice on racing broadcasts often as I grew up.

Squier spends a lot of time in Vermont, with the Daytona SPEED programming being one of his few television appearances each year. And as with the Squier subject, inevitably the 1979 Daytona 500 comes up. Squier held the CBS anchor position for that historic racing telecast.

Higgins recalled his view of the race’s finish. He was in the press box, which was even with the top row of the grandstands. As the famous Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash unfolded, the crowd stood up and blocked the media’s view.

Most couldn’t see but were yelling “Richard’s (Petty) going to win it.” Higgins explained that a TV monitor had been installed in the press box for the first time. He said, “I’m waiting for the fight.” No sooner had he uttered the words than came Squier’s famous CBS quote “And there’s a fight!”

That story led to another great one from Brooks, the type of tail that is woven into the lore that is NASCAR.

Yarborough was driving for Junior Johnson when he made the final-lap passing attempt on Allison. Hoss Ellington owned the car that Allison drove. Both sets of owners and drivers lost the Daytona 500 and a pair of racecars. There were hard feelings.

Following the race however a promise was kept. Ellington drove north from Florida to his home in South Carolina. And he gave a ride to none other then Cale Yarborough, the man who tangled and crashed with Ellington’s car.

Ellington had promised the lift to Cale and his wife Betty Jo before the race began. After the race, the drive home was a very quiet and tension filled. Yarborough even asked if he could drive the car. To which Ellington turned around with gritting teeth and repeated the question angrily and rhetorically.

But Ellington was a man of his word and the Yarboroughs had their ride.

Days like this serve a purpose. Racers gather to raise money for fellow racers in need. But if I can catch some living history that isn’t written about in the record books, I am a fortunate beneficiary also.

(Patrick Reynolds is a former racing mechanic who is the co-host of the One and Done auto racing radio talk show Tuesdays at 11am ET on www.wsicweb.com)

NASCAR’s 10 “Baddest” Dudes

Jim — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:56:10 +0000

My, how a race changes things. It may very well be that there’s a New World Order in the realm of NASCAR 2010, where the boys are allowed to “Have At It”- whether it be to get ahead or administer their own brand of vigilante justice.

Who, in today’s NASCAR, is the most likely to use his bumper and stir things up? In an earlier day, names like Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, or Robby Gordon may have come to mind. But what about now? The three just mentioned have aged, and arguably mellowed a bit over the years. Each now experience the responsibilities of ownership, which certainly has a way of making one see things differently.

Here’s my list. This is in no way suggesting the following drivers are dirty by nature, or that this is anything more than one fan’s opinion. You may have your own, and I’d be interested to know them. An old INXS tune surmised that every single one of us has “The Devil Inside,” so it may just be that every adrenaline junkie piloting one of these high speed missiles qualifies. Who knows?

When something hot is brewing on the track, I generally figure one or more of the following to be in the middle of it….

10. Matt Kenseth- Are you serious? Yes. Someone who knows from Wisconsin “back in the day” set me straight on the origins of the moniker “Matt The Brat.” According to this sage, Kenseth’s version of the “bump ‘n’ run” is more like the “touch and excuse me.” Ask Jeff Gordon if you need more information.

Kenseth’s tactics are more about gaining track position than retaliation. I mean, there’s not going to be this long list of guys he’s put in the wall intentionally. On the other hand, Kenseth was none too bashful about exacting a little revenge on David Gilliland a couple of seasons ago at Bristol. In true Kensethian form, He just delivered one swift blow, and moved on.

9. Kurt Busch- The years have taken some of the edge off, but his body of work earns him a spot. He’s mixed it up with Jimmy Spencer, Tony Stewart, his crew chief and even his boss.

He acts like a guy who genuinely tries to behave himself, but his competitive nature still gets the best of him at times.

8. Tony Stewart- The fire inside Smoke has gone from five to three alarm. Not wishing to commit sacrilege here, but to me, Stewart may be the one most like Ol’ Man Earnhardt in the garage. If something’s not right, you can count on Stewart to speak up. You may not always like how he presents what he says, but even his competitors offer him a place of respect.

He may not be engaging in the anger management class-inducing antics from days of yore. All “Billy Bad Butt” got from Stewart at Charlotte was a talking to. I’ll never forget how one NASCAR historian said “Tony Stewart has 12 personalities. Nine of them are intelligent and funny and the other three want to hit you in the mouth.”

7. Kevin Harvick- Oh yeah, he’s toned it down some, most of the warfare he conducts now is with his mouth. I’m not saying that’s all bad either. Harvick has had his little war of words with Carl Edwards that “Mr. Ed’” attempted to escalate, and Happy has even taken on his own boss over the radio.

Harvick is not unlike Tony Stewart in that it’s not what is said, but how it’s said. Harvick has offered up his own biting commentary about drug testing in NASCAR, and he wasn’t shy in opining about Edwards’ fine in comparison to some of the penance he’s paid.

6. Robby Gordon- Fans won’t forget soon Gordon’s little deal with Marcos Ambrose in the Nationwide Series race up in Montreal. It was also “Flash” who initiated the contact with Joey Logano at Watkins Glen to trigger the “stupid is forever” comment.

He doesn’t run up front enough in Cup racing to mix it up like he used to, speaking something to the fact he picks his battles now. These days, given his precarious place in the points standings, I don’t think we’ll see much aggression until he rectifies that situation.

5. Brad Keselowski- Is he a hard charger, or indiscriminate? A dirty racer? No, but it sure seems like any car he’s in is in the middle of something. More than anything, he has EARNED his place on this list, because he is the kind of guy you have to be aware of it’s the last lap, and he’s on your bumper. Is it a case of “bad” being good?

4. Kyle Busch- Shrub is a little more calculated about his use of the chrome horn than those ranked ahead of him. His reputation has as much to do with his squabbles with his crew chief over the radio as they do with any racer-related conflict.

This is just an opinion, but it’s mine: Busch cares more about what fans think than he’d have us believe. Think about his comments on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s popularity. I detect jealousy there. By the same token, I give him credit for having a sense of humor between the mock cheers and bows.

3. Denny Hamlin- If there’s contact somewhere, there’s a good chance the #11 of Denny Hamlin’s in it. To be fair, sometimes the “incidents” he’s been in have been due to misjudged clearance, but don’t tell David Reutimann that. Whether or not “Beak” is still “mad as heck” remains to be seen.

Not only is he not shy about using his front bumper to advance a position, Hamlin has also demonstrated viz a viz his run-in with Brad Keselowski, that he’s not shy about spinning someone. You get lots of raw emotion with Denny Hamlin, it’s alternately good and bad.

2. Carl Edwards- Perception is everything where Cousin Carl’s image is concerned. If you really think about it, nothing about Edwards has really changed that much.

Edwards has beaten doors with Dale Jr., he’s traded paint with Kyle Busch, and then there was that feigned punch at HIS OWN TEAMMATE. In a way, Carl Edwards is the Tony Stewart of the Blue Oval set. You can just imagine the little angel sitting one of Mr. Pepsodent’s broad shoulders, and a little stinker of a devil on the other. To his defense, he says he’s just standing up for what’s right. The problem for Edwards is if you throw a rock at him, he’ll retaliate with a bazooka. You race him hard, he’ll race you harder.

1. Juan Pablo Montoya- Here’s what sets the man apart. JPM is the one guy who doesn’t give two hoots about what any other driver or fan thinks of him. He’s taken on everyone from Kevin Harvick to Kyle Busch, and heck, even his own brand new teammate, Mr. Sensitivity himself- Jamie Mc Murray. Other drivers say they don’t care, though other comments they make betray that. Juan Pablo Montoya suffers not the burden of sainthood.

The dude has habanero sauce flowing in his veins, and being more competitive has made him, well…more competitive. What Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski are to other fans, Montoya is to me. My guilty pleasure. I think his fire and passion is good for the sport.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t have to slip into “points racing” mode to get in the Chase. JP was too quiet last year.

HONORABLE MENTION- On any given day, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are worthy of consideration. There was a time Gordon would put his own grandmother in the wall if she were in the way of a win. Johnson? Just ask Kurt Busch, circa Sonoma, 2009. Clint Bowyer has a certain subtlety about moving objects out of his way, and he’s also not bashful about sharing a negative opinion of a fellow competitor from time to time. Just ask Michael Waltrip.

Hungry For Bristol Action

Jim — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:23:16 +0000

So, how was your weekend off from NASCAR racing? I see Bump Drafts contributor Patrick Reynolds took in some Indy Car action, and was even talking Big East basketball tournament. If you saw yesterday’s post, John “Dawg” Chapman opined on what has become of SPEED. Me? I’m tuning up for our big, local 10 mile road run coming up in four weeks. I also spent some time with my guitar I hadn’t spent in some time, and enjoyed the company of family and friends, without having to worry about scampering home to watch a race.

The break was nice. Now it’s time for Bristol! The timing couldn’t be better.

On several levels, we’re due for this track. After three weeks of cookie cutter tracks, I’m ready for racing in tight quarters. I’m ready for a race where a lap can be clicked off faster than the time it takes me to get from the sofa to the fridge. What is it some sage said? That racing at Bristol was like flying an airplane in a gymnasium? Paints quite a picture, doesn’t it?

In light of the recent donnybrook between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, the timing for the track that produces its share of conflict comes at an interesting time. Like Martinsville, Bristol Motor Speedway has a way of taking ordinarily even-keeled guys like Matt Kenseth, and turning them fiesty. Speaking of crazy Cousin Carl, let’s not forget the fun he and Kyle Busch had with each other during the night race two seasons ago. Do you think Shrub or J.P. Montoya need an engraved invitation to mix it up? I think not. The half-mile track provides ample opportunity to administer “chrome justice” without flipping cars at 190 mph or endangering the fans.

And you can’t forget the history that comes with this track. Champions like Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough and Rusty Wallace owe a lot of their legend to the place they call Thunder Valley. What race fan will ever forget the “cage rattling” incident between Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte? That’s just a little slice of Bristol’s rich history. It’s track like this that reminds us of NASCAR’s roots and why the old schoolers got into racing in the first place.

This also provides opportunity for racers not named Jimmie Johnson to get a “W” under their belt. Oh, you can’t count him out, but Bristol is where Kurt Busch has had more than his share of success. Bristol is also where the stable of Richard Childress racers have run well, and they come in with some early season momentum. How fitting would it be for Jeff Gordon fans if he picked up historic career win number 83 at one of NASCAR’s signature tracks?

For this fan. Bristol Motor Speedway is a “Bucket List” track, perhaps even more so than Daytona. With it’s configuration, the venue has the feel of an old Roman coliseum, where gladiators fought to the death.

It’s been a nice break, now it’s time to get racin’ again. Bring it on! I’m ready!

Soap Box: SPEED Has Let Me Down

John Chapman — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:00:33 +0000

When the SPEED Channel first came about, I was so excited. The very idea of an entire channel devoted to cars, racing, and car related programming was heady stuff. I had been reading about it for some time in AutoWeek. I was waiting with baited breath. Then I found out that it wasn’t going to be available on my cable even as an upgrade. That was a part, but not the only part, in my decision to change to satellite.

It quickly became my “go to” channel. Not the only thing I watched, by any means, but it got first crack at my attention. I’m not the norm in my demographic. I follow no team sports of any kind. Couldn’t even venture a guess at the last time I watched more than 2 minutes of a football game. If you wanted to torture some secret out of me, just force me to sit through
a baseball game. All you’d have to do would be to tell me that it was a double header. I’d spill my guts before the 3rd inning.

Racing is my thing. I like some forms of it better than others, but as they say, “Variety is the spice of life.” If it burns gas and makes noise, I’m in.

When I first started watching SPEED, they had wonderful array of racing. The Super Modifieds, the USAC, non-wing
Sprints, and Midgets were probably my favorite. I love dirt, and the Winged Sprinters race more like pavement cars.
They are way more sensitive to set up. The non-wing cars are more driver oriented. Get the set up in the ball park, and a good driver can carry the car. They carried some good local shows from places I never would get to see.

I was a confirmed “Thunder Head.” If I couldn’t see it live, I’d have the VCR set. The Winter Heat series was a no brainer. It sort of took the place of the time when all the best Sprints and Midgets were in Florida for the winter racing.
I’m not saying that Winter Heat was why Jeff Gordon, and all the other dirt trackers who followed him are in NASCAR today. Jeff was carefully groomed to get where he is, but I think the exposure certainly helped ease the
transition. Plus they could have been a factor in getting him hooked up with Hendrick, Sleepy Tripp, & Kevin Olsen in their prime were every bit as good as Jeff. They never made the move. Could have been lots of reasons, but the timing
of Jeff’s Winter Heat exposure was perfect.

Another special favorite was the occasional AMA Flat track races they carried. Hill climbs are fun. I just never seemed to connect with the Super Bike racing.

Then SPEED was bought by FOX. It seemed like it became All NASCAR, all the time. If they weren’t showing NASCAR, they were talking about it. The only non-racing, but racing related show that I watch now is Wind Tunnel. One thing I think could be hurting NASCAR, is over exposure. It’s gotten so bad for me that I check to see when the scheduled start time
is, give it a couple of minutes before I tune in. When I switch to the broadcast, I want to see cars rolling on the track. Not people talking about the same things that other people have been talking about for the last 3-4 hours. Granted my reaction may a little extreme, but I doubt if I’m the only one who feels this way to some degree.

I understand that they still carry some World of Outlaws, both Sprint, and Late Model, (the late models remind me of Slot Cars) and I do watch, but most of the stuff I used to enjoy is gone. No Bellville Nationals, the Chili Bowl, long delayed.

I do enjoy the F1 parade, but I watch it more for Bob Varsha and David Hobbs than for the racing. I will have to admit that I found Pinks mildly entertaining…..for the first couple of times I watched. Then I got tired of seeing people
sandbagged out of their cars. Wrecked, Pimp My Ride, Pinks, Pass Time, come on guys you can do better.

I know, because you have!

Big 10 Driver Rankings- Week Off Edition

Jim — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:00:49 +0000

As the season is just four races old, there’s still plenty we don’t know. We’d like to speculate whether or not someone can beat out Jimmie Johnson for the championship, we’d like to opine on who that might be, but really, no one knows.

You do wonder though, if the week off will provide teams that are struggling a chance to re-trench and put it back together. Another burning question is one of whether or not that overachievers can become the Juan Pablo Montoya of 2010.

That’s the fun of the unfolding season, seeing what holds and what doesn’t….

The Big 10

10) Tony Stewart- (ranked 8th last week)- It’s tempting to give this spot to an upstart like Scott Speed or Paul Menard, but does anyone seriously believe that Stewart won’t be a championship contender come November? I didn’t think so. He’ll be just fine. Believe it.

9) Mark Martin- (ranked 3rd last week)- A key figure in the Hendrick Motorsports debacle. In spite of finishing 33rd, Martin is still infinitely better off than he was this time last year. Believe it or not, that lousy finish was better than what he had last year, when Martin spent most of his day WATCHING the race.

8) Clint Bowyer- (ranked 5th last week)- The RCR revival hit a pothole last week for Bowyer and teammate Jeff Burton. In this humble opinion, he’ll be back come Bristol. The cars are too good, and Bowyer has too much skill to be regarded as otherwise.

7) Juan Pablo Montoya- (unranked last week)- Let’s face it, this is where the guy really belongs. The car is there, the skill is there. JPM has been killed by bad luck…until Atlanta. He always does well on speed tracks. Makes you wonder how the continually improving former open wheel ace will fair in the tight quarters of Bristol.

6) Kasey Kahne- (unranked last week)- Those footsteps you’re hearing belong to one Kasey Kenneth Kahne (want to bet the guy never had any monogrammed shirts growing up?). After a couple of duff outings to open the season, Kahne’s coming alive. In fact, I was just sure he was our race winner last Sunday.

5) Kurt Busch- (unranked last week)- Winning makes a great cure-all. Boding even better for Busch’s fortunes is that Bristol is his best track. If you think about, the 2004 champion is starting in a fashion reminiscent of how he ran in 2009. That wasn’t so bad. One thing’s for sure: he’s hit it off quite well with new crew chief Steve Addington. That has to eat at Kurt’s kid brother.

4) Greg Biffle- (ranked 6th last week)- Here’s further proof that Jack Roush and Company aren’t as bad off as I once thought. Four races, four top tens. It’s exclusive company. An 8th place finish at Atlanta won’t get you feeling all excited, but it has to feel good to be in this place, when you haven’t run an exceptional race yet.

3) Matt Kenseth- (ranked 4th last week)- I’ve got to tell you Matt the Brat is far exceeding any expectation I had of him. It bodes well for the 2003 champion, or any other driver for that matter, when you’ve shown you’ve got the speed and you’ve got the team to handle the plethora of downforce tracks. Yes, Kenseth fans, you can believe.

2) Kevin Harvick- (ranked 2nd last week)- You know you’re going well when you struggle with an evil car and still come out of a race with a top ten. It’s a far cry from last year, when it was plain to anyone with any degree of intellectual honesty that “Happy” was not, and he wanted out of Richard Childress Racing. It will be interesting to see how Harvick fairs at Bristol- an RCR haven.

1) Jimmie Johnson- (ranked 1st last week)- Tempting as it may be to think that the four-time champ is falling off, the truth is a 12th place finish ain’t all that bad. I can think of at least 28 drivers who would like to have a week that bad. Now if he’s not winning in the Chase that’s one thing, but we’re nowhere near there yet.

FALLING OFF THE PACE

Jeff Gordon will recover at some point at be just fine. The jury is still out on the ever-improving Joey Logano, though let us not forget that he was a victim of circumstances, the lesser known victim of the early race dust-up between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski. Jeff Burton is someone we haven’t seen the last of, either.

READY TO STRIKE

You’ll have to excuse me if I’m not quite ready to jump on the Paul Menard and Scott Speed bandwagon just yet. By the same token, they’re making this early 2010 an interesting one to watch. Marcos Ambrose is also continuing his ascent after a disastrous beginning to the season.

Open Season On The Track? I Think Not

Jim — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:18:12 +0000

No matter where you go, you see it all over the ‘net. “If they let Carl Edwards off like this, what’s next?” “A driver’s gonna get killed, or even worse, a fan!” “It’s open season on the track!!!!”

Like all the other doomsday predictions I read on NASCAR-related websites, this too, shall not come to pass. Allow me to explain.

First of all- the drivers won’t let it happen. What? It was a rogue driver that made it happen! For one thing, right or wrong, I think Brad Keselowski got a loud and clear message concerning his standing among the veteran drivers. It may have been Carl Edwards that pulled the trigger, but you’d better believe there were more than a few that would have loved the opportunity. I have no doubt that the young Michigan man will be thinking just a split second longer before he tries threading a needle he shouldn’t.

As for Edwards, I think he had his “Oh snap!” moment. Yes, I’ll concede he’s got a hair trigger temper, and if he hasn’t learned his lesson yet, he’d better before it, at the very least, it costs him his career. More on that later. As it is now, Edwards has a growing list of adversaries, some of whom bear no fear of the guy behind the “99.” Does the name Kevin Harvick ring a bell?

Did you read John “Dawg” Chapman’s article featuring that Randy Lajoie quote? That’s another reason you won’t see those so-called rivalries getting out of hand. These guys have to pretty much live together in this traveling carnival. I mean, look at some of the old rivalries among current drivers. On any given Friday, you’ll see Tony Stewart hanging out with Jeff Gordon. Just last Friday, there’s a nice little picture of Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch making small talk. Kurt Busch won’t likely be getting a Christmas card from Smoke, and I doubt his little brother will ever have much to do with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., but speaking of the younger Busch, I recall him calling former sparring partner Edwards his “BFF.” Heck, in this day and age of perpertual “Silly Season,” you never know when one of these dudes might be your teammate someday. Could you have ever imagined back in the day that the son of one of NASCAR’s most pugilistic legends, would be a teammate of one of his last great rivals? For the most part, it just doesn’t pay to get to nasty with one another. Furthermore, if you look at Lajoie’s remarks, there’s little incentive financially to move somebody out of the way to move up one spot.

Speaking of thuggery (real or imagined), the sponsors won’t let it happen. Does it not strike you as ironic that this latest brouhaha featured one of NASCAR’s most marketable drivers? When sponsors have been leaving one driver for another, where have they been going? To Mr. Pepsodent.

Now imagine you are the marketing manager or advertising agency for Aflac, Scott’s, or Subway. What do you think your response would be to a “nasty gram” from a disgruntled fan? Well, I’ll tell you now, a reader got a response from an executive representing one of Edwards’ sponsors. They took the time to contact me, to let me, and I’m sure other media members know that this incident hasn’t gone unnoticed. Read that, the dude is in hot water. Their letter states that they see the driver as an ambassador, and you can read that to say they take a dim view of one of their ambassadors behaving badly in public view.

Frankly, I’ve said one of the reasons why this sport has gotten a bit vanilla is because drivers don’t want to jeopardize sponsor relationships, especially not in this climate. Now if you sign on with Kyle Busch, Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, or one of those guys, you know you’re getting a guy who might pop off verbally, or maybe even “pop” a driver, a la Curtis “Pops” Turner once in a while. In spite of his growing reputation among serious fans, Edwards has cultivated that Opie Taylor, Mr. Positive image a la Jimmie Johnson. After this week’s incident, Edwards’ visage has been on everything from the Weather Channel to ABC Evening News. Regardless of whether or not he decided to flip Kez, you’d better believe Edwards has zoomed to the top of the “Bad Boy” charts, and he’ll hear boos like he’s never heard before. Unlike, Kyle, Cousin Carl won’t like it. I really think Edwards regretted hitting Keselowski the minute he saw the “12″ car flip. I’m certain he breathed a sigh of relief when Keselowski walked away.

If there’s ever another run in between Carl and Keselowski, I’d bet it would be because Brad initiates it, because frankly, I don’t think Edwards will want any part of Keselowski now- after all the fallout. But you know what? It’s not gonna happen. Oh, there’ll be bumping and banging between other drivers, and maybe even the principles in this conflict. The difference is now, you’re not going to see NASCAR over-legislating the regulation of it.

Without naming names, I can think of at least one driver who pretty much mortgaged his career of racing in quality cars away because he couldn’t keep his nose clean, even his reputation was as much about perception as it was reality. You may think your opinion may not matter, but this season has been replete with examples of you, the fan, getting NASCAR’s attention. Furthermore, I see evidence you have corporate America’s attention, and you’ve always had the driver’s attention.

Time will tell whether or not I’m wrong. Even with all this aside, the wing, which played a part in Keselowski flipping is going away as well. I’ve always been more a free market kind of guy, a little bit on the Libertarian in some of my views. I think one reason NASCAR didn’t have to step in more heavily, is because they knew they didn’t have to.

You may think the brass at NASCAR may be crazy, but this may be an instance where they were crazy like a fox. I bet we’ll see where Carl Edwards has learned his lesson- thanks to the sponsors, the fans, and if it continues, let us remember well what happened to Kurt Busch. Jack Roush may be a patient man, but he won’t suffer foolishness for long.

Is Brad So Bad?

John Chapman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Brad Keselowski came into Cup like a fox in the hen house. It just happened that Carl was the first to get his feathers ruffled. OK, more than ruffled, more like his neck rung, and his feathers plucked. Apparently he hasn’t forgiven, or forgotten.

If you believe that "Bad Brad" had a lesson coming ( I’m not totally convinced), I’d still have to question the advisability of showing him the error of his ways on the fastest track on the circuit. If we take a look at the incident at Atlanta that spoiled Carl’s and Joey’s day, what I see is Carl making a banzai move from the high line to the bottom. Only one problem, Brad was already there. Brad said in his interview, that he tried to give Carl room, but that there wasn’t time.

Remember the speeds. I think I’d have to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. If he’d jumped on his brakes, he’d have gotten run over. If we look back to Talladega, where this thing really started, I see a clear culprit…..blocking. Carl tried to block a driver who was extremely hungry, who also remembered what happened to Regan Smith, when Tony blocked. If you try to take a pork chop from a pit bull, what do you think is going to happen? One thing I don’t think is going to happen, is if Brad finds himself in the same situation again, the guy in front probably won’t try to
block.

If we believe what we read, then not only Carl and Denny, but half of the garage is down on Brad. Let’s see if we can figure out why.

I’m working on an interview with back to back Busch Series Champion Randy La Joie. I’ll give you a little preview that I think may hold the answer….

John: "We have a lot of long time fans who are upset with the NASCAR. What do you think about the state of Cup racing."

Randy: "There’s too much money in the sport today, no one’s hungry. When I was coming up, we needed every dollar we could get. If you were running sixth, and thought you could move up to fifth, you’d go for it because you needed the money. If you had to move someone, that’s what you did. Now all the drivers are too
good a friends. They all live together on Lake Norman. They park together in the Motor Home Lot every week. No one wants’ to make waves, or make anyone mad."

Make sense? It does to me. A multi-millionaire would race differently than someone who’s really hungry. I think Randy’s nailed it. These guys are comfortable racing against each other. Not just because they respect each others skills, but because they race the way everyone wants’ to. We see way too much of this- “After you.” “No after you.” Maybe they just don’t like racing against someone who takes them out of their comfort zone. Who doesn’t "play the game," and wait until the last laps to really start racing?

I’ve heard drivers whining to their spotters, or crew chiefs about someone "racing them too hard." Say what? Cup drivers are the second highest paid drivers in the world.Maybe it’s not all bad that Brad’s got them a little shook up.

Back to Carl, if he really felt that he needed to teach Brad something about respect, it might have been better to have waited until Bristol. Not only did he put Brad, and other drivers at risk, he also potentially could have put fans at risk also.

The way things are, NASCAR needs all the paying customers they can get. If Carl really felt justified in making his point the way he did, I might suggest a better place to do it, but I won’t criticize his doing it. After all, I can’t see Jimmie Johnson doing it, and we all know what people say about him.

I’m sure after Brad’s been in Cup a while he’ll settle down. If we’re lucky, when he does, someone else will come along, and race like he’s racing now.

Until that time comes, I’ll keep my eye on him.

Edwards and Keselowski: My Take

Patrick Reynolds — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:00:14 +0000

Did you intentionally wreck him?

“Well Brad knows the deal between him and I. The scary part was that his car went airborne which is not at all what I expected…” blah, blah, blah.

I heard a yes or no question. I didn’t hear a yes or no answer, which was what we were all looking for. Or I will admit that at least I was looking for it. I already knew the answer. But I was listening for Carl Edwards to say it.

And let me state I like Edwards. I have met him before and he was extremely nice and friendly. I won’t misrepresent myself here and pretend to be good buddies with him either. Over the years he has said and done things I like and said and done things I didn’t like. In Sunday’s Atlanta race I didn’t like.

Backing up the time machine, let’s take a look at the day’s first incident between Edwards and Brad Keselowski. Edwards approached turn one in the middle groove and once in the turn moved to the lower lane. Keselowski was already there. The pair bumped and up to the fence went the Edwards machine, damaging Joey Logano’s ride in the process.

Keselowski said he lifted but couldn’t slow enough to let the Edwards car in. Watching the race, that explanation seemed very plausible. There is a history of tension between the two so maybe Keselowski isn’t exactly looking to help ‘Cousin Carl’ either. The crash appeared to be a racing accident. If anything more, percentage lay with Edwards for the rapid lane change.

Fast forward roughly 280 laps and here comes the revenge move. Edwards turns right along the frontstretch and spins Keselowski. The car does one of the infamous backward lift pirouettes that high-speed stock cars are known for and crashes back to earth.

If Keselowski simply spins into the infield this discussion is not nearly as emphatic. But he didn’t. He took off flying. That is a huge problem.

The reverse turnovers are rare at Atlanta despite the car’s top speeds exceeding the superspeedways. They can happen. Elliott Sadler and Johnny Benson have shown their tailpipes to Michigan fans.

But if any driver hits another in front of them to send that person out of control then the hitter is responsible for whatever happens. If it a lazy spinout, he bears responsibility. If the car flies into the grandstands and spectators have consequences, he bears responsibility.

The blame for the 2009 Talladega crash between these same two also falls at Edwards’ feet. He blocked Keselowski, the trailing Brad simply held his line and into the fence goes the Roush-Fenway driver.

The other Keselowski crashing instances have no place in judging this issue. I agree that he made some mistakes and some drivers will not give the Michigan native any extra room. But no matter who did what to whom, the fans in the stands do not need to be dodging pieces from two guys’ attitude match.

“Have at it boys” was the slogan following NASCAR’s session on the offseason’s media tour. Robin Pemberton’s words were very clear that day. NASCAR would back off in policing bump drafting and other aggressive moves on the track. But there still was a line of dirty and over aggressive driving to cross. Words cannot be printed to outline a rule for every single racecar situation. There needs to be wiggle room for common sense. And everyone knew that.

Anyone who wants to throw this back in NASCAR’s face has no place to do it, unless they have selective memory and hearing. What happened Sunday was obviously over the line for Pemberton’s comment. NASCAR was specific in explaining that fact in that very same press conference.

Carl Edwards was parked for the remainder of the Atlanta race for the crash. And then proceeded up pitlane in the opposite direction, creating a second dangerous situation. His punishment is three weeks probation.

Probation is not a punishment. Any driver I have ever seen on probation and then makes another bad decision simply gets their probation extended. Probation has never been defined to the public. There is no consequence.

I am glad for a rivalry. I love to see raw emotion. But a car flew through the air after a deliberate dump, and created a dangerous scenario for the fans. This is the reason why restrictor plates exist at all, to keep cars on the ground and out of the grandstands.

If you purposefully spinout a car in front of you then you must accept responsibility for whatever that car does, intended or not. Carl Edwards did something wrong on Sunday. In my opinion he got away with it.

(Patrick Reynolds is a former NASCAR mechanic who co-hosts the One and Done auto racing talk show Tuesdays at 11am ET on www.wsicweb.com)

Two Wide: Perspectives On Carl Vs. Kez

Jim — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

UPDATE (12:52 Eastern): According to an update on Jayski.com, Carl Edwards will be placed on three race probation (read that: Behave yourself) and a meeting between Edwards, Keselowski, and owners Roger Penske (Kez) and Jack Roush (Edwards) will be forthcoming …

It’s a double dose of reaction today at Bump Drafts as Jeremy T. Sellers and yours truly offer up a pair of perspectives on the little on track lovefest between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski..

In The Red Corner, here’s Jeremy

Up In The Sky….

…It’s a bird, it’s a plane, NO! It’s Brad Keselowski!

…And I must premise by stating I’m not condoning what Cousin Carl did, in no way as a matter of fact. However, I will go on record as stating seeing a good crash at a big league event is a guilty pleasure we all have as long as no one gets hurt, and it’s not our favorite driver. Gotta have stipulations, ya know? Now, any of you can be appalled by my introduction to this piece, gasp, get wide-eyed, loudly sigh "Noooooo!", all you want, but it’s something instilled in us as teeth-grinding fans. Yet now it’s time NASCAR finds its balance in letting the drivers have control of their races, emotions, and actions.

I don’t think any of us will disagree at the fact NASCAR had nearly surgically sterilized itself out of business. (Believe me, I know a few things about surgical sterilization, it’s a hot, humid, arduous process). So when Brian France went public in stating he was going to hand driving back to, now imagine this, THE DRIVERS, I don’t believe he had these incidents such as what occurred Sunday, in mind. Now, he finds himself in a position to decipher what constitutes a "good ol’ behind the wood shed ass kickin" as opposed to injury or death of drivers and fans. Hey, I was one of the ones yelling, "WHOOOAAAAA!" when Carl took out Brad, but in the same breath, I was just as equally excited, especially when all proved to be okay.

What is the middle ground? Since this just happened Sunday, this concept is obviously still in its infancy, but there has to be some. Now, I don’t agree with the likes of Joe Menzer of NASCAR.com and Mike Humbee of SPEED who think it’s this occurrence should mean the end of the world for Carl. Menzer even suggested Edwards should have waited until Bristol for payback. Now, realistically, can you imagine just HOW many cars THAT would involve? So, we buzz about NASCAR needing rivalries, and how, in a sadistic way, it’s healthy for the sport. Guess that means I’m a sadist. Yet now that we have a couple, there is an outcry for some serious wank spanking to take place. C’mon people, make up my mind, will ya? It may sound as if I’m doing a fair share of fence walking here, and I would have to agree. However, it has to be one way or the other in terms of letting drivers "do their thing" or not, during races. At least this time, no one got hurt, but hey fans, we have a rivalry!

So what is the answer? That in the glory of being a dumb ol’ fan from the suburbs, I don’t have to come up with one. Yet NONE of us can deny that the quality of racing isn’t better than years past, even at tracks such as California and Vegas and the season is only FOUR races along! My advice to NASCAR? Don’t change what you’ve done thus far, but maybe don’t blink your eyes as much during the race!

Thanks, Jeremy. There you have the conflict; a lot of fans want that passion, that raw-boned “I’m not gonna take your crap” emotion, but not as long as it’s a driver I like, or it involves a driver I don’t like.

And In The Green Corner, Jim comes out swinging……

I’ll tell you who’s in a corner- it’s NASCAR. Traditional fans of the rough and tumble racin’ Brian France promised a return to will say say, “See, I told you it was empty talk,” if they hand down one of their stiff penalties of the past.

On the other hand, roughly 65 to 70 percent of every fan poll I’ve ever seen says Edwards’ behavior must be addressed. To be sure, I have no doubt there are a healthy number of haters among them, who’d cry for justice no matter what he did. On the other hand, I find myself surprised at just how strong the reaction is. Not helping is Edwards’ track record for hot-headedness. For the record, on the matter of ‘roid rage? That’s about the dumbest thing I’ve heard. There’s no reason on Earth for Carl to mess with the stuff.

If NASCAR were regulated more like the NFL, they could suspend on some kind of personal conduct violation, but NASCAR has no real precedent, other than the dreaded “conduct detrimental…” clause. I suppose you could put him on probation, but what kind of message does that send after the “Have At It” speech. It sends another confusing set of signals.

In what I am sure is the mother of all butt-chewings, I’d like to think they made Cousin Carl aware of the position he has put them in, and while the idea of retribution is not entirely frowned on, the idea of possibly putting lives at risk is incredibly thoughtless on Edwards’ part.

Speaking strictly as a fan, I am not surprised at what happened to Kez. His list of enemies is pretty long, racing aggressively in two series. Looks to me like his ego has written checks his talent can’t cash. I don’t think he intentionally wrecks people, but ironically, like Edwards (think Talladega, Fall, 2008), he takes chances he shouldn’t in the name of hard-charging. Not everybody can be, nor should they try to be Dale Earnhardt.

In my opinion, NASCAR is going to have to take a bold, new measure: they’re going to have to treat the drivers like men, civilized men. Edwards was parked, and I have little doubt he had a scolding reminiscent of a trip to the principal’s office. It’s little consolation for Keselowski, but other than a very strong, terse warning, I wouldn’t do much more.

Now, going into Bristol, I’d have a little “town hall,” a driver’s meeting to try to clear the air a bit. If I’m NASCAR, I am mainly serving as facilitator, not dictator. I’m not talking about lawyering this thing to death, with a bunch of silly stipulations like you see with “zero tolerance” policies in schools. I’m talking about some straight talk about what acceptable and unacceptable retribution looks like. Ramming somebody in the deck lid on a cool down lap, a la Kyle Busch, or a punch in the snoot a la Jimmy Spencer, that’ll fly. Punting a driver on a short track a la Matt Kenseth on David Gilliland, we won’t encourage or discourage it. Now- sending a driver into orbit at 180 miles per hour? Now you’re crossing a line, one that involves NASCAR looking at- on a case by case basis- the possibility of fines, suspensions, points penalties or even expulsion where necessary.

If you lay your personal biases for or against any driver aside for a moment, you then realize it is a complicated matter. Take the stupid wing off the car, and more than likely Keselowski is only taking a harder ride than the one he got courtesy of Denny Hamlin at Homestead in the Nationwide Series.

Though common sense isn’t all that common, it’s time for personal responsibility to make a come back. NASCAR said they were going to leave it up to the drivers, now it’s time to see if these boys can police themselves. If they can’t- they lose, we all lose in the long run.