Gordon and his team have struggled this season, averaging just a 34th place finish. On top of that they are in a precarious owner points situation. With one race to go before this season’s points take effect, Gordon sits 38th. Given his average qualifying position (38.8), without the guaranteed starting spot he runs the risk of not making races.

That struggle with performance coupled with RGM’s history of crew chief longevity (or lack thereof) make this move less than surprising.

Over the last few seasons Robby Gordon has had a staggering number of guys on top of the box. Since 2005 Doug Richert, Peter Sospenzo, Kirk Almquist, Frank Kerr, Gene Nead, Walter Giles, Bob Temple and Greg Erwin (in no particular order) have all come and gone.

Many throughout the sport have their opinions about the organization and the reasons for the high turnover. Gordon’s demeanor has been blamed, as has his unrelenting control over the team. Beyond second hand information though I unfortunately can’t give a comprehensive explanation.

Obviously Gordon has a drive and passion for racing that few others around the world of motorsports have. That said, his Cup operation has problems. There is absolutely no reason why any team should go through the number of crew chiefs his has gone through. All of the guys who have held the position are competent team managers (most have wins, one has a championship) so you’d think one of them would have clicked.

At this point the team would be well served to do some self reflection. Without some changes in the very near future I would be willing to bet Larry Carter and Iain Watt won’t be the last guys to hold the title of crew chief at Robby Gordon Motorsports.

Those who are on the outside looking in right now include Kevin Conway, Boris Said, Robby Gordon, and Max Papis.  A good run at Bristol for any of these drivers could mean the difference between racing and going home at Martinsville and beyond.  For Said, Gordon, and Papis who all have limited sponsorship, the idea of not having a guaranteed starting spot could drastically affect the health of their race teams and their ability to continue competing.

The drivers who are in currently, but are dangerously close to being out, include Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Brad Keselowski, David Gilliland, Sam Hornish, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, and Marcos Ambrose.  A bad finish at Bristol, combined with some good runs by the competition, could knock any of these drivers out of the top 35 and that vital guaranteed starting position.

Two drivers who stand to benefit following Bristol are Mike Bliss and Scott Speed.  Speed is very solidly in the top 35 (currently 12th) after a difficult 2009 season left him having to race his way in to the first five of 2010.  But his team has rose to the occasion this season, and their performance has improved markedly.  Bliss currently sits in the final guaranteed spot in 35th, which, if he could keep it would be a huge boost to his Tommy Baldwin Racing team.  This team continues to run severely underfunded, but a locked in spot in every race could help this team secure more sponsorship.

Bristol is always an exciting race anyway, filled with drama from start to finish.  And this season’s spring stop in Thunder Valley will be no different.  But if the usual story lines don’t grab you, take a look down the leaderboard a ways.  You will definitely find a tension filled race for many teams./

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This idea that somehow some horrible precedent has now been set in terms of how NASCAR will govern the on track action just isn’t true.  The sport’s leadership handles these special situations on a case-by-case basis, and will dole out penalties accordingly.  They actually handled this specific incident very similarly to how they’ve handled other recent retaliation situations.

In this country, many courts of law decide cases by precedent.  Past decisions do affect how future cases are decided.  But guess what?  NASCAR isn’t a court of law.  They don’t need to take past decisions into account when they are trying to figure out penalties for a special situation.  Why?  Because absolute consistency isn’t necessarily needed.  When Denny Hamlin wrecked Keselowski at Homestead, a one lap penalty was sufficient because Hamlin did what he came to do and NASCAR couldn’t let him get away with it.  At Atlanta, Edwards was obviously furious, and he needed to be parked for his own good. 

I understand that before the season started, they basically told the drivers to “have at it.”  And while this may have played a role in their decision making, they actually went harder on Edwards then they did on Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya at Homestead last season; and those wrecks happened before they changed their stance.  So trying to say that NASCAR went easy on Edwards because of this new philosophy just doesn’t hold water.

When issues like this arise, it always seems like we hear somebody say that NASCAR needs to lay out a penalty schedule so that every infraction is dealt the same penalty.  Well guess what?  Just like every other sport, NASCAR penalizes the regular infractions the same all the time.  Unapproved adjustments, engine changes, pit road speeding, and a ton of other infractions are dealt with the same way.

But in special situations, like the one we saw in Atlanta, NASCAR must decide penalties on a case-by-case basis.  Why?  Because there are too many factors that go into what went down, and there is no way for the sanctioning body to be prepared for every possible dust-up.  We’ve seen NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handle many different player incidents all separately, and I don’t see anyone calling for his job.

Moving forward, you aren’t going to see drivers wrecking each other and going crazy because Carl Edwards wasn’t suspended for life.  There will be no “vigilante justice,” as one writer suggested.  Drivers know NASCAR is in charge and that they will rule on events as they see fit.  The powers that be have shown plenty of times in the past that if they feel a situation has become out of control, they will step in with harsh penalties to send a message.

As I’ve said before, if Keselowski spins harmlessly through the tri-oval grass, we are never having these discussions.  There would be talk about how Keselowski got what was coming to him, and how Edwards overreacted to a racing incident.  Endless discussions of precedents and rules and governance would have never entered anyone’s minds.

Though it might have gotten lost in the noise about Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, Smith took time this past weekend to give his take on the state of the sport, and the changes he would like to see made.

Among his comments, Smith lamented his investment in Motorsports Authentics calling it the “worst decision I have ever made in my business life.” He also said he believes he can get a Kentucky Cup race on the schedule for next season (see stories here, here and here).

Always interesting though were Smith’s suggestions on how to improve the sport. He suggested:

• NASCAR give Las Vegas a second Cup date to finish out the season and give Homestead California’s second date
• Consider changing the points system
• Make the fields smaller to eliminate start and park teams which he called a disgrace
• Alter the payout system, making wins worth more, to entice drivers to run more aggressively

I haven’t been the biggest advocate of moving the end of the year banquet to Las Vegas, but it clearly is a market that embraces the sport. Could they support two races a year? Probably. And why not finish the season in the place where you’re going to hold the banquet?

Smith said the health of the sport will be tied to the venues on NASCAR’s schedule. I think he makes an important point that the sport needs to stage events where the market is most likely to embrace the product. Unfortunately for Smith, NASCAR isn’t too likely to take dates away from the France family controlled ISC.

Another point Smith made was the need to remove the emphasis of points racing. Do you tune in every week to see your favorite driver run conservatively in order to maintain his points position? I’m guessing the answer is no. While I agree with him on that point I think altering the payout system penalizes those underfunded teams who do actually run full races (ex. Front Row Motorsports). I can’t say I have a better suggestion on how to get drivers to be more aggressive on track though.

On the topic of start and parks (though I could care less) I’m warming to the idea of making fields smaller. Maybe we need to go back to having the size of fields fluctuate depending on which track we’re at. It would redistribute the purses and give S+P’s less of an opportunity to participate.

I can’t say I agree with everything Smith said or suggested, but some of it made sense. For all his eccentricities I think he does a good job of understanding the wants and needs of fans. As one of the sport’s biggest stakeholders NASCAR ought to bring Bruton Smith to the table a little more often.

1. From Ric:

It’s been said that the haulers carry enough spare parts to build another car. How close is that statement?

Pretty darn close.  Haulers carry everything from spare engines and transmissions, to sheet metal and nuts and bolts.  And if a part isn’t on the hauler, it could probably be robbed off the backup car. – T.C.

2. From Kevin:

Hey TNI, What are your feelings on the spoiler and the fairness of the mid season change. Do you think teams like RCR are tickled to have it considering they have FINALLY found speed with the winged car. Now to have to go backward essentially and retool your whole fleet of cars, that’s not totally reasonable IMO. Now RCR and other teams will have essentially wasted all that work this offseason and now have to start over.

I think the answer to your question is determinant on whether the spoiler has a big effect on set-ups and the like. We really don’t know what will happen with the change, other than the little bit of testing teams have done. I doubt RCR is thrilled by this move; and it certainly stinks if you’re a team with little or no funding. That said, in my opinion, it will change things, but I don’t think it will change things substantially, so teams like RCR will probably be OK. – Journo

3. From Kenny:

I’m now reading a terrific book, “The Physics of NASCAR.” Reading that the wheels are “toed-in” or “toed-out” makes me wonder, does this alignment (and camber) make your job harder? On a normal consumer car, the four tires are set pointing straight up and down and are set parallel to the centerline of the car.

The toe isn’t usually an issue.  Camber does affect the front tire changer and front tire carrier.  The right front doesn’t cause any problems, but the left front does.  Changers have to get low to see all the lugs, and pretty much angle their pit gun to hit the lugnuts square.  The tire carrier must also make an adjustment, so as to get the wheel on the studs squarely. – T.C.

4. From Mike:

I was wondering if you could talk about the orange/white tape or paint that’s on the sides of the Goodyear tires after a pit stop? My guess is that it has something to do with checking the wear pattern…

I wrote a post back in 2008 explaining this exact topic.  Find it here. – T.C.

5. From Scott:

Hey Guys, All this talk about ’start and park’ teams got me wondering about racing in general and more specially about cars that are not on the lead lap. I’m wondering how you, the garage, NASCAR, etc would feel about pulling cars off the track that couldn’t mathematically win the race. For example, if a car has an early problem and hits the garage. They do amazing work and repair the vehicle but end up 50 laps down. So when the lap count hits so that there are only 49 laps left that car would have to leave the track. This would lessen the number of cars on the track near the end and potentially decrease yellows or other collision concerns. Thoughts? As always, thanks for the great read! Great job guys!

I think it’s an interesting idea, the problem is, it doesn’t let guys improve their position if they’re able to continue running. Say you’re in 40th 50 laps down and the five cars in front of you are out. Shouldn’t you be able to make up those spots if you’re able? At the point when you can’t win a race, it’s about points and money. If you’re prevented from improving from going back out on track you won’t be able to do that. Plus what if the race goes longer than the prescribed number of laps (through restarts)? Lessening the number of cars won’t necessarily lessen the number of cautions. Toward the end of the race a lot of wrecks occur with lead lap teams. – Journo

6. From Barb:

Why does it appear that most of the Cup drivers are afraid to tangle with Jimmie Johnson on the racetrack? They all seem leery of getting into him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone pull a bump and run on Jimmie during a race. I know why Jeff Gordon doesn’t, (part team owner), but why the others? He needs to be challenged more often.

I think it’s a matter of perception. I can say it’s not something I’ve noticed and after thinking about it do we really see drivers get into other drivers very often? It happens, but I don’t think Jimmie receives special treatment over anyone else. – Journo

7. From Marcus:

I’ve noticed that when a crew member or shop member or driver is penalized for drug use it always says actions detrimental to stock car racing. What does this mean?

It means whatever you want it to mean. At least that’s how NASCAR uses it. Anything that can be construed as damaging to stock car racing can fall into that category. That includes crew members who fail drug tests. – Journo

8. From Lee:

I live in Central Arkansas and noticed about a dozen haulers heading east on I40 om Monday (3/1) afternoon.  Obviously, they were coming from Las Vegas.  My question is..do the teams have more than one hauler?  Were the ones I saw heading back to the shop, and they already have a new one heading to Atlanta for the race this weekend?  It seems that it would be hard to get from Las Vegas to Charlotte, unload the car/s from the previous race, load the new cars up and make it to Atlanta for practices.

It takes approximately 36 hours driving time to get from Las Vegas to Charlotte.  For west coast trips, most teams run with two truck drivers, that way the truck never stops.  So assuming the race is over on Sunday evening, the trucks could be back in Charlotte sometime on Tuesday.  Atlanta is only a four hour drive, and Cup teams didn’t park until Thursday.  That leaves about a day and a half to restock and reload the haulers.  The only time extra haulers are used, is to shuttle cars out west to the actual race haulers.  This happens for back to back west coast races, like California-Vegas. – T.C.

9. From Ross:

Wondering your take on this: I was watching Idol last week and they’re running a spot with Carl Edwards talking about Ford. Not only is he not in a race suit but there aren’t even graphics identifying who he is. Now I can see why Ford’s ad people don’t want Edwards wearing a suit with Aflac plastered all over it but is it possible that Carl Edwards is actually recognizable to the average American Idol viewer? If that’s the case, then NASCAR really has come a long way.

I haven’t seen the commercial, but obviously Ford thinks he’s recognizable enough. I’m not sure I’d agree. I can’t say what Carl’s Q-score is, but I would imagine it’s not high. You’d think they would have at least had him in a firesuit, but maybe we’re further along than I thought we were. – Journo

10. From Alex:

2010 mid season changes to the cup cars: spoiler , nose and what else. I have been out of touch for a bit . Never liked the ” WING” or the splitter. What are the proposed changes for 2010 in a nutshell?

The only proposed change right now, is that the wing is being replaced with a spoiler, most likely at Martinsville in a few weeks.  NASCAR is also making a small change to the rear quarter panels on the car to help with the new aerodynamics.  The noses and splitters will remain unchanged. – T.C.

11. From Savannah:

Hi Guys, Since Brad Keselowski has entered the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, it seems that he has made more enemies than friends. What are the thoughts of the drivers and crew members of Brad? Also, what are your opinions? I found it interesting that Carl Edwards took the action that he did in today’s Atlanta race. Brad definitely needs to learn not to be as aggressive as he has been in some of the past races. Will the Edwards/ Keselowski feud become one for the record books over the next year? Thanks for answering all of the questions. Have a great week off!

There are definitely some veteran drivers who won’t be joining the BK fan club any time soon (see Edwards and Denny Hamlin).  While I can’t speak for everyone, I think most see him for what he is.  He is a very aggressive, young driver who is looking to make a name for himself and be successful.  And en route to being successful, it would appear as though he doesn’t care who he runs over to get there.  But what I hope he is learning, is that he can’t get where he wants without at least some respect from his competitors.  I appreciate his aggression and know he has talent, but he still has some learning to do.  Something tells me that Brad and Carl will steer clear of each other from now on as well. – T.C.

12. From Jeanette:

Journo- I’ve noticed here and there that some of the photographers on pit road and in the garage wear their vests inside out. Is there a reason for this (like some inside joke) or do they just not pay attention when they put them on. Also – what are the numbers for?

If it is I’m not privy to it. I would imagine it’s guys (and gals) not noticing and throwing the vest on. The numbers are there to identify the photographers. – Journo

13. From Marc:

Do extra laps beyond the scheduled distance in green-white-checker finishes, including the yellow-flag laps count for all purposes in races? With the current rule, there can be as many as four extra green-flag laps in addition to as many yellow-flag laps as needed to clear the track. If they count for all purposes, this could change the winner of the bonus for the most laps led and could allow a car that is, for example, 25 laps down to finish ahead of a car that fell out with 20 laps scheduled to go, right?

Yeah, pretty much.  If a race goes beyond it’s scheduled distance, the number of total laps run is counted just like if the race had gone the prescribed amount of laps.  Now you know why, in many cases, teams work so hard to get their car back on the track after a crash.  You never know what might happen. – T.C.

14. From Rob:

Question about pit officials. What are the two officials in white jumpsuits looking at when you are doing your pit stop work? Why are there 2 of them per car? How mant total on pit road? Who pays them? How much do they make? Do you have any good stories about them and things they may have done or not done?

There is one official assigned to each pit.  Often times you will see two, because if they are available to do so, they will help each other out.  They are watching to make sure we don’t jump from the wall too early, that the car is in the stall correctly, that fueling is done within the rules, and that all the lugnuts are installed, among other things.  They are paid by NASCAR, and probably make a reasonable living.  And there isn’t enough room in this post to recount those stories. – T.C.

15. From Lost, Just Lost:

Well NASCAR has had their say. I found it interesting. Seems to me that the message was more for Brad than Carl. Carl got a three race probation, what ever that is. Brad got knocked out of a sixth place finish. Am I missing something or was NASCAR sending a bigger message to Brad than to Carl?

Without being a party to NASCAR’s conversations over the last couple of days it’s hard to say. I know there has been some buzz that that might have been NASCAR’s intention, but I think more than anything they’re working off their recent precedent. Consider the Denny Hamlin/Brad Keselowski and Juan Montoya/Tony Stewart incidents at the end of last season as examples of how NASCAR has recently reacted to payback. The punishments haven’t been severe and I think if Brad hadn’t gotten airborne, we probably wouldn’t even be having this conversation. – Journo

And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close.  Thanks to everyone who sent in questions.  And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!

Three races into the season, the top ten in NNS points could be mistaken for the top ten in the Cup Series.  Seven of the top ten are Cup drivers, with only Justin Allgaier, Steve Wallace, and Scott Riggs representing the NNS only crowd.

Of the three, Allgaier looks to be strongest challenger to unseat a likely Cup-driving champion.  In three starts this season, he has one top five and three top ten finishes.  At Las Vegas, Allgaier looked to be a contender for the win before fading late and finishing seventh.  He certainly has the backing and the team to get it done, and the knowledge and experience from a solid rookie campaign could push him over the top.

There are also several intriguing new-comers to the series who could surprise and break through for wins.  James Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, Colin Braun, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all could have a say before the season is over.  They all have the necessary talent and are all driving in equipment that has won in the recent past.  Three races in, Buescher, Bayne, and Scott are all inside the top 20 in points, while Braun and Stenhouse have struggled and will have to dig themselves out of a hole.

Of the three Nationwide only drivers in the top ten, I think the most interesting story is that of Scott Riggs.  He was tabbed to pilot the #09 Ford for RAB Racing only a few short weeks before Daytona.  Riggs filled the seat that was vacated when John Wes Townley left the team and took his family sponsor to Richard Childress Racing.  The RAB team is running without a major sponsor, yet has still found a way to be competitive against fully funded, Cup backed teams.  With a little help, this team could be a factor.

It seems unlikely that, with so many Cup drivers in every race, a young driver like Allgaier will be celebrating at Homestead.  Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard are all planning on running the full slate of Nationwide Series races.  But like they say, that’s why we run the races.

In true NASCAR form, this season brought us one of those promises of lighter enforcement. They wanted to foster an atmosphere of self-policing (within moderation of course). In response to that just more than a month ago Robin Pemberton looked at the gathered media and said, “Boys, have at it.”

Well Sunday in Atlanta, NASCAR got their wish; the boys had at it. After getting wrecked early in the race, Carl Edwards returned to the track 153 laps down and quite clearly took out the guy who helped him into the wall earlier.

That guy, Brad Keselowski, has made a name for himself in his very short career of getting involved in incidents like this one. Remember the Brad K. v. Denny Hamlin feud just a few months ago? Right or wrong, being aggressive and unapologetic about it is his style.

So with that, it was only a matter of time before an incident like this one occurred and it came as no surprise (to me at least) that Brad K. was involved.

I applauded NASCAR’s move before the season began and I still believe it was a good call. I think this incident though should be a wake up call to everyone in the garage. There’s self-policing and then there’s self-policing. Everyone needs to agree this sort of thing can’t be tolerated. Obviously Carl didn’t mean for Keselowski to get airborne, or expect that happen, but the possibility always exists at 200 mph.

That said though, I have a hard time justifying a suspension, and I’d be surprised if NASCAR issued one (famous last words). Even more, of all people to be calling for someone to get suspended for aggressive driving, it’s almost laughable that person is Brad Keselowski. By all means he deserves to be angry for what resulted from the payback; he could have been seriously injured (thankfully he wasn’t). But if ever there was a situation where that old idiom ‘the pot calling the kettle black’ applies, this is it.

No question, it’s unfortunate this happened. Frankly drivers should know better than to do things like this. While I can’t say what the proper punishment should be here, Robin Pemberton has said NASCAR will evaluate the incident further. If there are additional penalties, we’ll likely hear about them by Tuesday.

So what do you think? Was the retaliation justified? What, if any, should the punishment be for retaliating on track?

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The upcoming test at the Charlotte Motor Speedway will be the first chance many of these teams have had to try out the new configuration at a track on the Cup schedule. With limited testing and existing notes and information that will soon become (at least somewhat) out of date could this spoiler become a game changer for the season?

The opinions among the drivers are mixed as we have seen over the last few months. Some say 2010 will be split down the middle, while others think the change won’t make much of a difference.

Thanks to the engineers, and NASCAR and team testing we have some idea what this move will do to the downforce of the car. The real test though will come when we have a full field at a place like Texas or Charlotte.

It’s only been since January that teams have known about this and with time ticking away until NASCAR takes the track with the new spoiler, it’s got to be an interesting time to be an engineer at one of these teams. For some organizations, like Richard Childress Racing, that are just getting back on track with their performance the overwhelming question is, ‘will this throw a wrench into our improvement.’ If you’re over at Hendrick, the question is, ‘are we going to be able to maintain our dominance.’

Despite questions they may be asking about what this means for them, they’re not alone in their uncertainty. As those in charge at NASCAR have noted it will take some time to see how this will change things. What happens if this move has no effect, or things actually gets worse? Without the benefit of a lot of on track testing this is a bit of a craps shoot.

Personally I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen. I believe there will be some effect, but given the talk from all parties involved I don’t necessarily believe the impact will be huge.

Change or no change, I can’t say I’m a fan of making a move like this several races in (though I applaud NASCAR for identifying and remedying a problem in a timely manner). However this plays out, it will no doubt be interesting to see how this testing goes and how well this change is received by drivers and fans alike.

So what do you think? Will the spoiler make a difference in the racing or is all this much ado about nothing?