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Happy Friday. Habbajeeba, we made it through the week! Today In Nascar History October 31, 1998: Elliott Sadler wins the AC Delco 200 at Rockingham for his last Nationwide Series victory to date. Sadler wins by 3.263 seconds over Kevin Lepage for his fifth Nationwide victory. Number of the Day
Today's number is this week's Daily Double. 16.4: Clint Bowyer's average finish at the final three tracks of the Nationwide Series season (Texas, Phoenix, Homestead). In 13 races, Bowyer has three top fives and five top 10s. Bowyer is atop the Nationwide Series points standings by 116 points over second-place Carl Edwards. 13.5: Edwards' average finish at those same three tracks. In 19 races, Edwards has two wins, seven top fives and 10 top 10s. Both wins came at Texas Motor Speedway, site of Saturday's race. Thought of the Day Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up!
Power Rankings Texas Most Popular Driver…Vote here! http://www.scenedaily.com/mostpopulardriver/ or http://www.votemostpopulardriver.com/ Nationwide Most Popular Driver Poll
Craftsman Truck Most Popular Driver Poll
Quote of the Year "NASCAR ain't doing nothing I like right now." "I don't like the rules they are doing...you can bump somebody and they want to fine you for it." Pearson saw the look on Carl Edwards face and made sure to say he knew that Edwards could not speak-up or he would get fined. --David Pearson Quote of the Day This industry, when times get tough, has proven that it can get tough. Some of the best car owners in the garage know what a good bologna sandwich tastes like. -- NASCAR's Jim Hunter
Bits and Pieces NASCAR penalizes Nationwide Series teams DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR announced Wednesday that Chris Rice, crew chief for the No. 28 Chevrolet driven by Kenny Wallace and Jimmy Means, crew chief for the No. 52 Chevrolet of driver Brad Teague, have been fined and placed on NASCAR probation due to rule violations during the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Memphis Motorsports Park Rice was fined $10,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2008 for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules); 12-4-Q(2) (if, in the judgment of NASCAR officials, a car, car component, engine, engine component or any other part or related equipment that has been previously certified by NASCAR for use in an event pursuant to Section 8-12 has been altered, modified, repaired or changed in any manner prior to or during the event without prior notification to and approval by NASCAR) and 20A-16.1B (fuel cell – safety foam did not meet the minimum specified height) of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series rule book. Rice was fined an additional $1,000 for a rear coil spring that exceeded the maximum specified height. Additionally, Wallace was docked 100 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship driver points and car owner Mimi Fitz was penalized with the loss of 100 NASCAR Nationwide Series owner championship points. The infractions were discovered during post-race inspection on Oct. 25. As a result of pre-race inspection on Oct. 24, Means was fined $5,000 and placed on probation also until Dec. 31, 2008 for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20-A-5.10.1B(3) (carburetor venturis exceeded the specified size). He received a second fine of $1,000 for violating 12-4-A, 12-4-Q and 20-A-14.1B (non-approved rear brake caliper). Dale Earnhardt, Jr. takes time to meet with special kid at Atlanta She is bubbly, energetic and outgoing, but twelve-year-old Natalie is not your average young lady.. Her hobbies include playing on her WII and Nintendo DS systems, collecting Webkins and getting the state to install defibrillators in 22 local Georgia elementary schools. This last ‘hobby’ is one that is very dear to her and she worked diligently giving speeches and laboring with her grandmother to spearhead the fundraisers to get these defibrillators installed. Natalie knows how important these life-saving devices are because she has Long QT syndrome. This is a heart condition that causes arrhythmia and frequent fainting. Natalie has had both a pacemaker and a defibrillator implanted in her chest to regulate her heartbeat and to detect cardiac arrhythmia and correct it by delivering a jolt of electricity. She also endures regular doctor’s appointments to check up on her heart. After her mother was contacted by a Kids Wish Network professional fundraiser, Natalie was given the chance to wish for her heart’s desire. She couldn’t think of anything she wanted more than to meet her NASCAR hero, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Her Wish Coordinator, Madeline, got together with Wish Funding Specialist, Donna, and began planning the perfect NASCAR weekend. After a few phone calls, Donna lined up some great sponsors to fund Natalie’s wish while Madeline organized an entire weekend set in Atlanta featuring watching the NASCAR race on Sunday, visiting the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke as well as meeting her hero in person. After arriving at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Natalie and her family met many NASCAR greats including Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Richard Petty and crew chief “Bootie” Barker to name only a few. Pictures and autographs abounded while Natalie met them all and she could hardly believe it: “It was almost like I got to have more than one wish because of all the other drivers!” Finally her chance came to meet her idol, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Natalie and her mother were pleasantly surprised at how long Dale Junior stayed to chat with them and how “cordial and nice he was.” While there, Natalie gave him a personalized turkey call, made by her grandfather (who had also made one for Dale Junior’s father before his death) and a demo pacemaker just like her own. She explained to him what it was to her: “You know how you have an electrical back-up system? So do I.” For Natalie, her entire wish was “totally amazing!” According to her mother, Cricket, Natalie had a sort of “gloom” that hung around her since she was diagnosed. Her weekend in Atlanta has since “brought her back to life again” and made her eyes sparkle like “they haven’t since her diagnosis.” About Natalie’s Wish Coordinator, Cricket said that “Madeline did an awesome job. I don’t think she could’ve done any better!” The trip was perfect and Natalie’s wish was more than granted thanks to a little “guardian angel” magic over at Kids Wish Network. Kids Wish Network would like to thank the following for helping to make Natalie’s wish extra special: Mayor and Mrs. James Nix, VFW Ladies Auxiliary #4346, Sheraton Suites Galleria Atlanta, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Stone Mountain Park, Olive Garden, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. , Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke. Kids Wish Network is a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. If you know a child between the ages of 3 and 18 who may be in need of its wish granting services, please call 727-937-3600 or toll free 888-918-9004. For more information on Kids Wish Network, visit their website at www.kidswishnetwork.org Ryan Newman enters USAC event in Phoenix Daytona 500 Winner Ryan Newman has entered both ends of USAC's "Copper World Classic" November 6 at Phoenix International Raceway. The Thursday event features the Silver Crown Championship Cars and the Mopar National & Western Midgets. Only three "sweeps" have occurred, Tony Stewart taking both wins in 1998 and Dave Steele accomplishing the feat in 2002 and 2006. Newman will pilot the #192 Chevy Silver crown car from Joliet and the #39 Ford Midget entered by the 2008 NEMA Midget Championship team of Bertrand Motorsports from Massachusetts. Ryan finished second to Bobby East in the July 31 "J.D. Byrider 100" Silver Crown race at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, his only previous 2008 USAC appearance. Last year Ryan finished 34th at PIR in the Midget race but he finished second to Tony Stewart in the 2000 "Copper World" Midget feature. His last PIR Silver Crown start resulted in an eighth-place finish, also in 2000. "I think we have a good chance to pull off the sweep," says Newman. "My cars are top of the line and I'm comfortable racing on the Phoenix Mile. We had a shot at the sweep in 2000 but didn't pull it off. PIR is an odd-shaped oval and presents a challenge from one end to the other. It's fun to draft the Midgets there and the Silver Crown cars always put on a good show." Newman is a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup pole winner at the 1-mile oval. The only driver is USAC history to win all three National "Rookie of the Year" honors, Ryan was USAC's 1999 Silver Crown Champion and he has 17 career USAC victories to his credit (13 in Midgets, two in Silver Crown and two in Sprints). His last Silver Crown win came at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. in 1999 and his last Midget win came at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Co. in 2000. His NASCAR resume now includes victories in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series following his recent Truck victory at Atlanta International Raceway in Georgia. The South Bend, Ind. native will have his work cut out for him, facing a formidable field which includes fellow NASCAR vets Kasey Kahne, Jason Leffler, Bobby East, Tracy Hines, Shane Hmiel, Josh Wise and Michael Annett plus IRL and Indy 500 vet Davey Hamilton. The Silver Crown race is 100 miles, while the Midget race is 25. Ironically, Newman's best finishes in both races at PIR has been second. He was second in both 1999 "Copper World Classic" features, finishing second to Leffler in the Midgets and second to Brian Tyler in the Silver Crown cars. Spotting trouble is only part of the job From a perch high above the grandstand -- or on the side of a mountain -- Stevie Reeves guides driver Jimmie Johnson through the traffic and wrecks that are inevitable in racing... Reeves, who has been with Johnson for both of his Cup championships, reveals five things you might not know about his duties as a spotter. 1. NASCAR's new racecar has changed the job description. "It's harder to see out the back (of the car), so it makes drafting at Daytona and Talladega a little different because (drivers) can't see back as far as they used to. So we're kind of their eyes to tell them what's going on back there so they know what's getting ready to happen as it's coming to them." 2. You have to be a politician when you're communicating with other spotters. "We're trying to work with cars that are a lap down to give us that little bit of extra (help), but, then again, they're racing for the lucky dog (free pass), so they can't just move over and let us go. It makes it a little difficult up there. You kind of know who you can go talk to and who you can't. Everybody works pretty good together. The guys who have been up there a long time all know each other. But then you've got guys who say, 'Yeah, we'll work with you,' and then they dump you as soon as they get a chance. Or, 'Yeah, we'll work with you,' and then they hold you up for four laps." 3. The spotter is communication central. "I carry three radios. One's to talk to Jimmie, one's to listen to the tower (NASCAR race control) and the other one, I actually started scanning myself. We had a problem one time a couple of years ago where my radio headset had a problem, and I didn't know it. So now I scan myself, and if I don't hear myself, I know there's a problem." 4. The spotter defers to the crew chief after the driver comes onto pit road. "I usually hand off about 10 pit stalls away, and (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) talks Jimmie into the pits. Then Chad talks him back out to the grass, and then I pick him up again. That's for a couple of reasons -- one, so you don't talk over each other, and, two, if there's a problem in the pits, I'm not talking when somebody's trying to tell Chad there's a problem. I'm completely off the radio unless a caution comes out (during a green-flag stop)." 5. There are unexpected hazards, some of them living, especially at Sonoma. "We're on the side of that mountain, where we can see the whole track pretty good, up where the hospitality tent is at the top of Turn 2. There are snakes up there. There are some poisonous ones. I remember when Jeff Dickerson, Kyle Busch's spotter, had one crawl across his foot -- and he doesn't like snakes at all." Two Race Tracks Jeff Gordon has never won a CUP race at: There are TWO current race tracks the Sprint Cup Series runs on that #24-Jeff Gordon has not won at [a Sprint Cup race]: Even in a merger Dodge could remain another year UPDATE: There is still no official word from Chrysler executives, and the fate of NASCAR's Dodge teams remains uncertain, with the possible -- or probable -- Chrysler merger with/buyout by General Motors. NASCAR executives are not thrilled, to say the least, with the implications and questions surrounding that merger debate, because 11 Sprint Cup teams run with Dodge factory backing. However, according to sources, regardless of what happens with the potential merger, Dodge is committed to backing its NASCAR teams for at least one more year, but perhaps no more. One thing for certain, NASCAR officials don't want Toyota buying up any more top Cup teams, like it did with Joe Gibbs,
and they have made that clear to the company. (Winston Salem Journal) UPDATE - more on merger: With the American automotive industry trying to become relevant again, the news that General Motors and Chrysler are discussing a merger has led to some concern in the garage area. And while no one believes the loss of one of the circuit's four automakers would be a devastating blow, two officials that I spoke to acknowledged that it wouldn't be an easy road to travel either. Finalists announced for Humanitarian Award
Recognizes community service within NASCAR
By Official Release ATLANTA -- The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer and Official Home Improvement Warehouse of NASCAR, and NASCAR announced on Thursday the finalists for the second annual NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award. The award is open to any member of the NASCAR community who has demonstrated a dedication to serving others and improving communities through significant service efforts. The three finalists are: Artie Kempner, coordinating director of NASCAR for FOX Sports and founder of the Autism Society of Delaware; Ryan Newman, driver for Penske Racing, founder of Racing for Wildlife with The Conservation Fund and animal rights advocate; and Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing and founder of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. The recipient of the NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award will be announced at the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards luncheon in New York City on Dec. 4. The award winner will receive a $100,000 donation made by The Home Depot to the recipient's charity of choice and a specially-designed crystal award. The other two finalists will each receive a $25,000 donation to their designated non-profit organization. "The NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award finalists embody volunteerism and dedication to serving others, values that are central to The Home Depot and NASCAR," said Frank Bifulco, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of The Home Depot. "The Home Depot is proud to identify and honor these everyday heroes and the valuable ways they serve their communities." "We are proud to join with The Home Depot in recognizing three members of the NASCAR family for their significant service efforts in the community," said Marcus Jadotte, managing director of public affairs at NASCAR. "The NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award acknowledges the meaningful contributions that individuals in NASCAR make off the track." All active employees within the NASCAR industry -- drivers, owners, team and track employees, licensees, media partners, and motorsports media -- were eligible to receive the NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Nominees were assessed based on their community commitment and dedication; impact on the community; and charitable giving of their time and talents. A blue-ribbon committee comprised of representatives from NASCAR, The Home Depot and motorsports media selected the three finalists. The NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award was established in 2007. The inaugural Humanitarian Award winner was Don Miller, a former Penske Racing executive. Miller started the Stock-for-Tots program as a holiday event to collect toys and raise funds for Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN). NASCAR nixes GEM's move to Toyota? UPDATE: George Gillett, who bought into Ray Evernham's Dodge-anchor operation last year [now GEM], has made strong overtures to switch to Toyota. But NASCAR officials have apparently nixed any such move, and that could leave the Bill Davis Toyota team in limbo. Davis has talked for more than a year now about looking for a business partner. The Gillett-Evernham operation has been Dodge's chief engineering arm in NASCAR, but Penske may now get that nod, and become the engine supplier to teams like the Pettys. Penske already leases Dodge engines to Robby Gordon. Sources say that Penske, who runs one of the country's largest Toyota dealerships, in Los Angeles, has made overtures
about Toyota, and may push for the launch of a satellite Toyota operation next year in order to be prepared for a possible changeover to Toyota in 2010.(Winston Salem Journal) UPDATE: Gillett-Evernham Motorsports has been in talks with nearly every possible team in the garage area looking to merge including Bill Davis Racing, which is down to a one car, non-sponsored team since Caterpillar is leaving the #22 for Richard Childress Racing. From what I [Pete Pistone] have been able to gather, the report that NASCAR vetoed a GEM-BDR merger and a complete switch to Toyota is false. The stumbling block in all of this is the status of Dodge and Chrysler and the future of the struggling company. If the manufacturer can't live up to its promise of supplying engines and support to GEM, its flagship Cup organization, the team needs to know that and make a move ASAP. But whether Toyota wants to support another team and a possible additional three cars is
another question. Regardless, NASCAR has no say in what the teams and manufacturers decide to do.(CBS Sports) Final Atlanta TV Ratings down: ABC's coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway earned a final national rating of 3.6, down from the 4.0 the race earned last year when it also was telecast on ABC. The race averaged 5,611,102 viewers. Ratings for the Chase for the Sprint Cup on ABC are even with last year at an average of 3.8 through seven races.(ESPN) Camo scheme for Martin at Texas: Mark Martin will run a special camouflage paint scheme on the #8 U.S. Army DEI Chevy in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway to promotes effort to deliver more than one million holiday greetings to U.S. Military worldwide. In keeping with the VAULT motto, “Get It Done. And Then Some.,” Coca-Cola North America is implementing the largest marketing campaign for the brand since its 2006 launch to ensure the program’s success. The VAULT “Honoring the Uniform: Calling for Support” initiative features an exclusive opportunity for people across the country to send hand-written postcards to troops worldwide and raise up to $100,000 for the USO. People are encouraged to write
messages of support on pre-addressed postcards, which can be found on special camouflage-themed VAULT 12-packs, at VAULT displays in participating retail stores or online at DrinkVault.com and MyCokeRewards.com, while supplies last. The postcards can be dropped in the mail with a first-class stamp and will arrive at a USO collection center for security screening before being distributed to U.S. troops during the holiday season.(Markmartin.com) Mapei / Menards with Robby Gordon at Texas: Coming off a solid top-20 finish last weekend in Atlanta, Robby Gordon and the #7 team hope to carry this momentum forward into this weekend's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The #7 Dodge will display the familiar Mapei / Menards primary colors during Sunday's 334-lap race.(RGM PR), The bright side to financial distress? Racing the way it was meant to be
All this doomsaying about NASCAR's economic future is boring the bejesus out of me. It's all nickel-and-dime stuff: manufacturer cutbacks, dwindling sponsorships, falling attendance, teams folding … Let's do this right. Let's knock the bottom out. Let's envision the worst kind of economic scenario for NASCAR …
I don't have to imagine the above scenario. I need only remember it. Welcome to the NASCAR I began covering, during the hard times of 1974-76, the first global recession after the global depression. Even before the terrible downturn, Detroit manufacturers had pulled out of NASCAR, and nobody expected them to come back. Ever. Sponsorships were rare and lean, $100,000 a season tops, and only two were multiyear -- STP for Richard Petty, and Purolator for the Wood Brothers and their driver, David Pearson. Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker usually managed to scrape together a little backing, a season at a time. Cale Yarborough and his car owner, Junior Johnson, started the 1975 season with no sponsorship at all. Was it dreary? Depressed? Depressing? Hell, no. It was wonderful -- wild, colorful, candid, the garages reeking of rugged individualism, roguish innovation, rowdy can-do spirit. And for the general public, legends and folk heroes arose from those garages, because the rough-hewn men would all talk to us in the tiny press corps. They would tell us the truth about their lives and careers, about how they saw the world. If some publicist or marketing expert had come around advising Junior Johnson that he shouldn't talk about his moonshine running or his prison term, Junior would have told that person to kiss his backside, and wouldn't have cared if we quoted him. Neither was there any pretense whatsoever to Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Baker, the Allisons … I had a recurring thought during the TV ratings boom for NASCAR through the past 20 years: If America thinks it likes these drivers and this racing, it should have seen those guys and that racing when there was little TV to speak of. Ratings would have gone through the roof for the hard-knocks boys, who were real before reality shows were cool. There were no drivers who got there on money alone, no pretty boys, no sissies, no whiners, no hucksters, no marketing people, no rapacious car owners, no venture capitalists, no prudish corporate sponsors, no PR hustlers, no image-makers. Before the deluge of all of the above opportunists, NASCAR was genuine. It was a thing of the common people, for the common people. We can only hope times get plenty tough for NASCAR again, to save NASCAR from itself and its greed. Regardless of the times, NASCAR will go on -- unless NASCAR refuses to get real again. From '76 through '78, Yarborough won three straight championships on sponsorship of less than $300,000 a year -- or less than 1 percent of the $30 million a year Jimmie Johnson, likely to be the first threepeat champion since Yarborough, has raced on. The inflation in the general economy these past 30 years cannot nearly account for the more than 100-fold increase in the cost of a driver's winning championships. NASCAR and its teams, as any addictive medicine specialist would say, have steadily increased their tolerance for a substance -- money -- to near insatiability. NASCAR needs rehab, painful as withdrawal may be. So if there are fewer cars per race in the future, fantastic! No way you need 43 cars to have a good race. Thirty is plenty. The rest get in the way of the good racers. I grow weary of entire marketing/advertising campaigns being built around drivers who rarely if ever win a race. I never take fabricated stars seriously. Fewer races? Great! Everybody knows 36 are too many, and a virtually year-round schedule loses its potency and pizzazz as the season drones on … and on … Lower attendance? Well, the track owners never should have overbuilt their grandstands so vastly in the 1990s. If 100,000 people in 150,000 seat grandstands -- check out Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday -- draws bad press, the promoters brought this on themselves. Cut Texas back to one race, and California back to one, and they might actually fill their grandstands -- as they did before they doubled down. Are the manufacturers about to go? Oh, well. NASCAR did fine without them. Since they came back, beginning with Ford in 1981, they've created such a zoo of one-upsmanship on engineering, corporate whining and generally wagging the dog, that when NASCAR finally put its foot down, it shot itself in the foot with the ill-advised "new car." When NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter, one of the few who remember as far back as I do, tries to explain to this generation of media that NASCAR's fortunes are "cyclical," he is telling the truth -- but few have been here long enough to know he's right. "This industry, when times get tough, has proven that it can get tough," Hunter said the other day at Atlanta to a gaggle of journalists. "Some of the best car owners in the garage know what a good bologna sandwich tastes like." He and I chorused a name for instance, "Richard Childress." One writer, considered a veteran, interrupted, saying, "When I see Richard Childress [now known for his high living] checking into the Hampton Inns that I stay in" … then he will know that NASCAR is in trouble. He didn't get it at all, didn't know the Richard Childress who'd have considered Hampton Inns luxurious, having spent many a night in his battered old truck, towing his battered car to the tracks and then driving it himself, for years, before he found a little sponsorship and hired a younger driver named Dale Earnhardt. All in all, "I look at this as a correction," Hunter said of the current economic downturn. Sometimes in business, a correction is so harsh as to become a contraction. Maybe NASCAR, too big for its britches for too long, will be forced to get lean and mean again. Then the public might come back in droves, for what it wanted out of NASCAR in the first place. NASCAR’s Opportunity In A Troubled Economy Kurt Smith · Frontstretch.com
In the press conference announcing the coming Camping World sponsorship of the truck series, every NASCAR fan’s favorite CEO commented on the future with a shaky economy dominating the headlines. Incidentally, while I wouldn’t often be mistaken as a member in any kind of a standing of the Brian France Fan Club, he probably does deserve credit for nailing down sponsorship for the truck series. This is a series that looked to be skating on thin ice with Craftsman bailing and advertising budgets being cut, but since they at least haven’t tainted their points system, the series is a winner with a lot of fans. France announced that there were no plans to change the field sizes in races, which is good news, if for no other reason than it is a sign that NASCAR isn’t panicking. Not that it would be a terrible thing to reduce the fields…at least then everyone would have their own pit stall at Dover…but if we still have 43 and only 41 make the entry list, it will likely still be worth everyone’s while. This may have been a reason for NASCAR’s refusal to budge on the car design—with yet another new template, smaller teams that were catching up will once again be at a disadvantage. Their purses will be smaller and their finishes lower, which in turn makes sponsorship harder to come by. Standing firm on the template for the car is still a risky move, even with this being considered. The current car is clearly unpopular with both crew chiefs and drivers, not to mention a sizable legion of fans, so much so that NASCAR had to put the clamps on drivers’ public complaints and leave it to the fans and disgruntled columnists like me to moan about it. But France insists that this car enables teams to have fewer cars built for the entire season, which of course cuts costs. (Perhaps rearranging the schedule to only include speedways was an effort to cut costs in the same manner. Ha ha.) The car has proven to take a tremendous toll on the best Goodyear can come up with—the last thing NASCAR needs if sports fans’ disposable income
shrinks would be another Indy. France also said that “We’re off, (meaning “not where they want to be”—France probably fantasizes about giving post-race interviews as a driver) but only in sort of single digits as of now”. Well, that’s debatable, but it wouldn’t be wrong to say that NASCAR still does a fair chunk of business. France did note that people were particularly attached to sports, and as such, NASCAR and other major sports are not hit as hard by economic slowdowns. This is, I’m convinced, because sports provide an escape from people’s day-to-day problems, and because rooting for a sports team or driver gives a person an identity, a feeling of belonging. (Which is really stupid, I know, but I’ve been guilty of it plenty myself.) Escaping from daily life’s troubles and becoming someone even in a small sense will transcend and sometimes even be encouraged by money troubles. People will find a way to make seeing their favorite team happen. But that’s also a reason to show thanks to fans that have stuck with the sport through good times and bad. This is something that most major sports don’t bother with these days, because they don’t have to once they become major and no longer minor sports. This is an opportunity for NASCAR to show more concern for fans, especially the blue collar ones, than most major sports do. Supposing, hypothetically, that the economic news gets worse, and people have less money to spend. Where does NASCAR go to meet them? The key to that answer is to find as many ways as possible to reduce the cost to the fan. And to let fans know it’s happening. Warren Buffett recently wrote an article about what to do in a crisis like this, and he had advice that makes sense: when others are greedy be wary, and when others are wary be greedy. His point, if I understand correctly, is that when people are worried about their finances they don’t buy. They sell. And that is when buyers do well on their future investments. How does this apply to NASCAR? NASCAR right now should be buying…sacrificing capital for more affordable seats, offering incentives for loyal fans, or splitting costs of bargains with local hotels. When people are struggling, anyone who wants to be successful in business emphasizes value, and they find ways to charge less, not more. (Governments never seem to grasp this concept.) This isn’t going to be easy for NASCAR to do, with one of the most expensive event tickets in sports. But there are ways. They could work with hotel chains and promote, say, a free future weekday night as a bonus for staying in a hotel within 50 miles of the track for at least three days on race weekend. That would take some of the sting out of the inflated cost of hotel rooms on those weekends, and would be certainly be worth it for a Best Western or Holiday Inn, selling an extra night or two at race weekend prices. The Sunoco campaign of free gas with Elliott Sadler sneaking around looking for Sunoco stickers on cars is a good idea. People travel thousands of miles in cars and RVs to go to NASCAR races. They’ll promote Sunoco for a chance at free gas. Reducing ticket prices might be difficult, but NASCAR could certainly offer discounted packages that include tickets for the Nationwide and/or Camping World races on race weekend. I don’t know how many tracks offer such packages, but if people are making a pilgrimage to see a race, they probably wouldn’t mind paying a few extra bucks to throw in a Truck race, especially if they know they’re getting a deal. And it would give the lesser series much needed exposure—people would realize that a Nationwide Series race can be just as exciting as a Cup race. I hate to suggest this at a time when politicians on both sides are frowning on the idea of “spreading the wealth around”, but could the sizes of the largest paydays (say, the Top 15 in each race) be reduced? Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. aren’t hurting for money at this point, so any way that would help lower the cost at the ticket booth could give NASCAR a boost. It’s not really spreading the wealth around per se…it’s giving fans who pay drivers’ considerable salaries a break. Another edge NASCAR has is parking. At several NASCAR tracks—like Richmond and Pocono—parking is absolutely free, and given the hideous parking fees many sports charge (Soldier Field in Chicago pockets $40 a car every Sunday), that’s something that could be promoted. Why not point out what the total cost of attending a football or baseball game is relative to a NASCAR race? There’s a heck of a lot more to it than just the face value of the ticket. Even if attendance drops, there are also the viewers at home, and NASCAR could take measures to court them. Maybe it’s my imagination, but the broadcasts seemed to have improved somewhat these days. But why not try to find a way to put on a broadcast where no green flag racing is missed? With the TNT side-by-side broadcast at Daytona being as popular as it was, I’m not sure why NASCAR would not try it at more races. It may be that while the race is on half of the screen and an advertisement is on the other, people aren’t paying as much attention to the advertisement. But if people aren’t continuously exasperated by constant interruptions of the action, they might not be so quick to hit the mute button either. More than anything else, NASCAR should see to it that fans are getting a good show. If they can do that, they likely won’t need to bother with all of the other niceties I’ve suggested here. Fix any tire problems for good at all of the tracks before going back to them. Use a fairer points system. Lighten up on the ridiculous penalties for innovation in setting up the car. Make broadcasts as painless for fans as possible. Forbid the 48 team from racing. (Yes, of course I’m kidding on the last one.) Kurt’s Shorts · I’m sure there will be all kinds of jokes about Kyle Busch’s burnin’ speed in the Billy Ballew truck at Texas. From what I understand, the primary No. 51 is ok and just really wet from the water used to put out the truck fire. Nothing worse than racing in a wet seat. · I keep forgetting to submit it, but I have a Top Ten list called “Top Ten Ways Jeff Gordon Could End His Winless Streak”. Number 9: Attach transponders to middle fingers of Gordon-haters, scoring another lap for the No. 24 every time an anti-fan expresses feelings. Given what happened with the 24 at Texas earlier this year, I’m betting I’ll have a good chance to submit it next week.
· Jimmie has about wrapped it up, which goes to show that a driver can build up a big lead in seven races just as easily as in 25. NASCAR had to corrupt the points system to figure out that one. · Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies, finally ending a decades-long championship drought for a town so hungry for a winner that they have a statue of a fictional movie character in their sports complex. And congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays on finally ending a decade-long series of last place finishes in the AL East. Happy for both teams and glad the White Sox got beat.
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1. Jimmie Johnson Three of the last four Texas races have ended with Johnson either first (fall 2007) or second. The other race (spring 2007) he crashed and finished 38th.
2. Carl Edwards Two-time Texas winner Edwards has been feast or famine at Texas. He's either won (fall 2005, spring 2008) or finished 12th or worse.
3. Greg Biffle A former winner at Texas (spring 2005), Biffle has just two finishes of better than 20th. His last two races there have resulted in 33rd and 39th, and he has four DNFs in nine starts.
4. Jeff Burton Burton won the inaugural race at Texas in 1997, and won again a decade later in 2007 with a last-lap pass of Matt Kenseth. His last two finishes have both been sixth-place showings.
5. Kevin Harvick Harvick has just four top-10s in 11 starts, but most of the time he's been just outside of that range. Five of his races there have ended in finishes between 11th and 20th.
6. Jeff Gordon Gordon has led 326 laps at Texas, including 173 last spring, and has finished inside the top 10 in three of the last four races there. Problem is, he's never won at Texas.
7. Clint Bowyer In five starts, Bowyer has not finished worse than 19th. He has two top-10 finishes, one of which came earlier this year (10th).
8. Tony Stewart Stewart won at Texas in the fall 2006 race, and since then has been so-so. In that race, he led 278 of 339 laps. In the three events since then, he has failed to lead a lap. He was seventh in the spring.
9. Matt Kenseth The 2002 winner has had massive success at Texas recently, despite no victories since. He has finished second or third in four of the last six races there, and he's led laps in all but three of his 12 starts.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. The 2000 winner has fallen into mediocrity at Texas recently. Four of his last five races have resulted in finishes of 12th or worse. At the same time, he's led laps in four of those five races, including 96 last spring.
11. Denny Hamlin Aside from a 29th-place finish last fall, Hamlin has been rock solid at Texas with top-10 finishes in the rest of his six career starts there. He was fifth in the spring.
12. Kyle Busch All three of Busch's top-five finishes at Texas have come in the last four races. In this race a year ago he led 153 laps. He was third there in the spring.
Five Chase Facts
2 Times Jeff Gordon has finished 43rd in his career, both coming at Texas Motor Speedway. The most recent was in the spring race.
3 Consecutive years that the fall Atlanta race winner also won the following week at Texas.
8.9 Average finish for Jimmie Johnson in the remaining three races.
13.5 Average finish for Carl Edwards in the remaining three races.
61 Points that Carl Edwards needs to outscore Jimmie Johnson by per race in order to catch him in the championship hunt, the difference between first and 13th.
Non-Chase Nugget
13.0 Average finish for Kurt Busch at Texas, the best among drivers who are not in the Chase but tied for fifth with Tony Stewart on the list of active drivers behind Jimmie Johnson (8.5), Matt Kenseth (10.2), Denny Hamlin (10.7) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12.8).
Will Jeff Gordon ever win that elusive fifth title?
By NASCAR.COM
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YES |
NO |
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Look, it’s been a difficult season for Jeff Gordon and yes, he hasn’t won a title since the inception of the Chase. In fact you have to go back to 2001 to find the last time Gordon was at the peak of the Cup Series mountain. But to say Gordon can not or will not win another title is ludicrous.
Gordon is one of the best drivers in history. Last season is a perfect example with his six wins (second to Jimmie Johnson), 21 top-fives (first) and 30 top-10s (first). Now, he didn’t the win the title — Johnson had an amazing Chase that was hard to top — but Gordon was in it until the very end.
It’s true, if Gordon doesn’t win in the final three events, this will be the first time since his rookie year in 1993 he’s gone a full season without a win — but does one bad season mean all of a sudden the man with 81 career wins can no longer drive?
Quite simply — no. And even though Gordon will tell you this season has been a disappointment, it hasn’t been a complete embarrassment. Gordon is tied for fourth on the season in top-fives with 11; is tied for fifth in top-10s with 17 and is tied for third, with championship contenders Johnson and Carl Edwards, in lead-lap finishes with 27.
The simple fact is the wins haven’t been there.
But Gordon has shown in his 17 years in the Cup Series he knows how to win. He may be entering the twilight of his career, but as long as he stays in that No. 24 car he’s a championship threat and he WILL win a couple more before he’s ready to hang up the helmet.
• Bill Kimm, NASCAR.COM The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. |
Everyone knows all good things must come to an end and drivers’ careers are no exception.
Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough — all the greats find the end of the tunnel sooner or later and I think Jeff Gordon may find his sooner rather than later.
We all realize the four-time champion will go on to win dozens or more races in the upcoming seasons and maybe even pull one out before the end of this season, but a fifth Sprint Cup title may not be in his future.
The 37-year-old is facing too many obstacles.
From 1994 to 2007, Gordon has won races every season, but with the inception of the new generation car, he and crew chief Steve Letarte have failed to master the machine like some of the other younger drivers.
Speaking of younger drivers, the influx of young guns and their youthful edge isn’t going to lessen — and Gordon isn’t getting any younger.
If NASCAR chooses to keep the existing, gimmicky Chase format, then Gordon’s chances of a fifth title diminish even more. If NASCAR had left the old points system intact instead of the changing to the current point system in 2004, Gordon would have won two more titles.
Also, Jimmie Johnson and his team have learned to circumvent the system. Gordon and Letarte have yet to tap into their potential as a dynamic duo much like Chad Knaus and Johnson did years ago.
And finally, we’ve all seen that beautiful child balanced on his wife’s hip most Sunday’s standing on pit road. Gordon wants to be a family man off the road, not on it — which could be the biggest factor in him not winning another title.
• Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. |
NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK
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Practice: NNS O'Reilly Challenge (Texas) |
Fri, Oct.. 31 |
10:00 a.m. |
Speed |
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Practice: Sprint Cup Dickies 500 (Texas) |
Fri, Oct.. 31 |
01:00 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
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Qualifying: Sprint Cup Dickies 500 (Texas) |
Fri, Oct.. 31 |
04:30 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
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Qualifying: NNS O'Reilly Challenge (Texas) |
Fri, Oct.. 31 |
06:30 p.m. |
Speed |
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Craftsman Truck Chevy Silverado 350K (Texas) |
Fri, Oct.. 31 |
08:30 p.m. |
Speed |
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Nationwide Series O'Reilly Challenge |
Sat, Nov.. 01 |
03:30 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
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Final Practice: Sprint Cup Dickies 500 |
Sat, Nov.. 01 |
06:00 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Dickies 500 |
Sun, Nov.. 02 |
03:30 p.m. |
ABC |
All times Eastern
Well, that's all for today. Until the next time, I remain,
Your Nascar
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