Happy Hump Day.  

Today In Nascar History

April 8, 1979: David Pearson finishes 22nd in the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 at Darlington in his last race for the Wood Brothers. The end comes when Pearson, thinking he is making a two-tire pit stop, leaves his pit box without lug nuts on his left-side tires and he loses both as he exits pit road. A few days later, Pearson and the Wood Brothers go their separate ways.

Bits and Pieces

#51 Team to return at Phoenix: been told the #51 BlackJack Racing Dodge of Dexter Bean will return to the Sprint Cup Series at Phoenix. The team attempted the first three races of the 2009 season, failing to make any with three different drivers, Kelly Bires, David Starr and Bean. After failing to make the race at Las Vegas, BlackJack Racing moved their race operations from Mooresville, NC back to Westby, Wisconsin and has been preparing cars for Phoenix. Live Wire Energy Chews will be sponsoring the #51 Dodge and the team plans to test at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin.

Gordon's Crew Scores Back-to-Back Tissot Pit Road Wins: It was a double victory for the #24 team Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Along with driver Jeff Gordon winning the 500-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the #24 over-the-wall crew won the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award. Gordon's crew also won the pit road competition the previous week in Martinsville. The #24 crew claimed the Tissot win in Texas due to Gordon's DuPont/National Guard Chevy spending the least amount of time on pit road -- 217.453 seconds. Gordon's pit crew consists of: Clay Robinson (front-tire changer), Mike Houston (front tire carrier), Tim Ladyga (rear-tire changer), Jeff Knight (rear-tire carrier), Jeff Cook (jackman), Caleb Hurd (gasman), Jamie Frady (catch can) and Andy Kruep (eighth man). The pit crew coach is Greg Morin. For winning the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award, the #24 team will receive $5,000. The team with the most pit road wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will earn a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the driver and over-the-wall crew members.(Tissot PR)

Evernham's Track debuts with Full House/Field: A record crowd packed East Lincoln Speedway Saturday night for the grand opening of the newly revamped 3/8 mile clay oval. RE Driver's MeetingUnder the new ownership of veteran NASCAR crew chief and team owner Ray Evernham along with his business partner Bob Mack, a capacity crowd flooded the facility to see the many upgrades and improvements made to the 20-year-old speedway. East Lincoln Victory LaneEast Lincoln Speedway will be back in action this Saturday night April 11 with a full racing program. East Lincoln Speedway is located at 1873 Mariposa Rd in Stanley, NC.(PR)

Letarte Named Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race at Texas: Steve Letarte, crew chief for the #24 DuPont/National Guard GED Plus Chevy driven by Jeff Gordon, has been named the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead. The Wypall Wipers Crew Chief Challenge will continue throughout the 2009 season and spotlight the men behind the machines.(Wypall PR)

EGR's #8 car parked: The #8 Sprint Cup Chevy, the centerpiece of Dale Earnhardt Inc. before its merger with Chip Ganassi Racing, is the latest casualty of the economy. Sources close to the situation said officials at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates are parking the car driven by Aric Almirola until sponsorship is found. An announcement could come in the next 24 hours. EGR officials were not available for comment, but sources said a handful of employees have been let go, and that number could grow to 40 to 50 before all is said and done. Almirola ranks 37th in owner points heading into next week's race at Phoenix International Raceway. He is 59 points behind rookie Joey Logano, who occupies the final spot for the top 35 guaranteed a position in each race. Almirola has an average finish of 32.9 this season, finishing no better than 21st in seven races and no better than 33rd the past three. Parking that car leaves EGR with two full-time drivers in Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. Sources deny a report that Truex has a clause in his contract that would free him and primary sponsor Bass Pro Shops if he doesn't have at least two fulltime teammates.(ESPN.com)

Testimony ends in Castroneves tax trial

Associated Press

MIAMI -- Testimony is over in the U.S. tax evasion trial of Brazilian race car driver Helio Castroneves.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday, followed by jury deliberations. Castroneves, his sister and his lawyer are charged with conspiracy and tax evasion involving about $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004.

The Internal Revenue Service says Castroneves owes more than $2.3 million in U.S. taxes for those years. Defense lawyers say Castroneves did nothing wrong and will pay taxes when a deferred compensation deal comes due in May.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner has already missed the first race of the IndyCar Series season.

 Did You Notice

Keselowski Kicking Logano’s Butt, Harvick Unhappy At Intermediates, And Nationwide’s No-No?

Thomas Bowles · Frontstretch.com

Did You Notice? …What keeps Kevin Harvick from being labeled a serious championship contender? It’s his lifetime performance on 1.5-mile ovals. Those tracks used to be easy pickins’ for Harvick – his first two Cup victories came at Atlanta and Chicagoland in 2001 – but over the last few seasons, his fortitude has faded at facilities which make up four of the ten tracks in the Chase (and if you count the 2-miler at Fontana, it’s actually five).

Not only has Harvick not won at any of these facilities since July of 2002 at Chicagoland, his team has struggled to remain even competitive on these tracks, period. Here’s a breakdown of how bad it’s gotten:

Atlanta – 2 top 10s in last 15 starts
Charlotte – No top 10 finishes since the Fall of 2003
Fontana – One career top 5 in 14 starts
Fort Worth – Four career laps led, no top 5 finishes in last five starts
Kansas – No top 5 finishes in eight career starts
Las Vegas – Career Average Finish: 14th
Michigan – No top 5s in last five years

The two exceptions to this rule are Chicagoland and Homestead, a track where Harvick finished second in the 2008 season finale. But by the time he got there, it was already far too late for him to make a serious run to the title.

The reason I was reminded of all this stuff is Harvick’s No. 29 car was acting like a moving chicane at Texas. Running well outside the top 30 for most of the race’s first half, the RCR team never got the handling right as Harvick wound up three laps off the pace in 27th. And every time we go to a track like this one, it’s the exact same scenes from the exact same horror movie. I would say it’s an organizational problem, but there was Jeff Burton on Sunday, running in the top 10 with a car that’s won races at both Charlotte and Texas in the last few seasons.

You think about how successful Harvick’s been as an owner in both the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. But what about Harvick the Sprint Cup driver? Wasn’t he supposed to be the next great championship contender a few years back? Last time I checked, I thought one race win in two and a half years would be considered underachieving for a program that once won six championships with Dale Earnhardt (remember, Earnhardt’s seventh came with a different organization in 1980).

So much criticism this season has been directed towards Earnhardt’s son for failing to live up to expectations. I guess I’m just wondering if we’re throwing so much flak Junior’s way, why is no one pointing out Earnhardt’s replacement at RCR could easily be thrown in that same boat.

Did You Notice? … Brad Keselowski outran both Joey Logano and Max Papis out of the “rookies” in the field this Sunday at Texas? Driving for a fifth, part-time Hendrick team, Keselowski wrestled a car that started 38th and brought it home 23rd – his third top 25 finish in just four career Cup Series starts.

In comparison, Joey Logano brought his full-time, fully-loaded Home Depot Toyota home 30th after struggling for the vast majority of the race. Luckily for him, Keselowski has never officially declared for Rookie of the Year this season — even though he plans on a total of 17 starts between his Hendrick No. 25 and the No. 09 of Phoenix Racing. For if Keselowski did decide to declare … he might be capable of winning the award despite half as many starts as the rest of the field.

What makes the difference between Logano and Keselowski? Simple: the amount of developmental starts under their belts from other series. Keselowski’s up to 74 — a total that spans over portions of four different seasons — while Logano has just 23. The added experience allows Keselowski to come to these tracks more confident and more prepared. And even though he’s running a fifth, part-time car, Keselowski has the experience of running with underfunded equipment at the beginning of his career with a variety of different teams, so he has a tendency to know how to adjust to the equipment he’s got underneath him. For Logano — a kid who’s been pampered with the best of the best for the past several years now — that doesn’t seem to come so easy.

I think Logano is still plenty safe in the No. 20 car … for now. But you just wonder how much better things would be if he and Keselowski were staging an epic rookie battle in the Cup Series for 2010 instead.

And just one note on Logano before moving forward: The chances that Gibbs will make a change in favor of Martin Truex, Jr. (as has been rumored) appear to be pretty slim. But there’s a bit of an advantage (although I disagree with it) to pulling Logano out of the seat right now. The second the 18-year-old qualifies at Phoenix, his rookie status for 2010 and beyond is permanently lost, so if Gibbs is going to make a move that preserves that for the future, they’re going to have to do it within the next 7-10 days.

Did You Notice? … Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield – two drivers with teams dedicated to running the full distance – have been knocked out of the race three out of the last four weeks by start and parkers? The No. 09 and No. 66 cars have had no intentions of completing all 500 miles, but the Phoenix Racing and Prism Motorsports cars, respectively, are taking valuable spots away from cars that would at least attempt to make a go of it.

Certainly, those two cars qualified for the race on speed, and as such you just can’t gift their place in the starting lineup to Riggs and Mayfield. But it would be a real shame if some of these new car owners NASCAR is hoping to break into the sport were forced to bow out by those hoping to use it as a business instead.

Did You Notice? … Jeff Gordon’s 162-point lead in the standings is the largest at this point in the season since the inception of the Chase. But if the playoffs started today, he actually wouldn’t even have the point lead – that honor would go to both Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Just another reminder it doesn’t pay to peak too soon under this format…

Did You Notice? … Nationwide’s Dash 4 Cash program, designed to reward Nationwide Series regulars with extra cash, still has the ability to cater to the so-called “Cupwhackers” instead? Don’t get me wrong; the idea is brilliant, with a $50,000 bonus awarded to the driver who accumulates the most points over the four Nationwide Series standalone races this season. For each individual race, the highest eligible finishing driver will receive an additional $25,000 under the program.

The problem comes in when the money is likely going to wind up with the teams that need it the least. Here’s the actual “restriction” to try and keep full-time Cup guys out of gaining this extra money from the program:

• Drivers who have a full-time ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series must enter, qualify for, and compete in every NASCAR Nationwide Series event to be eligible for the bonus cash.

Hmm… yeah, I’m sure Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch are going to forget to submit their entries, seeing as they were announced as championship contenders before the season even began. I know it doesn’t look so great for the money to go to, say, a third-place finisher if one of these guys won a standalone race. But remember, this is a subjective program not tied to the points title; Nationwide can reward whoever it wants. If it completely eliminated anyone in the top 35 in Sprint Cup points from being eligible to win money under the program, you’d guarantee it going to a Nationwide-only team that could really use the funding to better themselves. And can you imagine the additional TV coverage for these guys, drivers battling in a race within a race in order to collect the extra cash?

Sadly, more than likely this program will instead be dominated by the likes of Edwards, Busch, David Ragan, and others who are going to be a part of these standalone events. That’s not who I think it was intended to help … but just look at the stats. The four standalone races haven’t been won by all Nationwide-only drivers since way back in 2004 – the same year Greg Biffle became the first Cup driver to try and run for both titles in a season.

The Track that Ate the Heroes

Outside Philadelphia rests a (deadly) racing relic.

by Ryan McGee/espn.com

With all due respect to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Ben Franklin, when I found myself with some time to kill in Philadelphia I was on the hunt for something truly historic.

The Track That Ate The Heroes.

While the rest of the motorsports media spent the weekend in Texas, St. Petersburg, and Las Vegas, I was on the road in Philly for the Opening Day matchup between the Braves and Phillies. (Can't tell you why, just keep an eye on The Mag in a couple of issues.)

But on Monday morning as I was stuck waiting for some afternoon interviews, I snatched up my map from the rental car place and hit the road north searching for Langhorne, PA. Forty-five minutes and one very polite old man later, I pulled up to the roadside at 1939 East Lincoln Highway and there it was. A simple roadside historical marker that read: LANGHORNE SPEEDWAY.

"That place was evil," Richard Petty told me when I recently suggested to him that I might go looking for it. His father, three-time Cup Series champion Lee Petty, won at Langhorne in 1952. "It just looked weird, you know. It was just one big circle. Not an oval. A circle. If you were racing, you were turning…for two hundred laps."

(Helpful hint: When reading Richard Petty quotes always say "hun-dird" instead of "hun-dred".)

No, the King is not imagining things in his old age. Langhorne, the first racetrack built in the state of Pennsylvania with the expressed purpose of hosting auto races, was a perfectly-shaped, perfectly-round one-mile dirt track.

In 1926 the directors of a pre-NASCAR sanctioning body known as the National Motor Racing Association purchased an 89-acre tract of swampland and had originally wanted to make it a true oval like the 15-year old Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But the tight quarters created by the relatively small lot and the natural obstacles created by the wetlands led them to go the more circular route.

They opened the doors in June of that year and the very first practice lap run on the "New Philadelphia Speedway" clocked in at 94 mph, a world record for a one-mile circuit. Two months later Langhorne claimed its first victim, former boxer Lou Fink, killed when his car was tossed into the air by the track's ever-changing mudslide of a surface.
To make matters worse, promoters devised chemical concoctions to try and keep the mud, clay, and dirt from drying up and breaking apart, everything from recycled motor oil to crankcase sludge.

"And there were natural springs always popping up through the surface," Junior Johnson told me via telephone. "In the middle of a race you'd get these places kind of bubbling up in the mud. That or it was super dry and there was dust flying all over the place. And you drove it looking out the side window because you were in a big ol' broad slide the whole race."

When NASCAR held its first ever Strictly Stock (now Sprint Cup) season in 1949, Langhorne was one of the eight races on the calendar, won by Virginia wild man Curtis Turner. In all, there were seventeen NASCAR events held on the track drivers called the "The Big Left Turn". Indy Cars, Sprint Cars, Modifieds and nearly every other type of oval racecar also raced at Langhorne. The drivers who earned wins there included A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Buck Baker, Herb Thomas and brothers Tim and Fonty Flock.

Just past the start-finish line, the track took a steep downhill dive that forced cars to develop such a head of speed that drivers experienced Blue Angel-like g-forces during their jaw-rattling entrance into Turn One. The racers called it "Puke Alley".

Sadly, it was not their biggest concern. Survival was. Fink's death had proved to be just the beginning. At least a dozen more drivers were killed at Langhorne, including 1958 Indy 500 champion Jimmy Bryan.

Thus the previously mentioned nickname: The Track That Ate The Heroes.

NASCAR left after 1957. The Indy Cars hung around, though, and embraced organizers' decision to pave the place and rework it into a D-shaped oval. But by 1971 suburban sprawl had surrounded the racetrack and it was eventually sold to developers.

Which brings us back to my trip there on Monday. Standing by the side of the highway in the pouring rain, reading a historical marker and looking over at the site where the world's most evil racetrack used to sit and seethe in all its muddy, swampy, oil and blood covered anger.

If I closed my eyes I could hear the roar of the Offy engines and the screams of the 40,000 fans that used to pack the surrounding hillsides. I could see teenage Richard Petty watching his daddy and a youthful A.J. Foyt doing battle with Mario, Big Al and Lone Star Johnny Rutherford.

But when I opened my eyes, The Big Left Turn wasn't there. Instead, a new vision greeted me.

WELCOME TO SAM'S CLUB.

The Strip Mall That Ate The Track That Ate The Heroes.

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing cannot be fixed overnight

Jeremy Dunn/nascarexaminer.com

The problems at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing are not beyond repair.  Nevertheless, it is going to be a work in progress.  With the intention of fielding four teams, EGR scaled back to three cars when lack of sponsorship nixed the original plans for a fourth car.  At Daytona, EGR fielded a car for John Andretti with Front Row Motorsports, but that technical alliance was a one-race deal.

The No. 8 team driven by Aric Almirola is also without full-time sponsorship decals, and is in danger of becoming a no-show for the upcoming race at Phoenix and beyond.   Based on recent performances from the driver and team, it is unlikely that corporations are knocking down the door at EGR, offering up sponsor dollars. 

That would leave two fully funded teams in the EGR stables.  Juan Pablo Montoya, from the Ganassi side of the merger, is within striking distance of the Chase for the Championship cutoff, as he is only sixteen points behind Jeff Burton, who is twelfth in the standings.  Montoya’s team has support from Target, a long-time partner of Chip Ganassi Racing. 

Montoya’s progress began last fall prior to the merger.  At the time, he was finding a comfortable balance with Ganassi’s program.  Some even thought that the merger might encumber his progress.  Instead, Montoya has continued to perform at a respectable level, running near the top ten on a weekly basis. 

From the Earnhardt side of the merger, Martin Truex Jr is struggling to get his season off the ground.   He is currently 24th in the Sprint Cup standings, 163 points behind the Chase for the Championship cutoff. This is a pivotal season for Truex Jr and EGR.  It is the final year of Truex Jr’s contract with the company, and losing Truex Jr could mean losing another sponsor in Bass Pro Shops.  EGR officials claim that Bass Pro Shops is committed through 2010, but there could be a loophole somewhere in that deal. 

Truex Jr’s contract states that he must have two teammates.  Additionally, it is rumored that both General Motors and Richard Childress could end their support to EGR if there are not three teams on the track. 

Losing Truex Jr and Bass Pro Shops would make EGR a single car operation. 

Based on Montoya’s results, there is potential with this team.  Because the two teams merged so recently, there are two different philosophies as to chassis setup.  Clearly, what Montoya is using is working.  EGR is working on a common chassis, which would feature new ideas regarding the chassis setup.  

“It’s been a difficult year for the 1 car so far, and the 8 car.  Juan seems to be running good.  In this day and age, teammates are very important, and just getting out of our crew chief and drivers’ meeting, we’re still talking apples to oranges,” said Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion, the crew chief for Truex Jr and the No. 1 team.

“When you can talk apples to apples, that’s when you’re going to see some improvements with this EGR team...We’re three individual teams right now,” he went on to say, confirming what we already suspected; that there is a lot of distance within the EGR garage. 

A common chassis could bring the teams closer together.  Because the merger happened so quickly and so recently, this team had little time to take the finest components of each company, and blend it into one.  That is the intention of the new chassis that they hope to unveil at Phoenix.  The chassis will not provide a quick fix, however.  It will be a work in progress. Nonetheless, Truex Jr wants results now.  He has been patient, enduring two mergers.  How much longer is he going to wait before he realizes that it is time for him to move on to another organization. 

The rumors are swirling throughout the garage regarding the future of both Truex Jr and his sponsor.  There may be some enticing offers thrown his way, if not already.

The Voice of Vito

Taking One For The Team: Earnhardt, Jr. and Martin Getting Gordon and Johnson's Leftovers?

Vito Pugliese · Frontstretch.com

With the Sprint Cup Series off this week, you might expect some of the senior writers of this staff or other publications would be absent as well. But that is not the case with me. Although I was sidetracked by a brief hiatus, the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

I’m back…

Having said that, somebody else whose name is also synonymous with NASCAR has returned as well – Jeff Gordon. After 17 starts at the 1.5-mile D-shaped tri-oval, Gordon won for the first time at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday, snapping a drought of 47 races since his last win at Lowe’s back in October, 2007. It was a welcome relief for both driver and crew chief Steve Letarte, who — after being credited with Gordon’s six wins and incredible 30 top 10s that year — was suddenly made out to be a pariah by the end of 2008. In just a 12-month span, Letarte became a source of anger, not elation, for many who pointed the finger at Gordon’s slump straight through to the guy on top of the war wagon.

How could Gordon be going winless, after all, while Jimmie Johnson has been running wild for three seasons, scoring a third consecutive title that included five wins in the final 12 races of 2008? I know the Chase makes it a competition between teammates; but aren’t these cars prepared in the same shop? Was there really that much of a difference between the two?

It’s a simple fact that got me to thinking this week. In this day and age of NASCAR, does it really make sense to knowingly equip one team with better parts than the other?

If there ever was an organization that could bring these thoughts to light, it would be Hendrick Motorsports. Truth be told, Hendrick was never a perennial championship contender until Jeff Gordon came along and scored his first title in 1995. Before the arrival of Gordon and crew chief Ray Evernham, HMS was a top-tier team, to be sure, but never one that resembled the current juggernaut with benchmarks that all other organizations have come to measure themselves by. Sure, there were wins: Tim Richmond’s seven in 1986, Geoff Bodine and Darrell Waltrip’s Daytona 500 triumphs in 1986 and 1989, and Ricky Rudd’s runner-up finish to 1991 Cup champion Dale Earnhardt – albeit nearly 200 points in arrears. During this time, Hendrick was typically a two or three car organization, but all his teams seemed to be about on equal – if mediocre – footing.

They were good, but not great.

About the time that Jeff Gordon started winning races and championships, though, a funny thing happened. The car that at one time was the standard bearer of the Hendrick camp, the No. 25 car, suddenly became erratic, if not manic in its performance. It would be either blindingly fast but blow up, simply loaf around the back of the field, or — worst of all — become a combination of both. It wasn’t long until others began to notice that no matter who was at the controls of the third car at Hendrick Motorsports, he seemed to be on a different agenda than his teammates driving the No. 24 or the No. 5. It got to the point where the team was suddenly saddled with the most unfortunate of tags in a multi-car organization:

The R & D car.

Say what you will, but the performance of the No. 25 (now the No. 88 driven by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. since 2008) has never quite matched that of its stable mates. There may have been a race or two it won in the past decade; but those were far and few between compared to what the other cars were accomplishing. That could be the result of a disparity in driving talent; the ride has been filled by a revolving door of drivers once Ken Schrader left in 1996. But even during the worst of times, there appears to be a clear difference in equipment supplied by an organization that became a dynasty with Gordon by the time he won his fourth title in 2001. And when Jimmie Johnson joined the team the following year — driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy — the chasm between teams grew even wider, with the No. 5 car soon joining the No. 25 as the two cars on the outside looking in.

While HMS struggles to make all four cars competitive, its main rival has proven parity is far from impossible. Roush Racing put all of their teams in the Chase in 2005, comprising half of the ten-car championship field. In comparison, Hendrick managed just one that year – the No. 48 team of Jimmie Johnson — while Gordon joined Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch in finishing well outside the top 10. In 2007, the gap at HMS widened considerably, with Johnson and Gordon winning a combined 16 races while teammates Busch and Casey Mears combined to win two — one of which was based on a fuel mileage gamble. And while Mears may struggle to live up to the status of that last name, Vickers has performed admirably with his start-up Red Bull outfit, while Busch has more than proved his abilities in Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas.

The main ingredient here seems to be machines, not the men.

Let’s fast forward to the present day lineup at Hendrick Motorsports. In one shop are the designated hitters of the team: The No. 24 and No. 48. The No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet was the face of NASCAR for most of the mid-to-late 1990s, and although “The Drive For Five” championship mantra wore itself out about halfway through 2001, Gordon’s 82 wins place him within just two more of tying Bobby Allison for third place all-time. And — if he stays healthy and active the next few years — Gordon will pull within striking distance of David Pearson’s second place tally of 105 wins, a feat believed nearly impossible as recently as 15 years ago. Meanwhile, the No. 48 car of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have conspired to win the last three championships and 41 wins to date, putting them on pace to not just challenge Gordon’s records, but surpass them.

All that success from HMS — and that’s just in one building.

In the other shop, you have Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. One driver should have won four championships and a Daytona 500 throughout a two-decade long career, while another is constantly reminded that he has not won seven championships — making his Daytona 500 win seem as if it was from another era to hear some describe it. No question about it, both of these drivers proved they were weekly contenders long before making their way over to HMS.

But the talent hasn’t translated on the race track, as the performance of both of their cars has not matched that of their teammates in 2009. Both were fast at Daytona this year, with Martin sitting on the front row and Earnhardt, Jr. having a contending car before he completely lost his mind and became a rookie in just a couple of short hours. By the finish, each driver was well outside the top 10, an ominous sign for what’s been a difficult beginning to both their seasons.

Of course, both the No. 5 and No. 88 machines have suffered their share of mechanical troubles as well. Martin was the victim of a pair of Hendrick hand grenades on consecutive weekends at California and Las Vegas, while Dale Jr. suffered an engine failure moments after Martin at Fontana — his troubles preceded by a transmission problem in practice. In contrast, Johnson dominated early in that California race, leading 74 of 200 laps, while Gordon in second stalked eventual race winner Matt Kenseth for the victory.

One week later, the gap in performance showed its ugly face once again. Johnson again dominated the first two-thirds of the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas before spinning himself silly, while Gordon led for 17 laps to come home sixth. And the difference in performance has continued to widen even when all four cars are running well. A broken shifter slowed Dale, Jr. to an eighth place run at Martinsville — the same race where Johnson won and Gordon came home fourth. Martin has won a pair of poles at Atlanta and Bristol, but has yet to come home with a top 5 finish this season in either — tracks where Johnson and Gordon routinely outperformed him once again. On his best days, Martin is consistently a sixth or seventh place car. Junior has been consistently a couple of spots behind, but pretty much in the same boat.

A boat that is simply not as fast as the ones built in the other building.

Does this mean that the No. 88 or the No. 5 is a test mule for the Nos. 24 and 48? After all, it’s the 24 and 48 that are consistently up front leading races, and as of last weekend battling each other for wins. The No. 5 and No. 88 teams have three blown engines, broken transmissions and shifters, and a wrecked race car between them — not to mention the stigma of nearly being on the bubble for making races just a few short weeks ago. That is a far cry from headline-making Victory Lane celebrations with the cute Sprint girls, with someone handing you a pair of six-shooters to fire off into the air. At this point, would you want to arm Dale Jr. following another lackluster run? Or worse yet, Mark Martin after another engine failure? While Johnson and Gordon seem not to even know what bad luck is, the other two men have enough of it to already fill a season — and it’s only April.

While I think it is a stretch to say half of the organization is guinea pigs for Team Unibrow (yes, I know they aren’t technically unibrows – but they are prominent – mine are too), the numbers tell the tale. No question about it, there is a noted difference in performance between the teams of Johnson and Gordon compared to Martin and Earnhardt, Jr. You could say that it’s because Martin is with a new team, or that the cantankerous cousins can’t control themselves — but I think there’s more than that going on in this case. At the risk of sounding like a Martin Myopian or an Earnhardt Apologist, I believe there’s something different at play, secret secrets made that only seem to improve just two of the four cars on the team. For while Jeff Gordon had a subpar 2007 that he has since chalked up to a bad back and lack of physical and mental preparation, he is clearly up to speed this year. But when will the other half of HMS start to resemble that of the two Sprint Cup Series point leaders?

Probably not until whatever is in their building makes it over to the other.

Jeff, how many times have you won at Texas?

by Darrell Waltrip/foxsports.com

Jeff Gordon told us before the race Sunday that everyone was asking him how many times he has won at Texas. Of course the answer was zero and he knew that. Evidently his family and car owner must have been asking, too, because Jeff won the race and they weren't there.

The poor guy finally broke a winless streak at Texas and even more importantly broke a 47-race winless streak but the lack of anyone around him in Victory Lane probably says he and the family didn't think Texas would be the place for him to get the win. We've known since the start of the season that Jeff Gordon was going to win a race this year. He just has run so consistent all year long. He's qualified well and the car has stayed really well throughout the races.

California really was the first indication to me how good this team was going to be and how much better they were than last year. In the past, Jeff would start up front but when it got back into mid-pack either the car or Jeff or both didn't like dirty air and he had a hard time getting it back to the front.

This year I have seen a totally different car. This team has made a lot of improvements in the offseason. They are able now to make really good adjustments, make the right adjustments and keep the car competitive for 500 miles or 500 laps.

I do have some advice for Rick Hendrick. I don't know what kind of crew chief school Jeff's crew chief Steve Letarte went to during the offseason, but there is no question that they should send Tony Eury Jr. to that same school. If you remember, most of you said Steve would never win a race as Jeff's crew chief nor would Jeff ever win a championship with Steve calling the shots.

Most of you were ready to throw him to the wolves, just like you are with Eury Jr. right now. I think Sunday shows that when Rick Hendrick gets involved and organizes things the way they should be, he really has a sixth sense for putting it all together and getting results. He's just now getting started on some of the issues the No. 88 is dealing with and I think you will see the results come. By midseason, I predict you will see a different No. 88 car.

I don't think Tony Jr. will be replaced, but I bet Rick will give him some really good engineering assistance up atop the pit box. That's what they had at the beginning of last year with Darian Grubb up there with Tony Jr., but Darian is gone now and working with Tony Stewart.

None of the crew chiefs from Chad Knaus on down, can call a race, do all the engineering that has to be done and do all the calculating that has to be done by themselves. They all have to have a good bunch of guys up on those pit boxes helping them make good decisions. So I think you will see Tony Jr. get some good help up there and I think that will change how the No. 88 performs. Trust me, it will happen.

I really don't think I have seen so many quality teams have problems in the pits as I did Sunday in Texas. Pole sitter David Reutimann slid through his pit box. You know it's a bad day in the pits with Matt Kenseth's team, the Killer B's, have problems. It is one of the rare mistakes you will see out of that team. Greg Biffle had problems in the pits. Carl Edwards had a problem. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a problem and drove past his pit box because he didn't see the sign. My brother Michael had a problem.

I don't know what it was about Sunday in the pits at Texas, but it sure was a lot of chaos. You can't win races, stay in the top 12 in points or win championships if you are going to make mistakes in the pits. You sure don't have to worry about trying to beat the competition if you are going to beat yourself every week. Teams have got to correct those mistakes now.

Kyle Busch was another great example of beating himself. He had a good car Sunday but something happened between him and John Andretti. Something made Kyle mad enough to take a whack at John going down the back straightaway. It didn't hurt John but it basically eliminated Kyle from having any chance to win the race when he cut down his left rear tire. From that Kyle went down two laps and his day was pretty much shot. Kyle did a good job to get himself back to 18th.

Sunday featured 28 lead changes among 14 different drivers. So we had a lot of different drivers up there leading at times. We had probably the fewest amount of cautions at Texas that I can ever remember, too. The track got faster as the day went on. Jeff Gordon ran his fastest lap of the day at lap 310.

I am still confused, puzzled and somewhat annoyed when people say the racing isn't that good. I don't understand it. Our guys are doing a great job covering the race. People are always complaining about this new car. Yes it could be better and I think they will probably make it better. Right now it is what it is.

There were 176,000 people Sunday at the Texas race. They sure didn't sit down very often. Dale Jr. beat everyone out of the pits one time and the place lit up with a big roar. Jeff Gordon's win was one of the most popular we have had in a long time. For once in a long time, people were actually pulling for him to win.

All in all I thought it was a great weekend. Track president Eddie Gossage and his crowd did an awesome job as always of making it feel like a Super Bowl event. It's a big event with a big purse. Sunday Jeff Gordon won about $540,000.

Here's something interesting: Dave Blaney who finished last got $85,000 for running only 48 laps. Now Mark Martin finished sixth, ran the whole race and got $163,000. It's amazing how much money last place pays these days. It goes back to my constant reminder that the start and park folks can do the math, too.

Oh by the way

I have mixed emotions about NASCAR moving the banquet to Las Vegas from New York City. I was in N.Y. three times being honored as the NASCAR champion and the first to be honored at the Waldorf Astoria, so it's kind of sad to see it moved to another venue.

I do think there is a method to the madness. I think NASCAR is going to open the banquet up to the fans and Las Vegas has the venues big enough to handle that. It's been for the NASCAR community all these years, but now I think they want to sell tickets and let the fans attend. That's a great idea.

So like I said, I have mixed emotions because it's like saying goodbye to an old friend. I really think it's not a bad idea moving the banquet to Las Vegas though.

Top Ten…

Reasons Jeff Gordon Finally Won At Texas

Jeff Meyer · Frontstretch.com

10. His new wife had begun to question him: “I thought you said you were good at this racing stuff?”

9. He and Jeff Hammond had plans for later in the evening and Gordon needed something to wear that would match.

8. Wanted some new handguns and didn’t want to mess with the “required waiting period.”

7. He heard that owner Rick Hendrick had begun to inquire of his lawyers as to the exact definition of a “lifetime contract.”

6. He wasn’t distracted by having a supermodel nagging him at the track this weekend.

5. His quarterly alimony payment was due.

4. Carl Edwards’ pit crew.

3. Apparently his “pole” was longer than Junior’s and, therefore, he was able to find his pit stall.

2. Chad and Jimmie mistakenly thought the race was 503 miles.

1. Wanted to show the Busch brothers and the fans how real racers celebrate a victory on “Burnout Alley!”

Win is a boost for Gordon's crew and for racing

by Jeff Hammond/foxsports.com

Unfortunately for me, the race Sunday started on the somewhat slow and boring side. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see pole winner David Reutimann battling as he did early on. I've seen that man and that team work so hard to get where they are. So to see them up there competing with some of the bigger names, well to me, it's refreshing. David is a good guy and comes from a racing family, so for him to have some success at this level is really what it is all about.

The team also showed good character by battling back from a mistake on pit road and got David back on the lead lap there near the end of the race. They ended up making a good day out of it. They were also able to keep themselves in the top 12 in points.

While David was the feel-good story, the icing on the cake for the weekend was Jeff Gordon getting back to Victory Lane. While at first the race looked like it was going to be a sleeper, things picked up in that final quarter of the race. A lot of people found themselves in position to win this race.

It was intriguing to me how the race finally played out. We went from mistakes made on pit road to mistakes that weren't made to right there at the end with an outstanding finish between teammates.

The Roush-Fenway camp showed that their cars are back. Ford as a whole had a very solid day. At any given time there were several Fords at the front of the field including the Yates cars. Paul Menard had an outstanding race. Before he got caught up in that accident, Bobby Labonte looked like he was going to be good for Yates Racing.

Clearly Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards had the three best Fords all day at Texas. Basically they beat themselves on pit road. They didn't get beat as bad on the race track as they did on pit road.

I think as we enjoy this weekend off some teams are going to look at doing some restructuring to their programs. To me we have seen enough of different race tracks now that teams can identify areas where they are good and where they struggle. This time off will be beneficial to all involved.

For Jeff Gordon, Steve Letarte and the entire No. 24 team, what better way to break a winless streak than at a place you have never won? I think it's great for our sport for Jeff Gordon to be leading the standings right now. I think DW summed it up best at the end of the broadcast when he said it used to be that people booed Jeff Gordon when he won, but everyone was cheering Sunday.

I think everyone understands now that Jeff Gordon doesn't take winning lightly. He's very passionate about getting back to Victory Lane. He has the will and desire to be a winner and a champion.

I think Sunday also served to quiet the critics and prove to everyone that his belief all this time in his crew chief was well justified. They have weathered the storm and it has finally paid off. Actually I think it paid off huge, again, when you add in the fact that this was a place that Jeff had never won at. Plus they battled all day. They weren't perfect. They were good for awhile but got off some and then turned it back around. Then there at the end the Racing Gods smiled on him and the team with the caution that gave them another chance to work on the car. They had a great stop too.

It has to be somewhat gratifying and satisfying in the end that for the first time in a long while, Jeff Gordon could look back and see Jimmie Johnson behind him when the checkered flag dropped.

But remember that there are no givens here. Let's all take a lesson from last year. Everybody had basically started engraving the trophy based on the performance by Kyle Busch. He got to the Chase and what happened? He fell on his face. There are simply no guarantees in this business, folks. Sure, I believe that Jimmie Johnson will be battling for this year's championship. In the same breath, I believe Jeff Gordon will be battling him just as hard. Don't rule out Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards.

Look at the list of the current top 12 in points and the ones behind them that are close to trying to knock some of them out. Remember that we re-rack these boys after the second Richmond race. It's great that Jeff has the points lead and he is building a cushion in case something goes wrong, but what is important to Jeff right now is not only winning the race but getting bonus points going into the Chase.

Is someone going to run away with it again? I don't think so. I think it's who gets hot at the right time. It's like college basketball. You could have been picked to be the national champion, but until you beat all comers, there simply is no guarantee. So from our side, we have to get into the Chase and see what everybody's made of.

After this off weekend, we have a stretch of 12 grueling races. It's going to try a lot of people's nerves. So we have a lot of things coming up that can affect and change a team's outcome. I just see this as an exciting start of what the Chase can be this year.

I think when you see teammates battling each other it shows there is parity there no matter who it is. I think that's good. I don't think we have really seen the Roush-Fenway boys flex all their muscles yet either. There's a lot of work being done behind the scenes and way too much season to go for anyone to think they have this thing figured out. Think about this: If we had it figured out, there would be no need to run the rest of the season.

Waid’s World

‘The Hat Man’ remembered by fans

Steve Waid/scenedaily.com

As I understand it, people in public relations are not supposed to promote themselves. They are supposed to promote their clients.

Certainly over the years Bill Brodrick promoted his company, its products and its presence in stock-car racing. Unocal 76 was, at one time, the official fuel of NASCAR and Brodrick was its man at the tracks.

Brodrick didn’t consciously promote himself, but he was very likely the most recognizable public relations official in NASCAR.

There were several reasons for this.

First, you couldn’t miss him. Brodrick was a tall, hefty fellow with a magnificent orange-red pompadour and a similarly colored beard – which is now white. There was plenty of bling around his neck and on his fingers.

As are all good PR people, he was friendly, gregarious and quick to tell a joke or engage in conversation.

In the garage area, everyone, and I mean everyone, knew Brodrick. And he knew them. He invited them to dinner often. It didn’t matter if it was Manhattan or Darlington, he always knew the best places to eat.

In addition to other duties, Brodrick also had the task of, essentially, chaperoning the Unocal Race Stoppers, a quartet of attractive women who served as trophy queens along with other duties.

As well known as he was in the garage area, Brodrick was easily the PR person most widely recognized by the fans.

That’s largely because he was seen so often on TV. He filled the screen at the end of each race because he was always in victory lane, right there in front of the cameras.

It was Brodrick’s task to orchestrate the photo shoots, which could have fallen into chaos without him.

Brodrick was the first to greet the winner. Then he immediately barked orders to the legion of photographers. He made sure they weren’t crowding the winner and took pictures only after he was properly posed.

Among the poses were those required for hats – yes, hats.

Contingency, series and team sponsors required photos of a winning driver wearing the appropriate hat. This was usually for advertising and marketing purposes.

So it was up to Brodrick to make certain the necessary hats were available and that a photo of each of them atop the winner’s head was taken.

He’d plop a hat on the winner’s head, step aside for a few seconds as the cameras clicked, then yank off the hat so he could put on another one.

He repeated the process several times – plop, yank, plop, yank.

Fans who didn’t know his name witnessed the process and dubbed Brodrick “The Hat Man.” The name stuck.

Brodrick has been out of the limelight for quite some time.

But fans still want to know what became of “The Hat Man.”

He’s doing fine. In an email, he said he was running his bar, Tavern at the Bridge, located in Algonquin, Ill.

“I had 34 years of racing experience,” he wrote. “Might as well put it to good use and run a tavern.”

He noted that race fans were the greatest people in the world because they never forget. And they haven’t forgotten him.

If you’re ever in Algonquin, stop by his tavern. You’ll be welcomed.

Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Nascar Momma

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

his list is authored by:

Sandra Monacelli
221 W. 57th Street 18B
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