Why Edwards Staying With Roush Is Awesome
Carl Edwards announced today he’s re-signed with Roush-Fenway.
Personally, I’m thrilled. I’m a JGR girl, and I can’t stand Carl. Period. To have him on my team would suck. A lot.
From a non-personal standpoint, I’m still thrilled. Carl is one of the sport’s most marketable stars and most popular personalities. If he switched teams, it would probably hurt that – think LeBron James going to Miami, albeit on a considerably lesser scale. NASCAR needs its marketable stars, to help grow the sport.
It also gives a lot more credibility to Ford. The manufacturer battles between Chevy, Ford, Toyota, & Dodge are another thing that help NASCAR (for example, I have a friend who’ll watch NASCAR races on occasion for the sole reason of seeing how well the Fords do). One of NASCAR’s top drivers choosing Ford over Toyota makes those battles better.
It helps Joe Gibbs Racing, too. If you buy into the rumors, Carl would’ve driven the #20, demoting Joey Logano to the fourth car, having Joey go through all the bumps and growing pains on the new team. That would’ve hampered Joey’s development a lot. And IMO, JGR needs to fix the problems with their engines before they start expanding. Having to get a whole new team up and running smoothly would put the engine issues on the back burner. They will never win a championship until those issues are resolved.
And it’s the best for Carl. Trying to compete for a championship, knowing this will be his last season with the team, would be a distraction – not only to Carl, but to his team. There’s always the conspiracy theories, that Carl wouldn’t get the best cars if Roush knew he was gone after the season. Ford’s engines, and their cars in general, are unbeatable in NASCAR right now; why would you abandon that for a manufacturer that’s never won a title? Changing teams would take a while to adjust to, and would likely hamper Carl’s championship hunt for at least a season. Aflac, Subway, and Carl’s other sponsers might not have followed him to JGR.
So that’s why Carl choosing Roush was the best thing for everyone involved.
Crew Cheif Changes
I am making a solemn, sure-to-be-broken vow to update this blog more, so here’s my thoughts on the recent crew chief carousels.
• Greg Erwin:
It’ll be a great improvement for AJ, but given AJ and Mike Shiplett’s friendship, I have to wonder if firing Mike is smart. A lot of drivers and crew chiefs have rocky relationships, and AJ and Mike’s friendship helped a lot, helped AJ trust his crew chief more on risky calls, not get as pissed off because of a blown call, ease a lot of that tension, I’d think. I’m not saying Greg and AJ won’t get along, but I have to wonder if they’ll be as good as friends as AJ & Mike. Greg’s a rather high-profile crew chief, so there’s a good chance he’ll work out better than Mike, but I have to think it’ll be more tense.
I do have to wonder, though. I specifically remember reading that Greg Erwin was leaving as Biffle’s crew chief because he was being promoted within the organization. Did he reject the promotion? Did Richard Petty Motorsports give him an offer to good to turn down? What happened there?
• Brian Pattie:
You could see this one coming from a mile away…after their Chase performance in ’09, the Pattie-Montoya duo hasn’t been very impressive. 2010 obviously didn’t meet the previous year’s standards, and Juan spent Pocono and Indianapolis screaming at Brian’s pit calls. A lot of people thought that the #42 Chevy would rebound this year, but despite coming out of the gates strong, JPM has struggled. The team was badly in need of a change, and this was it. I’m of the opinion that this change will work; that this change will push Juan Pablo into the Chase, or at least near it. If this doesn’t help, though, I’m pretty sure that all hope is dead for Montoya fans.
Speed or Strategy?
As long as this is a hot topic right now, I’ll throw in my two cents.
Speed is not the most important aspect, and I don’t think it should be. I don’t think NASCAR should be a contest of who can mash the pedal down hardest; I think brains, strategy, and other skills (such as fuel-saving) should play a role. People often dismiss NASCAR as rednecks driving in circles, and us loyalists always argue that it’s not. But if there isn’t any strategies involved, then what else is it? I always get pissed off when people say NASCAR isn’t a “team sport,” and although technically it isn’t, it actually is. It’s not a team sport just because of the pit crew and the guys in the shop; it’s also because of the crew chief. You hear “the race can be won or lost on pit road,” and it can, but it can also be won or lost on the pit box. And I like it like that.
Maybe it’s just because I love strategy and thinking, whether that be a book of brain teasers or a video game, or a hockey game coming down to who the coach puts on the ice or what strategies he uses, or a NASCAR race coming down to a crew chief’s call to pit or not. It adds complexity, which I love. Maybe it’s because of the “root for the underdog” mentality that nearly everyone seems to have, with someone other than the day’s dominant car winning. Maybe it’s because I hate simplicity, and what’s more simplier than a guy leading all day and winning and not having anything exciting happen at the end?
Whatever the reason, I really don’t get why you wouldn’t like a race that ends on strategy. People always talk about wanting exciting finishes; what’s not exciting about a fuel milage finish? Sure, the guy who’s supposed to win usually doesn’t, and sure, it is incredibly stressful if it’s your driver in that position (as I’m sure Junior Nation knows), but fan loyalties aside, what’s not to like?
In my mind, fuel milage wins aren’t legit wins. But they’re great finishes, and in the short term, what more could you want than a great finish? In a long term veiw, you’ll want your driver to get a good points finish, and in any veiw, you’ll want your guy to win. But if your driver isn’t in the finish – or better yet, in the finish, but not losing – I really do not get how you can’t like a crazy fuel-milage finish.
Championship Breakdown Part II
Sorry this is a little late…I did say Monday or Tuesday, right? Kidding aside, my laptop got a virus. Well, on to the breakdown.
Clint Bowyer
Clint’s really stepped up. I never veiwed him as a contender, but after last year’s Chase, I’d be crazy not to consider him. Without the penalty, he would’ve been 5th and I think that the penalty got rid of something more important than points – momentum. Clint’s really stepped up, and this season’s been strong so far. After a horrid start, he has four straight top 10’s and two straight 2nd place finishes – and of course, Talladega was more or less a win, .002 seconds off P1. Clint will have a strong season and probably contend for the title.
Paul Menard
I’ve been surprised with Menard. I’ve always been a huge critic, I’ve always maintained that he has no place in the sport, and I’ve always referred to him as ‘talentless.’ Well, Paul has proved me wrong. 11th in points, 2 top 5’s, 3 top 10’s, and a DNF. I’m not ready to jump on the “Menard For the Sprint Cup” bandwagon, and I’m not even sure he’ll make the Chase, but if he can continue with what he’s doing and keeps on improving, I think he’s a lock for the top 15 in points. Not to mention…Clint Bowyer attributed his turnaround this season, from the first 4 races to the last 4 races, to a setup the #33 team got from the #27.
Jeff Gordon
I honestly don’t see Jeff contending for another championship, ever. He’s getting old and he’s starting to fade. Phoenix proved he still can get it done, but he’s been inconsistant. He’s only had 2 top 10’s since the win at Phoenix, and only 3 top 10’s this season, period. And it’s not like it’s just been unbelievable bad luck keeping him from the top 5. He’s only had one DNF. Jeff may just go crazy come Chase time and turn it around, but I honestly don’t see him doing much.
Mark Martin
Mark has been pretty quiet this year. He’s been very consistant, always in the top 20, almost always in the top 15, but he hasn’t spent much time in the top 10 (3 top 10’s this year; 2 of those on restrictor plate tracks) and doesn’t have a single top 5, not to mention only one lap led. Especially after last year, I don’t see a championship for Mark. I don’t see a Chase, unless he improves. I do see a top 15 in points, but more than that? Sorry, Mark.
AJ Allmendinger
I was sure 2011 was going to be AJ’s breakout year. After how he ended last year, I was sure he’d make the Chase, win races, run consistantly top 10, etc. He hasn’t run as good as I thought he would, though. 4 laps led, 0 top 5’s, 3 top 10’s, 1 DNF. His results actually look pretty similar to Mark Martin, and if I don’t see a Chase appearence for Mark, how can I predict one for AJ? However, maybe because AJ is one of my favorite drivers, I think AJ can step it up, I think he can make the Chase, and although I don’t think he’s ready to contend for the title, I think he can get a good finish. AJ showed alot of muscle in the late stages of last year – remember Dover? – and if he can find that speed again, I think we’ll be seeing alot more of him in the top 10.
Greg Biffle
Greg’s quest to become the first driver to win championships in all three national touring series has hit a few road bumps recently (well, really, ever since he got to the Cup, but bear with me). His results the first three races were horrid; he’s been better the last 5, with 3 top 10’s and a 11th, but he’s still got some work – 16th in the points, 24 out of 10th. He’s shown he can rip off a few wins, so even if he doesn’t get the points, a wildcard is a possibility. But I just don’t see him contending for a title. Any driver who’s listed as a wildcard possibility is a question mark for the title, and Greg’s never really had the one year where’s he’s really shown he can win a title, other than 2005. If Greg ever does have “the year,” I don’t think this will be it.
Denny Hamlin
Well, I’m clearly unbelievably biased, but I think that this year’s not been nearly as bad as everyone’s making out. Sure, 17th in points isn’t impressive. But consider his luck. Consider the inconceivable failure that is the Joe Gibbs Racing engine program. Denny hasn’t had bad performance; he’s just had bad luck. Once the racing gods stop frowning on Denny, he’ll jump into the Chase and cruise right to that championship.
Kasey Kahne
Kasey’s actually been running really good, alot better than the points standings show. Like Denny, he’s had alot of bad luck – but not the bad luck as in damaged enough so you can’t run good, terrible race car, terrible engines, ill-timed cautions, etc., but the crashing kind of bad luck. Daytona. Martinsville. Talladega. When you count out those three, Texas has been the only race he hasn’t finished in the top 15, and three of the four races outside of ‘Tona, M’sville, and ‘Dega have been top 10’s. He’s still looking for his first top 5, he’s only led 10 laps, but he’s been performing good, he’s had fast cars, I think he’ll get up to the Chase by the time this is all said and done. I think he’ll contend for the championship. Win it, maybe not, but contend, probably. It all depends on his luck.
Martin Truex, Jr.
This is going to sound pretty familiar. His luck’s been bad. His performance has been good. 92 laps led, a best finish of 6th, but twice as many DNF’s as top 10’s. Once the racing gods decide they don’t hate Martin, he’ll get up there. I don’t see him contending for the championship, but it’s possible. Luck turns around, and the Chase is a lock.
David Ragan
Everything looked so promising after Daytona’s would’ve-could’ve-should’ve…but David has failed to follow up, with just one top 10 since the season opener. And the luck excuse? Despite 2 DNF’s, he hasn’t had the bad luck of Hamlin, Kahne, and Truex. If David can show the promise that appeared in the 500, he can possibly get up there. But I don’t see it happening. Top 20 in points, maybe, but other than that? Not a chance.
Championship Breakdown
7 races into the season with Talladega tomorrow, I think that whoever’s going to be challenging Jimmie is starting to become obvious, or least starting to give subtle hints. It also is starting to become obvious who’s fading back, who’s making improvements, and who’s not changing at all. Here’s my breakdown of 1-10 in the standings.
1. Carl Edwards
Carl has been strong so far this season, obviously, with 5 top 10’s, 4 top 5’s, 2 poles, and 1 win in 7 starts, along with the points lead. It seems that if anybody’s going to challenge Jimmie, it’s going to be Carl… or is it? Look at the past. Since when has the regular season’s dominator, the champion of the first 26 races, won a title? Regular season success does not equal into post-season success. I’m worried Carl will use up all his stuff in the regular season, and be all worn out by the time the Chase rolls around. Like Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch have all pointed out in previous years, just because you’re the best throughout the first 26 don’t mean you’re going to walk home with the Cup.
Of course, a championship for Cousin Carl isn’t totally impossible. In fact, it’s probable. Carl seems to hang back some, i.e. Bristol, and seems to have realized that he needs to save his best for last. He seems to be cruising, almost; he isn’t racing all out, isn’t peaking too soon.
Bottom line: We won’t know if he really can challenge for the title until the first couple races in the Chase are over.
2. Kyle Busch
Is “The New Kyle Busch” finally here to stay? Kyle has shown surprising maturity throughout the first two months of this young season. His temper and child-like whining have emerged on more than one instance, yes, but he has conducted himself in an almost shocking display of maturity. Maybe it’s Samantha. Who knows? Whatever is the reason behind Kyle’s sudden growth spurt, it’s helping him. I’ve always maintained that maturity is one of the must-have’s for a championship (Sebastian Vettel aside). Kyle is more patient, doesn’t race %110 every lap, doesn’t let his temper get the best of him, and, overall, has more poise and self-control. We all know he’s got the talent. Now, he might just have the maturity.
Bottom line: beware of the Shrubinator. We might just be saying “bye-bye Jimmie, hello Kyle” by the time the Awards Ceremoney rolls around.
3. Matt Kenseth
In 2003, Matt Kenseth coasted to his first NASCAR Cup championship, clinching the title a week before the finale, and winning it by 90 points over Jimmie Johnson. He had one win that season.
That’s how Matt’s going to win it this year.
He’s always had the consistancy. But lately, he’d been running consistantly outside of the top 10. Many (including myself) were questioning his ability to run up front.
Not anymore.
Matt, not a noted qualifyer, has a pole this year. He has 3 consecutive top 5’s. He’s coming off of a dominative TX win.
Bottom line: not a frontrunner for the championship, but a good darkhorse pick. A given for the Chase, we’ll wait and see until September arrives to see if he’s still putting up these results (remember, he put up similar stats in the first few races of 2010, but faded out).
4. Jimmie Johnson
Do I even need to write anything? We all know Jimmie’s style. He doesn’t do much in the regular season, but when the playoffs start, he dominates. His performance in the first 26 means nothing about the last 10.
Bottom line: ask me in September.
5. Kurt Busch
Following an amazing Speedweeks and an early points lead, Kurt looked like an early favorite.
Now, you’d have to be crazy to list him as a championship contender.
His performance the last few weeks have been less than stellar, but that’s not what I’m concerned about. Penske has 19 races to fix any performance issues.
What I am concerned about is his attitude. Have you ever listened to his radio? It’s absolutely terrible.
“How many cars are on the lead lap?” “25.” “That’s where we’ll be by the time this is done.”
He seems unwilling to work. He gives up too early. He constantly throws his pit crew, crew cheif, and carbuilders under the bus. And just try to count the number of swear words! I’ve nothing against cursing, but there are other ways to express your feelings, and 90% of the time he goes on one of his cursing sprees, it’s over next to nothing. He’s a bratt.
Bottom line: turn the attitude around, you’ve got a possible champ. Otherwise, nothing higher than 7th in the season-ending standings.
6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Championship hopes for Junior?
You’re joking, right?
But while a title doesn’t appear in Jr’s future (at least, I don’t think so), I’ve been impressed with his performance. He’s consistant, he’s good, he’s contending, he’s coming back from adversity. He nearly won Martinsville. I wouldn’t be surprised to see at the Awards Ceremoney in Vegas, making a speech other than an acceptance speech for the Most Popular Driver Award.
Breakdown: Championship, no. Good finish, yes.
7. Ryan Newman
I don’t see Ryan contending for a championship. The Rocketman’s been pretty quiet lately; so much that I couldn’t give you a breakdown of his championship hopes. 7th in points with 4 top 10’s, the same amount as Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson, seems to say that it’s a possibility, but I just don’t see it. After a blazing start to his career, he’s cooled down. I don’t see him ever winning a championship, but we’ll see.
Breakdown: Maybe. Probably not.
8. Juan Pablo Montoya
Get rid of his temper, you’ve got a championship-calibar driver. Juan is very talented, but his temper and incidents with other drivers seem to take him out. However, while I believe lengthening that short fuse of his would help, I don’t believe it’s the sole reason he hasn’t contended for a championship. The main reason? Luck. He has incredibley horrid luck. Engine failures, wrong-place-wrong-time wrecks, impossible-to-avoid penalties…they all factor in, and they all detract. Indianapolis Motor Speedway the past two years has been the poster child for Juan’s luck (or lack thereof). The Brickyard 400 isn’t just how Indy goes for Juan, it’s how JPM’s entire career has been – filled with bad luck.
Breakdown: Get rid of his bad luck, probably his temper, and Jimmie’s met his match.
9. Kevin Harvick
Two straight wins? I’d be crazy not to consider him. He was M.I.A. at Texas, but i think you’d have to be crazy not to consider him. Slow and steady was his slogan in ’10, and he’s trying his hand at a more flashy style. If he’ll combine those two approaches, consistant with a habit of winning, he’ll not only challenge Jimmie’s 6-Pack campaign, he’ll save Jimmie the trouble of having to come up with a slogan for 7-in-a-row.
Breakdown: if he can bring back his consistant touch, but retain the winning flaire, he’s got this.
10. Tony Stewart
Wow, where do I start? I don’t need to say much about Tony’s performance. The gambles, the failed gambles, have cost the #14. There’s nothing to critique about Tony, save for ill-timed penalties, but there’s plenty of questions marks surrounding Darrian Grubb. His pit strategies have cost Tony 3 or 4 wins. How much faith does Tony have in Darian? How safe is Darian’s job? How much money do you want to put on Tony having a new crew cheif by the end of the season? I’m betting on a crew cheif change over at Stewart-Haas. However, although Darian has cost Tony about half the races in the season, would firing him really be the best move? He has gotten Tony into the position to win, after all. I’m thinking a demotion, maybe. Who knows?
Breakdown: better pit strategy = third championship for Tony.
Although the points will be mixed up after tomorrow, I will try to post a breakdown of 11-20 in points Monday or possibly Tuesday.
What ‘Championship Hangover’?
I am tired of hearing about Denny Hamlin’s ‘championship hangover.’ Last year’s defeat took too big of a mental toll for Denny to contend again, they say. Just look at his stats this year, they say. Denny’s not going to win it or even contend, they say.
Yeah, right.
Denny’s finishes this year have been 21st, 11th, 7th, 33rd, 39th, and 12th. Average finish: 20.50.
Last year, his finishes were 17th, 29th, 19th, 21st, 19th, and 1st. Average finish: 17.67
Take away last year’s Martinsville win, and 2011 has been kinder to Denny than 2010 did.
Denny’s results have been subpar so far this year, but so has his luck. Wreck, 11th, 7th, wreck, engine failure, and guaranteed top 5 and possibly win turned into a 12th because of a ill-timed caution flag.
His terrible results caused because of a lost championship? Have you noticed something? If you subsitute “results” with “performance” in that last sentence, it would no longer be correct. That tells you something.
Denny’s results have not sucked because he’s too disheartened after last year’s loss.
Denny’s results have sucked because his luck (and Joe Gibbs Racing’s engine program) sucks.
Denny’s performance has not sucked because of last year.
Denny’s performance has not sucked, period.
Tonight, NASCAR’s in Texas. When Denny wins tonight, don’t be surprised.
What “championship hangover”?
NASCAR’s point system: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
I’m a rather big fan of simple points systems. I love racing enough that I watch every race that I can find on TV & regularly watch Formula1 & IndyCar in addition to NASCAR. Racing series with simpler points systems always seem to have tighter battles – just look at the points over the season from Formula1, or Dario Franchitti’s margin of victory in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar series. Niether series could crown a champion until the last lap. I’ve always attributed the closeness of the battles in F1 and the IRL to their simpler points systems – less points awarded make it easier to fall & harder to get ahead.
I am very happy with NASCAR’s simpler system. Not because it’s simpler – I had a good grasp on the old system, it was simple to me – but because it’ll encourage tighter battles, I think. As someone who despises NASCAR – love the racing itself, but hate the sanctioning body – saying I approve of something they do is very hard. So here’s my breakdown of the good & bad of NASCAR’s new system.
The Good:
It makes following the race & the points less difficult for the casual fan. Any diehard fan would, more likely than not, understand the old system. But if you don’t spend some time studying it, like anybody who just watches a bit of the race or something like that, it’s going to seem a little complicated. Like I said, understanding it was fairly simple for me and other diehards, but for casual fans, it simplifys it.
Less points = smaller leads. I’ve always said that if you award less points, you get tighter battles. I’ve preached it the entire time I’ve written a blog.
No more, “well, this guy did good and won some races but had some bad luck.” You do good, you win some races – like JMac in ’10, or KB in ’09 – and you run into some sore luck, and you’re out of there.
Everywhere you read, there’s constant praise of the new system. But here’s the bad of it:
It discourages regular-season consistancy & good performance. If you win 5 races out of the first 15, you aren’t going to need to do well in the points to make the Chase. Therefore, you might just hang back. Analyze the competition, give your crew a rest, try some different things that might not work. It would discourage driving 100% if you’ve already got the wildcard all but clinched. Then again, it might encourage guys to drive like hell because they can’t miss it, but more likely than not, if you win a bunch of races, you’re going to use the rest of the regular season as a test session, and that would probably hurt the competition & racing of the final regular season races.
There’s no point cutoff. One good thing of having 0 points awarded past a certain point is that guys are going to race a whole lot harder if they’re in a non-point paying position trying to get into one, and guys are going to race a whole lot harder if they’re in a points position trying to stay in it. It would discourage back-runners from running in the back, because there’s no points to be awarded. Sure, if it’s at the end of a race, for example, and you’re running 30th and there’s no points awarded past 20th you’re not going to race very hard. But then you think about it…would you really race that hard for 29th if you were 30th anyway with a few laps to go? No, you probably wouldn’t. I know that Bill France said in the press conference that NASCAR didn’t use a point cutoff because they didn’t want guys falling too far behind because of a wreck, but just look at Formula1. Look at Sebastian Vettel’s race by race results. He finished out of the points in 4 of 19 races – that’s around 21%. Who won the championship? Sebastian Vettel. If you have a good enough driver, screw the points cutoff. They’re gonna win it anyway.
And the ugly:
The max points total per race is 48.
You might be wondering a bit that I never mentioned the lack of winning incentive. Yeah, I thought about that. But then, I realized something. The vast, vast majority of drivers in motorsports are racing because they are competitive and they want to win. These guys have so much competitive fire – like Kevin Harvick always says, “I hate losing more than I love winning.” Do these guys really need a reason to win? If you’re second, you’re probably going to risk it for 1st, no matter what the point differential is.
And that’s my opinion on the points overhaul.
Off Season
NASCAR season is officially over with the end of Champion’s Week down in Vegas. So, I doubt I’ll have much to rant about (at least motorsports-wise), so Happy Holidays!
Right now my off season plans consist of the following:
Watch hockey – go Avs!!! even if we are terribily inconsistant..
Watch basketball – Nuggets FTW!!! brink of 1,000 coaching victories for George Karl!!
Watch football – As a Broncos fan, I kinda gave up on the season, especially after Spygate II…rooting for the Saints for the playoffs.
Yeah, I don’t got much to do.
Have a happy offseason, a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!!
Halfway Through The Chase: Championship Breakdown
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Halfway through the Chase…my new championship breakdown.
1. Jimmie Johnson
I’d have to be stupid not to say Jimmie isn’t the best guy so far in the Chase.
2. Denny Hamlin
Denny said that he’s going to wait until the last 3 races to go all out and win the title. The way this is shapin’ up, by that time Denny will be so far back it won’t even matter. Denny said he was focusing on surviving the first half of the Chase and he’s done that. So now he needs to focus on the championship. NOW. Not wait two more week. Go all-for-nothing. Otherwise he’ll be too far back to do anything.
3. Kevin Harvick
Kevin’s got consistantsy and wins, but he needs to step it up. He’s got enough to stay within 100 or so of Jimmie and Denny but not enough to beat them. If he kicks it up a notch he might, but otherwise, I just don’t see it happening unless Denny and Jimmie wreck out Tally or M’sville.
4. Jeff Gordon
Yeah, right.
5. Kyle Busch
that engine failure wouldn’t have taken him out by itself, but that coupled with David Reutimann’s little payback finished him off. A finish outside the top 30 + a finish outside the top 20 = no title.
6. Tony Stewart
Of course, he’s too far back, but let’s look at the reason he’s that far: INCONSISTENTCY. One week he’s cruising to Victory Lane, the next week he’s running outside the top 20. It’s a joke.
7. Carl Edwards
Distributor probs took him out. Even without those issues, he wouldn’t have been able to. He drives a Ford. Other than that, he has very good performance, very consistent, good points finish in order.
8. Greg Biffle
He drives a Ford…he’s had inconsistent results, some of that can be attributed to bad luck – like the pit stops at Dover – but some of that he just drove like crap. He still has some good finishes, like the win at Kansas, but the bad ones….
9. Kurt Busch
It’s like he forgot how to drive as soon as the Chase started…if he can turn it around he can get a top 5 in points possibly, but he needs to turn it around NOW.
10. Jeff Burton
He was my dark horse pick for the Chase and although he did get a runner-up finish at Dover, he’s just had poor finishes, poor luck, whatever. Very consistent during the regular season, but he forgot how to drive in the Chase.
5 Ways To Fix NASCAR
OK, so I don’t know if my ideas would actually fix NASCAR. But here they are anyways.
1. Points System Revamp
NASCAR wanted an exciting title hunt near the end of the season and gave us the Chase. But there’s another way they could do it.
Awarding fewer points. If you have fewer points awarded, it makes it a helluva lot harder to gap someone. If you only get, say, 30 points for a win, 29 for a 2nd, 28 for 3rd, so on and so forth, 1 point for a pole, 2 points for the leader of the most laps, 1 points for the leader of the 2nd-most laps, you can’t really build up a huge points lead. It’d have the same effect of the Chase, but it wouldn’t suck as much. It wouldn’t take away the points you already have, it wouldn’t shut out guys who’ve had a few bad finishes to keep them out of the top 12 but enough good finishes, and good performance to be around 13-15th in points. NASCAR awards too much points as it is – you get more points for a last in NASCAR then you do for a win in Formula1 – and it creates runaway champions. Less points = closer points battle = no need for the Chase.
2. Ban Cup Guys in the Nationwide Title Hunt
This is obvious. But people are saying that we need to ban the Cup guys from the Nationwide Series entirely. That’s not true. We need to ban them from the full schedule, the title hunt. Limit them to 10 races or something a year, but don’t ban them. It’d hurt sponsorship, viewership, and some talent development. These young guys, when they run against Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, guys like that, it helps them – they can learn these guys’ tricks and moves, how they drive from an on-track perspective instead from on TV or being told, and helps their talent. There should be races where there are no Cup guys, period, so the Nationwiders can actually win, but let the Cuppers race some in there. Make it so they can’t win the title, can’t win all the races, but they can still run.
3. Get Rid Of “Have At It Boys”
OK, so on paper, telling the drivers “Have At It Boys” seems good. They can police themselves, they can create drama, they can do all that and attract new fans. But NASCAR has let it go too far. Have at it boys, if it’s the eye for an eye thing, it works. Let drivers retaliate without penalization. But tell them to have at it, you have Kevin Harvick dumping Joey Logano. You have Jeff Gordon dumping half the field. Juan Montoya dumping Joey Logano. You get guys wrecking each other, but not in retaliation. You get them dumping each other for track position, a move they didn’t like, personal malice, frustration. You need to let them retaliate, but not just spin someone out for the heck of it. That’s not cool. It’s stupid. People say Carl Edwards went too far with “have at it boys” but NASCAR are the ones that stepped over the line.
4. Bring Back Testing
Not letting drivers and teams test, it’s pathetic. People say that it lets the Hendricks and Childresses of NASCAR be more dominant because they can test all the time. That’s not true, all it does is give the little teams excuses. Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, Roger Penske, them guys, they’re already as dominant as it gets. When is the last time you saw a team like Front Row Racing finish in the top 10 – or even the top 20? Testing isn’t eliminating large teams’ dominance, it’s just killing NASCAR. It’s ruining the ability for teams to take some young guys and give them an opportunity at a test. It’s ruining teams’ abilities to prepare for tracks – if you can’t prepare, you can only go off old data, you do that, you spend half the race trying to figure out your car and it’s a less competitive event. It’s ruining NASCAR. If NASCAR doesn’t like testing they can limit it, but eliminate it? That’s overkill and stupid. Bring back testing, and you start to bring back NASCAR.
5. Find An Alternative For Restrictor Plates
Seriously, restrictor plates suck. We can’t take them off or everyone will die in huge crashes, but we need an alternative. They’ve turned races into crapshoots. When was the last time the Daytona 500 winner actually made the Chase? You get back-pack drivers running up front, you get a lottery. Talladega and Daytona aren’t races, they’re insanity. It’s more of choose the right drafting line, survive the wrecks, make the right move at the right time, then be fast and be good. There’s people that enjoy them, and I take a little pleasure in them as well but seriously. At the very least, don’t award points for them. Or at least throw it out of the Chase. It’s crazy. You shouldn’t get points for luck. You should get them for SKILL.
6. Ban Over-Obsessive Hype About Danica Patrick
I’m kidding, but serioiusly, this would help my sanity but ALOT.
6 Future Cup Stars
I just got to thinking. No rookies have been hired for 2011. So that got me thinking about who the future rookies, the future stars are. Some names are familiar, some aren’t, but they all are extremely talented race car drivers who I think deserve a ride.
1. Ryan Truex
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Though he doesn’t have the good looks of older brother Martin, I think 18-year old Ryan Truex can wheel a race car better than his big bro. Ryan is one of only 2 rookies (the other being Joey Logano) to win the NASCAR Camping World Series championship in his rookie year, which he did last year. He’s currently leading the points in the East Series with a 66-point advantage over 16-year old rookie Darrel Wallace Jr. He is one of the guys that is always, and I mean always, in contention for every race in the East Series. Every race, he’s in the top 5. He may not always finish there – such as that 7th the other weekend, but then again he and Kevin Swindell wrecked battling for the lead.
Add in Ryan’s 3 Nationwide Series starts. His debut, he qualified 21st and ran 10th for a while before falling victim to a wreck (he later raced the car of the dazed Matt DiBenedetto to finish the night). At Michigan – the 2nd race for the NS CoT – he lead the final practice session, qualified second to points leader Brad Keselowski, ran inside the top 5 for most of the race before fading in the late stages to finish 12th. Consider that he’d never raced at a track of that size – I’m think the biggest track the East Series rides on is Loudon, which is 1 mile – and his rookie status, his age, and his experience in the series. Doing that, in this era, is pretty close to impossible.
He has the background, the talent, the opportunities, everything you’d need. He is definitely one of the most talented drivers I’ve seen (in terms of raw talent, of course, there’s no way I can compare a teenage rookie to the Jimmie Johnsons and Jeff Gordons of racing). Like it or not, Ryan Truex is our future champ.
2. Sergio Pena
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Sergio Pena rocks.
Sure, he’s only 11th in the K&N Pro Series East standings. Sure, he’s only the 6th-highest ranked rookie. But, go back to January 30th. Go back to the Toyota All Star Showdown. Joey Logano won. But remember who battled with Joey the ENTIRE night? Who led all the laps Joey didn’t? Who was Joey’s only competition, pretty much? Who finished 2nd? Sergio Pena.
He can run up there and compete with the big Cup boys. He can almost beat them, too. Name one other 17-year old (though at the time, he was 16) rookie driver who can come oh-so-close to beating a Cup driver with a win, a Rookie of the Year award, and who-knows-how-many “youngest driver to do something” titles. Exactly – you can’t. Sergio is a very, very talented young race car driver and he WILL make it to the top, no question.
3. Trevor Bayne
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19-year-old Trevor Bayne is the second-highest ranked Nationwide-only driver in the 2010 Nationwide Series points standings. 5 appearances inside the top 5, with a best finish of third (twice). 9 top 10’s, and a few were robbed from him (ie, Michigan pit strategy knocked him from 3rd to 11th). You talk to any driver out there, anybody in the sport, they can all tell you the same thing I am: Trevor is the next big thing.
4. Landon Cassill
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Some may argue with Landon’s place on this list, seeing how he’s already a Cup driver, but I think Landon can really pull together a lot of good finishes, wins, poles, and championships if someone will give him a ride – as in a FUNDED ride that can actually run COMPETITIVELY. He has a lot of talent and he’s a great person as well. He really can shine, if someone will just give him the chance. 2008 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year (when you couple that with the fact that Colin Braun was the Truck’s ROTY that year, you get the best looking ROTY class. Ever. Period.). And that Phoenix race that year – held off Cuppers with fresh tires to finish 6th. Name one other Nationwide-only driver (other than Trevor Bayne) that can do that. He only lost 2 positions on that. Remember Indianapolis this year? Ran 2nd before he S&P’d. Sure, it was only because he hadn’t pitted. But he held off the guys behind him, who easily could’ve have passed any other S&P driver. But Landon held down 2nd until the pit stop. If someone will just give the kid a good ride, he will NOT disappoint. I can guarantee it.
5. Miguel Paludo
2011 Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year candidate, Miguel has so far made 2 starts in the Trucks, making his debut at Bristol Motor Speedway a few weeks ago – and finishing 9th. Just for a noob to survive a BMS race is a miracle in itself. But to finish top 10? It’s unthinkable. It’s impossible (or, as Henry on Unnatural History says, “Impossible is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.”). If he can run like this, keep running like this…He’s gonna be big.
6. Willie Allen
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His best career finish in the Nationwide Series is 13th or 15th or something like that. I forgot. But you take into perspective his equipment. You take into perspective what other drivers, talented drivers, have run in the same car. And then it goes from “His best finish is 15th…” to “His best finish is 15th?!” To add to that, the first time he finished 15th. He started 43rd, 2 laps down due to unapproved adjustments or something like that. Now how does a young driver with (at the time) less than 15 starts under his belt in underfunded, non-competitive equipment, get a 2 lap penalty and come back to score a lead-lap finish in the top 15? Simple: He drives. And if you finish top 15…once he lands competitive equipment, this kid will rock.
This is all I got for now…I could add somebody like Austin Dillon or Justin Allgaier, but that’s pretty apparent that they are very talented drivers with a good future in the sport. Other than Trevor Bayne, these guys are all mostly unknowns. They deserve a little bit of a spotlight. And although mine is more like a dim flashlight, some publicity is better than none, right? When these guys are battling for the Cup title in 2015…I can say “I told you so.”
Chase Contenders: Breakdown
As the Chase nears, it’s driving me crazy thinking about who’s going to win the title. Here’s my breakdown of each locked-in Chase driver, the good and the bad, and who can get it done.
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1. Kevin Harvick
Happy can definitely win this. Obviously, he’s been the best all season – how else could he get the points lead? – and very few breaks in his consistency. I’ve seen only 2 mechanical failures, so they seen to be in good condition there. They have fast cars, week in and week out, and they can win with them. The 29 team will definitely be in there.
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2. Jeff Gordon
I know Jeff’s 2nd in points, but I don’t see him as a contender. Earlier in the season, up until about halfway through the summer stretch, he was consistently top 5. He contended for wins, always had them snatched away but always contended. He was very consistent and a serious threat. But lately he’s just kinda dropped off the scene. He hasn’t contended for wins in the past few weeks. Some of that’s bad luck. You could pass other stuff off as bad handling cars, but if the team can’t get the car good in the shop, I don’t know if they will be as strong of a contender. I remember him saying about Denny Hamlin, that the #11 team peaked too soon. That they should’ve saved that for the Chase. Well, I think Jeff might’ve used up everything before the Chase as well.
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3. Kyle Busch
Kyle deffinitely has the talent and the ability to win this title. He can wheel any type of race car on any type of track. But if he wants to be championship material, he needs to grow up. I have never seen someone like Kyle, regardless of talent, win the big picture. The Championship. Race wins, yes, overall, no. He just needs to grow up before he can win the championship. A champion needs to be consistent in every area, not get into fueds with 90% of the drivers, be very good overall. Kyle’s good at winning races, but he tends to mix it up with other guys. He tends to be not-so-pleasent over the radio. He just needs to work on his overall program, before he can win it. Talent alone won him the Nationwide title, but I think it’ll be a little tougher in the Cup.
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4. Tony Stewart
Can’t count Tony out, not by a long shot. He struggled early but he’s putting together his program at the right time. He’s got some bonus points as well as awesome momentum going into Richmond and the Chase. He’s a 2-time NASCAR champ, the ’97 IRL champ, and he’s won the USAC triple crown. You can never count someone like that out, ‘specially when they have momentum and wins and a good points position.
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5. Carl Edwards
Until Carl can put together a good win, not just a win but a dominant win, he’s not going to win a championship. A champ needs to be able to put it together in the short run – the race – and the long run – the title. Until Carl can get those short runs, the long run is a long shot.
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6. Jeff Burton
Jeff may not have won a race since 2008 but I believe that he can win this thing through consistency. I know what I said about Carl, but Jeff and Carl are 2 different drivers. Jeff isn’t a contender in the short runs, but over the long run he always seems to be there. Jeff probably won’t win a title, but contending is something that probably will happen.
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7. Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie is showing uncharacteristic weakness in these final races leading to the Chase. His strong run at Atlanta showed that there’s nothing wrong with the way the 48 is running – when they’re running. Wrecks seem to have plauged Jimmie, coupled with a few unexplained bad runs, make me think that although you can’t count him out, you can’t engrave the trophy either. Not at this point.
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8. Kurt Busch
I think Kurt can definitely pull this off. Nights like Atlanta are what make a champion – struggle throughout the race and pull a top 10 out of the mess. Kurt’s done it before. Jimmie Johnson was very good in the regular season but Kurt pulled out incredible consistencey during the Chase. He may very well win this thing for all I know.
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9. Matt Kenseth
He’s almost a joke, the way he’s been running. Consistently in the top 20, yes, but top 10? There’s no way Matt’s winning this thing. Over the past few years, he’s struggled. Unless an amazing turnaround can happen during the Chase, it’s not happening for the #17.
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10. Denny Hamlin
Their performance is very good, but all these mechanical issues have made me think that the 11 team will not win the title, regardless of their place on my favorites list. Denny can pull it off. But the cars can’t. Drive shafts, engines, brake fans, tire blowers, driver A/C, all these problems. If it wasn’t for those 3 DNF’s last year in the Chase Denny would’ve been the 2009 champion – or very close to it. 2 engine failures and the wreck and Fontana took him out. If they have anywhere near the amount of mechanical issues I’m used to seeing, it’s not happening.
Kevin Conway Is NOT Talentless.
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I’m tired of people saying Kevin Conway sucks. I’m tired of hearing he has no talent.
Well he DOES have talent.
It’s easy to look at his results and think he has no talent. His two best finishes – 14th and 27th – came at Daytona’s July race and Texas, both of which had a lot of drivers taken out by crashes. It’s easy to think that because of this, he has no talent.
But look past NASCAR and you’ll see talent.
Here are a few paragraphs about his career from his website:
“With 37 victories in motocross, winning a National Dirt event in his first ever start in WKA go-karts and racking up numerous wins over two seasons, it was on to the INEX Legends Car Series where in his first season he became (at the time) the youngest National Champion in series history at the age of 15. Kevin also won the Summer Shoot-Out Series Championship, Young Lion Award, Mid-Atlantic Pro Division Championship, Lowe’s Motor Speedway Track Championship along with 28 wins and 11 track records in the INEX Legends Car Series. In Super Late Models Kevin had four (4) top-five finishes in his first five starts in the very competitive“Big 10 Series”. After a brief stint in Super Late Models, Kevin moved into the ASA Series where he was on track to capture the Rookie of the Year title before sponsorship issues forced the team to shut down.
Kevin was very impressive in his two ARCA ReMax Series starts for NASCAR legend Ernie Irvan where in his first ever race on a mile and a half race track, Kevin qualified 5th at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished 13th after a cut tire forced an unscheduled pit stop while running in the second position. In his second ARCA start at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kevin was the fastest in practice only to then have qualifying rained out. After starting 41st Kevin raced his way to a 7th place finish in the shortened event – all while competing on a shoe string budget. Kevin has also competed in the USAC Midget Series where he dominated South Boston Speedway and led every lap winning in only his third start. In the Grand National West Series, Kevin qualified on the outside pole in his first career start at the California Speedway and finished 5th.
In 2007 Kevin ran a limited schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series sharing seat-time in the car with Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, and Brad Coleman. Out of seven starts Kevin had two top-5 and four top-10 finishes.”
He’s proven he can race. His learning curve has been slow this year, but he IS a proven winner. Whether those Cup stats show it or not, Kevin CAN wheel a race car to Victory Lane.
Why Drivers Should Wait On Revenge
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Kyle Busch seemingly came out on top of the battle with Brad Keselowski in the late stages of the Food City 250 Friday night when Brad seemingly put him into the wall, and Kyle retaliated by spinning out Brad.
“Seemingly” does not mean “actually.”
What actually happened is that Kyle had not entirely cleared Brad. When Kyle turned up in front of him, the rear of the #18 clipped the nose of the #22 and Kyle got into the wall.
Kyle, however, took it as intentional, not a mistake by Kyle / his spotter, and spun Brad back to 5th. After pitting for tires, Brad finished 14th and lost 34 points to Carl in the driver’s championship and 70 points to Joe Gibb’s #18 in the owner’s championship.
This is why drivers should wait on revenge.
You do it immediately. But you don’t know whether or not for sure that driver did it intentionally. Kyle and Brad’s run-in was a good example.
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Another would be the Edwards vs. Keselowski incident at Gateway. Carl side-drafted Brad, got him loose, and Brad got into Carl. It wasn’t Brad’s fault but Carl thought it was. We all know what happened there…and it cost Carl than he gained – 59 points were gained in the race but 60 were lost in fines. 1 point isn’t much but the point is Carl didn’t gain anything on Brad. He got his revenge but actually lost some doing it.
If he had waited another week, I still think he would’ve tried to retaliate, but I don’t think it would’ve been as dramatic of an incident. If he had time to cool off he wouldn’t have done something as drastic and not been fined as much, maybe even gained something. But because he did it when he was hot he lost points.
Carl had to know when he did it that turning a driver on the last lap would not sit well with NASCAR. But he did it anyway, claiming he couldn’t let Brad “steal” another win. He knew a penalty would most likely be in place but he just wanted revenge, not caring about the costs. He was willing to risk losing more points than he could gain just for revenge. He was willing to risk a championship for revenge. When you’re willing to ruin something of your own, just to ruin something for somebody else, you’re defeating yourself.
I [most likely] have anger management issues and I’ve had a hard time giving myself time to cool off before trying to get back at someone and it’s definitely helped. Alot of times getting back at someone would hurt myself but I still did it, but after I started trying to cool off I started ignoring stuff like that. It’s just life. With Busch vs. Kes, with Edwards vs. Kes, with countless other incidents, it’s just racing. You accept it and move on. You dwell on it, it gets in your head, you try for revenge, you usually wind up hurting yourself more than the other person.
I think NASCAR drivers should all be required to take anger management classes.
Now I’ll Believe in Ford’s Resurgance
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After Greg Biffle won Pocono I still wasn’t ready to jump on the “Ford’s Back” train. But now I think I will.
Greg’s win at Pocono gave me no reason to believe Ford was back – after all, it was Greg Erwin’s brain, not Greg Biffle’s Ford, that won the race. Matt Kenseth still struggled, David Ragan didn’t show any improvement. Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle were doing a little better but 2 out of 4 doesn’t mean the return of a manufacturer to contention.
But now, I think Ford’s back.
Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and David Ragan all finished in the top 11. For Carl I was starting to expect it. Greg’s inconsistent results didn’t show what to expect. For Matt, I didn’t think higher than 15th was possible. For David, a 20th or 25th place run would be the max. But they proved me wrong. Carl, as expected, was top 10, placing 3rd. Greg led the most laps and placed 4th – a slight surprise – and Matt Kenseth earned the first finish of better than 12th since the Coca-Cola 600 in May. David Ragan placed 11th on pit strategy, so that isn’t really a sign of resurgence, but him holding on to enough positions to place in the top 11 was a small sign of improvement. Also, in addition to the Roush boys, Elliott Sadler got his first finish of better than 17th in 25 races, placing 9th. Though it was on the same strategy as Ragan, I think the 9th is showing some life returning to the #19 team, as Elliott passed a few guys to get into the top 10 near the end. If Elliott is making passes to get a top 10, he’s definitely starting to come back, irregardless of how he got inside the top 15. Among Ford’s regular contenders who are inside the top 35 in owner points, not counting Tony Raines, AJ Allmendinger was the lowest finishing Ford in 17th.
Ford is back, my friends.
Joey Logano vs. Ryan Newman
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Joey Logano may be my 4th favorite Cup driver and I may not think as highly of Ryan Newman as I could (still like him though…just not that much) but I think Joey was in the wrong here.
When I saw Joey and Ryan have a heated discussion following the Michigan race today the first thing I did was smile. I just love it when drivers have post race “discussions” and even more when they get physical. At first I thought that Joey was trying to explain the spin out and Ryan wasn’t buying it but Joey’s comments spoke otherwise. He claimed that Ryan races too hard, too early, and takes too much while not giving enough. I didn’t think about this before and now that I think about it, I still don’t think Ryan races too hard. It may just be that the crappy TV coverage we’re stuck with doesn’t show enough of Mr. Rocketman, maybe because I didn’t pay attention, maybe because I did pay attention but didn’ t think of it as give and take with only the latter, or something like that, but I do not think Ryan races too hard early in the race. If Ryan tried to take without giving, all the time, would that explain seeing him outside the top 10 – and in most cases, outside the top 15 – all the time? If he tried as hard as he could as long as he could wouldn’t we see him near the front more often? Joey’s comments just don’t seem to add up – at least not to me – with the facts and the stats. Ryan’s been struggling as of late. I mean, sure, he won Phoenix, I should know, I was there. But that was only pit strategy and mistakes on the parts of Dave Rogers (calling for 4 for Kyle) and Jeff Gordon (spinning his tires). I mean, Ryan driving real hard early wouldn’t exactly mean a good finish for him, and he has had alot of bad luck lately, but when he is running bad-luck free with a lot of laps and a lot of miles left in the race, I don’t see this supposed running as hard as he can too early in the race. If he really did wouldn’t someone other than Joey be the first to point that out? Plus, there’s a reason Ryan’s called the “Rocketman.” He qualifies up front. If you have a top 10 starting position most of the time what’s the reason to race so hard if there’s not much you can still gain? And as far as the comment about racing his boss hard, that’s what you’re supposed to do. I think Tony – as well as myself – would be disappointed if Ryan gave him “special treatment” on the track because he’s the boss man.
Though nobody was at fault in the on-track incident, I think Joey’s comments were wrong. Not only were Joey’s comments unproven and seemingly wrong, Joey is a young guy and Ryan is a veteran. Joey has not earned the right to criticize the more experienced drivers’ styles. That’s like Tim Tebow criticizing how Drew Brees plays. Tim’s a rookie and Drew is a champion – that simple. While Joey does have a full year under his belt and Ryan has not won a title, it’s pretty much the same thing. Joey’s only breakthrough in the win column was a rain out – that doesn’t really count – and he’s only won one pole. Ryan’s an experienced veteran driver, his win numbers in the teen’s, his poles tenth on the all time list.
Ryan’s little “shove” probably made more sense than anything else this season.
My New Stance On The Fines: Acceptable But Overdone
After reading a few articles I have changed my stance on the fines issued to Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman.
I read an article on NASCAR Ranting and Raving and the example about the sandbox made me think, and I agree [mostly] with the fines.If a popular driver criticizing them, it might detract viewers / possible viewers. However, $50,000 for criticizing NASCAR seems a little overdone. A warning would suffice. Or if not, a small fine, maybe $5,000 at max for a first offense and maybe an additional $2,500 for penalties afterwards. A fine of $50,000 for that offense is probably hurting NASCAR’s image more than the drivers’ criticisms.
When Denny Hamlin criticized NASCAR’s late-race debris cautions I didn’t think much of it – it’s Denny’s personality to be outspoken about things he disagrees with. If he says something, I usually agree with it (sometimes, only because he’s my #1) and think nothing more of it. I’m not sure what Ryan said that got NASCAR all riled up. But he’s also an outspoken driver – if there’s something he doesn’t like he’ll let you know. It’s their personalities.
For NASCAR’s fines for something like this I think they could decrease the degree for the more outspoken guys. If it’s just their personalities sometimes they can’t control their mouths. Quieter guys are more likely to take it up with NASCAR instead of the media, and if they do run their mouths to the press instead of NASCAR, I think a little bigger fine would be in line for going out of character to tell everyone their problem with NASCAR instead of staying true to your character by running your mouth. Someone like Kyle Busch or Jeff Burton is more likely to openly criticize NASCAR then someone like Sam Hornish Jr or Kasey Kahne. Sometimes they just can’t help themselves and penalties, while they should be present, shouldn’t be as harsh.
I like openness in sports. I like it when the players, or in this case, drivers, can say what’s on their minds. I like knowing what they’re thinking. But there is a point where the player should bring it up with the sanctioning body, not run their mouth about it to the media or to fans. If a driver is just complaining about something like a penalty that, then that’s fine. If they’re accusing them of fraud (Denny Hamlin stating that the debris caution was fake) it’s something they should tell the officials, not the media or the fans.
So both the drivers and NASCAR should watch themselves because they both might be hurting the sports image.
Ford’s Still Not Back, No Matter What Greg Biffle’s Win Says
The worst part of Greg Biffle’s victory at Pocono was that afterwards, everyone is saying that Ford has returned to contention. They haven’t.
Ford may have returned to contention as a top 10 car but they haven’t worked their way back up to being a winning make. Sure, they’ve scored a win, but remember that Chevrolet dominated the race and the only reason a Ford was in Victory Lane was pit strategy. If Greg Irwin crew cheifed for, say, Jamie McMurray, Ford would still be on their losing streak. Another factor in Ford’s “resurgence” was Sam Hornish Jr’s poor lane choice. Sam might’ve been able to hold off Greg had he chosen the inside lane. Sam held off Tony Stewart in the inside lane and when Sam got trapped on the outside Tony – and everyone else – passed him and Sam was regulated to 11th.
Out of Ford’s 3 wins (that’s counting Nationwide) only one of them they deserved. Carl Edwards’ Road America win was mostly dominant and Carl deserved that one. The other ones – Carl’s Gateway win in which he turned Brad Keselowski on the last lap for the lead and Greg Biffle’s pit strategy victory at Pocono – Ford was NOT the dominant make and it was an idiot driver and a smart crew chief, not Ford, who really scored the win.
Ford IS slowly returning to contention, but don’t expect to see Ford scoring any wins – at least any dominant wins that they actually deserve – anytime soon. They might be back somewhat by Chase time and I am expecting to see them back contending every week for wins by mid-2011, made early that year, but a full return this year, at least in the next few weeks, is highly unlikely.
What NASCAR can learn from Helio’s mistake
Helio Castroneves’ move on Will Power was deemed illegal.
When I first saw that I sided with Helio. I couldn’t see how that could be considered a block. But, then I saw the rules. It was definitely illegal, though I have to argue about whether that was actually a block, and Helio got what he deserved. And I finally got to see him throw a temper tantrum. ^_^
NASCAR thinks that loosening the reins on the drivers will create controversy. But this is proof that tight reins create even bigger controversy. It made the YouTube home page as one of the top watched videos. Do you ever see NASCAR doing that? Possibly the only time I did was the Aaron’s 499 last year – obviously.
Loose restrictions and regulations do not make people want to watch. Tight restrictions and regulations don’t either – but they increase the chances of a huge controversy when someone strays outside the rules. And that makes people want to watch. I have a feeling that the next IRL race will get a few more viewers than normal – all because of Helio Castroneves’ tantrum. If IndyCar’s approach this year had been “have at boys” like NASCAR’s, then it’s possible, very likely, that Helio wouldn’t have been stripped of his win and he wouldn’t have yelled at / cussed out everybody and IndyCar wouldn’t have made the news. But because of tight restrictions, they did and they’ve gained a little popularity.
I’m not saying NASCAR should go all psycho and make all the rules as strict as possible. I’m saying that they should tighten the rules enough that when someone knowingly strays outside the lines, it’ll be big.
But they should be a little more careful, though. I saw a lot more blocks in that race, plain blocks that didn’t need explaining about why exactly it was classified as a block, that were unpunished. If you’re only going to enforce a rule half the time, don’t enforce it at all. Also I don’t get why exactly it’s illegal to use that part of the track to defend your position, but what do I know. I’ m just a straight A+ student who scored in the top 2% of teens in the country on the SAT’s. *shrug*
What happened to free speech??
According to the AP, NASCAR has fined two star drivers for criticizing the sport. This might be one of the stupidest things all season.
NASCAR doing this is immature. They can’t admit their faults. Someone points out a fault or two, something they did that was wrong or stupid, and they fine him $50,000 for it and tell him to shut up.
Whatever happened to free speech?! Being able to say whatever you want without being persecuted? That’s what NASCAR’s doing – persecuting drivers for their opinions by way of charging money.
The fact that I’m a Denny Hamlin fan does not help my outrage. I have a strong feeling that Denny was one of the drivers. Remember his claims that the debris caution(s) were fake? That made NASCAR look bad and therefore logic states that Denny is most likely one of the fined drivers.
NASCAR needs to consider drivers’ comments to make the sport better, not silence them and hit them with a huge fine. As far as I know, NASCAR isn’t in the car every week and doesn’t know what’s going through the drivers’ heads. They have no right to hit them with fines for expressing opinions pointing out why ratings are down, why stands are empty, why we’re losing fans.
Carl Edwards wasn’t hit with a $50,000 fine for turning Brad Keselowski on the last lap for the lead in the Nationwide race a couple of weeks ago. But yet an unnamed driver is fined that amount just for talking?
NASCAR doesn’t care about what drivers say to / about each other. But once a driver says something about them, then it’s wrong. Drivers say worse things about each other and it’s perfectly fine and even encouraged by the “have at it” command. But once they involve NASCAR it’s completely wrong and punishable. Seriously.
People are always talking about the crybabies and whiners in the sport and who’s the biggest (*cough*kylebusch*cough*). But I think now, NASCAR is.
He Bumped Me So I Wrecked Him: Carl Edwards’ Overreaction
Carl Edwards used to be one of my favorite drivers. Key words: “Used to.” Not anymore.
I realized what an immature brat (don’t kill me Carl fans!) he is last week.
Brad Keselowski is my 2nd favorite (I proudly claim the title of only Denny Hamlin fan to like Krashalotski!) and Kurt Busch is my 3rd favorite. Carl’s been fueding with Brad and Kurt, and I didn’t really care. I forgave Carl for Atlanta because I could understand that and Brad kinda had that coming. I forgave Carl for Daytona because Kurt still was P7. But the Nationwide race last week, that I cannot forgive him.
Carl overreacted again. Brad gives him a little bump. Allows Brad to try to pass him – not hard enough to give Brad the lead, but hard enough to allow Brad to get next to him. In fact, you look at replays really closely, Carl got Brad loose into him, Brad didn’t purposely turn up on him. Brad takes the lead. Checkered flag in sight. And Carl just turns Brad on purpose – not trying to bump him to put himself back into contention, but trying to spin him out and wreck him. Just flat out wreck him. And then Carl acts like the baby he is in Victory Lane, pretty much says the same thing Jeff Gordon said after Martinsville – “if he won’t let me win, then nobody else can win either.” Not an exact quote, but pretty much what Carl said. He doesn’t consider Brad dominated the entire night, that he had a better car, that he deserved it MORE. Carl went as far as to say that Brad was going to steal HIS win. Exuse me, but when was it Carl’s race to lose, to get “stolen”? For about 5 laps. Compare those few laps to Brad’s domination and all the laps Brad led – in fact, most of the laps Carl led were when Brad spun himself out on the access road. It was Brad’s race to be stolen the whole night and steal it Carl did.
You look at Carl’s career, it’s basically all he’s ever done. Get bumped, cry about it, and wreck them. Idiot. Doesn’t he know, that’s racing? I’ll use Daytona, with Kurt Busch, as an example. Last lap, Carl’s trying to pass Kurt on the bottom, Kurt’s trying to protect his position by forcing Carl below the yellow line. Carl wrecks Kurt, just flat out purposely wrecks him, after the race. Carl don’t understand that that’s what anyone – himself included – would’ve done in that situation. It’s just racing – nothing personal, it’s the drivers’ job to finish as high as they can, and that’s what Kurt was trying to do. It’s the last lap, you protect your position no matter the cost. Sometimes it’s not even what you were trying to do – it’s like an automatic reflex and you just are like “OK, Imma block him” and do it (example: AJ Allmendinger @ Pocono). You don’t think, “I can’t block him, it’ll hurt his feelings and make him mad because he couldn’t pass me” and you don’t just pull over and give the position. Early in the race, you might give, because there’s plenty of time left for taking. It’s give and take and at the end of the race, it’s all take and no give. Carl can’t get that through his head. He’s like all “OH, you just messed with me and I can’t let that happen because I’m an immature baby and I don’t understand that that’s racing” and all and he flips out and goes pyscho and wrecks everyone and takes out a lot of innocent drivers along the way – like, last week, alot of people were caught up in the accident that Carl caused because he wanted revenge on Brad. Seriously. I read this one quote somewhere, I can’t remember it exactly, closest I can remember: “He didn’t bump you, he didn’t nudge you, he didn’t ram you, he rubbed you. And rubbin’, son, is racing.” And that’s exactly right. It’s racing. Carl won’t understand that. Whether he’s stupid or stubborn I’ll never know. But he’s one of the two and like Todd Bodine once said, “There’s no cure for stupid.” And that is the truth. Sorry Carl, but it looks like you’re stuck like this.
Have at it, boys
“Have at it, boys.” Since we’ve heard those words, we’ve seen the Carlinator send Kesi upside-down at Atlanta, Shrub swear to kill his teammate in the All Star race, Joey Logano insult the Harvicks at Pocono, Jeff Gordon spin out half the feild at Sonoma, and many more such incidents.
Is the ‘gloves off’ approach really the best idea ever?
No. It’s not.
I agree NASCAR was too harsh many a time, but this might be over doing it. If Kevin Harvick can ram a 20-year old having one of his best runs of the season out of the way for no apparent reason, if Jeff Gordon can spin out half a dozen drivers, if all this stuff can happen without the drivers getting off without so much as a warning, what will this eventually do to our sport?
The only driver who’s been punished this year in the Sprint Cup was over-punished. Carl Edwards did not deserve getting parked and probation. It was not his fault Brad went airborne. If it was anyone’s fault, it was NASCAR’s, because of their COT and wing. Look at the bottom of the COT. It’s somewhat hollow. Couple that with the wing and you get flips. NASCAR’s changed the wing, but I think they might need to make a few more adjustments on the flawed Car of Tomorrow. Anyways, so it wasn’t Carl’s fault, therefore Carl didn’t deserve all that stuff. If Carl can get 3 weeks of probation for trying to spin someone out, how come Harvick can spin someone out and not even get a 1 or 2 lap aggressive driving penalty? Or even a warning for that matter?
Sure, the gloves off approach has created drama, fueds, rivalries we might not have had otherwise, but it’s also caused a lot of drivers to have some of the best runs they’ve had this season RUINED.
There’s a fine line here between unacceptable and OK. I think we might’ve crossed the line.
What’s Up With Jeff Gordon?
Jeff Gordon tried out his Brad Keselowski impersonation Sunday, and while he got a 5th place finish, I don’t think that his triumph will last – listening to Martin Truex Jr’s radio after the incident, as well as his TV comments, I don’t think he’s very happy with Jeff.
What’s up with Jeff? Since when do you see a four-time Winston Cup champ wrecking half the feild when he’s running in the top 5 anyway?
Frustration..I think Jeff is frustrated that he hasn’t won a race in over a year. Hasn’t won a championship since ’01. Isn’t a top contender for the title every year – he even missed the Chase in ’05. Doesn’t contend for the win every week.
Jeff’s just not as good as he used to be. In the ’90’s, he was on fire – 1993 Rookie of the Year award, championships in ’95, ’97, and ’98, huge amounts of victories. It was rare not to see Jeff Gordon running up front. He started out the new century with a championship in 2001. He became the quickest driver ever to reach the 50-win mark. He actually would’ve won the 2004 title if it wasn’t for the Chase – do the math, he woulda secured #5 with Jimmie Johnson in 2nd, while Kurt Busch would’ve been 247 points out of the lead in 4th. Except the Chase reset the points, and it wound up Kurt winning by 8 points over Jimmie.
But now, he’s cooled down. He hasn’t been doing as well as he could in the past few years. The Chase is part of it, also he’s getting old and isn’t as good as he used to be when he was younger. The COT might’ve thrown him off a little more – 2008, the first full season with the Car of Tomorrow, saw Jeff winless.
Jeff isn’t the first legend to cool down. Richard Petty won his 7th, final title in 1979. He retired after the 1992 season. That’s a full 13 seasons Richard Petty ran after his final championship. 1982 was the first of the 13 years the King spent winless. 1985 was the second. Also, King Richard finished 14th in the standings in ’85. 1986 was a repeat of ’85. He finished 8th in the standings in ’87, only to fall back to 22nd in ’88. He only ran 25 of the 29 races in ’89 and finished 29th. He ran the full season in ’90, only to get a 26th place points finish. ’91 was similar, finishing 24th. ’92, his final year, also resulted in a 24th place points finish. The King spent the last 8 years of his career out of victory lane.
This may be over-dramatic, but this is still kinda what’s happening to Jeff, I think. He was out of it in 2008 – though still grabbing a top-10 finish in the points – and returned to victory lane once in ’09. 2 races away from halfway through the 2010 season, he hasn’t won anything.
Another example is Bobby Labonte. He won the 2000 Winston Cup title and now is nothing more than a midpack driver. If his debut at Robby Gordon Motorsports at Loudon this week doesn’t result in anything more than what’s been the norm as of late, we’ll know he’s “lost his talent,” so to speak.
Yet another example? Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junebug started off his career with a bang, grabbing 2 wins and a good points finish (for a rookie) in his rookie season of 2000. However, last year resulted in a 25th place points finish with 0 wins, 2 top 5’s, and 5 top 10’s.
Of course, Jeff losing his talent could be just in my head. It could be the increased competition level, more teams with a chance to win, more talented drivers, etc. But I might be right.
If I were you, Jeff, I’d be trying to steal that golden horseshoe that your teammate has…
Is This Really Better?
Casey Mears has been released from the Red Bull Racing Team, due to poor performance / wrecking his teammate.
I have mixed feelings – though, I will say I’m mostly happy. I had started to like & respect Casey, but Scott Speed is my 3rd favorite driver after several shake-ups in my favorites this year. I was so mad at Casey. Not like, say, my anger at Kevin Harvick for wrecking Joey Logano, or my anger at Kyle Busch for threatning to kill Denny Hamlin, but I was pretty ticked. Escpecially considering that it’s a position out of the top 20, there’s a ton of time left in the race, and they’re teammates- though that hasn’t seemed to say much this season – Jamie Mac/Juan Pablo, Original 4-Time/New 4-time, Shrubby/Denny, etc.
So, Mattias Ekstrom (a cute rookie Swede!!! Thank you SO MUCH Red Bull!!) is driving the #83 this week – though this had already been set up before Casey’s firing – and Reed Sorenson will be driving for at least 3 races this year, possibly more. He’s scheduled for three races right now.
But, what I’m trying to say is, is this really a better decision than Casey? I mean, Reed isn’t exacatly Jimmie Johnson. Like Casey, he hasn’t performed too well in the chances he’s had. But, then again, his opportunities haven’t been as good as Casey’s – Mears has driven for Ganassi, Childress, and Hendrick, to name a few.
Personally, I like Reed. Like, he’s cute and I’m a crazy teenage girl, is it possible for me NOT to like him? And various other reasons, of course – I may be a crazy teenage fangirl, but I do also base opinions on performance / personality / etc. I’m glad to see him get a ride, other than the start-and-parking Braun Racing #32.
But Reed hasn’t always had top performances. Out of 145 starts, he has 0 wins, 5 top 5’s, and 14 top 10’s, and an average finish of 25.2. For Casey, it’s 252 starts, 1 win, 12 top 5’s, 46 top 10’s, and an average finish of 21.7. Of course, Casey’s had longer to accumulate top 10’s and top 5’s, and Reed’s average finish has been ruined by start-and-parking for Braun Racing’s #32.
So, all-in-all, I think that Reed isn’t exactly better than Casey, but he ain’t exactly worse, either. It’s neither good nor bad. Oh wait – hell yeah it’s good, but that’s only ’cause I like Reed. 🙂
In my personal opinion – which is what you’re here for right? – if Reed doesn’t impress enough to land the ride full-time ’till Brian Vickers’s return, we should put a young-gun rookie in there. Maybe a development driver? Or a Nationwide driver, like, maybe Landon Cassil, or Kelly Bires, or Brian Ickler? (I only said Ickler because that would mean he’d stop stealing Colin Braun’s ride.) Drivers who you’d have to go out on a limb with, but still. Didn’t Jeff Gordon go out on a limb by convincing Hendrick and Lowe’s to put Jimmie Johnson in a ride? And look how that turned out. 4 consecutive championships, 50 wins, and one of, if not the, greatest NASCAR Cup drivers ever. (I still say he’s a jerk though.) Or maybe we could try Justin Allgaier, Little Gator’s stuff in a Cup ride – look how well he’s doing in the Nationwide. Or maybe Colin Braun. (I just had to add him.) OK, so he’s done more wrecking than racing, but he’s pulled off 2 consecutive top 10’s. Or, maybe, Steve Wallace? Even with a broken foot? Or, truck series. Austin Dillon? Look how well he’s doing in his rookie year. 2 poles, 11th in points, 2 top 5’s, 4 top 10’s. Aric Almirola, maybe? I know he blew the last chance he had, but still, isn’t he a top Truck driver right now? Or Ricky Carmichael, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), the greatest motorcycle racer ever? He’s having a pretty good season here in the trucks. Or James Buescher? He did fantastic in the Nationwide ride (till he got fired) and is doing pretty hot in the Trucks. There are so many choices…
I’m listing all these choices for replacing a driver that I like. Imagine what would happen if I was a Sorenson hater.
Rantings Of A NASCAR Chick 
