Nascar Racing Online

Archive for July, 2009

All week, we’re running down the top teams in NASCAR. We finish with the merry fellas at Team Red Bull.

Drivers (rank): Brian Vickers (16), Scott Speed (36)

Wins in 19 races: 0 (Best finish: Vickers, 5th, Atlanta and Coca-Cola 600; Speed: 5th, Talladega)

The story: Red Bull may give you wings, but at the moment it ain’t giving wins. Vickers has been right on the edge of breaking through for awhile now, and I expect it will come sooner rather than later. Scott Speed has been a curious choice, particularly since his selection kicked AJ Allmendinger to the curb. Speed hasn’t run particularly well, and he’s expressed his lack of reverence for NASCAR’s traditions and history.

Verdict: Vickers is on the cusp of breaking through, and might well have done so if not for some bad accident breaks this year. Thing is, his teammate hasn’t done quite so well, and Speed is working on a seven-race streak where he hasn’t finished higher than 30th. While Vickers is in it for the long term, how long will Speed continue to languish in the lower echelons of NASCAR?

Thanks to everybody for sticking through the entire State of the Teams feature! Back Monday with more new material!

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I truly intend on making this section a weekday only event but the news and notes coming out of Indy on Friday were just too juicy not to pass along. So without further ado, get your bi-daily mass of news fix right after the jump!

When asked about altering the schedule to give him a shot to run the Indy 500, Jeff Gordon denied any interest in running in the world’s most famous race. The four-time Sprint Cup Champion went on to say that racing at Indy was always his dream but he would only race at Indy if he were to run the full IRL schedule. Citing his age and respect for the IRL drivers, Gordon said it was unlikely that he would step into an indy car.

Danica Patrick may be interested in NASCAR next season but IndyCar and Cup owner Chip Ganassi says that Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing would not be a good fit for the 2008 Indy Japan winner. The team owner then implied that Danica could make the next step in her Indy career by choosing the right team after her impending free agency.

“Patrick said last month she didn’t want to make a decision until the IndyCar season concludes in October, and Ganassi said his team was “like most teams, in the top of the first inning” of negotiations.”

Many have speculated that Danica could sign with Target Chip Ganassi Racing and get her feet wet with Ganassi’s NASCAR program during the IRL offseason. Stay tuned…

Speaking of EGR, Ganassi does not plan on moving to a one-car operation for next season. Instead the team will look to replace the departing Martin Truex Jr. for 2010 and beyond, pairing the new driver with the returning Juan Pablo Montoya. In stating his 2010 plans, the EGR co-owner shot down rumors that he would merge his stake of EGR with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I’m not (merging). I hear lots of rumors…I’m looking forward to being back at the races to continue building our team and winning races. We got together with Teresa (Earnhardt), made the switch to Chevrolet, and it’s mission accomplished. Our performance stepped up. That’s what we were looking for, and that’s what we got. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I’m not all in shambles or upside down or in disarray. I’m fine.”

Clearly, Chip’s passion bucket has runneth over.

Til next time, enjoy Indianapolis!

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A classic c-a-c: Michael Waltrip stares at … the sun? A blimp? Something, as Harry Gant and Darrell Waltrip try to pretend he’s not there. What’s happening here with these three icons? You know, don’t you?

A reminder: we’ll be posting the winners of this week’s C-a-C’s on Monday. Tear it up, and you’ll get your time in the sun soon enough!

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After a week off, the Sprint Cup drivers should be well rested and focused on the big race at Indianapolis on Sunday.

One burning question heading into the 2009 Allstate 400 is: “Will there be another tire fiasco like last year when the Goodyear tires that the teams had to run failed, forcing NASCAR to display the caution flag every 20 laps or so to bring the cars in before the tires tore apart?”

More after the jump.

I think the answer is no.

NASCAR and Goodyear cannot, I repeat cannot, have another race like the one last year.

NASCAR has experienced a decline in TV ratings this year and could you imagine what would happen to those ratings if NASCAR was to have another race like last year on its hands? Ad revenues would surely decline as a result of the poor TV ratings that would occur — something NASCAR can’t afford, especially in this economy.

NASCAR and Goodyear have been working hard to get this tire issue solved. So hard, in fact, that, since last year, Goodyear has had seven tire tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, involving 31 drivers. If this doesn’t show NASCAR and Goodyear are worried about putting on a good show for the fans, then I don’t know what does.

So who should you watch in the race? The obvious answer is Chevy drivers Jeff Gordon, who has four wins in this race, and Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, with two wins each at this track.

In the “Where did he come from?” category, I’d keep an eye on Mark Martin who in the past three races here has a 7.3 average finish, as well as 2007′s runner-up Juan Pablo Montoya, who could become the only driver in history to win both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.

You can bet Montoya wants to win this race more than any other on the NASCAR circuit except maybe the Daytona 500 and you can bet he’ll pull out all the stops.

Also, don’t count out Toyota driver Kyle Busch or Ford driver Carl Edwards, but, since Chevy has won 10 of the 15 NASCAR races held at Indy, I’d bet on the newly fiscally fit General Motors drivers.

Here is a bit of trivia: Name the only NASCAR driver to not kiss the bricks after winning at Indy?

Answer:  Dale Earnhardt.  The tradition didn’t start until 2006 and Dale won in 2005 and although Jeff Gordon won in 2004 he has since won 3 more times at Indy and has kissed the bricks those times.

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Hey, time for another Midnight Marbles post, where you can talk about anything and everything that’s on your mind, including those spry folks there burning out around the track. You know, I’ve got to figure that might possibly be Photoshopped, but so what? I find it funny and enjoyable.

Kick back here and discuss the issues of the day in NASCAR, and if you happen to be new to the Marbles, why not pop in and introduce yourself? You’ll be glad you did. Back soon with more stuff.

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Moving forward, I would like Ranting and Raving to become a one-stop shop for both NASCAR news and opinions. With that in mind I am creating a News and Notes section starting tonight.

In a perfect world, I would like to post one on both Mondays and Wednesdays as to not get in the way of Lead Draft Fridays.

So please consider this post my first experiment. Get your daily NASCAR dose of news and information after the jump!

It appears that long time Roush sponsor DeWalt will not be returning to the #17 Ford driven by Matt Kenseth. The power tools brand told Roush President Geoff Smith on Thursday that the sponsor would be ending a decade-long relationship with the team that spanned the 2003 Championship, the 2000 Rookie of the Year Award and this season’s Daytona 500. Roush Fenway Racing seems prepared to deal with the loss citing numerous options waiting to take over for DeWalt.

Chip Ganassi appears to be interested in moving his stake of Earnhardt Ganassi racing over to Joe Gibbs racing next season. With Martin Truex and Bass Pro Shops out after 2009, Ganassi is looking to match driver Juan Pablo Montoya and sponsor Target with the three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. It is unclear what role Teresa Earnhardt will play in any possible merger.

The NASCAR/Jeremy Mayfield war may soon come to a conclusion due to a strand of hair according to a report on News Channel 36 out of Charlotte, NC. Mayfield and his attorney may consider testing a piece of hair to submit to the courts. Doctors universally agree that hair contains a long-standing record of drugs in the body and that Mayfield’s strand may be the deciding factor in the dispute. This news comes off the heels of Mayfield’s speculation that he may have secured sponsorship for the races post-Indy.

That’s it for news. Onwards to the Hallowed Halls — Indianapolis.

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Another ESPYs shot, this one where Jeff Gordon hangs with actress Olivia Wilde and fish-man Michael Phelps. Have at it, folks; I think you can rock this one.

A reminder: we’ll be posting the winners of this week’s C-a-C’s next Monday. Tear it up, and you’ll get your time in the sun soon enough!

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We are headed to Indy this week and I’ve got a few questions for you:

1)  After last year’s tire mess up will you be watching the Brickyard 400 presented by Allstate this time around?

2)  NASCAR.com has an interesting correlation – the reason why NASCAR TV ratings are down is because Dale Jr’s on track performance is down too.  Do you buy that?  Why or why not?

- more after the jump -

3)  Chicagoland had a ton of empty seats last race.  Do you think part of the problem is this;  Chicagoland, “as it has since it opened in 2001, refuses to sell single-day tickets to events such as last Saturday’s LifeLock.com 400 Sprint Cup race. Instead, it requires anyone who wants to attend the Cup race — or any other event — to buy a Track Pack that also includes tickets to the Nationwide Series race, the Camping World Truck Series race and an ARCA ReMax event, in addition to Indy Lights and IndyCar races.” - nascar.com?

4)  From a fan perspective are double file restarts “shootout style” really that good, or that bad?

5)  Will Brian Vickers be with Red Bull next year, yes or no and why?

And finally, do you have any questions that you might want answered like just how does a driver go to the bathroom during a race?  Let me put it this way, why do you think some of the drivers get showered and changed into street clothes so fast after a race?  Haven’t you ever seen them getting interviewed not 5 minutes after a race and there they are in street clothes and wet hair?  Hmm …  

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Over the next few days, we’ll be looking at NASCAR’s top teams and sizing up their 2009 seasons, based on both expectation and results. Next up: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, and please welcome special guest star Felix Sabates!

Drivers (rank): Juan Pablo Montoya (9), Martin Truex Jr. (24)

Wins out of 19 races: 0 (Best finish: 6th — Montoya at Michigan and Infineon; Truex at Darlington)

The story: Even as Juan Pablo Montoya makes his run at history by becoming the first-ever foreign-born driver to make the Chase, Earnhardt Ganassi racing is crumbling. Already down to just two cars because of sponsorship and financial concerns, they will be losing Martin Truex Jr. at the end of the year when he bolts to Michael Waltrip Racing.

We’ve covered the decline and fall of Dale Earnhardt Inc. many times in the past here, but it’s worth noting again … there’s very little left of the company that The Intimidator created. How long will Montoya stay with the company? (He hasn’t disclosed how long his contract is.) How long can the company itself stay afloat with just one car in the current economic climate?

The verdict: Good for Montoya, not so good for Earnhardt Ganassi. A Chase berth would bode well for Earnhardt Ganassi, but clearly some changes have to be made to move the company forward.

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Time for another Marbles weekly chat, as always starting on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Come hang, talk shop, talk tough, whatever you like. We’ll be here waiting for you!

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