Nascar Racing Online

Archive for September, 2009

The policy again prohibits testing on tracks that run NASCAR National Series (Sprint Cup; Nationwide; Camping World Truck; Camping World East; and Camping World West).

However, teams can now test at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks that host a regional touring event but do not host a national series event.

So what does this mean?  Make the jump to find out.

Almost nothing really.

Why?

Because all but 3 of the available tracks are too far for teams to go to to test.

The three closest tracks would be Greenville-Pickens Speedway; Tri-County Motor Speedway; South Boston Speedway but all the other ones are way out there.  Those tracks include, Thompson International Speedway; Music City Motorplex; Adirondack International Speedway; Lime Rock Park; Thunder Hill Raceway; All American Speedway; Madera Speedway; Douglas County Speedway; Toyota Speedway at Irwindale; Portland International Raceway; Miller Motorsports Park; Colorado National Speedway.

O.k. one of these tracks is closer to me than to those teams located in Charlotte and I live near Buffalo.

I think it would be too expensive for teams to travel to do testing at most of these tracks.  To me it looks like the only testing that will be going on in 2010 will be with Goodyear at official NASCAR tire tests and at those 3 tracks that are located closer to the Charlotte area.

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I don’t know if this necessarily qualifies as a wreck, but it was still pretty darn cool — at New Hampshire on Sunday, Kurt Busch walloped David Ragan on pit road, but did so in a way that neatly spun Ragan right into his pit stall. It was like ballet!

Honorable mentions: Dale Earnhardt Jr. getting tagged into the wall and ending a great run; Joey Logano touching off a multicar wreck of back-benchers.

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O.k. before you go on to the jump to see my analysis of the final order I want you to remember this is an analysis, not how I’d really like to see it.

Oh and let’s not forget that Matt has already made his predicted outcome.  I’ll do my analysis and then put up his finish so you can compare between us.

And one more thing, this list was created before the New Hampshire race so I was not influenced by it at all.

Take the jump …

Going Backwards:

12.  Kasey Kahne:  Too much turmoil at the shop right now with them switching to Fords and loss of some key personnel.

11.  Kurt Busch:  Tryson being locked out of the shop but still expected to perform miracles at the track won’t improve performance on the track, it’ll decline.

10.  Brian Vickers:  Great run so far, but emotion will only get you so far and then Chase experience will have to kick in which he and his team don’t have – now this will be a different story next year.

9.  Juan Montoya:  See Brian Vickers, with one exception DEIhas been here before.  With that being said I still project his finish here based on the fact that I expect more from others than I do from him.  No offence to Juan but this is his first time in the Chase.  Now let me add:  if anyone can screw up my predictions it is Juan, if Ganassi can make Juan and his team believe in themselves more than they do now then Juan will finish in the top 5.

8.  The Biff:  Not his year this time around and I don’t expect his finishes to suddenly change during the Chase, but his experience will get him a solid 8th finish while his car would probably get him a solid 10th.

7.  Ryan Newman:  The Biff should really be here, but I think Newman has a better car at this point in the season and Newman is no slouch behind the wheel so the spot goes to him. 

6.  Carl Edwards:  I know, I know, but his performance this year has been lacking compared to previous years.  Again with that being said I think if there is anyone else in this Chase that can mess up my predictions it is Carl.  If his car suddenly gets ‘hooked-up’ look out because Carl is one driver that is willing to let it all hangout to win.

5.   Denny Hamlin:  I have a feeling that Joe Gibbs Racing will step it up this time around and give him the support that he needs, but it won’t be enough to break into the top 4.  Wait till next year.

now it bets hard

4.  Jeff Gordon:  I hate it when people say Jeff is in the twilight of his career, that’s BS.  This cat can still do it if he wants to, but there has to be a reason why people are saying it right?  When Jeff starts driving like Carl Edwards again then people will stop saying it and he’ll win another Championship.

3.  Tony Stewart:  A great season and nothing to sneeze about either, but those Hendrick cars are just too strong and you can’t tell me that Rick is giving the exact same stuff to Tony as Jeff, Jimmie, and Mark are getting.  They might be getting the same base package but I’m sure the Hendrick boys are still getting that little extra.

2.  Mark Martin:  Don’t kill me, but Mark will be the bridesmaid yet again for no other reason than Jimmie’s team is just that much more better – but wait until next year because if Stewart doesn’t do it Mark will.

1.  Jimmie Johnson:  I know what are the odds for 4 in a row?  What ever they are he, Gnaus, and the rest of the 48 team will beat them, and also because Martin will go out of his way not to touch Jimmie’s car with his own for risk of wrecking Jimmie and taking him out of the Chase.

There you have it, now let me have it.

For comparison purposes here is Matt’s list:

1. Johnson
2. Gordon
3. Stewart
4. Hamlin
5. Edwards
6. Martin
7. Busch
8. Montoya
9. Vickers
10. Kahne
11. Newman
12. Biffle

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Poor Mark Martin. Wins the race, and then gets assaulted! At least the carjackers didn’t get far. Feel free to caption this photo as you see fit with other ideas.

After the jump, Martin (him again!) and Jimmie Johnson go mano-a-mano.

Programming note: I’m on-site today at East Lake Country Club for that other site, so posting will be a bit intermittent until the afternoon. (Don’t be upset. Really. You’re still my favorite NASCAR site.) Until then, why not check out some of our pals there in the blogrolls at right? You’ll be glad you did.

The winners who navigated the troublesome comment system (yes, I know it’s a mess, we’re working on it, trust me):

DCwhiteowl:
Do you think I would make a good Captain Morgan guy for Halloween?

JonathanD:
Jimmie: "OK, so the good witch shows up and tells you guys to come on out, don’t be afraid. I remember that, I get that. But you’re saying YOU were originally slated to be the mayor to welcome Dorothy to Munchkin Land?"

a_smoke_fan:
Sméagol: "We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitses."

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Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and opinion. Get your day rolling right … or left, whichever.

• Somewhere, Ronnie Van Zant is crying: Jack Daniels has formally ended its sponsorship with Richard Childress Racing, leaving the 07 and Casey Mears without a top-dog sponsor for next year. [Yahoo! Sports]

• Speedway Motorsports Inc. is pressing forward with suits against local Charlotte-area governments in connection with promised Lowe’s Motor Speedway incentives. [Scene Daily]

• One blown engine, and he’s damn near out of the Chase: Kasey Kahne‘s going to need a miracle now to win this thing. See how fast it can turn, folks? [NASCAR.com]

• There’s hope for New England yet: there are some NASCAR fans amid the Red Sox Nation, thank heaven. [WBUR]

• Tony Stewart is back to buying bulletproof vests for dogs. Get on it, Smoke! [KPC News]

• One of those cute little human-interest stories about the guy who runs a parking lot at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, although this one includes helicopter flights. [Union-Leader]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

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In quick point form notes here are my thoughts on each Chasers’ race at New Hampshire.

Mark Martin:  Whoa!  Didn’t see that coming, I was expecting a top 10 out of him.

Denny Hamlin:  Likes flat tracks so his finish didn’t surprise me too much, but his agressive driving did.

Juan Montoya:  Ran well as predictied by yours truly, but still can’t close the door and win one of these round track races.

Jimmie Johnson:  No surprise here either, well, actually I did think he’d finish a little better but he is still in Championship form.

Kurt Busch:  This finish surprised me because his crew chief isn’t allowed to be at the shop during the week to help with the car.  I mean really how can you win a Chase without your Crew Chief’s active participation at the shop?  But then again if Kurt keeps running like this then maybe other teams will start doing the same thing.

Ryan Newman:  Another flat track lover and finished ahead of his boss.  Good job.  I was impressed by this as I was expecting a near 20th place finish.

The Biff:  Another surprise really.  Biffle is a good driver and should be running in the top 10 all of the time but for whatever reason hasn’t been able to get that Roush Ford there so I wasn’t expecting much.

Brian Vickers:  Good finish despite his qualifying effort.  A few more finishes like this and he’ll be turning a lot of heads including Jimmie Johnson.

Tony Stewart:  Another surprise, but not because he finished so low, but because he finished so high.  After that axle problem I thought he’d be sitting in 30th or worse but he recovered to finish 14th.  Good Championship run.

Jeff Gordon:  Started strong but finish was lack-lustre.  I wonder if that contact with Jimmie earlier effected the car more than they said. 

Carl Edwards:  Started strong but finish was lack-lustre.  I wonder … wait this isn’t Gordon, but I guess the same can be said about his run, except the Jimmie part.  Not a bad finish, but not a Championship one either.

Kasey Kahne:  Holy smokes, I was just playing Devil’s Advocate when I was wondering if Dodge was going to pull its tech support of RPM now that they are going to Ford next year!  All kidding aside, that race shop is in turmoil over there and I don’t see it improving much in these next 9 races.

O.k. there you have it – agree or disagree?

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Time for another race chat, friends, but this one is like no other this year — this is the first race for the Chase! And while we’ve got JJ, Smoke, Rainbow, Urt, Cousin Carl, Fiffle and so many others in the hunt, we’ve also still got to deal with Junior and The D00D on the outside looking in. It’s going to be a fine afternoon of racing, so enjoy it here! This is the most important race of the season so far, so chat away and let us know what you think. Have a good one, all!
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Time for another race chat, friends, but this one is like no other this year — this is the first race for the Chase! And while we’ve got JJ, Smoke, Rainbow, Urt, Cousin Carl, Fiffle and so many others in the hunt, we’ve also still got to deal with Junior and The D00D on the outside looking in. It’s going to be a fine afternoon of racing, so enjoy it here! This is the most important race of the season so far, so chat away and let us know what you think. Have a good one, all!
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Ranting and Raving proudly presents the moment that you all have been waiting for. (Right?) On Wednesday, I began counting down, in reverse order of who I believe has the inside track towards winning the Sprint Cup in November at Homestead-Miami. The countdown will reach its conclusion today and you are all just a short sentence away from finding out just who this year’s champion will be.

So let’s find out….after the jump!

1. Jimmie Johnson, 3 Wins, 15 Top 10s, Average Finish: 12.7

Who else could I pick, honestly? This Jimmie Johnson fellow just gets it done. With final championship results of 2^nd, 2^nd, 5^th, 1^st, 1^st and 1^st, Johnson has shown incredible resilience at the constant Chase venues. I expect Johnson to win one or two races and finish no lower than seventh anywhere else. This is just what he does. It’s science. Take it to the bank. Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus take home the Sprint Cup for a fourth consecutive year.

2. Jeff Gordon, 1 Win, 18 Top 10s, Average Finish: 10.9

This leaves second place to the four-time champion, Jeff Gordon. “Model of consistency” has been used ad naseum during this miniseries but no driver further exemplifies this trait more than Gordon. This championship is well within reach for Gordon but Big Daddy must start closing out races. Runner-up finishes will not be enough over the final 10. Regardless, Super G will do just as he has done all season-long and finish second. Gordon will win another championship — just not this year. The Drive for Five rides on and Jeff Gordon finishes second.

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Imagine having to spend a large part of your day answering the same exact questions, over and over. It’d get pretty numbing, wouldn’t it? You’d get sick of it, right? Okay, now imagine having money and fame for doing the thing you love. Now the whole answering-questions bit gets a little easier to deal with, right? You’d think, but then that’s not always the case. Exhibit #500,000 in the case of Athletes vs. Common Freakin’ Courtesy is Juan Pablo Montoya, who put on this wonderful little performance yesterday as he was about to do an interview with KTXL in Sacramento:

It was an idiot move by Montoya, without a doubt. (I understand the sportscaster’s frustration, though I think he’s overselling a bit how hard it is to access these guys.) Here’s hoping someone sits JPM down and reminds him that dealing with the PR aspect of this job is, you know, kind of a necessary one. Deal with it, man, and show both your fans, your team and your sport some more respect.

(Hat tip to Jeff Gluck for the find.)

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