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Archive for May, 2010

Say this for Kyle Busch: he doesn’t have much trouble making people mad.

On the final restart of the Coca-Cola 600, Busch immediately made a move to go three wide. He found himself in the middle between Jeff Burton, who was on the outside, and Burton’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, who was on the inside.

It looked like Busch might have gotten the right side of his splitter into Burton’s left rear tire, and Burton immediately shot up the track and slowed.

After the race, Burton angrily went over to Busch’s car, and while most of Burton’s comments were inaudible, it was very obvious that Burton was very unhappy with Busch and at one point told him to "Calm your (self) down," and that he wasn’t going to stick up (or another synonym) for Busch any longer.

That "nice and respect stuff" that Burton talked about Thursday was in reference to Busch’s spat with Denny Hamlin during the All-Star Race. When asked about the dispute between Kyle and Denny Hamlin, Burton was charitable toward the 18:

“Kyle is an aggressive driver and he runs hard every lap.  Kyle, in my view, has never been a guy that wrecks other people.  Honestly, he puts himself in some situations where you’re thinking, ‘I don’t know if he’s going to come out of that.’ On restarts he’s real aggressive, but I’ve never felt that Kyle was a guy that I looked at and said, ‘that dude takes a lot of people out.’  There’s been a lot of guys that came in trying to be aggressive that have been taking more people out than Kyle ever did in my opinion," Burton said.

"I really like racing with Kyle.  We’ve had some really good knock down drag out races, and when it’s over typically we’re all cool with it.  I really like racing with him.  He’s really aggressive, but he typically does it in a way that puts himself at harm.  Now, obviously if you’re behind him and he gets in trouble, you’re going to get in it with him.  I like racing with Kyle; I really do.  I know he’s going to be aggressive and I know he’s going to come at me, but I’m good with that." 

Busch’s move didn’t look anything out of the ordinary, especially for a battle inside the top 10 on a double-file restart late in the race. Sure, there wasn’t much room for Busch’s car, but it’s not like this isn’t to be expected from Busch, especially given the circumstances.

It also could be a case of pent-up frustration for Burton, widely considered to be the unofficial garage spokesman for the Sprint Cup Series. The normally mild-mannered Burton has had terrible luck at the end of races this season (Martinsville, Texas), so while he may have a point, it may have more to do with how Burton’s season has gone than Busch’s actions Sunday night.

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This year, the Indianapolis 500
celebrates its "centennial era," marking 100 years since the track grew
from an idea into the largest single-day sporting event on the planet.
Over the next few days, we’ll be focusing on everything from Indy‘s
greatest champions to its most bizarre traditions. Today, we kick
things off with a look back at some of the most significant moments in Indy‘s history, and we start at the very beginning:

1909: The track’s first race should have been termed the "Indy
5," since it was just a two-lap, five-mile run. Five miles? That’s not
even enough time to get the grill started! Anyway, it was run over
dirt, and all the resulting accidents moved the track’s owners to pave
the entire surface – first with 3.2 million bricks, and later with
asphalt.

1911: Ray Harroun wins the first "International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race" while utilizing a brand-new invention of his own design: a rear-view mirror.

1936: Louis Meyer wins the race and gulps down a bottle of buttermilk immediately afterward. A tradition is born.

1940: Wilbur Shaw becomes the first driver to win two Indys in a row. It was also his third of four, making him Indy’s first three-time winner. 

1955: In one of what will be many fatalities at the Indy 500
track, two-time defending champion Bill Vukovich dies while leading the
race by 17 seconds. A pileup ahead of him causes him to wreck, sending
him over the backstretch’s retaining wall.

1965: The Indy 500 is shown on national TV for the first time. It’s on tape-delay until 1986, when it’s finally shown live and in its entirety.

1966: Only seven cars are running at the end of the race, an all-time low for Indy.

1973:
Rain, fan injuries and three fatalities — two drivers in separate
instances and one crew member — stretch the race to a three-day event;
only 133 laps of 200 are even completed.

1977: Gordon Johncock had a 16-second lead on A.J. Foyt when Johncock’s crankshaft cracked. (Hate when that happens.) Foyt scooted on by to win his fourth Indy. 

1981:
Bobby Unser finally claims victory over Mario Andretti five months
after the race concludes; hearings and investigations were necessary to
determine who won the race. During the race, Unser had passed eight
cars under caution and Andretti passed two. Unser won the race but had
the victory stripped from him the day afterward.

1990: Arie Luyendyk wins the fastest race ever run at Indy, running a still-standing record 185.98 mph. 

1992: Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear dueled right to the finish, with Unser holding off Goodyear by the narrowest margin in Indy history — 0.043 seconds, or about the length of time to read the period at the end of this sentence.

1994: Speedway president Tony George forms the Indy Racing League, a rival to the existing CART league, with the Indy 500
as its centerpiece. The move draws criticism, with suggestions that
George is trying to restore the race’s prominence and stem the flow of
quality drivers into NASCAR rather than open-wheel racing.

1996: CART boycotts the Indy
after George guarantees that 75 percent of the starting spots would go
to IRL cars. New rules implemented in 1997 kept CART out of Indy for the next three years.

2001: Tony Stewart races in the Indy 500
in the afternoon, finishing sixth, then cruises to Charlotte to run in
the Coca-Cola 600, where he finishes third. Only 1,100 miles in one
day, Tony? Slacker. Others to pull off the double-dip feat include John Andretti and Robby Gordon, but Tony is the only one to run all 1,100 miles.

2001: Future "Dancing With the Stars" champ Helio Castroneves wins in his first Indy start, and climbs the fence in celebration. He’d win the next year, too.

2005: In her rookie season, Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to lead the Indy 500.
Just four laps from victory, she’s unable to hold off Dan Wheldon. But
the fact that everyone knows Danica’s name anyway indicates who the
real winner was.

2006: Sam Hornish Jr. becomes the first driver to win the Indy 500 by making a last-lap pass, winning by catching Marco Andretti with less than 450 feet left in the race.

2009: NASCAR legend Richard Petty enters his first vehicle in the Indianapolis 500, to be driven by John Andretti. Helio Castroneves wins his third race, and Danica Patrick, with a third-place finish, records the highest finish ever by a woman in Indy history.

All right, your turn. What are your favorite Indy moments? The wheel is yours.

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Over the 100 years of the Indianapolis 500, barely a dozen men have won the race more than once. And only three have won it four times, each one of them a legend in motorsports. On Sunday, Helio Castroneves will have the opportunity to join one of the most exclusive clubs in racing. With victories in 2001, 2002 and 2009, Castroneves is sitting on the cusp of immortality. 

You’ll hear plenty about Castroneves over the next few days. Let’s take a look at the guys whom he’s trying to catch.

AJ Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977)
Foyt was one of the finest drivers ever to circle Indy. He’s still the only driver to wint Indy, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours at Le Mans and the 24 Hours at Daytona. Here’s video of his 1964 win; try not to get too disgusted as the merry announcer chirps about the horrible deaths of two drivers as circus music plays in the background:

Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991)
Mears still holds the record for most poles at Indy, with six, and his duel with Michael Andretti in the final laps of the 1991 race remains one of the most thrilling in the sport’s history. But don’t take my word for it; take Rick’s:

Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987)
A member of one of racing’s most prominent families, Unser holds the record of most laps led at Indy (644), and he’s also the oldest driver ever to win the race at 47 years old. Here, Unser recalls that momentous win:

So could Castroneves join this august group? Well, he won the pole, and he’s the odds-on favorite at 11/4 to win. (Scott Dixon is next at 7/2). So, yes, it’s looking very good for Mr. Dancing With History. And it all goes down on Sunday.

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I love this picture of Junior Johnson checking out one of his old rides in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Love it because you just know Junior left a stash or two of moonshine where nobody could find it, and he’s wondering if he could climb up there and yank it out without anybody noticing.

Anyway, welcome to Midnight Marbles, folks, where the door’s open for you to chat about anything and everything you like. NASCAR, other sports, other topics, whatever. Have at it, and be good to each other while you do.  

Also, if you’ve got a few free moments, why not check out "Why Is This News?", the latest podcast from me and Big League Stew‘s Kevin Kaduk. It’s not NASCAR, but it’s fun, and I think you’ll dig it. Check it out.

Enjoy, everybody, and start getting ready to sit for 600 miles on Sunday night!

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Hey, here’s some cheery news for your day: Fox’s NASCAR ratings among one of its most important demographics are in free-fall!

A must-read article over at Scene Daily notes that Fox Sports recorded viewership of about 8.3 million in 2009, and projections put that total at about 8 million in 2010. However, in the key male 18-34 sector, ratings are down a staggering 29 percent. That’s some scary stuff, folks — so scary that we probably shouldn’t take it at straight face value.

Now, as Mark Twain said, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics, so why not work these numbers over like a Swedish masseuse? For one thing, we’ve had two races run on Mondays — you know, when most males in that demographic are working. For another, we’re still dealing with the economy and Jimmie Fatigue.

So what to do? Shortening races is an obvious solution, though as Scene points out, shorter races mean less time for commercials and thus less time for networks to recoup their costs. The rules changes have helped, certainly, as certain races have shown year-over-year improvement. Beyond that, I have a very simple solution:

You’re staring at it.

The computer! Use the freakin’ computer, people! Stream races online! Both the NCAA and the PGA stream basketball and golf events online, and they do extremely well. Yes, NASCAR races are run on Sundays, and lots of folks don’t want to get on a computer on Sundays, but that’s a huge revenue stream that’s virtually untapped. Run the race, in its entirety, with targeted ads surrounding the screen, and you’re looking at an instant cash infusion. And yes, I know that broadcast rights make that a nightmare, but when there’s money to be made, solutions tend to arise.

The thing about NASCAR fandom is that while you may lose a few to attrition, most are still out there waiting for a reason to come back. You don’t outgrow wanting to see cars go fast. NASCAR just has to figure out how to appeal to this group on its level, not expect everyone to keep on with the same old ways.

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Formula One has been absent from the United States since 2007, but fear not, open-wheel devotees — it’s coming back! Starting in 2012, you’ll be able to see some sleek, smooth Euroracing in the motorsports hotbed of …

… Austin, Texas. Yeah, I’m not sure why, either.

Actually, it’s pretty obvious why. F1 has tried for years to get back into the U.S., most recently through a convoluted and controversial plan to put a race in New Jersey. At last,  though, Formula One president Bernie Ecclestone has brokered a deal to bring a race to Texas under a deal that runs from 2012 to 2021.

Now, you’re most likely unfamiliar with Austin’s open-wheel history, and there’s a good reason for that: there is none. There’s no track, no race infrastructure, nothing. Austin is going ground-up for this endeavor, which would be the first track built in the United States specifically for Formula One. Previous events in Las Vegas, Phoenix and other locations used existing city streets, and Indianapolis, which hosted the event from 2000 to 2007, ran a route through Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But the track is apparently going to be privately financed, which is a huge deal in this age of soak-the-taxpayer stadium arrangements. Formula One, which has long maintained a love-hate relationship with the U.S. — as in, they hate us until they need us, and then they love us — will hopefully put on a product more fan-friendly than the last few times a Grand Prix was run on U.S. shores, in which the racing was largely an open-wheel parade.

There are many, many hurdles to clear before the flag drops in Austin, and as we know, F1 cars don’t do so well with hurdles. Still, anything that gets more racing rolling is all right with me. Best of luck, lads.  

(Also, please note that the above image is from Iron Man 2 and is in no way a visual metaphor for our take on the chances of a Grand Prix race in Austin succeeding.) 

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Time for another Marbles chat! Come hang with us and talk NASCAR, Indy, and whatever else is on your mind. See you here at 1:00 Eastern!

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According to the Indianapolis
Business Journal, a movement has started to make the  Indianapolis
500 the most prestigious race in the country again. And boy, it’s a doozy. 

Many of the proposed changes
center around the car and innovation. The current IndyCar is expected
to be replaced by IndyCar’s version of the COT in 2012 (just as long
as it’s not the Delta
Wing, please) so
there will already be sweeping changes across the board. 

But according to Mike Hull,
Scott Dixon’s crew chief, and Dennis Reinbold, co-owner of Dreyer
and Reinbold Racing, there also needs to be more connection between
the consumer auto industry and open wheel racing. From the Journal:

"Changes need to be made
in IndyCar to make it relevant with what people in the automotive industry
are talking about today-green technology; smaller, more efficient
engines; fuel use and performance; and lighter cars and engines,"
Hull said.

"Everybody is so caught
up in what the car will look like," he said.
"Instead, we should be creating an avenue for car manufacturers to
get back in this series with the technology they can provide. We have
to have a fresh approach. We can no longer think in a shoe box." 
 
Dennis Reinbold, a local car dealer who co-owns an IRL team, said aligning
more closely with the mainstream automotive industry
"makes a lot of sense." 
 
"Becoming relevant to the car industry is how the Speedway began,"
Reinbold said. "Getting in line with that could open up some serious
doors." 
 
Reinbold said the IRL must get in tune with mainstream auto consumers,
too. 

"We have an eight-horsepower pig engine and a race-specific chassis,"
Reinbold said. "We have to start talking the same language as the
auto industry. They used to say 500 miles on the track is worth 50,000
miles on the highway. I think there’s still merit in that." 

NASCAR realized that they had
gotten away from the "stock" factor over the last 15 years, hence
the return to more manufacturer identity in the Nationwide Series with
that new car. However, NASCAR is the most popular motorsport in the
country, certainly the only one with enough power to actually influence
the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" mantra. Are there really enough
open wheel racing fans to make a concerted consumer auto overlap worth
it?

Well, there’s apparently
a plan for that too.

(IMS CEO Jeff) Belskus
confirmed that the idea of opening up the engine and chassis formulas
and allowing more innovation at Indianapolis has been bandied about,
but added the idea "would need more in-depth discussion" before
it is adopted. 
 
Addressing safety issues and the expense to teams is essential, he said,
adding that the changes would also require input from series partners
such as chassis maker Dallara and engine maker Honda. 
 
Dallara’s deal with the IRL is year-to-year and Honda’s deal runs
through 2011, making 2012 an ideal year to launch new regulations.

Helio Castroneves’ pole speed
for Sunday’s race was 227.970 MPH, so it’s not inconceivable to
think that if the rules were opened up for the race, the pole speed
could be between 240-250 MPH. And just how fast is too fast? 

Danica Patrick said Saturday that
she was scared
- something that a driver never admits – so what would drivers be
saying about going 240 MPH? And Indianapolis isn’t exactly the raciest
track in the world either. Because of the (lack of) banking, it’s
a one groove track, and very rarely can cars run the corners side by
side without any calamity.

Add to that the fact that racing
tends to get worse the higher the speeds, so are those that are pushing
for the rule relaxation shooting their competition foot in their quest
for speed?

And there’s this: 

"If you open up all the
rules, the difference between the haves and have-nots would be so great,"
said Team Penske President Tim Cindric.
"Whether that would be interesting or not, only time would tell." 

Given that the IndyCar Series
is already switching to a new car, maybe changes to the cars for the
Indy 500 should wait a few years because the more things change, the
more they stay the same. Smaller teams will already be behind in switching
over to the 2012 car, and if the 500 has a new set of rules, they’ll
be miles behind, instead of mere feet. The IndyCar Series is already
a two team show between Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi. Do series
officials really want that to continue?

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In one of the most unfortunate stories of the 2010 Sprint Cup season up to now, Brian Vickers has been diagnosed with pulmonary embolism, or blood clots in the lungs. He’s been put on blood thinners and had left the hospital, only to return the next day when the pain returned. Of course, we were all hoping to see a speedy recovery, but alas, it’s not to be. He will have to be on blood thinners for an undetermined time to come, and as a result of this will be sitting out the rest of the season.

Talking it over with his doctor and the general manager of Red Bull Racing, Brian tried to make light of the matter: "I can actually race on blood thinners, I just can’t crash," he said in a interview Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "So I told them if I promise I won’t crash, will they let me race?

"The answer was ‘No.’"

A crash while on blood thinners could be life-threatening, and Brian and Red Bull are not willing to take the risk. But Brian loves racing, and swears to return. "This is what I love to do, this is my life," he said, " … and I fully intend on doing it again."

As we continue to wish Brian all the best and a full recovery, in a true "ill wind that blows nobody any good" moment, Red Bull is planning to keep Casey Mears in the seat for the foreseeable future, though they may bring in a ringer for the road courses. So good luck to Casey, and we hope he passes the audition.

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We’re almost to the finest double-down day of racing of the entire year — the beat-it-kids, I’m-watching-racing all-day motorfest that is the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.

Now, you’ve surely heard of Charlotte Motor Speedway head honcho Bruton Smith’s plans to offer a $20 million bonus to anybody who manages to win both races. It’s a great idea, but right now it’s not just unfeasible, it’s impossible.

Here’s why. The Indy 500 starts at 1 p.m. Eastern Last year’s winner, Helio Castroneves, finished the race in three hours, 19 minutes. That puts us at 4:19. Assuming it takes 45 minutes to jump on a helicopter, get on a plane and go wheels-up, you’re looking at leaving Indianapolis at about 5 p.m. It’s about 430 miles to Charlotte by air, which is roughly an hour of flight time.

So far, so good. Problem is, the Coca-Cola 600 starts at 6:16, and cars roll off pit road several minutes before that. In other words, assuming everything goes exactly right at Indy, a double-time driver would have to pretty much land his plane on the track at Charlotte, jump out and sprint over to his car in time for the "gentlemen, start your engines."

Yeah, that’s probably not going to happen. 

So how could it go down? Obviously, since race times and flight times are fixed concepts, you have to alter the start times. Moving the Coca-Cola race to Saturday night would make schedules sync up, but that would utterly kill the single-day racing element, wouldn’t it?  

Now, you could push the Coca-Cola 600 later in the evening. But the race already takes well over four hours. Push it later, and you’re flirting with a post-midnight finishing time even under good circumstances, and that’s broadcast suicide. You could shorten the race by a hundred miles, but that strips the race of its character. So if you want to preserve the all-day race deal, there’s only one choice — move the start time of the Indy 500 to 11 a.m.

So here’s the deal. Indy, you’re part of a second-tier series. Sorry, open-wheel fans, but it’s true. You know it, we know it. Nobody watches open-wheel outside of the Indy 500, and even that has lost much of its cachet.

However, if the Indy 500 gets stocked with double-time drivers, all of a sudden it becomes instantly relevant and must-watch. And the IRL gets a whole boatload of new viewers, to do with as they please. (Yes, they’ll probably fumble them away, but at least they’ll have them for an afternoon.) Shoot, NASCAR could make some accommodations — putting up the majority of the $20 million, say, or kicking in some promotional time for the IRL — but it’s up to Indy to get this in gear.

Like we said before, Indy — make this work. It’s on you.

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