Nascar Racing Online

Archive for July, 2010

The Camping World Truck Series is racing for the first time at Pocono this weekend and Saturday morning’s qualifying session took about an hour despite Elliott Sadler‘s pole lap being just over 55 seconds.

In what was called by many as a "modified European" format, the slowest truck from Friday’s practice went out first while the fastest truck, Sadler, went out last. The trucks went out in 25 second intervals, so at any given point there were three or four trucks out on the track at the same time. (Drafting wasn’t allowed, and if Truck Series officials deemed that drafting took place, the times of the offending trucks would be disallowed.)

Plus, with Sadler going out last, it added some drama to the end of the qualifying session. Most qualifying sessions in NASCAR are anti-climactic when it comes to the pole award at the end of the session because the cars who aren’t locked in qualify last.

Qualifying at Pocono and larger tracks can be tedious, and while Pocono’s busy schedule had a lot to do with it — Saturday’s schedule included Cup practice, Truck qualifying and the race and the ARCA race — it’s something that needs to be used in the Cup Series at Pocono.

The format would create interest in Cup qualifying — the stands were pretty empty on Friday — and could also be used at Talladega and for the July Daytona race. Yes, it’s a minnow in the grand scheme of changes that NASCAR may be making for 2011, but it’s one that certianly should be done.

Go to Source

Hey all, time for a little Midnight Marbles late night/weekend chat about whatever’s on your mind. For starters, consider what NASCAR stars would fit best in which television shows. How well would Kyle Busch do as an undercover boss? (Probably would have a hard time fooling the guys in the shop.) How would Juan Pablo Montoya fare on "Mad Men"? Jeff Gordon on "Rescue Me"? Dale Earnhardt Jr. on "Lost"? Just, you know, to throw a few ideas out there. Roll with ‘em.

Oh, and hey — if you’re looking for something to occupy your time beyond the world of NASCAR, why not check out my new all-sports podcast, "Why Is This News?" Done with baseball blogger Kevin Kaduk, we’ve already had a fine slate of guests, including authors and Hall of Famers. Enjoy, and we’ll see you back here soon with more.

Go to Source

Stewart wins pole at Pocono

Go to Source

One of the fun parts of this job is getting email from people offering up their ideas for how to solve NASCAR’s problems. Some are ridiculous, and some are good enough that you guys belong in NASCAR HQ. In recent weeks, I’ve gotten a few proposals for how to change the Chase, and so I’ll be running some of those over the next few days. First up is Stephen Walker, who gives us this elimination-based Chase. Take it away, Steve:

If you want to make any changes, why not make it a true playoff?

12 drivers, 10 races to go.
11 drivers, 9 races to go.
10 drivers, 8 races to go.
9 drivers, 7 races to go.
8 drivers, 6 races to go.
7 drivers, 5 races to go.
6 drivers, 4 races to go.
5 drivers, 3 races to go.
4 drivers, 2 races to go.
3 drivers, one race for the championship.

I’m not suggesting reset the points after each week–track them like
normal.  What I am suggesting is the WORST finish in each week’s race
by the Chase
drivers gets eliminated (not lowest cumulative points to that race but
literally the worst finish) — even if they entered the race leading the
points.  And, heading into the final race, you’ll have three drivers
with their normal point totals, with whoever has the most points at the
end of the race winning the championship.

I know you could see someone like Jimmie Johnson at Texas last year
eliminated despite looking like he had it all locked up but that would
be the point.  That would be the drama.  Like football, one bad Sunday
WOULD end your championship hopes, meaning each and every week you must
be show up and perform.  Yeah, you could end up with non-chase
drivers completely ruining the championship hopes for a Jimmie Johnson
or Jeff Gordon be wrecking them on lap one (and certainly, NASCAR would
punish the non-chase driver)…but it would be
no different than the Jets injuring Tom Brady in the last regular
season game of the year, or when Carson Palmer injured his knee on the
first drive of the playoffs that one year.

The pressure would be there each & every week to perform–and just
imagine when you get down to 6, 5 and then 4 drivers … even if you’re
leading the points, you still have to beat every other remaining chase driver to have a shot.

I like it, though the unpredictability of wrecks is a big drawback. It’s a lot more likely that someone will get taken out in a wreck than a big-name player will get injured. But still — tension city, baby!

If you’ve got an idea for spicing up the Chase, hit me up by email. You might just see your work here!

Go to Source

Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray have a bit of a discussion about something — how awful Montoya’s sunglasses are, perhaps. Surely you can come up with what they’re talking about. Surely.

After the jump, a bunch of Indy winners talk shop.

Horatio Caine (yeeeeeaaaahh!):
Bill Elliott to all, "I was selling out these races when you guys were bumming gas to put in your cars to get to high school."

Rick C:
Sam Hornish Jr. proves that he needs to lean up on something..a wall, a trophy, another driver, etc…

peoplespigskin:
How many of these people needed a refresher course on how to find Victory Lane?

Carol:
Juan Pablo keeps the tops of his tennies free and clear so he can be
prepared to run from the young girl whose sunglasses he swiped.

Go to Source

ESPN is a strange hydra of a media company. On one hand, they allow themselves to be played like a violin by LeBron James with his ridiculous "The Decision" infomercial — and, apparently, with a salacious Vegas article about King James this week, too. But on the other, they’re producing first-rate documentaries in their "30 for 30" series, incisive profiles of everything from the connection between drug culture and soccer in Colombia to the confluence of sporting events that happened the day of O.J. Simpson’s Bronco chase. And with the exception of one ridiculous profile of the guys who invented fantasy baseball, the docs have been uniformly excellent.

So far, though, there hasn’t been anything approaching a motorsports angle in any of the "30 for 30" docs. Which is unfortunate; NASCAR and IndyCar have given American sports some phenomenal stories, both well-known and under the radar.

However, that’s about to change. On October 19, ESPN will air "Tim Richmond: To The Limit," a profile of hard-partying gone-too-soon driver Tim Richmond. Here’s the details:

Natural. Rock star. Outsider. In the 1980s, race car driver Tim Richmond lived his life the way he raced cars – wide open. Born into a wealthy family, Richmond was the antithesis of the Southern, blue-collar racers who dominated NASCAR. He also was a flamboyant showman who basked in the attention of the media and fans – especially the attention of female admirers. Nevertheless, it was Richmond’s on-track performances that ended up drawing comparisons to racing legends. And in 1986, when he won seven NASCAR races and finished third in the Winston Cup series points race, some believed he was on the verge of stardom. But soon his freewheeling lifestyle caught up to him. He unexpectedly withdrew from the NASCAR racing circuit, reportedly suffering from double pneumonia. In reality, the diagnosis was much more dire: He had AIDS. Richmond returned to the track in 1987, but he was gone from the sport by the next year as his health deteriorated. He spent his final days as a recluse, dying on August 13, 1989, at the age of 34. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rory Karpf will examine the life and tragic death of one of NASCAR’s shooting stars.

In good news for NASCAR fans, Karpf is a sympathetic ear — he’s done "Together: The Hendrick Motorsports Story," "NASCAR: The Ride of their Lives" and "Dale," all of which were respectful to their source material. Looking forward to this — Richmond is exactly the kind of guy who shouldn’t be forgotten, for any number of reasons — and we’ll obviously report on it more as the date draws nearer.

Go to Source

Some creepy photojournalism here as a photographer snapped Jack Roush’s plane toppling toward earth … and then, apparently, sold the photos to TMZ. No indication of how fast Roush was going, but seeing this and the one below (not graphic), it’s obvious that Roush is using up his nine lives at an alarming clip.

Oh, and try not to think about the fact that these photographs would have still existed — and would have made it to the web — even if the wreck had ended more tragically. Fortunately, Roush survived; he remains in serious condition and under observation for facial injuries.

Here is a video of Roush exiting the plane courtesy of CNN. WARNING: The clip includes graphic footage:

Go to Source

Hey gang–time for another Marbles chat, and we’re moving it up an hour this time. Why, you ask? Because at 1 p.m. I’m going go-karting with Justin Allgaier and Jason Leffler, or some such media silliness, that’s why. We can chat about that, or the driver fines, or whatever you’d like. See you here!

Go to Source

The plane Jack Roush was piloting Tuesday crashed at Wittman Air Field in OshKosh, Wis. Roush walked away from the accident bloodied but alive. Here is a photo of Roush’s plane.

Roush was taken to a local hospital where an attending physician said he is in serious but stable condition, according to a press release. His injuries are not life threatening.

From the AP:

"There are injuries. Possible surgery," Roush-Fenway President Geoff Smith said in a text message. "But he walked out of the plane."

Roush, an aviation buff, was expected to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., this week.

There is a picture of Roush exiting the plane, though it’s graphic. If you’re not a fan of blood, don’t click on the following link. Here is the picture.

This is the second plane crash that Roush has been involved in. In 2002, a plane he was piloting near Talladega, Ala., crashed into a lake. Roush was knocked unconscious. He might have perished if it wasn’t for the fast actions of Larry Hicks, a retired Marine who saw the accident.

Our get-well wishes go out to Roush for a quick and easy recovery, and maybe that Cat in the Hat nickname has some merit after all.

(Thanks to Bob Margolis’ Twitter account and Jason McDowell for the pictures)

Go to Source

There’s now another driver on the market for 2011 as JTG-Daugherty announced Tuesday that Marcos Ambrose and the team will be parting ways after Homestead.

“JTG Daugherty Racing and our sponsors are obviously huge Marcos
Ambrose fans and we are disappointed to see him leave after five great
years of building a program together from the NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series, to the Nationwide Series, and into the Sprint Cup Series,” said
Tad Geschickter, co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing along with Brad
Daugherty and Jodi Geschickter. “Marcos is a friend and he is a great
talent. He will be an asset to his next team."

But since we don’t know what that new team is at the moment, let’s examine the possibilities. Stewart-Haas, the first destination for most free agent drivers, is probably out of the equation at this point. There’s no room at the inn at Hendrick or Roush, so they’re out too.

A fourth car at Joe Gibbs Racing could be a possibility, and while Richard Childress has room for a fourth car, given how last year went for them, there’s no reason to think that they’d want to expand back to four teams.

An intriguing possibility for Ambrose is Richard Petty Motorsports, a team that’s probably not going to bring back Elliott Sadler next year along with Kasey Kahne‘s already confirmed departure. Paul Menard and AJ Allmendinger are also in contract years, but it’s feasible to think that RPM could survive as a two-car team. However, that would depend on Menard, as he has full-season backing from his father. RPM is losing Budweiser along with Kahne, and if Menard doesn’t come back, RPM would be left without a full season sponsor.

How weird would it be to see Ambrose find a ride for 2011 before Kahne’s future plans are finalized? Where do you think Ambrose would be a good fit? Drop us a line in the comments.

Go to Source