Welcome to a Christmas edition of Ask The Insiders Wednesday!  We’ve got a lot of great questions this week, so keep them coming.  In case you don’t know what this is, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday until at least Daytona comes around.  So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us!  It’s answer time…

1. From Joe:

What do the guys in the garage think about the big 3 not being able to sell enough cars to stay afloat?  Or are they ostriches with their heads in the asphalt?

They certainly don’t have their heads in the asphalt.  They know it’s bad.  As a crew member in the sport right now, you can’t afford to look past these issues.  If you do, you just might end up blindsided by a layoff.  - T.C.

2. From 88Craig:

How do you feel this Big 3 situation is gonna affect NASCAR, and does it put a damper on the drivers as they look toward the 2009 season?

TC and I have talked about this quite a lot and much of what he put into the post yesterday was stuff we have talked about. I think the situation of the Big Three is certainly on everyone’s minds, but for the immediate things aren’t likely to change too much. For the drivers I think the reality is that their paychecks won’t be quite as high. – Journo

3. From Savannah:

TC- In your opinion as a pitcrew member, which track has the safest pit road for the over the wall gang? And, which one presents the most safety challenges for the over the wall gang?
Thanks!

Anywhere that has a pit road with big stalls and good visibility is about the best we can hope for.  Places like California, Michigan, Daytona, and Kansas come to mind.  The pit roads that make me the most nervous are those like we have at Martinsville and Dover.  Both the stalls and pit road are small, and that means cars will be coming into the boxes at weird angles.  Also, there is a bigger chance for contact between the cars entering and exiting. – T.C.

4. From Stephen:

Regarding in-car cameras. I originally thought that the networks would select the cars they wanted to have the incar cams in, but now understand that the team/sponsors have to pay the networks in order to have the incar cams. Stepping back, I can see that having an incar cam does provide more marketing opportunities if the networks use the feed from those cams, but how does that work. Do the networks “guarantee” air time for the incar cams. How much might this arrangement cost per race? Does the weight of the cam and hardware count towards the maximum car weight? Are there intricacies that can make this setup a hassle for the teams or for the networks… What if something goes wrong with the cam and the car has to stop (like if the cam comes loose) – is the car penalized for this problem that might not be their fault. Who installs the cameras, the team or the network?

Since the teams/sponsors have to pay for these cams, I would almost be sure that a certain amount of air time would have to be guaranteed.  It is advertising after all.  To be honest, I have no idea what the cost is.  In terms of weight issues, NASCAR knows in advance that the teams will have cameras and will not penalize them for it.  It isn’t a huge issue anyway, as the camera equipment is not real heavy.  The TV people will come by before the race and install the cameras where they want them.  In terms of issues with the cameras, as long as it doesn’t affect the car’s performance, the team won’t stop to fix them.  If it comes loose, it’s the TV people’s fault. – T.C.

5. From Michael:

Considering that GM, Ford and Chrysler have received funds from the government, when do you think the 3 will pull funding from teams such as Childress, Roush, Hendrick, Gillette,et al?  Also, did Gordon take a pay cut yet?

Well you are already starting to see some pull back from all of the companies. Ford has pulled back some support for Roush, and the other two companies are cutting in other places. Dodge has completely pulled out of the Truck Series, but they have the benefit of having fewer teams to fund as we go into 2009. Chevrolet is cutting back in other areas before they reach the point of pulling funding from the big teams. I don’t think you will see any huge pullouts in the near future, however if things get worse or the automakers file for bankruptcy I think they won’t have much of a choice.

As far as Jeff Gordon goes, I have not heard anything about him taking that pay cut. If he did I’m sure the PR machine would be all over his act of good will. – Journo

6. From Kenny:

When you’re watching the race from the pits, either directly or on a monitor or the scoreboard, do you ever see anything which you report to your team or NASCAR which would help either for performance or safety?

I stay out of any calls that affect the team’s performance.  That is between the driver, crew chief, and spotter.  But there have been times when I’ve noticed oil on the track or pit road, or I’ve seen debris that I will report to an official.  In most cases they’ve already seen it, but you just want to make sure. – T.C.

7. From windowlicker:

It seems the “breakup” between Kyle Petty & Petty Enterprises was pretty messy. Everyone is quick to jump on Kyle for the downfall of PE by not getting out of the car soon enough. How much was Kyle involved in running PE & was it his decision as to who drove the 43 & 45 before Boston Ventures entered the picture?

That break-up really has been one of the sadder storylines of this season. I don’t think anyone blames Kyle for wanting to stay in the car as long as he has. On that same standpoint he probably needed to get out a while ago. Honestly though I don’t think that had anything to do with the situation they found themselves in. That team suffers from a failure to adapt. I talked about that a couple of weeks ago.

Kyle was very involved in the operations of that team prior to Boston Ventures’ acquisition. In recent years with the addition of people like Robbie Loomis the burden had perhaps been a little lighter. I’m sure decisions about who was going to be in any one of the cars came from them and others in the organization. Kyle was the CEO, so if he wanted to be in the car there really wasn’t anyone to tell him no. – Journo

8. From Neon:

From an insiders perspective to us (that consider ourselves somewhat educated NASCAR followers), what are one or two elements of NASCAR racing that an outsider may not realize about the sport that you just don’t get from TV, print or even attending races?

I have a few. The first is the logistics it takes to put on a race.  You would not believe the work and effort it takes to not only get the teams and equipment to the track and set up, but also the TV compound, sponsor midway, and souvenir trailers.  Usually, these folks only have a few days to pack up, travel to the next race, and get set back up again.  It is mind boggling.  Journo wrote a great post here about some of it.  Another element, is how tight knit the NASCAR community really is.  We are all family, for better or worse.  You may not know everyone, or heck, even like everyone.  But if they were in trouble, everyone steps up. – T.C.

With that, this installment of “Ask The Insiders Wednesdays” is in the books.  Thanks to everyone who sent in questions.  And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!

*Just a quick note, we are taking the next few days off for the holiday, and will be back on Saturday with our usual “NASCAR Week That Was” post.  Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

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