Word came down today that Mansfield Motorsports Park was pulling out of its deal to host the NASCAR Craftsman (excuse me, Camping World) Truck Series race over Coca-Cola 600 weekend in 2009. While I think the small town show was a good one for the series, I know a lot of people who are probably doing [...]
Archive for December, 2008
Iowa on My Mind
December 17th, 2008 
Journo Ask The Insiders Wednesday #2
December 16th, 2008 T.C. Ask The Insiders Wednesday is back for edition number 2! 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 [...]
I Got Swag
December 15th, 2008 T.C. Well… I do. But don’t worry, it isn’t some horrible disease or condition. I promise. What it is, is all the race team and sponsor gear we all collect through the years working for different teams and having different sponsors. Over the years, teams and sponsors have turned crew guys into walking, branded, marketing tools. Along [...]
Franchising Needs to Stick to Stick and Ball Sports
December 14th, 2008 Journo As more and more storied NASCAR teams struggle to survive the downtrodden times, the question of NASCAR franchising has become a topic for discussion among those who talk for a living. Even Petty Enterprises CEO David Zucker got in on the act a couple of weeks ago, saying he thought NASCAR needed to franchise. This fundamental [...]
Breaking News: Rule Changes Coming to Truck Series
December 14th, 2008 T.C. In an effort to help save the teams money for the 2009 season and beyond, we are hearing that NASCAR may be ready to announce a couple of rule changes for the Truck Series. First, teams will be limited on the number of hard cards (annual credentials) they can purchase for the season. This will [...]
Posted in NASCAR News 
Tags: annual credential, hard card, pit crew, pit stop, rule changes, tire carrier, Truck Series 
13 Comments »The NASCAR Week That Was: Dec. 7-14
December 13th, 2008 Journo Another week in the offseason has ticked by and still more surprising news comes out of the world of NASCAR. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (or Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, I’m not sure if we can officially start calling them that yet) shut down the #40 Nationwide Series team, laying off several crew members and crew chief [...]
Posted in NASCAR Week That Was Tags: bobby labonte, Bryan Clauson, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, EGR, Ganassi, Petty No Comments »There Are No Guarantees In Racing; Ask Bryan Clauson
December 11th, 2008 T.C. Yet another tough lesson that will bear its ugly head to everyone at some point or another in their career is the fact that there are no guarantees in racing. It makes no difference whether you are a driver, crew member, or team owner. Sometimes, circumstances are just beyond your control. The most recent example [...]
Ask The Insiders Wednesday #1
December 10th, 2008 T.C. Welcome to the very first edition of Ask The Insiders Wednesday! Starting with this initial post, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday until at least Daytona comes around. We will try and answer all questions to the best of our ability. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask [...]
Posted in Ask the Insiders Tags: Ask the Insiders, COT, Daytona 500, Max Siegel, pit crew, salaries, ticket prices 1 Comment »#40 Team Shut Down. Fastenal to RCR?
December 10th, 2008 Journo There is news today that Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has shut down the #40 Nationwide team. It sounds like most, if not all, of the employees on that team have been laid off, including crew chief Brad Parrott. No word on what is happening with Rookie of the Year runner-up Bryan Clauson. As [...]
Posted in NASCAR News Tags: Brad Parrott, Bryan Clauson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Economy, Fastenal, firing, layoff No Comments »Wood Brothers and Petty in a Predicament of Their Own Making
December 9th, 2008 Journo Wood Brothers and Petty are a big topic of discussion around the sport these days. Much of the talk centers around how sad it would be to lose these two iconic organizations in the wake of one of the worst economic downturns in the last century. I am however not quite as nostalgic. Both of [...]
