Since the Cup cars will be turning left AND right this week on the road course in Sonoma, I figured we’d take a strange turn of our own here to start out Ask The Insiders Wednesday.  The much talked about “guyliner” question kicks off edition #28.  If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here.  So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us.  On to the questions…

1. From windowlicker & Ross:

So I was sitting in Whisky River on Sunday afternoon with my friend Ross. The bartender was wearing copious amounts of guyliner. I’ve been to several NASCAR themed bars up north & the bartenders don’t wear any guyliner (at least during the day). My friend Ross says guyliner on a bartender is appropriate during the day at Whisky River because WR is edgy (it’s got a mechanical bull). I disagree, the guyliner should be saved for Friday nights when the hipsters are out, not Sunday afternoons when the real Jr. faithful are there to watch the race. What’s your guys’ take on the state of NASCAR & guyliner?

Hmm. Guyliner. Well I believe as with most things ‘to each his own.’ In my life the only men I have ever known who have seriously gone to makeup counters at department stores have been on television. Even then they weren’t buying eyeliner. Does it look a little ridiculous, in my opinion yeah. But again to each his own. – Journo

2. From Jessica:

Hi guys- love the site! After watching the Stewart/Reutimann/”Billy Bad Butt” incident at the Coca-Cola 600, I was wondering how common it is for crew members to get involved in disputes between drivers. Also, do drivers and other crew members think this sort of involvement is a good thing or a bad thing? Thanks!

I don’t know if I would say it’s a common thing, but it definitely happens.  When race cars get torn up, the crew guys are naturally going to be angry, as it was their blood, sweat and tears that put those cars together.  Also, a lot of crew guys will look to protect their drivers in certain situations.  Some team people even encourage this.  As to whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, I guess it depends on how far the situation is taken.  Watching crews duke it out on pit road is probably not a good thing. – T.C.

3. From Muggs:

Where do the guys/gals that drive the motor coaches to the track stay? Do they go to a local motel until they are needed to drive the motor coaches home again?

You are right on. They get hotels nearby. Most though do spend the weekend with the coach. A lot of these guys are almost personal assistants to the drivers and their families so they are expected to be at the track all weekend. – Journo

4. From yankeegranny

I am a JR fan and am having a hard time understanding how he is running an average of 2-4 miles slower than the other HMS and SHR cars. I don’t see much difference with the new crew chief and thought the HMS had an open book with information that is shared amoung the crews.  Can the driver and his driving style make that much of a difference? If it is how does the team :fix: the problem: more driver time in the simulators, practice at other tracks, setting up the cars differently back at the shop.?  There really seems to be a difference between the 88 and the other HMS teams. Love your column.

Once the decision was made to make McGrew Junior’s crew chief, I certainly didn’t think there was going to be a change overnight.  It is going to take time for McGrew and Junior to learn each other and what works best for setups and communication.  And it’s not as simple as putting Jimmie Johnson’s setup on Dale Jr.’s car.  Each driver is different in what kind of feel they want from a race car, and they may not match up.  I think another big part of this situation is Junior’s confidence.  He’s been struggling for so long, his confidence in his own ability has to be low.  McGrew and that team need to start showing him some gains and help him get back that confidence he needs to push his race car that extra little bit.  Give them some time, they will figure it out. – T.C.

5. From Walt:

Did Carl Long have the engine (that was too big) built by the Elliotts or did his team put it together from block up?  One other thing, any job that i have applyed for has always had drug testing.  What i am trying to say is that nobody will tell you what you are being tested for and some employers will let different things slide.

The engine was originally built for Ganassi.  And Ernie was Ganassi’s engine builder, so I’m guessing his guys built it.  But it was not purposely built for Long, and it wasn’t built by Long’s guys. – T.C.

6. From Ric:

A follow up question to my question last week (Insider #27, Q #14). On the various job positions teams have at the track. What are some of the more unique jobs / titles that you have heard of?

I’m not really sure on this question.  Most teams have basically the same jobs, as it takes a certain mix to run a team.  They may have different titles, but most of the jobs are the same, team to team. – T.C.

7. From Brian:

In a Sprint Cup car (or any of the other NASCAR series) is clutch control performed electronically (like F1) or manually?  Keep up the great work.

Clutches are manual in NASCAR.  There are no computer systems in today’s Cup, Nationwide, or Truck Series vehicles. – T.C.

8. From Corey:

What is the rule about entering your pitstall? I am under the assumption that you are allowed to use the pitstall directly in front of you or the enterance to the garage such as in the incident that happened to Brendan Gaughan during the Nationwide race.

The rule says drivers can’t drive through more then three stalls entering or exiting their pit stall. – T.C.

9. From Justin:

I am going to Infineon for Father’s Day. First time and I got pit passes. Any advice?

Very lucky for your first time. First and foremost if you are going to be in the pits make sure you wear closed toed shoes and long pants. They won’t let you down there if you aren’t wearing the proper attire. Be prepared at Infineon to do a lot of walking and be prepared for traffic. You may also want to consider getting a scanner and/or one a Sprint FanView. The view from pit road there and anywhere for that matter is not going to be a good one. Also be sure to bring water and sun screen as it is going to be hot and sunny. Beyond that make sure you stay out of the way and have fun! – Journo

10. From Ric:

With all the various sponsors for NASCAR and individual teams, are there certain products (tools, pop, phones, clothing, food, etc.) that you have to use, or are not allowed to use.

Most definitely.  If your team is sponsored by Snap-On Tools, don’t let them catch you using a Craftsman wrench.  It looks pretty bad if you are sponsored by a company, yet you are using their competitors products.  It comes off like you either don’t really endorse that company, or their products aren’t good enough to use.  I’m aware of teams threatening termination for crew members breaking this rule.  NASCAR’s product sponsors don’t necessarily affect the teams’ product sponsors though. – T.C.

11. From Savannah:

Hey guys, as insiders in the sport, do members of the media feel the same way about some of the NASCAR reporters as the fans?  I recently read an article on nascar.com and couldn’t believe that the reporter was taking the angle she did.  The article involved the “bromance” between Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.  One Internet forum was alive with criticism of the reporter.  As a reader,  I was disappointed that the reporter choose the angle she did to write about a strong friendship.  Not too mention, some of the broadcasters are just as bad.  Who, in your opinion, are the best broadcasters and the most objective reporters in the NASCAR affiliated media? Of course, we know that Journo is the best reporter!! Thanks for answering this question.

There are definitely those in the garage who have more respect than others. As far as broadcasters go I like Mike Joy, Jerry Punch and Bill Weber, and most of the pit reporters for all the networks are very good at what they do. As far as other non-broadcast reporters go, I think a lot of Jenna Fryer with the AP. Of course Monte Dutton (Gaston Gazette), Ed Hinton (ESPN) and Bill Fleischman (Philadelphia Daily News) are very well regarded. The guys over at NASCAR Scene all do a good job. Really most of them do a good job objectively reporting on the sport. I think the problem we are running into is the want and need to do opinion pieces and the necessity to do honest reporting. I have mixed feelings on the subject. I think it’s necessary in this day and age to do the opinion thing, but like you pointed out it can really open up legitimate journalists to criticism. A very fine line has to be walked. Talking about “bromances” in the sport is probably not the best topic choice. – Journo

12. From Bobby#7Fan:

Several years back Benny Parsons had a standing offer to pit crews that he would pay each member $100 for a below 12 second pit stop.  As I recall it was collected a few times.  My question is why have pit stops slowed down?  You don’t see any 12 second 4 tire stops anymore.  Is it just a product of the new car?

You aren’t seeing 12 second stops during races right now for a few different reasons.  The first being this new longer stud rule.  It takes extra time to get the lugnuts off, and put them back on.  Another is the COT.  It’s a little bigger then the old car, and moving around it will add just a tick of extra time.  Also, the rule NASCAR put into effect last year regarding rolling tires back to the wall has slowed stops a bit.  Carriers and jackmen now have to be more careful.  Actually though, 11 and 12 second stops happen every day in pit practices. – T.C.

13. From Justin C.:

How can fans get excited about races like Mich. or pocono? The only exciting thing about these races was who would run out of gas. RCR is calling for less horsepower by using restrictor plates. Why not smaller engines that would allow a decent throttle response? Increase the tank size and get rid of races being decided by gas milage. We want to see racing that is decided by the best car and driver.

I don’t know if there is a good answer to your question. I think if they put restrictor plates on the cars, the races would like a lot like they do at Talladega and Daytona. A lot of close racing, which also means a lot of wrecks. As far as fuel mileage goes, I would argue that in those cases the best car and driver did win. They did what it took to win. I think we need to realize these tracks for better or worse are on the schedule and the racing just isn’t as good as it is other places. Unfortunately it is the nature of the beast. – Journo

14. From Mike:

First, who decides what souvenir trailers come to the track, the tracks, Nascar, the teams? I was looking for Truck series merchandise and couldn’t find any and also for the ARCA series too. Second, while watching prerace pit road activities for the Truck series I noticed one of the teams (#4 to be exact) using a bug/deck sprayer throughout the pit stall spraying back and forth and along the cracks of the concrete.  Were they spraying some sort of stick’em to the concrete for grip during the pitstops for the crew and the truck?  This was the only team I saw doing this up and down pit road. Thanks for taking the time to read these questions and comments keep up the great work on an awesome site!!

Really, if you want to break it down to it’s most basic level, you the consumer decides what souvenir trailers show up.  If people aren’t buying t-shirts off a certain driver’s or series’ trailer, it won’t come back.  Simple supply and demand.  In regard to your other question, some teams have started using chemicals like VHT in their pit stalls.  VHT is a very sticky liquid resin often used in drag racing to help tires adhere to the tracks better.  See more about it here. – T.C.

15. From Steve:

I sometimes hear of a crew chief building ‘adjustability’ into their car.  What is it and why wouldn’t every crew chief do so if the alternative was having to stick with a particular setup?

Most teams take steps to build adjustability into their cars so they can make changes during the race to improve the car’s handling.  It usually means doing things like adding spring rubbers instead of just putting in a stiffer spring.  That way, if the car is handling poorly, spring rubbers can be removed, instead of trying to change an entire spring during a race.  Crew chiefs must balance many different factors of a car’s handling including springs, shocks, tires, sway bars, track bar, wedge, and caster & camber.  They must find a way to have a car that handles well, but is also adjustable. – T.C.

16. From Neon:

In light of your recent post about “perception” and then there was the post on where Truex may end up next, I asked the question if bloggers considered Truex a “Tier 1″ driver. In that, I qualified a Tier 1 driver as “should” consistently make the Chase, have a legitimate shot at the CUP and can win a min 1-3 races a year and I dare say w/ relative ease. Basically, a top 10 runner in hypothetical “equal” equipment and zero pts for popularity.  From an insiders perspective, my question to both of you is: can you list for us who you consider to be “the” current top 10 Tier 1 drivers? And maybe 3-4 that are on the bubble?

This is from both TC and myself in no particular order except for the top tier split decision.

Top-tier: 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Tony Stewart 3. Jeff Gordon 4. Carl Edwards 5. Kyle Busch 6. Mark Martin 7. Matt Kenseth 8. Greg Biffle 9. Kurt Busch 10. Denny Hamlin/Ryan Newman (we put these two at the end because both are good and consistent, but neither has really wowed this season like those above them; that could change of course). On the bubble (again in no particular order): 1. Clint Bowyer 2. Kasey Kahne 3. Juan Pablo Montoya 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5. Jeff Burton

And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close.  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!

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