When you watch a race on TV, or see one in person, certain people get the spotlight. The drivers of course, are at the top of this list. Everyone knows them. Team personnel are next, with crew chiefs and a few select crew members getting most of the notoriety. You will also probably notice the presence [...]
Archive for May, 2010
The Teams You Won’t See On TV
May 31st, 2010 
T.C. Red Bull Racing Can’t Continue Like This
May 31st, 2010 Journo Week in and week out I continue to be surprised by the performances of the two Red Bull Racing cars – it’s not a good surprised though. Despite its position as one of the better funded teams in the sport, in its fourth season Red Bull continues to struggle consistently performing well – and from [...]
The NASCAR Week That Was: May 23-29
May 30th, 2010 Journo NASCAR’s second week in Charlotte was highlighted by crew chief changes across the sport. On Monday Randy Moss Motorsports and crew chief Gene Nead parted ways. Nead’s time with the #5 team was marked by lackluster performance, and discontent from driver Mike Skinner. Nead was replaced on an interim basis by team engineer Stacy Johnson. [...]
Are Rotating Sponsors Affecting Your Interest?
May 28th, 2010 Journo I know this seems like a weird question, but it’s a legitimate concern for many of the sport’s marketers. Michael Smith, who among other things covers NASCAR at Sports Business Journal, wrote a piece this week looking at the changing face of the NASCAR sponsorship – namely the proliferation of fragmented sponsorship deals. He notes [...]
Why In The World Would Hendrick Let Dale Jr. Go?
May 26th, 2010 T.C. Somebody please explain this to me. It seems that these ludicrous Dale Jr. to RCR rumors have come up every year since he made the decision to leave DEI after the 2007 season. I realize that Jr. has only a single points paying win since joining Hendrick Motorsports, and things haven’t gone well at times this [...]
Posted in Racing Observations 
Tags: Dale Earnhardt Jr., hendrick motorsports, Kasey Kahne, Lance McGrew, RCR 
31 Comments »Ask The Insiders Wednesday #76
May 26th, 2010 T.C. Race week in Charlotte is in full effect. Fans will descend on the QC this week to watch the Coca Cola 600 and to check out all there is to see in the center of the NASCAR universe. In case you are coming to town and are looking for stuff to do, we’ve put together a nice list to [...]
Posted in Ask the Insiders Tags: 1080i, 720p, all star race, All-Star, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears, coke 600, ESPN, Fox, Monaco grand prix, Phoenix Racing, Red Bull, Scott Speed 6 Comments »Roush’s Continued Developmental Commitment
May 25th, 2010 Journo A few months ago I wrote a post lauding Roush’s developmental commitment even through sponsorship adversity. I said Roush’s commitment to Colin Braun and to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was evident in its continued support of two underfunded teams. And I applauded the man (Jack Roush) and the team (Roush Fenway) for giving chances to those [...]
Two Young Guns Get Big Wins On Sunday
May 23rd, 2010 T.C. Even though the top three NASCAR series were off on Sunday, there was no shortage of racing going on. At Iowa Speedway, the annual East/West showdown between the two K&N Pro Series took place, and the ARCA cars descended on Toledo Speedway for the first of two events this season. At Iowa, Joe Gibbs Racing development [...]
The NASCAR Week That Was: May 16-22
May 23rd, 2010 Journo *My apologies TNI readers, I haven’t been able to get this up until just now* A busy week around Charlotte culminated with a raucous finish to the 2010 All-Star race. Kurt Busch won the one million dollar paycheck after a rough night that saw tempers flare, and cars wrecked. In other news, Team Red Bull [...]
New Nationwide COT Will Widen Gap Between Cup Drivers and NNS Regulars
May 20th, 2010 T.C. The Dayonta test for the new Nationwide Series COT is complete. Teams took to the 2.5 mile track on Tuesday and Wednesday to get familiar with the new car and to help NASCAR gather data ahead of it’s debut on July 2nd at the Subway Jalapeno 250. Most of the drivers who participated said the car [...]
Posted in Driver Development, NASCAR News Tags: Busch Whackers, Camry, challenger, COT, Cup, Daytona, Driver Development, Impala, Mustang, Nationwid Series, pony cars, test 10 Comments »