Kyle Busch has emerged in the 2008 season as a powerhouse, so far winning seven out of 19 races. His season is shaping up to be one for the record books; however, his is not the first dominant season. From Jimmie Johnson to Richard Petty many drivers throughout history have had seasons where they could not be beat. While the pace Busch is on is certainly one of the quickest in modern times, he is still several wins away from the single season record. Before calling this season unprecedented consider the following.

Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon hold the record for the most modern era wins in one season at 13. Jeff Gordon did it in 1998; highlighted by a four win streak from Pocono to Michigan. Ultimately he walked away with the Winston Cup Championship. By the halfway point of the season Gordon only had four wins. In 1975 Petty made his record run, winning eight races by the halfway point in the season. He too took home the Championship trophy. As a side note, in 1967 (prior to what is considered the “modern-era”) Petty won 27 races in the 49 race season. A championship of course followed.

Other drivers who have had success similar to Busch by the mid-point include Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. In 1987 Earnhardt had seven wins by the half point of the season. He had a four win streak early on in the season, and a three win run toward the end. He went on to win the Championship. Gordon also had seven wins by the mid point in 1997. He eventually won 10 races and the Championship. 

A banner start to the season does not always guarantee a Championship though. David Pearson had seven wins by the halfway point in 1976 but lost to Cale Yarborough who actually had one less win. Yarborough too had seven wins by mid-season 1974. He lost to Richard Petty who had one more top-10 finish and four more poles. In 1985 Bill Elliott had seven wins by Daytona but lost the Championship to Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip, who only had three wins the entire season, had a more consistent record, keeping the trophy from Elliott.

The list of driver wins goes on and on. The moral of the story though is, unless a driver can maintain consistency, he will not win the championship. Winning half the races in a season is not necessarily the key to success. Both Benny Parsons and Matt Kenseth won championships with only one win under their belts (Ned Jarrett and Bill Rexford did it too). They were able to run more consistently than their counterparts at the Cup level. The old point system was an asset to this as well. If a driver was able to rack up points in other areas: laps led, finish position, etc., he could theoretically walk away with the Championship without winning a race.

A scenario where a driver dominates most of the season and then loses the Championship is even more likely with the current Chase system. If a driver can not maintain that all important consistency and show up toward the end of the season, a championship would be very difficult. This was the case with Jeff Gordon last year. He ran very well all season, but could not compete with his teammate Johnson, who ran very well when the Chase started.

Kyle Busch has a chance this season to break some modern records. However, where he stands right now, his season is certainly not unprecedented. Many drivers throughout history have had the same success Busch has had at the same point in the season, or sooner. If he hopes to pull off the Championship, consistency and success after the Chase starts is not only pivotal, but a prerequisite.

I’ve read what seems like a million articles and even a few emails about Tony Stewart and his new role as driver/owner of Stewart-Haas Racing over the last week or so.  Some were good, some were bad.  But there seems to be a pretty large group that think Stewart and his teammate(s) will run in the back next season, and it might be several seasons before we see Stewart’s team win.  Some have even gone as far to suggest that Stewart may never win another race.   And can I just say I’m tired of hearing the Stewart vs. Robby Gordon/Michael Waltrip comparisons.

Let me get this Robby Gordon/Michael Waltrip thing cleared up first.  When both of these drivers started teams, they basically started from scratch.  Tony isn’t.  While Haas may not be a strong organization, the foundations are already in place.  They receive support from Hendrick Motorsports and have a very new 140,000 square foot race shop in Kannapolis that houses the teams and includes a seven post shaker rig (Cars are put on these very expensive shakers to simulate race runs, it helps gather engineering data).  Also, the level of success attained by both of these drivers combined doesn’t even begin to compare with Stewart’s career.  Gordon and Waltrip have won a combined seven races, while Stewart has 32 wins and two championships.  Translated, Stewart knows how to get it done.

Now, do I think that Stewart is going to come out next season and be a force?  Of course not.  But do I think he will be running for 30th every week and struggling to stay in the top 35?  Definitely not. 

Stewart has proven over the last several years that he is a good businessman and can run a successful team.  Tony Stewart Racing is one of the top teams in sprint car and midget competition and his Eldora Speedway has flourished under his ownership.  I think that owning his own Sprint Cup team is only a natural progression.  Lets also not forget that he’s spent the last ten seasons racing for and learning from one of the most prolific owners in NASCAR over the last two decades in Joe Gibbs.  And oh yeah, doesn’t Gibbs have two three (thanks Bass) Super Bowl rings to go along with his Cup titles?

I can promise you that once Stewart and his management team finalize their sponsor and driver lineup for next season, that some of the best people in the business will be lining up to be a part of this new team.  And if you think that Tony hasn’t already got a pretty good idea who he’d like working for him, you are crazy.

I believe the future is very bright for Stewart and his new venture.  I think its only a matter of time before they are competing for wins in Sprint Cup competition, and I wish him nothing but good fortune.  Oh, and if you are reading this Tony, need any tire changers?

If you get your weekly racing fix by being one of the millions of fans tuning into NASCAR TV broadcasts, you have no doubt seen a lot of racing-themed commercials featuring drivers, manufacturers, and teams.  Many sponsors feature their drivers and teams in their advertisements for obvious reasons.  And while there are some spots that are original and pretty entertaining (the Toyota spots are some of my favs, I loved the Moho-Vator), there are some that are not so.

Now, I understand that these commercials are filmed by Hollywood types that don’t necessarily spend a lot of time at the race track, but can we maybe find a director that has at least seen a pit stop?  Watching some overpaid actors fumbling around trying to appear as a real NASCAR crew is comical, but its also sort of embarrassing at the same time. 

There are two offending ads that come immediately to mind: Craftsman’s Robot Pit Crew and Vitamin Water’s spot with Carl Edwards and Ralph Maccio.  In the Craftsman ad, I don’t even have a problem with the robot guy.  Its actually a neat commercial idea (even though it would put a lot of people out of work).  But next time you see it, watch the “pit crew” in the background.  When was the last time you saw a tire carrier in any of the big three NASCAR series actually roll a tire out to the right side?  And how many pumps on the jack does it take to get that car up?  What group besides the NASCAR officials wear those helmets?  And apparently they don’t need radios, because none of them has a headset.  Its no wonder they get smoked on pit road by a robot made of Craftsman tools.

In the Vitamin Water commercial, Carl Edwards’ spiritual adviser Ralph Maccio (from Karate Kid fame) calls him to pit road for a “koi change.”  Again, a sort of entertaining concept (it got a small giggle-like laugh out of me), with a very bad pit crew.  They exhibit more of the same skills as the guys in the Craftsman ad (maybe they even hired the same crew). 

I do need to give some credit though, because there are some directors who get it right.   I know this because I myself have been apart of a commercial with an authentic pit crew (like I’d really tell you which one).

Not that this post actually has a purpose, but I guess what I’m trying to say is if you are going to film a commercial, get some guys that at least have some experience hitting lugnuts and slinging tires.  Your vision would look so much better and more believable with a solid pitstop.  I’m a bit biased, but I think there is nothing better then watching five guys bust off a clean four tire stop.  Throw in some company logos and some marketing babble, and you’ve got yourself a masterpiece!  I should be a director…

Now that the Chicago race is over and the season is officially one race passed halfway, finally some of the story lines that have plagued the sport all season are being wrapped up. While Silly Season is far from being over, no longer is there a question about Tony Stewart’s fate for next season.

To wrap up the week of big news and racing action in Chi-Town, here are some links to good stories and some past Insiders posts.

ESPN’s Toughest Call: Punch or Bestwick in the Booth

History Shows Wins Hard to Come By for Driver-Owners

Pride of NASCAR: Harry Gant

DEI Says It Is Not Presently Seeking Buyer

Newman Weighs Option of Joining Stewart-Haas Team

The Not So Good Ol’ Boys Club

Second is First Loser

If you enjoyed the “So You Want to Work in NASCAR” series and are interested in more about living within the NASCAR world, check out my ongoing “The NASCAR Life” series.

The NASCAR Life

So we come to the end of the “So You Want to Work in NASCAR?” series. Throughout the last several posts I have discussed some of the ways for you to obtain (and not obtain) that coveted position in NASCAR. While these are certainly not the be all end all of ways to get a job they provide a good base for starting out.

In the beginning the most obvious thing to do is to send your resume, or deliver it in person to the many team facilities throughout the Charlotte area. As discussed in the first post though, this is likely to yield little to no results. Often, the filing they will tell you they are doing with your resume translates to them throwing it in the garbage. Another tempting option are the many resume services that exist that claim they can help find a job. The short of it is, DO NOT DO IT. They are a waste of money and provide no more of a shot of getting that job than sending out a resume does. The claims they make are good, but often the results are not.

If you do not have the skills to go to work for a team right away, a good option is one of the many schools that offer training in various fields. The NASCAR Technical Institute is a heavily advertised, high priced option for those who have little technical skill. Remember though, while job placement is high, that is not placement for positions within NASCAR. In fact that placement is in the single digits. While many within the sport went to NTI, they were able to achieve that through hard work and persistence. If being on a pit crew is more your style, Pit Crew U might be the school for you. The tuition is reasonable and the placement rates are pretty good. While they are the largest training center, there are others in the area who offer similar services.

For those not wanting to be on the shop floor, several universities are now offering motorsports management degrees and engineering programs geared specifically towards motorsports. While they do offer a more focused program of study, they are all very new, making it very difficult to tell the success of placement. An advantage to some of the programs is the requirement of internships within the sport. That being said, it would probably be just as advantageous to get a non-motorsports degree from any other university.

So you have got all the experience you need to get a job, but can not get your foot in the door. The answer is to network and build relationships. This is perhaps the most difficult part of the journey, but once those connections are made, finding a position will be immensely easier. If this tool is truly going to be effective, it will be necessary to be in Charlotte. There is very little chance of finding a position if you are not in the heart of it all.

The lesson to all this is that it is not what you know, but who you know. Finding that first position will not be easy. This will be the point when you ask yourself how much you actually want to do this. But with time, effort and perseverance you might be able to break down the wall and begin a career in the fast paced world of NASCAR.

We here at the NASCAR Insiders hope these posts have provided some insights into the best way to get a job in NASCAR. Good luck with the job search and remember if you ever have any questions or would like advice regarding finding a job in the sport both T.C. and I are happy to help.

So You Want to Work In NASCAR? Intro

So You Want to Work In NASCAR? Part One

So You Want to Work In NASCAR? Part Two

So You Want to Work In NASCAR? Part Three

This is the final post in the So You Want to Work in NASCAR series. Please remember if you would like some advice, feel free to email either T.C. or myself. While we do want to give you the tools to find a job, we will not be serving as references or giving out information on open positions we know about. In other words we will not find you a job.

Austin Dillon, the 18 year old grandson of Cup Series team owner Richard Childress and son of former Busch Series driver Mike Dillon, might be headed for the Truck Series.  I’m hearing that he may run as many as three races this season in the NCTS to further his development.  The races will be run for a Chevy team, no word which one specifically. 

If Dillon does make the jump he will be joining an impressive group of young, talented drivers currently competing in the upper ranks of NASCAR.  We’ve seen development drivers like Scott Speed, Joey Logano, Colin Braun, and Landon Cassill jump in this season and compete for poles and wins right away.

Dillon is currently in his first season in the Camping World East Series, piloting the #3 Garage Equipment Supply Chevrolet for family owned Team Dillon Racing.   He has one win, three top five’s, and four top ten’s in five starts, and is the points leader heading into this weekend’s race at Thompson International Speedway.  Dillon started the season driving for Andy Santerre Motorsports, but left the team after four races.  The young driver’s resume includes bandolero and legends wins, and he spent last season racing dirt latemodels.

Its a momentous day here at The Nascar Insiders.  This is our 100th post!!  We’ve only been around for four months, and boy has it been a crazy ride so far.  We went from obscurity to the forefront in one day thanks to our man Jayski (he even crashed our site), and we are just getting started. 

Since it’s our 100th post, we figured we’d do something a little bit different then normal.  We chose a topic, which happens to be drivers and their dealings and interactions with the media, and we are set to square off for a no holds barred, mano-e-mano, battle for Insiders supremacy.  So as Michael Buffer would say, “LETS GET READY TO RUUUMMMBBBLLLEEEE!!!!”

Journo: In the last couple of weeks more than one driver has been short with the media. This of course is not a new occurrence and is particularly prevalent in post race interviews. Typical offenders are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick etc. My feeling on the matter is that drivers have a responsibility, and duty to be cordial with the media (with few exceptions). T.C. does not agree.

T.C.: Before I get started with my argument, I just want to say that Journo is punk and I’m going to win this little battle.  When I’m done, he’s going to run screaming for his mama…

Journo: Excuse me?!

T.C.: Yeah, you heard me right…  Anyways, so drivers and the media.  If you are a reporter, and you approach a driver during practice, before a race, or as he is climbing out of the car after a race and ask a stupid question, you should be prepared for some backlash.  Does asking Tony Stewart what happened during the wreck that took him out of the race with five laps left really seem necessary?  He got wrecked, that’s all that matters.  There is some serious passion involved in this sport and its understandable that a driver would get upset being asked a ridiculous question by a fool with a microphone…

Journo: Without that media asking what happened after the race that driver would not be able to afford his multi-million dollar home on Lake Norman. He is a public figure that depends on television cameras and newspaper reporters to sell merchandise. If they want to ask a stupid question, let them ask it. The fact of the matter is, what they are looking for is that driver to explode. When you ask Tony Stewart about a possible ownership deal with Haas-CNC you are waiting for crazy things to come out of his mouth. Nine times out of 10 that is exactly what they get.

T.C.: I don’t disagree that the media is looking for these drivers to explode and say something stupid.  What I have a problem with is when they turn around and label these drivers as not “media friendly.”  And I don’t think it takes a lot of common sense to figure out if you are interviewing Dale Jr. at the back of his hauler after practice and you ask him about if he’s going to to take his race team to Cup next year, that he probably isn’t going to spill the beans.  Why waste his time and yours to even ask the question.  If he wanted you to know, you would know…

Journo: It is the job of members of the media to ask informed questions about certain situations. Is the driver always going to give you something? No, absolutely not. But is it really that difficult to remain cordial during the interview? That reporter is doing you a favor by bringing you media attention and all you can do is give them rude, sarcastic answers. PR people throughout the sport work hard to raise the profile of their drivers and if you burn one bridge there is a strong possibility that media person is not going to come back. They need you just as much as you need them. That one day that you are no longer winning races and on top of the world, they are not going to be there to help you out.

T.C.: I understand that drivers are choosing to be in a situation that puts them in the spotlight.  But just because they are in said spotlight doesn’t mean we should forget that they are humans too and are allowed to have emotions.  The amount of pressure these drivers are under every week is immense, and no pit reporter will ever understand that.  And, these “journalists” aren’t doing anybody favors in terms of exposure.  They go where there is a story.  And when a driver finds himself at a point in his career where he isn’t on top, it doesn’t matter whether he has been nice to a reporter or not, he isn’t going to get the attention.  Media are certainly a necessary part of the sport, but they need to remember that drivers are not robots.

Journo:Are you nuts?! You can not tell me that anytime Johnny Sauter or Reed Sorenson gets media attention someone is not doing them a favor. There is very little interest in either driver, but if you pat someone on the back there is a good chance they are going to return the favor at some point. Granted all drivers do need to have a personality, but lambasting a reporter for doing his job is not the way to build that personality. The media attention this sport gets is what separates it from Friday night shows at your local short track. Without that attention, the sponsors would go away and a large portion of your fan base would not care one iota. These drivers feed off of the spotlight, it is the only place they can create that marketable personality.  The media is one of the most vital components to this sport. Without them, neither of us would have a job. You might want to rethink your stupid, baseless, no water holding argument…

- DING! DING! DING! And the ref steps in between them! -  Before either of us gets into a brawl it is time to end the battle royale and pass it off to you. Tell us what you think. Who is the winner?  Are drivers justified in being hostile at times with the media? 

In the days since the shut down of the #40 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team a lot has been written about the cause, and the potential for the future. The message board rumors have ranged from Ganassi closing at the end of the season to Target turning the team’s facility into a warehouse. Even journalists have gotten in on the act suggesting more cuts are coming and blaming the layoffs solely on the economy. Whatever the case, I want to provide some analysis and insight of the situation.

Let me start off by saying I believe much of what occurred last week had nothing to do with the lack of sponsorship for the #40 car. It does not take 71 people to operate a cup team. Many of the positions that were cut within the team had nothing to do with operations on the #40 team. I have heard several front office positions were eliminated, as well as some of the departments on the shop floor. John Fernandez’s firing was obviously unrelated to the lack of sponsorship. His lack of knowledge about the situation afterward demonstrates how necessary his release probably was. As I see it, while the team was hemorrhaging money, this was the perfect opportunity for them to stream line operations. They cut the fat and made sure the team they saw as the best one, was in place.

The idea that this shut down is the cause of an economic down turn is perhaps not as great as it sounds. This is certainly not the first time in history a team was unable to get sponsorship despite being part of a larger organization. I think the more feasible idea is that Dario Franchitti was not competing and no one was interested. The sponsorship Franchitti did have throughout the season were associate deals through Target. I guarantee they did not pay well, and served more as a perk for the vendors at Target than as a moneymaker for Ganassi. While he never went without a sponsor weekend-to-weekend, most were one off deals.

As far as the future of Target’s involvement with the team, I would venture to say it will continue beyond this season. I know there was a point that even I gave into the Target leaving hype, however I doubt today that a company that has stood by Chip Ganassi for almost two decades will pick up and leave after a couple of bad seasons (this is certainly not the first time a Chip Ganassi Racing team has had trouble). Target can not be happy with the performance of Reed Sorenson, that being said their future with the company is probably not in jeopardy. As a Target related side note I read that Ganassi would be shutting down at the end of the year and the shop would be turned into a warehouse for the Minneapolis based company. A simple Google search will tell you the average size of a Target warehouse is over one million square feet; now compare that to the about 180,000 square foot CGRFS Concord, NC facility. Does not sound so good does it? It is not fit to distribute gum balls, let alone serve as a warehouse for the company.

Comparisons of the team to the ill-fated Ginn Racing have also abounded. This is a very unfair comparison. Anyone familiar with that situation will tell you Bobby Ginn spent way too much way too fast and lacked even decent paying sponsorships. Of course not the case with Ganassi. As the lawsuits that flowed afterward told, Ginn was more than a little behind in paying people. Also not something Ganassi can be accused of. Ginn’s business practices were less than impecable and I think this reorganization of sorts proves that Ganassi has some business sense. Long story short Ganassi will exist well beyond this season.

Don Coble, a NASCAR reporter with Morris News Service, reported today about police officers at the layoffs and expectations of more cuts. It sounded feasible, but from what I hear Mr. Coble’s son was one of those employees fired on Tuesday, perhaps not the best source in the world. A son spited and a father scorned. Mr. Coble apparently did not take an ethics course in journalism school, because having that kind of a connection to a story and not disclosing it treads a very fine line.

In the end the company releasing 71 people is very sad and difficult. Anyone who has ever gone through massive layoffs like this one can tell how painful it is. However, the move made by Chip Ganassi and some of his management team was a strategic one that I bet will pay off. This is not the first massive firing by a NASCAR team and certainly will not be the last. As we have said time and time again this is a business. As much as we all love the sport, if we are not making money it can not survive.

For those of you who have tried to submit tips over the last few weeks and received an error message on that page, we apologize.  There was a problem (that was just discovered tonight) with the setup of the page and it was not validating the information properly, thus resulting in an error.  The problem is fixed now, so feel free to send in those tips if we missed them.  Sorry again!

NASCAR, like every other sport, is still a game governed and officiated by people. Yeah, there are certain tools used by NASCAR officials to make officiating the game easier like computer scoring loops and video replays, but its still up to the race director. Any time people are involved in judging anything, mistakes are bound to happen. In recent weeks, we’ve seen NASCAR have to go to video to call one race, and also apologize twice for scoring errors made late in races.

During the Cup race at Michigan, Brian Vickers was mistakenly placed behind Mark Martin’s #8 car following a late caution. In actuality, Vickers had passed Martin two laps previous under green. We saw a similar situation late in Friday’s Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Coming to take the green for the green-white-checkered finish, NASCAR put Carl Edwards behind Clint Bowyer’s machine, when again, Edwards was actually ahead of Bowyer at the time of caution (see Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash’s explanation here). NASCAR later admitted their calls were wrong in both cases.

I’ve had a few very pointed emails in regards to these situations, and while I’m certainly not defending NASCAR in any way, I think its important to point out that officials are people just like everyone else.  The NFL went to video replay a few years ago to help alleviate some of the errors made by officials in calling the game, and while it has helped, it certainly wasn’t a cure-all solution.  NFL referees have arguably still messed up some calls even after lengthy reviews.  NASCAR is in a very similar situation.  They have instituted scoring loops and video replays to help correct past scoring issues, but when calls are being made in real time, its difficult to be perfect all the time.

I definitely don’t think there is a problem all of a sudden with NASCAR that is causing these issues.  These are isolated incidents that just happened to have taken place within a short amount of time of each other.  But with that being said, I certainly understand why drivers, crews, and fans are and would be angry about these cases.  We all work too hard to get our teams in a position to compete for the win, only to have our chances dashed by a bad officiating call.  It is in no way fair, but sometimes it happens.

Bad officiating and screwed up calls are an unfortunate part of competitions judged or officiated by humans.  If you have ever competed in any level of sports, you have no doubt been affected by such a call.  But until super computers are used to make the calls, its something we must learn to deal with.  I think calling officials biased towards certain teams or spending hours coming up with conspiracy theories is only a waste of time.  We all will be angry about being screwed over, but what’s done is done, and there is always next weekend.