Gordon Off To Worst Start Of His Career

May 8th, 2012 T.C. 15 comments

Three lead lap finishes through ten races, two DNFs, an average finish of 21.6, and a points position of 23rd. It all adds up to the worst start of Jeff Gordon’s career. And with a crash and a 33rd place finish at Talladega, there is no end in sight to Gordon’s bad luck.

After blowing an engine in the Daytona 500, Gordon came back with solid runs at Phoenix and Las Vegas. But contact with teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. led to a cut tire and wreck at Bristol.

At California, Gordon ran strong before problems on pit road put him deep in the field. The race was shortened by rain before he could race his way back into contention. Martinsville was Gordon’s best race of the season. He led 328 laps, but an incident late with Clint Bowyer relegated him to 14th.

Gordon followed up his strong run at Martinsville with a fourth place finish at Texas. But back-to-back finishes outside the top 20 at Kansas and Richmond, along with the crash at Talladega, have put Gordon 70 points out of the Chase.

With the exception of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports seems to be a bit off this season. Kasey Kahne got off to a rough start, but has turned it around over the last four races. He has yet to seriously contend for a win however. And even though Jimmie Johnson is eighth in the points, this is the first season since 2003 that he hasn’t won one of the first ten races.

For Gordon, he’s really just been the victim of really bad luck. He’s had good runs, lead laps, and even won the pole at Talladega. The team just can’t seem to get to the finish. All the 24 bunch can really do is continue showing up with fast race cars and hope things turn around.

A Photo For Thought

On a different note, click this link, look at the photo, and let me know your thoughts. Does it get any more perfect than this?

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The Physics of Carl’s Restart Penalty

April 30th, 2012 Journo 9 comments

A late race penalty on a restart for what some think was a questionable caution at Richmond set into motion circumstances that likely shifted the outcome of the race Saturday night. Once again, NASCAR’s restart rules claimed a victim – this time, Carl Edwards.

Angry after the race, Edwards said NASCAR had repeatedly told his spotter Jason Hedlesky that Edwards was the leader, meaning he got to start to race. NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton disagreed, reiterating that the #99 wasn’t the leader and even if Edwards had been, he jumped the start.

The source for all things science and NASCAR, and author of The Physics of NASCAR, Dr. Diandra has a theory that the perception in this case that Edwards jumped the start, may not have in fact been reality. It’s physics I guess…

Although the restart controversy regarding the 14 and the 99 seems to be more a matter of a communications screw up (both cars claim they were told they were P1), it raises an interesting issue in terms of what we perceive vs. what actually is.  Even sat at a train crossing and had the momentary feeling that the train was standing still and you were moving sideways? Here’s a series of animations I put together really quickly. See if they do the job.

I highly recommend reading (and viewing) the rest here and staying up with the blog Building Speed.

UPDATE: I think I was light above with detail, so I just wanted to update with Dr. Diandra Leslie-Pelecky’s comment from below:

“Thanks for the link! Just to make sure this is viewed in the proper context, even if Edwards had been the leader, it looks pretty clearly like he jumped the restart. I wasn’t trying to say that the call was wrong, just to point out that you can’t always trust what you see!

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Bristol, Bruton and The Changes Coming Our Way

April 25th, 2012 Journo 9 comments

Before I begin, let me just say how much I enjoy Bruton Smith. He’s a non-stop source of unforgettable quotes and over the top bluster – oh and we can’t forget the Liz Taylor sunglasses. I seldom get more excited than when there’s going to be a Bruton press conference.

“I have built more speedways than anybody in the world, and I have never consulted race drivers when I’m building a speedway because it’ll drive you nuts,” Smith said.

On Wednesday, Smith along with officials at Bristol Motor Speedway announced what changes SMI would be making to the track by the time the Irwin Tools Night Race rolls into town in August.

The changes came in response to lagging attendance and a realization by track management that something had to change. A fan survey and mixed reviews later, the group landed on altering the banking of the track through a grinding process, cutting down on the number of lanes.

The move will likely restore the racing to the way it was prior to reconfiguration in 2007 that added progressive banking. That means one groove and a lot of carnage. This of course drew mixed reactions from drivers.

Jeff Burton said:

“I find it interesting that some racetracks, when they make some changes, they never call drivers… Guess what? We know more about it then some people making those decisions. We might not agree.”

Kasey Kahne on the other hand wrote on his Twitter:

“Sounds great to me. I like what Bruton is doing to Bristol.”

Reference Bruton’s comment up top I suppose.

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to August and Bristol, and more memorable moments like this…

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Hey Kenny, Tone It Down A Bit

April 19th, 2012 Journo 15 comments

We first reported this week that Travis Pastrana would be making his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with RAB Racing (or the team’s points at least). The deal was an obvious one for Pastrana 199 Racing to secure a guaranteed starting spot for the rookie driver.

This, and other deals, leave Kenny Wallace out of a ride, at least for now, at RAB. And of course, Kenny has been making a bit of a stink about it.

Before I go on, let me say, I understand why Kenny is frustrated. He’s a genial guy, who’s worked hard for this and other opportunities. And in recent years, he’s brought consistency and some measure of success to RAB Racing. Then, he finds himself without a sponsor and without a ride. Who wouldn’t be frustrated?

Kenny though has been, perhaps, a little too willing to express his frustration with the financial situation at RAB. After being informed earlier this season that he was only guaranteed five races with the team, he went on a little media tour. He told Sirius Speedway:

“(Team owner) Robby Benton came to me and said, `We’re going to run you for first five races of year,” revealed Wallace today. “`If we don’t have any sponsorship after that, I’m going to have to sell the ride.’ He’s already got some little rich kids calling about buying races, so I may be out of the car pretty soon.

“I’m heartbroken,” said Wallace. “I worked my ass off last year to get my dignity back and prove to everyone that we could still run up front. And look at me now, running around like a bozo in a plain black car. It’s demoralizing. I can’t find any more money, so it looks like I’m not going to be a full time driver this year. If I don’t have any money after California, the ride will go to whoever has money. Robby has to pay his crew, and I understand that.

Wow.

Last week, he took to his Twitter account to express his frustration with the situation. Or perhaps more accurately, let his followers do it through retweets.

So his frustrations have become theirs. And, as he gets pushed out in favor of someone with resources to keep the team in business, the self-funded driver has become a big point of consternation (see Kenny Wallace/Brian Scott Twitter fight). The self-funded driver though is a reality of our sport, for good or bad. And if you’re a team owner lacking funds, short of starting-and-parking, this is the path many must take.

Robby Benton is a guy with a business partner who has to focus on the dozen+ employees who count on him to pay their mortgages and feed their families. Robby, as a small business owner, also has to consider that business and his own financial well-being. Owning a race team is not charitable work.

The comments above and the Twitter tactics really make me shake my head. This doesn’t particularly reflect well on the driver for the current team providing an opportunity when it can, future teams he wants opportunities with or sponsors who might consider getting into the Kenny Wallace business.

I like Kenny and I understand he just wants to race, but this is not the way to get back in a car. There is nothing more admirable than the person who maintains grace and dignity in the face of adversity.

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Pastrana To Debut With RAB Racing?

April 16th, 2012 T.C. 6 comments

When Travis Pastrana, who was in attendance at Texas Motor Speedway, makes his NASCAR debut next weekend at Richmond International Raceway, it may be in a car associated with RAB Racing.

Pastrana’s Pastrana 199 Racing has an alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing, but the team hasn’t run it’s #99 Nationwide car since last season and does not have a guaranteed starting spot. A deal with RAB, who is a Toyota team and short on sponsorship for regular driver Kenny Wallace, would ensure Pastrana a starting spot for his first Nationwide race. Ryan Truex ran for RAB at Texas, and Wallace is expected to return to the seat of the #09 for the Talladega race, but a driver for Richmond has not yet been announced.

If the rumored deal is completed, expect an announcement in the coming days.

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Kyle Busch Motorsports Sputtering Out Of The Gate

April 5th, 2012 T.C. 13 comments

Five races into the 2012 Nationwide Series schedule, Kyle Busch is experiencing just how difficult it can be to own a team in the upper tier of NASCAR. A combination of mistakes, bad luck, and slow race cars has added up to an average finish of 17.4 and just two lead lap finishes. His team’s performance has been a far cry from what we are used to seeing out of Busch.

From 2008 through 2011, Busch won a staggering 40 NNS races. On average, he won better than every third time he ran. In the 20 races he ran last season, Busch finished in the top five 17 times. But all this success came driving for the very established Nationwide program at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Coming into this season, Busch took on the task of expanding his already successful Truck Series team to include a full-time Nationwide effort. With backing from Monster Energy, brother Kurt co-driving, and veteran crew chief Mike Beam at the helm, I believe most thought it wouldn’t take long for this team to be a contender. But that just hasn’t been the case.

The most pressing concern for Busch and crew has to be the very clear lack of speed from the cars. The team has only qualified in the top ten once this season,  and while he’s led laps in the last two races, the cars clearly aren’t as good as they need to be. Busch is the type of driver that can elevate the level of his equipment with his talent and ability (if you don’t believe that, compare Busch’s performance in KBM trucks versus the other guys that have driven for him), but a driver can only do so much. KBM builds all of its own chassis, and clearly more development is needed.

Besides the lack of speed, Busch has been the victim of mistakes on pit road. Driving for JGR, Busch’s cars were serviced by the same finely tuned and experienced crew guys that pit JGR Cup cars. But the pit crew at KBM is a standalone team. They are a talented and experienced team in their own right, but they just haven’t performed well. And Kyle Busch won’t wait long for them to figure it out.

We are currently in the midst of a two-week break for the Nationwide Series, and it probably couldn’t have come at a better time for KBM. This team won’t struggle forever, but turning KBM into a championship contender just might take a little longer than expected.

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NASCAR Team Owner For Senate

April 2nd, 2012 Journo 2 comments

In recent years, politics and NASCAR have played hand-in-hand. Presidents from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush (First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden were at Homestead last season) have come to races and candidates for the office have made it an obligatory stop – Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were at Daytona this election cycle.

So it only seems fitting that we have a NASCAR team owner running for office – in this case it’s RAB Racing’s Robby Benton.

Graphic courtesy of VoteRobbyBenton.com

Benton, who against all odds has kept RAB going and thriving in a sport dominated by much better funded organizations, is a candidate for the Republican nomination for a Senate seat in the North Carolina General Assembly. The district, #41, covering north and a sliver of east Mecklenburg County is a decidedly safe Republican district.

Benton though faces a tough primary against five opponents including favorite, Cornelius, N.C. Mayor Jeff Tarte. The winner of the primary is very likely to go on to win in November.

Benton isn’t alone in the ranks of NASCAR team owners pursuing elected office. In 1996, Richard Petty was the Republican nominee for North Carolina Secretary of State. Petty ultimately didn’t put a lot into campaigning and lost the election by 8 points to then State Senator and current N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

I’m no political prognosticator, but this is no doubt an interesting item to keep an eye on.

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Kasey Kahne Can’t Catch a Break

April 1st, 2012 Journo 8 comments

Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis’ move to Hendrick Motorsports this season was met with great optimism. The two had found success in tenous situations at Red Bull Racing and various iterations of Evernham Motorsports – with Hendrick at their back, the world was their oyster.

Unfortunately for the two, this season hasn’t turned out so well. At Daytona the team was caught up in a wreck; then at Phoenix Kahne made contact with the wall and had suspension issues; at Las Vegas, after taking the pole he got caught up in a wreck late in the race; at Bristol he finished 37th after getting caught up again in a wreck; at California, the car remained intact, but the team wasn’t able to make up much ground before the rain ended the race finishing 14th, and on Sunday, after winning the pole the engine gave out.

As the saying goes, if Kasey Kahne didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. Sitting 31st in points right now, the team has got to be wondering what to do.

This is surely not an indicator of the season to come but things have to got to change and change soon. The #5 team has a hole to climb out of, but if any two can do it, it’s Kahne and Francis.

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So Long SceneDaily and Rowdy

March 29th, 2012 Journo 6 comments

This week is a sad week for the sport. As has unfortunately become all too routine, we are forced to accept the prospect of decreasing quality NASCAR coverage and analysis. This time it’s the loss of the American City Business Journal owned SceneDaily.com and Rowdy.com.

The end for Rowdy came earlier this month with a heartfelt message from one of the site’s founders. The precursor move probably should have been warning to all of us that SceneDaily wasn’t far behind. So it was, on Tuesday Bob Pockrass quietly mentioned on his Twitter that sometime this week SceneDaily.com, the internet version of the now defunct NASCAR Scene, would redirect to the NASCAR section of the Sporting News website.

The news that SceneDaily was disappearing comes just more than two years after NASCAR Scene, for years the paper of record for the sport, was shut down and much of the staff laid off.

Within the Charlotte based ACBJ family NASCAR Scene and Rowdy were never integrated very well. The producer of the Charlotte Business Journal and similarly named business journals in just about every major city in the country just never got it.

Rowdy was clearly an attempt by ACBJ to spice up its online offerings with a group of guys who had built this great thing with a large following from nothing. While there was definitely support with new digs and exposure on two heavily trafficked properties, Rowdy was never fully made part of SceneDaily or Sporting News. And I’m certain the value of the property was never realized by ACBJ

Our friend John Daly at The Daly Planet had a great write up on SceneDaily and Rowdy on Tuesday. Check it out for some background.

It’s sad and disheartening to watch great reporters and advocates of the sport lose their prominence and/or their jobs. Pockrass and the rest at SceneDaily seem to be fine for now – I sincerely hope ACBJ recognizes the talent it has and keeps it that way. Even with the essential content just moving to the Sporting News I have to wonder what the sum effect will be.

Echoing what so many have already said, thank you to the guys at Rowdy and those still left at SceneDaily. All are leaving a void I fear won’t be filled.

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Reversal of (Fine) Fortunes

March 22nd, 2012 Journo 24 comments

In a very surprising move on Wednesday, the NFL announced harsh penalties against the New Orleans Saints over the now infamous bounty scandal. Coach Sean Payton was suspended without pay for the upcoming season, GM Mickey Loomis was suspended without pay for the first eight games of the season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended without pay for six games. The team was also fined $500,000 and has to forfeit its second round draft picks in 2012 and 2013.

With the specter of lawsuits hanging over its head from retired players who are suffering the ramifications of hard hits, the NFL came down severely (though the real ramifications on the Saints are debatable).

It was a big week for penalties around sports.

If you’re a NASCAR fan with a pulse, you of course saw NASCAR’s chief appellate officer John Middlebrook overturned most of team #48′s recent penalty.

What Middlebrook did was unprecedented. We’ve never seen anything quite like it. He effectively neutered NASCAR and called into question the judgment of the three men who sat on the appeals panel before him. Ouch.

For NASCAR, already viewed skeptically by much of the fan base, moments like this are incredibly damaging. Middlebrook gave serious ammunition to the conspiracy cranks and put forth the idea that NASCAR doesn’t know how to adjudicate itself.

Since taking over his current post in 2010, Middlebrook has reduced the penalties of all four appeals that have come to him. It’s clear to me after four tries that Middlebrook does not like the penalties NASCAR doles out. It’s also clear that anyone who gets fined by the sanctioning body should be taking their penalty all the way through the appeals process. I know I would.

What’s bizarre about this particular decision from Middlebrook is that he rescinded everything but the fine. What’s the point? Sure it sends a bit of a message, but $100k isn’t exactly back-breaking for Knaus or Hendrick.

For the NFL and every other sports sanctioning body in existence, this process is unheard of (though most have a process to appeal). It’s the NFL’s game and if you don’t play it like they want you to, things like today happen – no ifs, ands, or buts about it. And today, though people may be questioning the severity of the penalties, the Saints have little recourse and the NFL is content with the path it took. There isn’t anyone with any authority who can scold the NFL for the penalties it issued.

NASCAR, not so much. And with the precedent that Middlebrook is working on, I suspect he’s about to get a whole lot busier.

I can appreciate NASCAR’s process and praise them for having a semi-independent appeals board. I’ve got to wonder though how much they appreciate it right now (and how much longer John Middlebrook keeps getting to play judge).

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