-  After removing their hands from each other’s throats for a couple of weeks, the Toyota / Roush-Fenway Racing picked right back up this week when ESPN publicized comments that Jack Roush made earlier in the month in regards to Toyota winding up with a  missing Roush part. Jack has allegated that they had a sway bar go missing last September at Dover, and that it was later found with an unnamed Toyota team. Toyota personnel have stated that it the team in question did in fact wind up with the missing part, but that it was completely unintentional and immediately returned to Roush Racing. While Jack is contemplating seeking legal action against the team, NASCAR has stated that they will not get involved in the incident, citing that it’s a team squabble and that those types of things need to be sorted out amongst the teams. When ESPN asked Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his opinion on the matter, he stated that if it were intentional, then whoever took the part should have their hard card revoked, meaning that they wouldn’t be allowed in the garage. Jeff Gordon, on the other hand, felt that Roush was blowing the situation completely out of proportion and that these types of things happen all the time – sometimes intentional and sometimes not. Roush was infuriated that NASCAR refused to take action.

-  Gillett Evernham Motorsports announced that there would be a possibility that Elliott Sadler could not compete in this Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 in Martinsville due to a lower-back injury he sustained during the Sprint Cup Series’ off-week. Details of how the injury occurred are a bit sketchy, but it’s believed to have resulted from Elliott’s daily routine on Wednesday afternoon, and later on it was aggravated further from a sporting activity of sorts. The team brought Dennis Setzer to the first Cup practice session on Friday morning, but it was Elliott who qualified the no. 19 McDonald’s Dodge Charger 25th. As of right now, all plans seem to indicate that Sadler will at the least attempt to make the start on Sunday, but Setzer will be on stand-by either way.

-  Robby Gordon was rather outspoken – like only Robby can do – back in January when the Dakar Rally was cancelled due to terrorist threats. He made some very outlandish statements insinuating that the threats and the deaths incurred by the French tourists were blown way out of proportion. Vanguard Integrity Professionals – Gordon’s scheduled sponsor for the Rally – was none too pleased with Robby’s comments, and have since severed all ties with Robby Gordon Motorsports. After making a public statement regarding the split, it has also been learned that Vanguard has filed a lawsuit for $1.5 million against Gordon in an effort to recoup all of the money they had given to Gordon prior to the scheduled event. Robby Gordon has responded by claiming that Vanguard has no legal rights to terminated the contract, and on March 5th a US District Court denied Vanguards motion for a restraining order to prohibit Gordon from using their logo in his NASCAR ventures.

-  NASCAR has denied Michael Waltrip Racing’s request to swap the owner points between the 00 and 88 teams. Before the season started, MWR announced that upon Dale Jarrett’s retirement after the first five points races that David Reutimann – then the driver of the 00 car – would replace him, and that the 00 seat would be filled by rookie Michael McDowell. Reutimann is currently 27th in points, while Jarrett ended the day in Bristol 34th in points, and a mere 16-points away from falling outside of the top-35. Due to NASCAR denying the team’s request, Reutimann now sits 34th in owner points, so the team could have a panic on their hands should something happen to go awry in Martinsville. NASCAR stated that this situation does not meet the criteria that they’re usually looking for when approached about a potential points swapping.

-  Starting with this weekend’s race in Martinsville, BAM Racing will begin equipping their no. 49 car driven by Ken Schrader with Bill Davis Racing’s Toyota-powered engines. The team is currently under contract with GEM to receive their engines from Gillett Evernham Motorsports, but GEM has since then granted them permission to pursue Toyotas. If qualifying is of any indication, then the move is paying off thus far as Schrader qualified 7th for Sunday’s race. He has currently qualified for only two of the five races run.

- Tony Stewart is attempting to prove that every split mili-second counts on the racetrack, which is why he’s spent the majority of the off-week looking into methods of how he can make his no. 20 Toyota Camry carry a lighter load, thus resulting in faster speeds. He started last Monday by getting his body waxed on live radio, and has followed it up this week by “getting his ears lowered” and chopping the mullet. This should officially end any rumors that Smoke was letting it grow out in preparation for a future sponsorship from “Locks of Love.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Saturday Morning Quick Fix

#2 – Kurt Busch – The oldest of the Busch brothers showed the world just how much he’s maturing as a professional driver when he turned an absolutely dismal speedweeks into a second place finish at the Daytona 500. The series heads to California this week where Kurt had previously fallen off just a hair from where he used to be until he rounded out the ’07 Cali series with two solid top-ten’s. If he can avoid trouble on the track this week and retain his positioning toward the top of the standings, 2008 could get off to an electrifying start for the no. 2 team as they head to Las Vegas for the third race of the season where Kurt has done extremely well.

#3 – Tony Stewart – After losing the Daytona 500 in the final lap this last Sunday, you can bet that Smoke will be looking to bounce back and get Toyota into Victory Lane for the first time in their Sprint Cup history. It will be no easy task, however, as this is one of the few tracks Stewart has never earned a victory, with his best finish being his fourth place runs in 1999 and 2001. His average finish in his last five Fontana races is 15.6, which includes a 43rd place finish in the Spring race of ’06.

#4 – Kyle Busch –   Kyle really started to come into his own last season, and has shown no problems bringing that momentum along with him over to the no. 18 team for Joe Gibbs Racing so far. A second place finish in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona followed by a fourth place finish at the Daytona 500 along with leading the most laps have the younger Busch off to a great start. With five straight top 10’s at Califonia, Busch should be a lock to remain in the top five in points which could mean trouble since they will then visit his hometown of Las Vegas.

#5 – Reed Sorenson – Reed looked absolutely great all week long in the Daytona Speedweeks, so it’s really no huge surprise that he finished well in the 500. However, as good as Daytona has been to him, California has been equally bad. Four career starts for Reed in Fontana have resulted in three 21st place finishes and a 43rd. In other words, it could be a complete waste of time to look for Reed on this list next week.

#6 – Kasey Kahne – The no. 9 Dodge team of Kasey Kahne is usually very fast and in contention as we zoom past the halfway point at Daytona, but what they were able to do this year that they haven’t done so much of in the past is keep the car in one piece by the end of the day. With an average finish of 14.3 and a win in 2006 at Fontana, Kahne is likely to remain in the Chase field as the series heads to Vegas for week 3.

#7 – Elliott Sadler – Sadler joined in on a late-race Dodge charge that saw them grab six of the top eight spots in the Datyona 500, and Sadler now has a place in the Chase standings for the first time since making the move over to Evernham Motorsports. He’s also a past winner at California, but has only one other top-ten finish in his thirteen races there. This weekend should prove as a decent indicator as to whether Elliott’s showing signs of returning to NASCAR’s “A” list, or if last weekend was simply a fluke.

#8 – Dale Earnhardt Jr – After prevailing as the heavy favorite to win the race going into last Sunday’s Daytona 500, Junior completed the five-hundred mile race in 9th place and 8th in the points, very much to his own disappointment. Fontana, CA hasn’t been nearly as nice to Dale as Daytona has in the past, but he does have two top-five finishes in his last three tries at Cali, so he does stand an excellent chance of improving on his current position in the standings.

#9 – Robby Gordon – Undoubtedly the biggest surprise on the list. Robby’s had a history of making strong runs at a number of tracks only to run into trouble on the track or mechanical failures. He managed to steer clear of both this past Sunday and now sits ninth in the standings. In eleven attempts at Fontana he has only one top-ten finish which came in 2004, so his success is likely to be short-lived and soon-forgotten. On the bright side, if his ultimate goal is to remain in the top 35 in owner points, he’s off to a great start.

#10 – Greg Biffle – After a strong run late in the race at Daytona, Biffle is showing early signs of possibly returning to his former success in the Cup Series. He also has the benefit of being a former winner at Fontana back in the Spring of ’05 and followed that up with a second place finish in the Fall race. His best finish since then has been only 15th, which came in the Spring of last year, so the Biff will be looking to bring some of last week’s momentum back to the track with him this Sunday.

#11 – Bobby LaBonte – If I’m not mistaken, this would officially mark the first time that a Petty Enterprise team has been inside the Chase field since the playoff format was created in 2004. LaBonte has been impressive at times since joining the Petty team, but a variety of issues seem to continually keep them from well-deserved good finishes. They managed to leave Daytona with an 11th place finish and now head to a track that Bobby has finished second at on two occasions, though he has failed to earn a top-ten in his last seven visits to California.

#12 – Jeff Burton – After going virtually unnoticed all day on Sunday, Burton managed to sneak himself in for a 13th place finish, and since he had led laps as well, currently sits 12th in points. Next week’s visit to Fontana could be a nice reprieve for Jeff, as he finished fourth there in both races last year and fifth in the Spring of ’06.

Post from: EveryJoe

the Chase Update – Week 1

Haas CNC Racing is yet another in a long line of underachieving race teams in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series. So much so, in fact, that the typical casual race fan probably isn’t even quite sure who the heck I’m talking about when I say “Haas CNC”. Well, to sum them up, historically they’ve been an underfunded team lacking key sponsors, a competent development program, and capable drivers. At the beginning of 2007, their two cars were fielded by Johnny Sauter – who had his best Cup season of his career by finishing 30th in points – and, Jeff Green – a driver that was fired with four races left in the season in favor of a driver that to that point had failed to qualify for 15 of the 32 Cup races that year.

To put it mildly, 2007 was a very poor season for this program – just as their prior seasons had been.  While 2008 doesn’t look to be the year that this team makes “the Chase” by any means, things are definitely looking brighter in the sense that they’ve at least got two drivers on board that have at least demonstrated the ability to succeed on some level at some point in their careers. Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs probably aren’t going to become the new restrictor plate duo that scares the crap out of the other 41 drivers on the track, but I don’t think that’s exactly the team’s immediate goal. What Mayfield and Riggs bring to the table for this team is the hopes that Haas CNC might head into 2009 with two cars solidly in the top 35 in owner points. Depending on what the Toyota cars and the new “open wheel flood” drivers are able to do this season, I don’t think it’s so unreasonable to think that they might actually accomplish this feat, either.

Cup Series Roster:

66: Jeremy Mayfield – This guy may have one of the most up-and-down careers in the Cup Series in the past 20 years, because every time it looks like he’s got things on track and he might soon join NASCAR’s elite class of drivers, everything around him suddenly seems to take a quick and serious turn for the worse. While racing for Penske Racing, Jeremy finished a career-high 9th in points back in 1998, but the next three years had gotten so bad that he was later released from the team in 2001. After finally rebuilding his career with Evernham Motorsports driving the no. 19 Dodge, he again finished in the top ten in points in 2004 and 2005 with a win in each of those seasons. He dropped so far the following year, though, that Evernham released him after 22 races. He finished 39th in points and failed to crack the top ten on a single occasion. In 2007 he joined Bill Davis Racing for the new launch of the Toyota Camri into the Cup Series, and that was an absolute nightmare. He failed to qualify in 15 events and was released from the team with four races to go in the season. He was picked up by CNC Haas that same week and finished the season out driving the no. 66 Chevy. Though his best finish in those four races was only a dismal 22nd, perhaps he can find solace in the fact that he did qualify for all four events under the CNC banner. While it’s not likely that he’ll find any of his past success immediately this year, Jeremy knows that the important thing is to just stay consistent. He needs consistent top 20 or top 25 finishes with the occasional top 10 and to just focus on keeping is car inside the top 35 in owner points and in the race each and every week. If he doesn’t, he could quickly find himself petitioning for a Nationwide Series ride.

70: Scott Riggs – He’s never won a Cup Series race, and his best Cup Series points finish to date is only 20th. Riggs qualified for only 27 of the 36 Cup races last season, finishing 36th in points behind the wheel of the no. 10 Valvoline Dodge for Evernham Motorsports. If you look at 2006, however, you’ll see that Riggs has proven that he does have the ability to compete in this series. That year he amassed a total of 8 top ten finishes, including a top five and finished 20th overall in the points. The year before he had two top five’s and four top ten’s, though he finished only 34th. This year he takes over behind the wheel of the no. 70 Yellow Transportation Chevy that was driven last year by Johnny Sauter. Sauter did manage to keep the car inside the top 35 in owner points, which should take some of the pressure off of Riggs heading into the Daytona 500.

Driver Roster: C
Off-Season: B
2008 Outlook: D+

Post from: EveryJoe

Season Preview: Haas CNC Racing

2/4 – Tony Stewart was awarded a “Brickyard” ring by IMS boss, Tony George, this past week at the Indiana Statehouse for winning the 2007 Allstate 400 in Indianapolis. Read More.

2/4 – Sam Hornish Jr. and wife, Crystal, had their first child. Addison Faith Hornish was delivered this past Monday, though originally not expected until February 10th. Read More.

2/5 – Cintas Corp. has signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports beginning in 2008. Cintas will now be the official uniform supplier for all three of the Evernham Sprint Cup teams as well as associate sponsors, including the primary sponsorship role for Patrick Carpentier at Atlanta in the Spring.  Read More.

2/5 – Goodyear has recently announced their own diversity program that will provide high school students the opportunity to explore various career paths in NASCAR. The program will award at-track experiences, internships, and (6) annual scholarships. Read More.

2/5 – Hendrick Motorsports has signed Adrian Fernandez to drive the no. 5 Lowe’s Chevy this April for the Nationwide Series race in Mexico City.  Read More.

2/6 – A 60-year-old man recently suffered a heart-attack and died while completing his fourth lap of the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Daytona.  Read More.

2/6 – Gillett-Evernham Motorsports has hired former CEO of Lending Tree and former amateur driver, Tom Reddin, as the company’s new CEO.  Read More.

2/6 – Jimmie Johnson attended the White House this Tuesday to meet with President Bush for the annual meet & greet that the President has with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. Read More.

Post from: EveryJoe

Wednesday Mid-Week Wrap

It’s funny that a simple night spent at the bar can spawn ideas in your head for topics of discussion in the racing world. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me over the weekend … purely accidental, I assure you. Last Saturday night I was at a sports bar up the road from me here in Virginia to watch Brock Lesnar’s UFC debut when suddenly I looked up and noticed a poster on the wall across the room. At first, I thought that it was Budweiser actually promoting underage drinking … then I looked closer and noticed that it was simply there 2008 Sprint Cup Series schedule with a picture of Kasey Kahne.

I briefly touched up on it a few months ago with one of my top 10 lists, but I think it’s something worth bringing up again and getting into a little more detail. See, when I think of the combination of NASCAR mixed with alcohol, I’m thinking of the old chubby guy with a thin comb-over – ya know, something like Sterling Marlin (formerly sponsored by Coors). Or, perhaps a younger gentlemen with some scruff on his face that just looks like he knows how to party. Remind you of anyone? Maybe Dale Earnhardt Jr. (formerly sponsored by Budweiser)? The point is that the primary beer sponsors in the Sprint Cup Series have gone from sponsoring Dale Junior, Rusty Wallace, and Sterling Marlin to endorsing the likes of Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, and David Stremme. Okay, so Stremme’s no longer sponsored by Coors, but that is the last driver they sponsored prior to pulling out of the individual driver sponsorship market in NASCAR.

It just makes no sense to me, people. For years these sponsors had it right. They picked the perfect spokesman to endorse their labels, but now those days appear to be gone with the wind. I mean, Kasey Kahne has a tough time spouting even the slightest of peach fuzz and Kurt Busch looks like that nerdy guy in the back of the University classroom taking the advanced courses in his Sophomore year of college. What gives? Why is Elliott Sadler being sponsored by Dodge Dealers this year and not Budweiser? How about a Kevin Harvick or Ryan Newman? There are still talented drivers out there on the circuit that look the part, so why not go in that direction? To me, as a business, I believe they have the responsibility to property advertise their products. As long as the drinking age in America is set at 21, I just don’t understand how guys like Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch are the ambassadors for alcohol. Like I said … it just makes no sense to me.

“DYN Imposes”: This week, Do You NASCAR also asks …

1. Do you think that Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch are appropriate mascots for the alcohol labels?

2. Do you think that the alcohol distributors have a moral obligation to sponsor drivers that look the part?
3. What 2 drivers in the Sprint Cup Series do you think should be endorsed by Budweiser and Miller Lite?

Post from: EveryJoe

A Night Out Gets the Wheels Churning

1/30 – Richard Petty will waive the green flag at this year’s Daytona 500, a race that “the King” has won himself on seven different occasions.  Read More.

1/30 – Hershey’s is honoring racing legend Dale Earnhardt by releasing four limited edition collector chocolate bars this month depicting different images of “the Intimidator”.  Read More.

1/30 – Richard Childress is among eight inductees this year into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.  Read More.

1/31 – Billboards at Texas Motor Speedway promoting the Sprint Cup Series’ visit to the track with the wording “Reason # 88: Step-Mom” are being replaced at the request of Kelly Earnhardt, Dale’s sister.  The billboard will now read “Reason # 88: New Car Smell”.  Read More.

1/31 – Johnny Benson ran the fastest lap in the four testing sessions for the Nationwide Series held this week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He turned in a lap of 29.552 in his no. 20 Toyota.  Read More.

1/31 – Cunningham Motorsports has announced that they will expand to the Craftsman Truck Series this year. CHM is already a top competitor in the ARCA Series and is now seeking drivers and sponsors for 2008 to run the trucks.  Read More.

2/1 – Robby Gordon Motorsports has signed a new partnership to align the race team with that of Gillette-Evernham Motorsports. Per the terms of the deal, Gordon’s single car operation will field Dodge’s on the track in 2008, and in return will receive the financial and sponsorship assistance he’s lacked in recent years.  Read More.

2/1 – Due to new state laws in Tennessee banning smoking in most public facilities, smoking at Bristol will now be restricted to the concourse areas.  Read More.

2/1 – Denny Hamlin led the pre-season Sprint Cup testing at California by turning a lap of 39.447 seconds in his no. 11 Joe Gibbs Toyota in the Thursday morning session.  Read More.

Post from: EveryJoe

Saturday Morning Quick Fix