A Stateside Perspective – NASCAR and F1

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Do You NASCAR Hits the F1 Pitlane

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Video: Danica Patrick’s Mid-Ohio Catfight With Milka Duno

Image details: 2007 ESPY Awards – Arrivals served by picapp.com

The annual 2008 ESPY Awards will air live on ESPN on Sunday, July 20th at 9 pm est / 8 pm cst, and keeping with their tradition of including outdoor sports and motorsports within their equation, NASCAR will be represented with nominees in three separate categories this year.

Every year, the ESPY’s select from a pool of nominees for their racing-specific athlete category for “Best Driver“. A NASCAR driver has won this award in 9 of the 15 years, and 4 of the last 5. The most recent winners of this award were Jeff Gordon in 2007 and Tony Stewart in 2006. Representing NASCAR this year are 2006 and 2007 Sprint Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson (whom has never won the award), current Sprint Cup points leader, Kyle Busch, and Dario Franchitti (though Franchitti was nominated for his win in the 2007 Indianapolis 500 and for winning the IndyCar Series championship last season). They will compete against Lewis Hamilton, Tony Schumacher, and Scott Dixon.

Kyle Busch’s surge to 7 wins this season in the Sprint Cup Series and 14 altogether in NASCAR’s top-three series has also earned him a nomination as the “Breakthrough Athlete of the Year“, but he’s going to be looking at some pretty stout competition in this category, particularly as he goes against Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Also nominated for this award are Stephen Curry (basketball) and Ana Ivanovic (tennis). Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears won the award last year.

Much to his own surprise, Jamie McMurray is up for an award himself. He’s been nominated for the “Best Finish” award for his 0.05 second victory over Kyle Busch in the 2007 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He will be up against Western Kentucky’s 3-point buzzer shot to advance over Drake University in the NCAA Tournament; the San Antonio Spurs’ victory over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals in double overtime; and the Pittsburgh Penguins triple overtime win against the Detroit Redwings in Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

Additionally, IRL star, Danica Patrick, is nominated for the awards of “Best Moment” and “Best Female Athlete.”

Go here for a complete list of the 2008 ESPY Nominees and go to ESPN.com for listing information on the event itself.

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Represented in 2008 ESPY Award Nominations

Image details: Daytona 500 served by picapp.com

This week, NASCAR returns to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400, one of the biggest races of the year on the Sprint Cup schedule. With Daytona being one of NASCAR’s two restrictor plate courses, the track has fallen under quite a bit of scrutiny over the years. While it’s still loved by many, there are still those that feel as though things tend to get a bit overhyped whenever the series heads down to Florida. But, whether you love it or you hate it, one thing cannot be denied, and that is that the 50th running of the Daytona 500 held here this past February was one that brought plenty of excitement. In fact, some believe that race was actually one of the Car of Tomorrow’s shining moments to date.

Recent Winners:
2008 – Ryan Newman
2007 – Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick
2006 – Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson
2005 – Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon

Recent Pole Winners:
2008 – Jimmie Johnson
2007 – “Cancelled Qualifying”, David Gilliland
2006 – Boris Said, Jeff Burton
2005 – Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett

the Usual Suspects:
Despite the fact that he hasn’t won a Cup race all season long and that he’s been under the microscope this season in regards to his contract situation, Tony Stewart remains one of the favorites to win this Saturday. Along with boasting the highest driver rating over the last 7 races at the track, Tony has also won this race twice before (’05 & ‘06), and also holds the track record for most laps led in a 400-mile race when he led 151 circuits back in 2005. Additionally, Smoke leads all active drivers in the series with wins between June through August since 2003 with 12 of them to his credit. He also led the most laps at this year’s 500, only to lose the lead on the final lap of the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is certainly considered the fan favorite to win the race this weekend, and rightfully so. Dale owns two Cup victories at Daytona himself, and has recorded 10 top-ten finishes over 17 starts. He ran very well during the Daytona 500 in February and at times appeared as though he might grab a victory in his very first start with Hendrick Motorsports, but eventually faded away near the end. Now that he’s finally broken his winless streak by taking the checkered flag at Michigan, perhaps the no. 88 team’s been able to relieve themselves of enough pressure to regain Jr’s status as the master of restrictor plate racing.

Both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have seen their share of dominant days at Daytona. Gordon leads all active drivers with 6 wins here, and Johnson had a stretch of five consecutive Daytona races with a finish of 6th or better, which also included a win at the 2006 Daytona 500. Since that win, however, Johnson has recorded only one top-ten finish in the four races since, and he finished 27th here in February. Gordon’s last Daytona victory came at the 500 the year before.

Amongst the other favorites to win this weekend is Kevin Harvick, winner of the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick has struggled at the track since then, finishing 34th last July and 14th earlier this year. He’s also had his struggles over the last few weeks of the season, but also known as one of the best night racers in the series, a return to Daytona could be just what the doctor ordered … Kyle Busch’s over all numbers at Daytona seem to be about middle of the road, but you can pretty much chalk that up to a few bad runs earlier on in his career. He’s finished inside the top-five in 3 of the last 4 trips to Daytona, to include a pair of runner-up finishes, and he finally picked up his first restrictor plate win earlier this year at Talladega … Kurt Busch may have gotten the monkey off his back with his win last weekend at New Hampshire, and it could’ve come at just the right time. With the number 2 time finding themselves in a much deeper hole than they could’ve ever expected to have to climb out of this late in the season, there might not be a track they’d rather visit more than Daytona. He has still yet to add a Daytona victory to his championship resume’, but he’s always considered a favorite here with 7 top-five finishes over 15 races. He has finished as the runner-up here on three occassions.

the Unusual Suspects:
When you start to think about sleeper picks at Daytona, probably the first name that jumps out to you is the guy that beat Kyle Busch to the line in this race last year, Jamie McMurray. The 2007 victory was only Jamie’s second top-five finish at the track in his career, but don’t let the numbers fool you. McMurray’s been a solid performer here ever since he started running full-time in the Cup Series, but as has been the case so many times throughout his career, he has been the unfortunate victim of bad luck more often than not.

Elliott Sadler has run well here at times, especially as of late. He has finished 6th in three of the last four Daytona races, and also scored a pair of top-five’s here back in 2001 … Brian Vickers has had a great run for his Red Bull Racing team over the past couple of months, and Vickers is especially known for his restrictor plate prowess. Though he typically runs stronger at Talladega, he does have a pair of top-ten’s at Daytona, and finished 12th here in February … Robby Gordon typically isn’t associated with many tracks other than road course races, but you may be surprised to learn that he is currently working on a string of five consecutive top-15 finishes at Daytona.

the Unusual Slackers:
It’s not very often that folks will make it a point to drop Denny Hamlin from there fantasy rosters for an upcoming race, but a trip to Daytona could call for such action. Not only has Denny failed to record a single top-15 finish in his five trips to Daytona, but his average finish of 27.0 actually matches that of JJ Yeley … Carl Edwards has been one of the top performers of the season, and is heavily considered to be amongst the true championship contenders this year. That does not mean, however, that he’s necessarily solid at every track on the schedule. Carl has only one top-ten finish in 7 Daytona races, which was a 4th place run here last July. He was unable to use that for any kind of momentum, however, as he then finished 19th here in February … Carl’s teammate, Matt Kenseth, hasn’t had much better luck taming Daytona, either. With only one top-five to his credit and an average finish here of 22.9 over 17 races, Daytona ranks amongst Matt’s worst tracks … Martin Truex Jr. is in dire need of a good run if he wants to return to the Chase for the Cup field this year, but if you ask him, Daytona’s not the best place to be given the current situation. Martin’s 13th place run here last July ranks as his best finish over six races at Daytona.

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Tony Stewart – 108.1
2. Ryan Newman – 98.6
3. Jimmie Johnson – 95.5
4. Kyle Busch - 95.3
5. Kurt Busch – 93.0

Best Average Finishes (from racingone.com):
1. Clint Bowyer – 13.0
2. Jimmie Johnson – 13.2
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 13.8
4. Sam Hornish Jr. – 15.0
5. David Gilliland – 15.7 

Daytona Facts:
- A Cup race at Daytona has gone without any lead changes on two different occassions, the last of which came back in 1963.
- The race has gone caution-free 12 times, most recently the Daytona 500 in 1971.
- The most drivers to ever finish on the lead lap at Daytona is 33. Eight races have seen only one driver finish on the lead lap, most recently in 1976.
- In 122 Cup Series races at Daytona, only 10 times has the winner come from outside of a top-15 starting position. 55% of the races have been won from the top-five, and 23 winners have started from the pole.
- Only four drivers have ever won both the Daytona 500 and the July race at Daytona in the same year: Fireball Roberts, Cale Yarbrough, LeRoy Yarbrough, and most recently, Bobby Allison in 1982. Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 this year, giving Penske Racing their first-ever restrictor plate victory. 

Storylines for the Weekend:
Hendrick Motorsports has recently announced the release of Casey Mears from the no. 5 car next season. They’re expected to make an announcement on Friday in regards to whom will fill the seat in 2009, and heavy speculation at this point is that the announcement will involve the legendary Mark Martin … Though he is not on this weekend’s driver entry list, DEI has named the young Aric Almirola as the full-time driver of their no. 8 car in ‘09 … In a surprise move, Chip Ganassi Racing announced earlier in the week that they would be forced to shut down operations on their no. 40 car, which until then had been driven by 2007 Indy 500 winner, Dario Franchitti, due to a lack of sponsorship opportunities … This weekend’s Cup entry list includes Boris Said (making his 2nd start of the season) and Sterling Marlin (making his 6th start). Marlin leads all drivers on the entry list with 589 laps led at Daytona – 57 more laps than Tony Stewart, and 78 more than Jeff Gordon … Kerry Earnhardt will run the no. 8 entry in the Nationwide Series this weekend, marking his first official start in a DEI car in a NASCAR event.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner – Tony Stewart
2nd Place – Jimmie Johnson
3rd Place – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4th Place – Kurt Busch
5th Place – Kyle Busch
6th Place – Greg Biffle

Lock of the Week – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Sleeper Pick - Brian Vickers
Steer Clear of – Martin Truex Jr.

Video – Jamie McMurray wins the 2007 Pepsi 400

Post from: EveryJoe

Race Preview for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

If you ask any driver or any team owner, they’ll be the first to tell you that every race is a big deal, and nobody can deny that. But, as I take a look at the starting grid for the Toyota Save/Mart 350 and then look at the points standings, when I combine that with everything that I know has already taken place in this crazy season, I can’t help but think that it especially holds true this weekend at Infineon Raceway, and it all starts right there at the top of the field.

Kasey Kahne has been on a helluva roll ever since he won the All-Star Race in Charlotte about a month ago. Of the four points races that have taken place since then, he’s won two of them and finished 2nd in another, with his only hiccup coming when he got caught up in the big pileup at Dover. Yet, the typical race fan would be quick to discount Kahne as a legitimate threat to win the championship this year, and would chalk it up as nothing more than a hot streak. Kasey must be privvy to these statements, though, because he didn’t let the fact that he’s never scored higher than 23rd at Infineon stop him from pacing the field during Friday’s qualifying runs and taking the pole for Sunday’s race. Now, with all of the momentum going in his favor, a win – or, even a top-five – could and probably would establish Kahne as the real deal … for this season at least.

The most disappointing team in 2008 has without a doubt been Penske Racing, where Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch are currently 17th and 19th in the points standings. Since pulling off their dramatic 1-2 finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, the duo has combined for only one more top-five and five more top-ten finishes. Looking to turn their seasons around, a stop at Infineon could be just what the doctor ordered. Both Newman and Busch rank amongst the series’ top-ten full-time active drivers at Infineon in terms of best average finishes, and both will be starting Sunday’s event from top-ten starting positions.

Perhaps the buzz of the town this weekend surrounds Marcos Ambrose, who will make his Sprint Cup debut when the green flag drops in Sonoma. Stepping inside of the no. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers this weekend, Ambrose will be looking to use his road course expertise to turn a few heads at Sonoma in hopes of landing a ride in the series next year. He qualified 7th and led the final practice speeds, though he did lose control of the car about halfway through the practice session and ran into the tire barriers. There was a bit of damage sustained to the left side of the car, but the crew was able to repair the car, and there seems to be little concern over the mishap for Sunday.

And, of course every team owner in the garage will be expecting top results from their former open-wheel stars that have since joined the ranks of NASCAR full-time. Afterall, if these guys are unable to get the job on the road courses – the one place they’re expected to do well – then what kind of results should they really expect from their drivers on a weekly basis going forward? Just ask Dario Franchitti how secure he feels his job is now after the 2007 IndyCar Series champion failed to qualify for Sonoma. With that in mind, you can bet that fellow Ganassi teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, will be looking to rebound from his 21st starting position and recapture some of the glory that helped him win this race last year. But, at least he doesn’t have it near as bad as Patrick Carpentier, whom has been rumored to be on the chopping block over at Gillette-Evernham Motorsports. Carpentier, a former IRL driver himself, will start Sunday’s race from the 37th position.

Road course racing has been on the receiving end of more than its chare of criticism from NASCAR fans over the years, and often finds itself on the losing end of such debates. Whether you’re a fan or not, though, one thing cannot be denied, and that’s the fact that this drama-filled season is sure to play a part at Sonoma.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

There’s A Lot Riding on Sonoma

Image details: Bridgestone Indy 300 served by picapp.com

Several rumors have been floating around the internet this week ever since the Los Angeles Times printed an article that two-time winner of the Indy 500 and the recent subject of Dancing With the Stars, Helio Castroneves, stated this past Monday that he had indeed thought about one day trying his hand at the realm of the stock car world, and that he and car owner, Roger Penske, would talk after this weekend’s Indianapolis 500.

On Wednesday, Castroneves refuted the allegations, claiming that the LA Times took his comments out of context, and that even if he were to ever one day make the jump over to NASCAR, that day wouldn’t be today … or tomorrow … or any day on the 2009 calendar.

“Every driver is thinking about NASCAR or new challenges, let’s put it this way. But, it depends on the opportunity, and my opportunity right now is great being here in IndyCar, especially with the merger.” He later added, “The future, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But, right now, the only thing I can say is I’m very much committed to my team. I love where I’m at, and hopefully we can continue.”

When asked about his comments that he and Roger Penske would talk after Indy, Helio responded, “That’s the way we always do it with this team. It doesn’t mean I’m going to go anywhere.”

I think it be great to see Castroneves competing in NASCAR one day, but at the same time, I don’t really see a need to push the envelope and rushing things. NASCAR isn’t exactly hurting for a lack of former open wheel stars these days.

Post from: EveryJoe

Castroneves Not NASCAR-Bound Quite Yet

Image details: Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Qualifying served by picapp.com

The Sprint Cup Series was off this past week while the Nationwide Series took to the streets of Mexico City for the Corona Mexico 200 as Kyle Busch cruised to his third consecutive Nationwide Series victory. That, however, was not the headline that the sports world took away from auto racing on that day because while Kyle Busch was debating whether or not to dump Scott Pruett, Danica Patrick was out in Japan making history en route to winning the first IRL race of her career, as well as becoming the first female driver to ever win a race in that series.

In a pure incident of coincidental timing, just days before Danica broke down the barriers for females in racing, Chrissy Wallace inked a deal with Germain Racing that will have her competing full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2009.

Chrissy made her NASCAR debut just a few weeks ago at Martinsville Speedway in the Truck Series’ Kroger 250. Despite starting that race all the way back from the 35th position, she was able to find her way up to 18th by the final lap of the race. Her run was impressive enough to force the hands at Germain Racing to offer her up a contract, and they finalized the deal this past Wednesday. Chrissy will run another six races this year in the no. 03 Toyota Tundra – the first of which will be on June 20th in Milwuakee, and from there she will begin to prepare for her 2009 rookie campaign.

Regarding her signing with Germain, Chrissy stated, “I’m extremely excited. This is a big deal for us. When I saw my name on that contract, I almost couldn’t believe it. But, I’m thrilled about this opportunity.”

Chrissy comes from a long line of racers in her family, to include her father Mike Wallace, and uncles Rusty and Kenny. She has spent the majority of her amateur career racing late model stock cars, and became the first female driver to win at Hickory Motor Speedway in 57 years.  She has also earned herself the backing of the unofficial NASCAR spokesman himself, Tony Stewart, and that just simply can’t hurt matters.

The official signing of Chrissy Wallace is a huge step for NASCAR as they continue to work on building diversity within their garage areas. In recent years, the sport has added a number of drivers with foreign backgrounds, to include such names as Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, and Patrick Carpentier. They have also created and contributed to a multitude of diversity programs in an effort to help this cause. Although Chrissy certainly is not the first female to dawn a NASCAR firesuit, it certainly appears as though that she may potentially be the first to have the necessary combination of talent AND proper equipment afforded to her that it takes to win at NASCAR’s highest levels.

DYN Imposes:
This week, Do You Nascar also asks its readers …

1) Do you think that Chrissy Wallace will be successful in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2009, and will she win Rookie of the Year?

2) Are female drivers often given some of their driving opportunities simply because of their market value as women?

3) Have NASCAR’s diversity programs been successful, and is the diversity they’ve added been good for the sport?

4) What could NASCAR do to expand their diversity programs?

Post from: EveryJoe

Women Charging on Cup Series’ Week Off

Danica is certainly no stranger to the history books since the 26-year-old made her debut to professional racing back in 2005. That year she became the first female driver to lead a lap in the Indy 500 en route to her fourth place finish in that race, and last year she finished 7th overall in the points standings.

When asked about being the first female to win a race in the IndyCar Racing League, Danica said, “I’m glad it finally happened, but I would be lying if I told you I didn’t think it would be me.” She also stated that the best part about the victory was that she would no longer have to answer questions about when she would win her first race.

In Other News:
- Former Indy 500 winner and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie, Sam Hornish Jr, has recently squashed rumors that he may be replaced by David Stremme at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May so that he can run in the 2008 Indy 500. Last Friday, Hornish said that it’s just not feasible for him to drive in both the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 in the same weekend, and he reiterated his commitment to piloting the no. 77 car for Penske Racing and attempting to make his rookie season in NASCAR a success.

Post from: EveryJoe

Danica Breaks the Barriers

2/17 – Former NBA star John Salley has stated that he is in the early stages of negotiations of purchasing or starting a team in the Sprint Cup Series.  Read More.

2/18 – The Martin Truex Jr Foundation has announced the official launch of their “Tag! You’re It” campaign to benefit the Dove House Children’s Advocacy Center.  Read More.

2/18 – NASCAR has reported an entry list of 51 drivers for California in this weekend’s Sprint Cup race, 43 entries in the Nationwide Series, and 35 entries in the Craftsman Truck Series race.

2/19 – The International Race of Champions (IROC) Series has officially announced the termination of the series and will liquidate all assets in a 2-day public auction on March 7th & 8th.  Read More.

2/19 – The IndySeries is expected to purchase the Champ Car Series in a deal that could happen as early as this afternoon, though details have not yet been confirmed.  Read More.

2/19 – This weekend at Fontana, CA, Mark Martin will become only the 13th driver in history to make his 700th career start in a Cup Series points race.  Read More.

2/19 – Rusty Wallace Inc. has announced that Dale Ferguson will serve as the interim Crew Chief for their no. 64 Nationwide Series team driven by David Stremme, Max Papis, & Chase Austin.  Read More.

2/19 – Roush-Fenway Racing has announced that Travis Kvapil will drive the no. 09 Zaxby’s Ford F-150 in the Craftsman Truck Series race this weekend at California. Read More.

Post from: EveryJoe

Wednesday Mid-Week Wrap

*Credit all photos to sportsillustrated.com

Danica Patrick is often compared to the Anna Kournikova of the racing world due to the fact that she has yet to win in the IndyCar Series and her best points finish to date is 7th, which came last year in 2007. Still, she continues to draw media attention not only because she’s a woman competing in a man’s sport, but also because she’s an attractive woman competing in a man’s sport. Sports Illustrated has made it a point to capitalize on this fact by featuring her in their annual swimsuit issue.

The revelation that Danica would appear in SI’s 2008 Swimsuit Issue got me thinking a little. A few years ago, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of her jumping from the open-wheel market and joining the realms of stock-car racing, NASCAR more specifically. The move never occurred, obviously, but back then it seemed as though Danica was taking all the necessary and appropriate steps to mold her career in a fashion that would not only enable, but force fans to take her seriously. Force them to forget about her looks and realize that she belongs in the racing world. A few years later, a number of her open-wheel counterparts – and, former champions at that – are the ones making the jump to NASCAR, and she’s busy making Super Bowl commercials for GoDaddy.com and posing for swimsuit magazines.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I certainly appreciate the opportunity to view Danica Patrick in a bikini as much as the next guy … in fact, I’m rather thankful for it. But, at the same time I have to wonder if any of this is actually helping Danica’s career. Sure, she’s never going to come up short on sponsorship deals and financial backing, but it’s obvious that something’s keeping her from excelling to that next level of competition. Three seasons into her professional career and she has yet to earn herself a victory, despite holding a career average finish of under 10th place.

I personally see a lot of potential in the racing abilities of Danica, but I also see a lot of the same issues with her that I see with NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. They both have a tendancy to let themselves get caught up in the media aspect of racing, and that can sometimes be enough to cause any driver to lose just enough focus from racing itself to keep them out of victory lane. Hopefully I’m wrong, though, and maybe Danica can find that winning edge in 2008.

For a complete viewing of Danica’s SI swimsuit gallery, click here.  For her interview with SI’s Dan Patrick, click here.

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

1) Should Danica Patrick ever make the move to NASCAR, and will she?
2) If Danica did jump to NASCAR, how would she fair against other former open-wheel stars such as Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr, and Dario Franchitti?
3) Have some of Danica’s recent media exploitations taken credibility away from her as a professional driver?
4) Will Danica earn her first IndySeries victory in 2008?

Post from: EveryJoe

Danica Patrick Drops the Firesuit