I’d like to welcome Bruce Simmons back to the forum this week as he is now officially back from his trip. Bruce, it’s good to have ya back. I’d also like to thank Roc for stepping up to the plate for us last week in his absence and keeping this alive. And, of course, with us as always is Charlie Turner from On Pit Row. Now, let’s get started.

At the end of April, future NFL Hall of Famer, Randy Moss, announced that he was looking to break into NASCAR as a team owner, more specifically in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2009. With Moss’ announcement immediately came speculation that he would get his team into a few races prior to the end of this season, and rumors began to fly surrounding the team’s manufacturer, sponsor, and affiliates. Many even believed that Moss would land one of the bigger stars from the Sprint Cup Series to debut his truck.

The rumors were finally laid to rest two months later when Moss announced that he had bought into Morgan-Dollar Motorsports as a part-owner, and that the team would be renamed Moss Motorsports. They renumbered the truck #81 in favor of Moss’ jersey number, and the new team debuted at Kentucky Speedway in July with Willie Allen behind the wheel, finishing 15th.

Things continue to evolve for the race team, however, as they have recently announced an agreement that will put two-time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the no. 81 truck at Bristol on August 20th. Johnson has never in his career competed in a Craftsman Truck race, and some feel that it may be the result of the partnership between Lowe’s – Johnson’s Sprint Cup sponsor – and Kobalt Tools, which will sponsor the #81 entry in the truck race.

Q: Is Randy Moss’ recent 50% purchase of what is now Moss Motorsports good for the sport?

TZ: I know there’s a lot of fans out there that probably only see this deal go down on the surface and immediately think to themselves, ‘oh, that’s crap’. Let me tell you, I don’t care if he’s white, black, or yellow, Randy Moss is a smart businessman, and he’s grown up an avid fan of racing. I also like the non-NASCAR star power that he brings to our sport, and it’s already taking its effect by putting Jimmie Johnson in a Craftsman Truck race for the first time in his career next month at Bristol. In my book, kudos to Randy Moss for venturing down this path.

Bruce:  I think it will bring a different demographic to the sport to some degree as Randy Moss fans might just tune in to see what this is about.  Right?  Maybe?  We can hope.  New fans are always a good thing, regardless of how many or few.

Charlie:  It is a step forward in NASCAR’s drive for diversity. But Randy Moss is an OWNER. He isn’t going to bring any star power to the sport beyond this initial slash of publicity as his new venture is announced. Do you doubt this. If so, name for me  – quick – three other Craftsman Truck team owners. If you can do it, look at the names and then quantify how many fans those owners bring to the races. Did Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman bring a bunch of Cowboys football fans to NASCAR? If Moss can hang in  for more than three years and build his team into something more than it is today, then he will have accomplished something significant.

Want more? The “Loose in Turn 3″ trio answers three questions each and every week, so be sure to check out the other sites to get the rest of our weekly discussion.

Over at On Pit Row, we answer “Should Tony Stewart look for the hot, young prospect, maybe someone from the open wheel ranks, instead of a current, high dollar star like Ryan Newman for his second car at Stewart-Haas?”

And, we conclude our talks over at Bruce’s Bits ‘n’ Pieces, where the question was posed, “With Tony Stewart acting out over in USAC, what’s that about? I thought he had gotten a grip on his outbursts? Do you think the stress of starting up a new team might be getting to him?”

Post from: EveryJoe

Randy Moss Runnin’ Loose in Turn 3 Along With Jimmie Johnson

Image details: Built Ford Tough 225 served by picapp.com

Johnny Benson won his second race of the season and took the points lead for the first time in 2008 after making a 4-wide pass with just 32 laps remaining in the Built Ford Tough 225 Saturday at Kentucky Speedway. As the field restarted on lap 119, Benson was third in line behind Bill Davis Racing teammate, Michael Annett, and Dennis Setzer, and the lapped truck of Chad Chaffin was on the inside. Benson and Setzer both attempted the pass on Michael Annett at the same time, and Chaffin moved to the bottom of the track as well in an effort to make the pass and get his lap back. In the end, though, it was Benson getting the spot and cruising through the final 32 circuits to pickup the win.

Annett finished second – 0.475 seconds behind Benson – in just his third Craftsman Truck Series start. Matt Crafton finished third, with Setzer in fourth, and David Starr rounded out the top-five finishers. Kyle Busch failed in his bid to get his 15th overall win of the season, as he finished sixth. Mike Skinner, Terry Cook, Marc Mitchell, and Ron Hornaday finished 7th through 10th.

Making his debut for the newly formed Moss Motorsports, Willie Allen started 20th and finished 15th. Jack Sprague’s tough luck this season continued with a 22nd place run after starting 5th. Erik Darnell’s no. 99 Roush-Fenway Ford was caught up in an earlier accident and finished a disappointing 29th. And, in her third Truck Series start, Chrissy Wallace made it through just 50 laps before finding an accident of her own, and she finished 33rd.

Johnny Benson climbed up three spots in the standings to take a 1 point lead over second place, Matt Crafton. Ron Hornaday’s top-ten effort wasn’t enough, as he dropped two spots down to third, where he sits just five points out of first. Rick Crawford and Mike Skinner each moved up a spot to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Complete Ford 225 Results.

Craftsman Truck Series Standings:

Post from: EveryJoe

Johnny Benson Wins at Kentucky With a Daring 4-Wide Pass

Image details: New England Patriots Mini Camp served by picapp.com

After Super Bowl runner-up, Randy Moss, announced last April that his latest endeavours would include the creation of a full-time NASCAR Craftsmant Truck Series team, the star WR for the New England Patriots has indeed made good on his promise. Moss has announced that he will debut the #81 Moss Motorsports truck on July 19th at Kentucky Speedway for the Built Ford Tough 225, though the team’s manufacturer, sponsors, and even their driver have yet to be announced.

We do know that Moss has recently purchased a major portion of Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, a team that currently fields Willie Allen in the no. 46 Chevy in the series. There has been some speculation that the team could simply rename their existing operations as Moss Motorsports, but that has yet to be determined. Either way, this more than likely means that Moss has established a relationship with GM, and odds are that when the green drops at Kentucky, we’re probably going to be looking at a no. 81 Chevy somewhere on the track.

There are also rumors that the driver of the truck in the team’s debut race could very well be a “prominent” Sprint Cup standout. My first inclination would be that if this is in fact true, then it would probably be someone with some past experience in the Truck Series. But, as I skim through the current Cup roster, there’s no Chevy drivers that fit both bills, so really, I don’t even know where to speculate in terms of who that driver will be. If the GM thing doesn’t hold true, though, then I’d look for someone out of the Gibbs camp, probably Denny Hamlin. But, again, that’s all speculation.

Moss is expected to make an official announcement concerning the team’s plans in a press conference this Thursday at Daytona.

Post from: EveryJoe

Moss Motorsports Set to Debut #81 Truck at Kentucky

Image details: Super Bowl XLII served by picapp.com

That’s right, folks, arguably the most talented Wide Receiver playing in the National Football League has decided to make a major multi-million dollar business decision, and it’s got NASCAR written all over it. Randy Moss, star WR for the New England Patriots, announced this past Tuesday the official formation of Moss Motorsports, LLC and his intent for the team to race a partial schedule in the Craftsman Truck Series as early as in the second half of this year, with a full-time schedule on his radar for 2009.

With sponsorship and personnel to be announced at a later date, Moss admitted that it would probably make more sense for the organization to attempt to find a driver with a veteran status that can get them into Victory Lane as quickly as possible, rather than attempting to build a team from the ground up centered around an unproven talent as many other race teams have attempted. Moss does not currently have anyone in mind, though, but is already scouting the market to see who will be available.

In terms of sponsorship, this is likely to be an area that Moss should find very little resistance. Aside from being one of the most marketable athletes in professional sports, the single season receptions record holder has purchased several local businesses, and has aligned himself with a slew of others. Though some of these companies may not necessarily serve as a full-time primary sponsor for his team, Moss does believe that these businesses will be delighted at any opportunities they may have to reach out to a new audience through this avenue. To help expedite matters, he has also contracted out with Integrity Sports Marketing LLC, one of the leading marketing companies for NASCAR.

Something that many of you may not know already, is that this is not the first venture in the racing world for Moss. He has been involved with sponsorship for local dirt track racing, and has also served as an ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School. And, as we all know, he is certainly not the first person from the NFL to throw their hat into the NASCAR arena. A few years ago, hall of fame Quarterbacks, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, teamed together to form Hall of Fame Racing which they later sold towards the end of 2007. Oh, and it’s rumored that a former head coach by the name of Joe Gibbs may have something to do with the sport as well.

Moss told the media on Tuesday, “I am by nature a very competitive person and this is an outlet for me to compete at another level. There are some pretty awesome challenges in building a program like this from the ground up, but I am looking forward to it.”

The addition of Randy Moss to NASCAR’s roster is certain to be viewed as a positive step for the sport as it continues to evolve and reach out in their diversity programs. In the last few years, NASCAR has has already added drivers with immense international popularity, such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti, and just earlier this year Chrissy Wallace signed a deal in the truck series that is expected to draw a larger female audience. This could prove valuable in their search for an untapped urban fanbase.

For more opinions and insight on this topic, please be sure to read Moss Motorsports to Hit NASCAR Tracks Running over at Full Throttle.

Post from: EveryJoe

Moss Can Catch, BUT …