Despite being handed his walking papers from Hendrick Motorsports when the team announced at the end of June that Casey Mears would no longer be the driver of the no. 5 car in 2009, it’s not exactly the end of world for Mears. Really, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have happened in a better year with seats still remaining open at Richard Childress Racing, Penske Racing, and technically, even Stewart-Haas Racing for next season.

With Roger Penske and Ryan Newman recently announcing their split at the end of the year, the no. 12 ride at Penske has now become one of the more highly touted rides available for ‘09. Though early signs have indicated that the team may opt take the easy and less negotiable route by signing their current Sprint Cup test driver, David Stremme, to drive the car, one has to wonder if it doesn’t actually just make too much sense for Roger and company to head in another direction and start focusing on a potential deal that would land Mears in that car next season.

For starters, Casey’s uncle – 4-time Indy 500 winner, Rick Mears – spent more than 15 years driving for Penske in the open wheel ranks, and still works as a consultant for the organization. Casey’s father, Roger Mears, also competed in 4 Indy 500’s running a Penske chassis, so there’s definitely some family ties between Penske and the Mears family.

Additionally, upon his retirement from the Penske organization and racing altogether in 2005, the legendary Rusty Wallace petitioned for Roger to look at Casey as a candidate to fill his shoes in the famed no. 2 “Blue Deuce”, though the team ultimately decided to go with 2004 Cup champion, Kurt Busch.

At that time, Mears was still racing for Chip Ganassi Racing, which also runs out of the Dodge Racing camp – the same manufacturer of choice as Penske. Casey failed to put together a winning effort while running for Ganassi as he didn’t reach that pinnacle until 2007 with Hendrick, but he did experience his best points season with them in ‘06 when he finished 14th overall in the points standings.

Mears could arguably be the most established driver on the free agent market available to Penske, pending a fallout in the ongoing negotiations between Martin Truex Jr. and DEI, though the rumor mill there has Truex potentially joining the ranks of RCR should he happen to leave.

Post from: EveryJoe

Casey Mears to Penske Racing is a Make Sense Deal

Incase you missed the action on Saturday afternoon, here’s some video to show you how the cars were handling on the regular slick tires before the teams converted over. The video also carries footage of a drivers such as Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Sr. competing in a 1997 exhibition race at Suzka Circuit in which they raced in the rain, and a practice session at Watkins Glen where they practiced in the rain.

As you can see, the tires didn’t bode so well for drivers such as Stanton Barrett made a few “turns” around the track, but here, take a look at the first 9 minutes of the race with grooved tires, and you can really see the improvement in the handling.

And, just for good measure, I can’t show you highlights of this race without showing you some footage of Carl Edwards with what was undoubtedly the funniest moment of the race:

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Rivals: Slicks vs. Grooves

It’s no huge secret that Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace were never exactly the closest of friends during the few short years that they teamed together at Penske Racing earlier this decade, and their relationship was again tested this past weekend at Indianapolis, and it was Rusty that fired the opening shots.

Baffled at the notion that anyone would ever dare leave a man that he has such deep respect for, Roger Penske and his organization, Rusty allegated that it was Penske Racing’s decision to let Newman go and that they’d fired him.

“He didn’t leave,” Wallace stated. “I’ve read many, many stories that said that. Roger Penske called Ryan Newman up to his office and said, ‘I don’t need your services next year.’ Ryan Newman didn’t come to him and say ‘I’m leaving.’ Ok? You all need to write about that. That’s exactly how it went down. Obviously there was some bad blood there when that happened. I love Roger Penske, so I’m going to help clear the story up for him.”

Newman was later addressed by the media about Rusty’s comments. Always the witty one, and never one to let himself get pushed around, Newman’s responses did not disappoint.

When asked if Rusty’s comments upset him, Newman responded, “Was he concious when he said it? …. It doesn’t matter to me. I know Rusty and his personalities – plural – and, everybody is different.”

Rusty was always apprehensive of Newman ever since the day that the Daytona 500 winner joined Penske Racing full-time back in 2002, and the two have never been on the same page ever since. The bad blood there could have a lot to do with the statements that Rusty made, but then again, there are probably few people in the sport as close to Penske as Wallace is. It is a bit shocking, however, that as one of NASCAR’s distinct faces in the broadcast booth now with ESPN taking the helm for the current portion of the Sprint Cup schedule, that Rusty would be so blatant in calling out one of the drivers, particularly one he has a history with. Darrell Waltrip caused quite a stir when he found himself in similar situation when he was bashing on Tony Stewart week after week, and many fans still take an anti-DW stance because of comments he made during that span.

Post from: EveryJoe

Newman; Wallace: Former ‘Mates Still Can’t See Eye to Eye

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Video – A Tribute to Rusty Wallace

Image details: Camping World RV Rental 250 served by picapp.com

It’s going to be a big weekend coming up for the Wallace’s as the NASCAR Nationwide Series makes a trip to St. Louis this weekend for the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway, hometown to brothers Mike and Kenny Wallace. Considered to be the home track for the Wallace family, the track has been kind enough to name the grandstands in Turns 1 and 2 after the Wallace’s, and even honored them by placing their name on the race itself during older brother, Rusty’s retirement year.

Despite all of the hometown recognition, though, a member of the Wallace family has never put a tally in the win column since the Nationwide Series began racing here back in 1997, but they’ll have a prime opportunity to change that this weekend. Mike Wallace is having one of his finer seasons as he currently sits 8th in points and would like nothing more than to notch one up here in front of his hometown fans. He nearly did just that back in 2005 when he finished 2nd here in an Evernham Motorsports car. Mike will also be an honorary guest at the St. Louis Cardinals game on Thursday where he will throw out the first pitch of the game.

Kenny Wallace will also attend the race, as will Steven Wallace, who will be driving for Rusty Wallace Inc, the team owned by his father, Rusty Wallace. That team is still looking for their first win of the season. Steven is currently 12th in the points standings, and Kenny is 18th. All three Wallace’s will also compete in a dirt track race at Tri-City Speedway on Friday in Pontoon Beach, IL.

Mike’s daughter, Chrissy Wallace, will be competing this weekend as well. Chrissy will make the third Craftsman Truck Series start of her career on Saturday in the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway. To date, she’s finished 18th at Martinsville and 20th at the Milwuakee Mile.

Post from: EveryJoe

Big Weekend Ahead for the Wallace Bunch

Image details: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Practice served by picapp.com

Well, just as many of us had predicted, Casey Mears is in fact out of a ride for 2009. Hendrick Motorsports announced the release of Mears from his contract with the organization following the completion of this Sprint Cup season, leaving the no. 5 seat empty, and Mears looking for work. The news comes as little shock to the NASCAR world, who continues to see more and more organizational shakeups earlier and earlier in the season … those of us close to the sport call it “Silly Season,” whereas everyone else just calls it a mess.

With Casey Mears leaving HMS next year, he throws his name into a free agency pool that could potentially drown him, or could possibly make him one of the biggest names looking forward to next season. Even with Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Bobby LaBonte, and Clint Bowyer’s names all being taken off the table, there’s still a few names out there that are sure to draw some intrigue.

Casey has to be considered an immediate candidate for the new ride opening up over at Richard Childress Racing in the no. 33 car, which is where I ultimately believe he will wind up. Another possibility, though, would be a move to Penske Racing if they’re unable to resolve their issues with their lead driver, Ryan Newman. Mears was one of the leading candidates to take over the no. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske a few years ago when Rusty Wallace retired, but the ride wound up going to Kurt Busch instead.

Some folks have not ruled out a return to Chip Ganassi Racing for Mears, where he first got his start in the Cup Series before finding his way over to a Hendrick car. Reed Sorenson is rumored to be on the chopping block there after struggling this season, but that could be a foolish move on Casey’s part considering all of the inner-turmoil that has taken place there this year. And, of course, Roush-Fenway Racing could have one of the most attractive seats available looking into the off-season should they decide to part ways with Jamie McMurray.

Post from: EveryJoe

Casey Mears Officially Looking for Work

Recent Pole Winners:
2007 – Jeff Gordon, JJ Yeley
2006 – Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne
2005 – Joe Nemecheck, Ryan Newman

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Carl Edwards – 112.3
2. Kurt Busch – 106.8
3. Greg Biffle – 105.4
4. Jimmie Johnson - 104.7
5. Matt Kenseth – 104.1

Best Average Finishes (from racingone.com):
1. Carl Edwards – 7.3
2. Matt Kenseth – 9.7
3. Denny Hamlin – 10.0
4. Jeff Gordon – 12.5
5. Martin Truex Jr – 12.5

Most Wins – David Pearson (9)
Most Wins (Active) – Bobby LaBonte (3)
Most Poles – David Pearson (10)
Most Poles (Active) – Jeff Gordon (5)
Most Top 5’s – Cale Yarbrough (21)
Most Top 10’s – Bill Elliott (29)
Most Manufacturer Wins – Ford (30)
Track Qualifying Record – Ryan Newman (37.069 seconds / 2005)

Odd Facts:
- David Pearson, Cale Yarbrough, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, and Mark Martin have combined to win 45 of the 77 Cup races at Michigan, or 58.4% of the races.
- The track record for a 400 mile race at Michigan is 173.997 mph, whereas the record for a 500 miler is only 139.254 mph. That’s an average 34 mph slower for that extra hundred miles! This weekend’s race is 400 miles.
- A Cup race at Michigan has gone caution free on three separate occassions, most recently in 1999. The most cautions at MIS? Only 10, which came in August of 2006.
- Five times has a Michigan race ended with only 2 drivers on the lead lap. The last time was in 1975.
- Roush-Fenway Racing has more wins at Michigan (10) than they do any other track.
- A driver has won from the pole position at Michigan 15 times. Last weekend at Pocono marked the first time this season such a feat had been accomplished.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner – Greg Biffle
2nd Place – Carl Edwards
3rd Place – Tony Stewart
4th Place – Kasey Kahne
5th Place – Matt Kenseth
6th Place – Jimmie Johnson

Lock of the Week – Carl Edwards
Sleeper Pick – Brian Vickers
Steer Clear of – Clint Bowyer

Post from: EveryJoe

Fantasy Preview: Michigan

10. Justin Allgaier – 21 years-old, currently driving in his third full season in the ARCA/REMAXX Series. Has compiled one victory in each of the past three seasons.

9. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 20 years-old, has recorded 2 wins and 4 top-five’s through his first 20 races in the USAC Series.

8. Brad Keselowski – 24 years-old, currently driving in the Nationwide Series for Bob & Kay Keselowski. Currently 7th in points with 4 top-ten finishes.

7. Steve Wallace – The twenty-year-old son of Rusty Wallace; finished 17th in the Nationwide Series points standings last year, and currently 15th in points with a top-five and two top-ten’s.

6. Marcos Ambrose – The 30-year-old Australlian native has won several accolades in lesser series, and is known as an accomplished road racer. He’s turning that into some noticeable stock car success, and through two seasons has 2 top-five’s and 8 top-ten’s. He’s currently 16th in the Nationwide points standings.

5. Brad Coleman – Brad has a future with Joe Gibbs Racing, though the timeline is still a bit sketchy as long as JGR has Joey Logano in the waiting. He made his debut in the Nationwide Series this year and is currently 17th in points with one top-ten finish through ten races.

4. Austin Dillon – Being the grandson of Cup Series teamowner, Richard Childress, is sure to have its perks, and having the fortune to know that you can one day bring Dale Earnhardt’s former number back into NASCAR one day is one of them. He already has a win this season in the Camping World East Series, and is expected to win quite a few more before long.

3. Chrissy Wallace – She earned herself a top-20 finish in her first career start in the Craftsman Truck Series in March, and has recently signed a deal with Germain Racing that will have her competing full-time in 2009. With her family name, superior backing inside the NASCAR garage, and her appeal as a standout female star, big things could be on the horizon for Chrissy Wallace.

2. Aric Almirola – He’s scheduled to run a part-time schedule this year inside the no. 8 car for DEI that includes 12 races, the first of which came earlier in 2008 with a top-five run at Bristol. He’s currently slated to run full-time for the organization when Mark Martin goes into full retirement, which could be as early as next year.

1. Joey Logano – His future lies with Joe Gibbs Racing, producer of three Cup Series championships, and could have a pretty sweet deal lined up for himself depending on what Tony Stewart decides to do at the end of his contract in 2009. He recently won his first-ever start in the ARCA series a little over a week ago in Rockingham, and will make his first Nationwide start at the end of this month when he turns 18 years old.

Post from: EveryJoe

the Big Ten: Potential Stars in the Waiting

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

Rookie Brawl – Five Way Elimination Match:
Patrick Carpentier and Regan Smith eliminated one another via a double countout. Dario Franchitti pinned Sam Hornish Jr via a Small Package. Then, Michael McDowell closed the match out by defeating Franchitti with his patented finishing move, the “Suicide Spin,” to pick up the victory. Following the match, Aric Almirola attacked McDowell from behind, claiming that he should have had the opportunity to compete in the match, stating that he, too, is a rookie – even if not by NASCAR standards.
Winner: Michael McDowell

East Coast vs. West Coast: Tag Team Match:
Elliott Sadler / Denny Hamlin vs. David Gilliland / Kevin Harvick
Hamlin and Sadler dominated more than half the match and appeared to have the victory well-in-hand when DaLana Harvick strutted down to ringside and distracted them. This gave Gilliland an opportunity to dropkick Sadler over the top rope, and the two proceeded to battle outside the ring. With the ref distracted, DaLana then slid Kevin a metal folding chair, which he smacked over Hamlin’s back before making the cover for the win.
Winners: David Gilliland & Kevin Harvick

Battle for the ESPN Booth:
Rusty Wallace vs. Dale Jarrett
The two battled one another feverishly, and the crowd was really getting into this battle of the legends. Late in the match, Rusty attempted to suplex Jarrett into the turnbuckles, but DJ blocked with his foot on multiple occasions before reversing it into a variation of his finishing move, “the Special Delivery.” He nailed the move and made the cover for the three count.
Winner: Dale Jarrett

Battle of the Legends … Sons:
Dale Earnhardt Jr vs. Kyle Petty vs. Casey Mears
Casey Mears was dominating the match, going to town on both of his competitors. After throwing Earnhardt Jr to the outside of the ring, he was setting Petty up for the kill. He stomped away several times to Petty’s right knee before applying the figure four leglock. Just when it looked as though Kyle was going to tap, though, Earnhardt scaled the top turnbuckle and signaled for his finisher, “the Whisky River!” He nailed it and proceeded to make the pinfall on the unconscious Mears.
Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Hair vs. Hair:
Jeff Gordon vs. Jimmie Johnson
In this highly anticipated battle of the villains, the momentum switched back and forth several times, but in the end, it was Jimmie Johnson picking up the win. He was able to land his “Three-Peat” after Gordon missed with the “Drive for Five.” Fans then watched on as Johnson proceeded to shave his tag team partner bald.
Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Loser Leaves Match:
Paul Menard vs. Robby Gordon
Despite the ramifications of this match, several fans in the arena chose to take an intermission at this time, and the pay-per-view channel itself even went to commercial. We’re told, however, that Gordon did pick up the victory and that Menard must now leave and never wrestle again. Incase you were wondering, yes, FOX coincidentally happened to have majority ownership in this ppv channel.
Winner: Robby Gordon

Tag Team Match:
the Busch Bros (Kyle & Kurt) vs. the Waltrip’s (Darrell & Michael)
Coverage of this event finally returned about five minutes into this matchup, at which time the Waltrip Brothers were well in control. They finally polished their foes off when Darrell reluctantly took Kyle out with the “Boogity Slam.” After the match, Darrell attempted to befriend Kyle, but the youngster just stormed out of the arena, refusing to offer his comments to reporters.
Winners: the Waltrip’s

Cage Match:
Jack Roush vs. Lee White
As several of the Roush and Toyota drivers surrounded the ring on the outside of the cage, these two enemies battled ferociously back and forth. Both men tried to escape the cage several times, only to be dragged back down. Finally, a bloodied Lee White attempted to crawl out through the cage door, only to have it slammed in his face by Carl Edwards. The impact knocked White out cold, and Roush was able to escape the cage with the victory!
Winner: Jack Roush

#1 Contenders Match:
Carl Edwards vs. Ryan Newman
Edwards stormed the ring like a madman and absolutely pounded Newman from pillar to post, scoring several near falls in the early goings. About 15 minutes into the match, however, Edwards appeared to be getting a little too cocky. As he was posing to the crowd, Newman staggered to his feet and attacked Edwards from behind. Newman’s offense lasted several minutes before setting Edwards on the top turnbuckle for a superplex. Edwards was able to push Newman away, however, and then proceeded to turn around and … he nailed Newman with a backflip from the turnbuckles! He made the cover and scored the win to earn himself a match with the winner of the Heavyweight Title match!
Winner: Carl Edwards

Heavyweight Title Bout:
Tony Stewart vs. Jimmy Spencer
The two men beat each other to a bloody pulp in an effort to be crowned as the first-ever DYN World Heavyweight Champion. Both men came close to getting the three-count on several occasions in this matchup that last nearly a half hour. In the end, though, it was Stewart walking away with the hardware after he punished Spencer with his devastating “Smoke Screen.” Stewart was immediately interviewed by Marty Smithson in the middle of the ring. As he drank his Coca Cola and snacked on two Subway Subs, the Champ talked about how he was looking forward to his upcoming match with #1 Contender, Carl Edwards. We’re still not really sure what it has to do with anything, but in the interview, Tony made several comments about blown tires and give ‘n’ take.
Winner: Tony Stewart

Post from: EveryJoe

the Big Ten: NASCAR Mania – Results