No glitz and flash to my post this week as I am working with a work related injury to an arm so today it just the heart of the matter. There is lots to talk about though and I will try to hit the high points. I am fired up about the Nascar news of late yet I am in a good deal of pain. I can’t let this go though so lets talk about the issues at hand shall we?
Great Job Kyle
First of all I have to take my hat off to kyle Busch and the boys over there at Joe Gibbs Racing for putting on a fantastic performance. I was not in favor of Toyota getting into Nascar as this was a sport founded on American cars, not Japanese cars. With that said, the times are different now and the majority of those production Camry’s are made right here in America now. So welcome Toyota and congrats. Can Kyle Busch drive a race car or what? Not since the early days of Dale Earnhardt have I seen someone get so sideways in a race car and bring it back under control like Kyle Busch can. Hell he makes it look easy!
What Is Really On My Mind!
You know? For the past year all we have heard from Nascar when it came to penalties over the new car was “WE ARE GOING TO RATCHET UP THE PENALTIES AND FINES UNTIL THEY GET THE MESSAGE!” Bull pucky! What a line of horse dung! The 99 team got the same fines and penalties that everyone else got last year. Oh they claim that they did something new. Here it is in a nut shell OK? The 99 team lost 100 owner points, 100 driver points, fined the same amount as everyone else, crew-chief suspended for six races, and he also gets probation for the rest of the year. The new thing is and I quote ” If the 99 team makes the chase for the cup, they will not be awarded the ten bonus points for this race.” You call that ratcheting up the penalties? Come on, give me a break will ya? What happens if Carl Edwards doesn’t make the chase? If the 99 doesn’t make the chase then there is no escalation of the penalty is there? Once again Nascar got away with one here. I have read a lot of articles and have listened to a lot of “Racing Talking Heads” about this, and none of them called them out on this! What are they all sheep, scared to rock the boat?
When is Nascar going to actually do what they say? How about taking the race win away? How about suspending that team from racing the next week. Let me tell you something, if Office Depot pays twenty to thirty million dollars a year to have their name on Carl Edwards car every Sunday, and he doesn’t race one Sunday because they got caught cheating, The message from Office Depot to Jack Rousch would be very clear, Don’t do that again! Nascar needs to stop protecting these guys from their sponsors and slam these cheaters! I am fed up with cheating!
Tires And The Whiny Crybaby!
When is Tony Stewart going to shut up? Hey Tony! We all know that you are from Indiana, You can stop hawking Hoosier Tires to the world. If I hear Tony Stewart say that he is going to go home and dismount any Goodyear’s he owns again I am going to puke! I’ll bet he doesn’t own any Goodyear tires! I don’t like the Idea of one tire manufacturer dictating what the tire compound is from race to race but there is no better way. If you let other tire manufacturers into the sport then you risk the safety of the drivers, the crews, the officials, and the fans in the grand stands. They have tried this before and the tire manufacturers all tried to make a faster tire than the other guy, leaving the safety of the driver to ride back seat. People got hurt. So unless someone finds a way to do it fairly and safely, this is what we got. Yea, I agree, Goodyear missed the mark on this one again, but do I think Nascar is going to consider another tire manufacturer. No way! I would love to see Firestone take a shot at it, hell throw Hoosier a bone too while your at it. I just don’t think it is going to happen anytime in the near future.
Last lap People
All in all Atlanta was a pretty good race. The ratings are up for the television coverage but ticket sales were down at The Atlanta Motor Speedway this spring. Could the weather have played a factor on that? I’m not sure, but I know one thing for certain, Gas prices and this economy are killing Americans in the pocket book so that could be a major factor in the reason why I saw a lot of empty seats in Atlanta last weekend. I’ll tell you this, gas prices are killing our economy! Its killing me and I only drive 8 miles to work each day. The cost of living is skyrocketing as the prices of everything rise to cover the added cost of fuel, yet the average American See’s little change in their payroll. I doubt very seriously that we will be going to Talladega this year. We just can’t afford it. Tracks all across this country that see shaky ticket sales on an annual basis are likely to see that get worse this year.
I don’t have the finishing order as my hurt arm is my mouse arm so I’m trying to lay off it a bit, but you can go here and see how they finished and check out the points to boot. I hope I feel better before the weekend so I can keep you up to date on whats going on in the Nascar world.
Until then keep the dirty side down and thank you for what you do for our country!
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Just a few thoughts
Who’d have thunk it - Shrub doing well and winning? When we last saw him, he was a former disgraced Hendricks driver and the third in line at JGR. The kid has talent, and if he is in a good car that he doesn’t burn out, he’ll be in contention for wins. Personally, I’d pretty well written him off for at least a year or two.
I have to disagree slightly with ya on the Edwards issue. I’m of the opinion that they have been pretty consistent in handing out penalties associated with the “new car.” Starting last season, any performance enhancing modifications not allowed in the rules have been the 100pt/$100k/6mo probation variety. Yeah, just taking away ten points for winning the race might not seem like much, but it fits with a “progressive discipline” approach. I’d betcha if Edward’s team gets caught with any little infraction during the probationary period, the S will hit the fan. When JJ and Knause were caught several times with their hands in the cookie jar, there seemed to be no penalty for repeatedly being caught. Darby said on CB Lang’s show that once they had served their probation, the slate was wiped clean. So, even if the 48 was caught in the gray area, they were lucky enough not to be caught in a probationary period, serving their sentences as it were. Nascar seems to be pretty consistent in this regard.
Tony - well, in many ways he is a throwback to earlier drivers who said what was on their minds. His driving ability reinforces this idea. He also might be more than a bit spoiled and childish. I think he has a point about the quality of the tire Goodyear brings. GY brought a different tire than the one they all tested with - and had setup data on. It threw all the teams a big curve. The whole issue is also related to the car, and it’s ability to produce sufficient downforce and mechanical grip compared to the older car. The new car rolls over on the right side more than the old one. Harder tires on the right are the standard solution. Goodyear seems to be erring on the side of too hard.
And, I agree - fuel prices are gonna affect attendance. Not just Nascar, either. Nascar isn’t the only sport with astronomic ticket prices. I gave up going to Arrowhead in KC some years ago just because the cost to get in was way too high, much less motel rooms and driving there. There is nothing like the experience of being at the race or at a game, but no seat in the house gives a better picture than what is on tv for free.
Hope your arm heals up - hang in there!
First of all, I hope you’re not too badly hurt and I hope you heal up in good shape. Get well soon!
After seeing the race on Sunday, which included a piece regarding the oil tank cover incident, I understand now just exactly what was going on.
I had no idea, when I last commented, that the tank cover being off would not only allow for an evacuation of the air under the car but did so in an area of low pressure, which could actually create a small amount of increased downforce on top of the gain realized by not having the car riding on a cushion of air.
I also now understand that the cover could come off, unintentionally, without flying out onto the track because of the attached evacuation hose. After seeing the location and nature of the opening created it’s clear that all four corners of the car experience increased downforce when the cover is removed.
During the race, D.W. said he thought the gain was really minimal and Carl would’ve won the race anyway. I don’t think that’s the point. Carl had an unfair advantage and, normally, competitors with unfair advantages suffer severe consequences.
Take track and field, for instance, if a runner sets a world record in, say, the 100 meter dash but the wind at their back exceeds a certain speed, the record doesn’t count. Marion Jones admitted to steroid use and, even if she would’ve won all those Olympic medals anyway, they’ve been stripped.
I’m not sure I agree with you about disallowing the car from a subsequent race but I’m all for taking the trophy and handing it off to Junior. NASCAR has always been reluctant to impose those sanctions, though, and, probably won’t begin doing so any time soon. You know their history every bit as well as I do.
As far as Tony Stewart is concerned, his team and sponsors should insist that he never speak to the press immediately following a win ’cause he’s one of those guys that has absolutely no comprehension of the concept of public relations.
He could be right about Goodyear and I know he, and every other driver out there on Sunday, had their hands full with a car that, as one crew chief said, could be adjusted to run tight or loose but not happy. Still, he should have kept his mouth shut. I follow IRL and Formula 1 racing, as well, and they all have, at one time or another, been saddled with a tire that just doesn’t work.
Tony’s not a bad guy after the heat of the moment has passed but, catch him immediately after the race, and he’s a racer first and a PR guy last.
Well qualifying got rained out at bristol so there went my post on that, The tire that they brought to Atlanta had testing data on it. They had run a second tire test in October I think, its just that I think Goodyear missed it badly. What I don’t understand about the oil tank lid is that a bunch of Nationwide Series teams got busted for that at Daytona and the 99 team still thought to try and get away with it? As for ticket prices at the race track, we get Talladega tickets that only cost $60 a piece for a two day event. hey are in the Allison Grandstands on the back stretch and are pretty good tickets. Its the total cost of going now that is killing me. My job doesn’t pay worth a crap so I am having to look for a better paying one for now. We usually camp in one of the free camp grounds at the track anyway but gas to get there and back, missing a couple of days of work and the provisions is what I can’t afford this year. Lets face it, you cant go to Talladega without provisions.
For a trucking site, you guys do some serious Nascar!!!
Its always amazing to watch how serious racing - in this case car nascar racing will works its way down to actual production cars. In this case its Toyota who is bright enough to realize this. There is a component of team and brand recognition. Whether that translates into sales of Toyota Corollas for grandmother type drivers is not the issue. Racing tests components over time, new car development ideas and strategies and in the end works its way down to the actual production level. Its all about testing and developing better automotive products for market