Sorry I haven’t been around in a while, there has been some sort of flu-like illness going through the family this week and it was my turn last night. I’m feeling better, but still not 100%.
Anyway, the other night I was channel surfing and I came across this old movie with Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian called “Fireball 500″. Other than the fact that the main character, Avalon, was drving Richard Petty’s car I found the movie to be pretty good for the time in which it was made (1966).
Avalon was even driving a George Barris original as well, which was cool. One thing to note about the Barris creation was the wrap around head rest that most NASCAR drivers now have in their race machines, although I’m sure the Barris version is more cosmetic than anything, but still interesting to see.
So I got thinking about this movie and thought that this movie had some similarities to the 1990’s movie “Days of Thunder” starring Tom Cruise.
To be honest, I thought that the Fireball 500 was a better movie. I know it was not a well polished as Days of Thunder, but I thought the story line was pretty good and it certainly didn’t have a “Top Gun” feel to it. O.K. there was some singing in it by it’s stars, but I’m sure if Tom Cruise could sing anything else other than “You Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” they would have had him singing as well.
What’s your take?
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Now that Mark Martin and Tony Stewart have made their plans for next year public the driver dominoes are starting to fall a little faster.
Ryan Newman, the driver of the Penske South Racing #12 machine, has officially announced his free agency in the NASCAR driver market.
It has been greatly speculated that Newman will be the second driver, and running mate to Tony Stewart, at the newly formed Stewart/Hass Racing next year.
Newman brings an uncanny ability to run fast during qualifying, thus earning him the nickname of ‘Rocketman’ and if he signs with Stewart/Haas Racing he’ll need that because as of right now the existing cars of that team are sitting out of the top 35 and must make each race on speed.
Newman is also very marketable and can bring with him several potential sponsors as well as suitable employees.
Let’s face it, Newman would be stupid not to consider the possibility of driving at Stewart/Haas next year and you just might find him there too, but consider this for a minute: why wouldn’t Newman drive for Richard Childress Racing in their newly formed and already sponsored number 33 car? Newman is the perfect face for sponsor General Mills.
We’ll just have to wait and see, but I expect most of this ‘Silly Season’ stuff to be over within the next few weeks.
Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR
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Kyle Busch won again this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Like him, or not, he is tearing up the NASCAR circuit this year and has put himself solidly as the front runner for the Championship this year.
Kyle has now amassed 70 bonus points that will be awarded at the start of The Chase. That is a lot of points to have headed into the 10 race shoot-out to determine the Sprint Cup Champion.
In fact, Kyle now has a 262 point lead over 2nd place Dale Jr in the overall standings. He can take off the next race and still have the point lead even if Dale Jr won the race and got the most laps lead point bonus.
At this level of competition and in this day and age, that is a pretty good feat.
Now, I’m not going on record here predicting that Kyle will be this year’s Champion. I mean look at what happened to Jeff Gordon last year. Jeff went on a tear during the season - he even had a huge point advantage before The Chase - and ended up loosing the Championship in the final 10 races. I know Jeff didn’t have as many bonus points as Kyle does now, but what happened to him may also happen to Kyle if he isn’t careful.
I also have a feeling that based on Kyle’s aggressive-on-the-verge-of-wrecking driving style and overall negative attitude, he won’t have many allies out there on the track in the final 10 races either - except maybe his teammates, but I don’t see Stewart helping Kyle out if he too is in the hunt for a Championship this year.
None-the-less, whether you might be a fan or a fellow competitor, you can’t turn your back on Kyle Busch because you never know what he is going to do next.
Believe that there are many photo thieves…. feel free to steal this… I hope you like the frame!!
For the rest of you good honest folks… I shot this at Loudon 2 weeks ago. My home track and a place close to my heart. Loudon is as boring a race as there is, but the facility itself is awesome and Bruton Smith is only making it better… my wish is he banks the corners…. make it another Vegas so to speak. Plans already include more seating and new modern restrooms. He’ll never have a problem filling the seats there, as it is by far the best track in the northeastern US, next in line to Dover.
I posted this shot of the #20 because it’s the final season with Smoke behind the wheel. I have a rather large diecast collection and after this past weeks announcement that Tony is leaving JGR I must add this car to my collection. It is many firsts… first year Toyota, COT and the first time Tony has raced something in Cup other than a Chevy. Then it can claim last as well. First and last in the same season. I will wait… my hope is Tony gets a victory and that raced version would be my purchase.
Some Stewart fans are distraught over his choice…I claim to be a fan of his, but I am the “NASCAR Fan Rare Breed”. He is one of several of my drivers of choice. I suppose I am not fanatical. I roll with change fairly well and I see this change as an incredible opportunity. This is where Tony’s heart is at and if one’s heart is in it, the rest will follow. A good example of this is Dale Jr.. With DEI and Mother Teresa out of the picture he has relaxed and his performance has shown dramatic improvement. I realize that equipment plays part of this, yet it cannot be denied that Jr.’s state of mind is allowing him to focus from his heart. Tony only knows where Tony’s heart is at…. but we all know it is with Chevy. That may seem trivial in the scheme of things, but guys do hold “things” as objects of affection. At least he’ll be driving the car he loves. No, it won’t be with Home Depot and we won’t see those silly commercials.
For those of you who are angry, upset, distraught or any other negative emotion… these are self centered feelings based on what you expect. Expectations can be our biggest disappointments in life. It’s much easier to roll with the River. Like that of a drifting twig… the twig knows it has no control over the river currents. It has times of turbulence and times of tranquility, but it only has true problems when it is caught up by resistance. Change is inevitable and acceptance is the key… so go ahead… rear up your heads and buck. I only hope y’all feel better for it.
Chalk up another win for Shrub.
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This article also includes excerps from my interview with Tony Stewart this week.
Stewart’s luck about to change: After settling his future, he’s a good bet to
come out on top at Chicagoland
This week’s race at Chicagoland Speedway brings with it uncertainty. Uncertainty about the track, uncertainty about the new car of tomorrow (CoT) and uncertainty about the future of driver Tony Stewart (20). Drivers and their crew chiefs are going to be scratching their heads a lot this week because this race is going to have two firsts: They will be racing at night under the lights for the first time ever at this track, and they will be racing the CoT for the first time ever at this track, as well.
“You value engineers right now, more than ever,” Tony Stewart said in an interview this week. “There is nothing that really translates from the old car (to the new car), especially on the front end because of the less-suspension travel. Now we are running ‘bump rubbers’ (or bump stops that are mandated by NASCAR that limit the amount the shock travels up and down) and all this trick stuff on the front, so it’s quite a bit different than what it has been.” Since the race is run at night, the track should allow for more traction because the sun is not beating down on it, making it slick. More traction should mean an increase in speed and this could be a problem for teams because Chicagoland has become quite bumpy in the corners.
More traction and greater speeds on a bumpy track, in a new car that has limits on shock-absorber travel, will make for a busy night of racing for some. The team with the engineers who find the best suspension combination for the drivers and crew chiefs to work with will be the one to beat. Those to look out for this week are: Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jeff Gordon (24), Jimmie Johnson (48) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88); Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch (18), Denny Hamlin (18) and Tony Stewart (20); Richard Childress Racing drivers Kevin Harvick (29) and Clint Bowyer (07); and Roush/Fenway drivers Matt Kenseth (17) and Carl Edwards (99).
If you want a dark horse pick, I’d go with either Casey Mears (5) or Brian Vickers (83), but my bet is on Tony Stewart as he has finally settled what he is going to do next year and his team can focus on getting better, making The Chase and winning some races. Tony is hungry and perhaps had one of his best shots for his first win of the season taken away last week at Daytona as he had to leave the car and allow a substitute driver, J.J. Yelley, to take over the driving duties partway through the race as he was too ill to continue, watching the finish from the infield care centre hooked to IVs trying to rehydrate. So far this year, the only luck Tony has had has been bad luck. “You can’t do anything different than what we’re doing. We’re doing things right as a team we’re just snake-bitten, having bad luck right now, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You start putting more pressure on yourself if you’re running 30th to 35th each week (alluding to the Top 35 rule) … but, when it’s stuff that is out of your control like a tire going down or somebody turning you around, there’s nothing you can do about that. That’s just bad luck.” Now that he’s feeling better and he’s decided what he’s doing next year, look for Tony’s luck to change this weekend — providing his car engineers give his crew chief a good suspension package to work with.
Tony Stewart was at one of the local Home Depot Stores (350 Centennial Pkwy Hamilton, Ontario) signing autographs for about 700 fans today. After he did that he then met with members of the media, myself and two other guys, and then signed stuff for the employees of Home Depot before leaving for Chicago.
Let me tell you, the PR people running the show did an awesome job.
There were people lining up as early as 5:30 am. Some people even travelled from the US to get a chance to meet Tony.
Tony was in a great mood tonight as well and it appeared to me that he was having a good time meeting the fans and even the media guys.
To the question about his future in racing Tony’s reply was, “I’m gonna shorten’ this up for you real quick. I’m gonna make you do just like everybody else and wait for tomorrow.”
That was the end of the ‘Tomorrow’s Big Announcement’ part of the interview and when it was brought up again in an other way Tony quickly shot the question down and remained cool, although I could tell he was a little bothered by the persistence of the individual in question (not me).
One of the other media guys then asked Tony, “Is it a dream of yours to eventually own your own team?”
Tony’s reply was, “We’ll know tomorrow,” quickly followed by, “I’ve got teams. I’ve got two World of Outlaws sprint car teams, two USAC teams with the two cars in the midget division Silver Crown Division, Sprint Car Division, so between four race teams and three race tracks it keeps me pretty busy.”
I then asked Tony about sponsorship and alluded to his possible sponsorship formula next year using Dale Jr as an example.
Tony’s reply was, “If you look at the (sponsor) program that Dale Jr has this year, it makes sense. You can’t keep asking the sponsors to keep spending more and more and more, but it costs more and more and more to go racing each year. The program that they’ve got where they’re flopping a couple of sponsors around on a car makes sense to me. Seems like a pretty good formula that’s working good for them over there. I don’t think you’re gonna see one sponsor that can keep affording to spend 20-25 million dollars for the primary sponsorship of a car and have a whole car to themselves anymore. It’s hard for one sponsor to do that, especially when the economy is bad, it’s hard to get the return on your investment. So [multiple sponsors] seems to be the better option for a lot of corporate America right now.”
I tried to pin Tony down on who he might have for a Crew Chief next year, now that we know his longtime Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli will not be going with him. I even asked him flat out if he was going to take the Crew Chief of JGR’s #20 Nationwide car, Dave Rogers, with him.
Tony: (laughs) I don’t think you could pry Dave Rogers off of that 20 car right now … they’re one (win) away from tying the record (for wins) in the Nationwide Series and we’re just barely half-way through the season. I don’t think you could take a crowbar and pry Dave away from that program right now. It would be foolish to see him leave right now because they’re having so much success right now.”
I then ask, “In a perfect world, knowing that Zippie and Dave are out of the question, who would top the list of Crew Chiefs that you would want to work with?”
Tony: (laughs) “I don’t even know right now to be honest. I’ve never worked with anybody else so I don’t know. I don’t know who the perfect Crew Chief is really.”
So there you are, make of it what you want. There’s more to the interview and I’ll have that at a later date. I just put up the things that I thought you might find interesting due to the fact that he is having his press conference tomorrow at 2:30 pm to announce his future plans in racing.
I just want to thank Tony for giving us the chance to talk with him. It was certainly a pleasure to interview him and let me tell you, he was great all evening with the fans and media. I even asked him to smile for a picture and he smirked, looked up and gave one of his patent ‘goofy’ smiles. That is the picture that I’ve posted here because I think it exemplifies the whole evening with Tony at the Home Depot, just flat out fun for everyone.
Hey Tony, in case you are reading this I just want to say, from myself and your fans, ‘Thank-you’.
Take Care
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Or maybe it’s a case of asking and receiving, or ranting and raving, either way the irony is… I wrote that crap yesterday about Newman and Stewart only to wake to an article in Fox NASCAR today… Report: Stewart to be granted release from JGR
I always liked Gene Haas, but he got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. The Fed’s merely slapped his hands with 24 months in the slammer, a gift in comparison to what he could have received. Albeit, it has opened the door for Stewart to buy into Haas CNC Racing where rumors state he will totally revamp the entire organization. He’ll be back in the Chevy Saddle again and give himself the opportunity to remain with NASCAR well into the future.
What’s even more ironic is… rumor has it that Newman has plans to go with Stewart. Smart move… I think?
Joey Logano in the #20… that’ll take some getting used to.
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I have so much to write about I’m just going to do it in bullets:
1) Martin Truex Jr was handed his 150 point fine today. That moved him from 14th to 18th in points and, in my opinion, killed any chances he had in making the Chase. With that being said, he still has a chance - I mean look at what Kenseth has done in the past several weeks, but I don’t think DEI has the equipment to get him back like Roush has.
2) Speaking of DEI, apparently Teresa Earnhardt is looking for someone with deep pockets to come on-board at DEI as a minority owner. Wouldn’t it be neat that the only offer she got was from Dale Jr? Could you imagine, Dale Jr driving for Hendrick and being minority owner of DEI? It won’t happen, but it would be cool to see.
3) I don’t expect Truex to re-sign with DEI, so where will he end up? I’d like to see him at RCR, but I don’t think that’ll happen. So where then? Penske is the best choice because rumour has it that Newman is leaving - more on that later - but I don’t think that’ll happen either as I think the newly displaced Casey Mears will end up there instead.
How about this? I’m starting a new rumour here - Martin Truex will be driving for Red Bull next year in either AJ’s ride or in a 3rd car. Just think about it for a second, doesn’t Truex fit the Red Bull image to a ‘T’?
4) If you were watching Trackside this past weekend you would have heard Jimmy Spencer say that Tony Stewart is leaving JGR and has bought controlling interest in CNC/Haas Racing and will be racing there next year along with his new driver Ryan Newman (told you we’d get to him). This same story has been reported by Dave Moody over at his blog as well. According to Dave, Tony’s car will have two sponsors in Old Spice and the freshly Roush dumped Office Depot and Newman’s car will be sponsored by Jack Daniels - yep Clint Bowyer’s sponsor.
I’ll ask Tony about this when I talk with him tomorrow (more on that later). Also, does this mean more ‘armpit marketing’ from Old Spice?
5) RCR’s Clint Bowyer has a car with now sponsor for next year, but wait! Hark, I hear a sponsor coming and they want Clint to race the truck! Yep, UPS is leaving MWR and going to RCR. This is all according to Dave. No word on any possible number changes at RCR, CNC/Haas (make that Stewart/Haas) and MWR.
6) How about this? Yates Racing has remained pretty much sponsor-less this season, but word is that they will be a three car team next year with sponsors for all three teams. This rumour comes way of Jack Roush himself via Dave Moody.
Hmm … is this where Jamie McMurray will end up as Roush cuts down to 4 teams? Roush and Yates already have an affiliation, and this would further solidify their relationship.
7) Tony Stewart will be making an appearance at one of our local Home Depots (store #7008)Wednesday and I have an interview time with him thanks to the Hamilton Specatator which I write a weekly NASCAR column for. I was talking with the PR person in charge of the event this evening and I was reassured that Tony is feeling much better and will be making the appearance as scheduled. Cool.
Finally, those guys at ‘On Pit Row’, Charlie and Steve, had me on their show tonight and I had a blast as always. If you’ve never had a chance to listen to their show you should, they have awesome guests (excluding me of course), it is funny to listen to them cut each other up, and they know their stuff.
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Even without a victory by a Coca-Cola Racing Family driver, Kyle Petty – a founding member of the Coca-Cola Racing Family and analyst in the TNT broadcast booth for the race – announced that in celebration of the inaugural Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, fans would still be able to receive free Coke Zero.
Any U.S. resident 13 years of age or older can visit www.CokeZero.com through July 13 and follow the instructions to receive a coupon for a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero. Additionally, fans can help support a charity close to the hearts of Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers. Coke Zero will donate $1 to the Victory Junction Gang Camp on behalf of the first 10,000 people who visit CokeZero.com to request a free coupon.
Founded by Petty and his wife Pattie in honor of their late son Adam, the Victory Junction Gang Camp enriches the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically sound environment.
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With Silly Season now in full swing I wish I were this green eyed Deer Fly. If you’ve ever encountered one of these pesky creatures, you’d know they have the ability to literally get in your hair and any place else they feel like.
There is much happening and many of us “wanna be” flies wish we knew. One example for me is… I want to know what is happening in the Penske camp with Ryan… his contract is up and I’ve heard very little. I suppose I should pay Mike a visit…if anyone has the scoop on Newman, he does. We all know that Sam Hornish should have stayed in Open Wheel and other than Kurt Busch’s luck of the draw and Ryan’s 500 win, things are not looking good for Roger.
Then there’s Smoke… in my opinion he should remain with Gibbs… perhaps a two year renewal will give him enough time to make up his fleeting mind on what his damn future holds. His performance this season is lacking so far and some say it’s because he has too much on his plate… well now… if that is the case how will he perform as an owner/driver?… Get your head out of your ass Tony!!
The smartest decision made is Mark Martin’s. He’s no fool.
More night racing this weekend at Chicagoland…. perhaps Tony can do a repeat!
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On paper it would look like that wide open testing would only benefit those teams with deep pockets and they would get even better than before while those teams who don’t have the same resources would not really benefit at all because they can’t afford to test whenever they wanted.
In actuality it would be greatly different.
First of all, wide open testing already exists. Teams are only limited to the amount they can test on tracks that are currently on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule, so that means they can go and test at any other facility all they want to such as Kentucky - which teams do quite a bit.
In fact, Roger Penske has put forward the plan to build his own test track behind his race shops with the idea of renting it out to other teams when he isn’t using it like what he does with his 7-post shaker.
With wide open testing teams would no longer have to go to other tracks to test, they would be able to test at any track on the schedule that they wanted to.
This would mean that those teams with the deep pockets probably wouldn’t be spending any more than the do now, In fact, it might even decrease their spending due to the fact that they are testing on the actual track they are racing on and they could get their results quicker and more accurately.
On the other hand, this would mean that those teams that are struggling financially could concentrate on the tracks that they are actually racing on instead of going to tracks that are ’similar’ to what they are racing on and guessing at set-ups for race days. They could work on set-up and qualifying trim right from the start - especially if they are not in the top 35 of owner points - thus maximizing their testing budgets to their fullest potential.
My speculation is that the real driving force behind this movement is not the race teams or their drivers, but the NASCAR sanctioned tracks themselves. Think about all of the money they are not getting because teams go and test elsewhere at unsanctioned tracks because they are only allowed so many test dates at the sanctioned tracks.
If teams are allowed to test unlimited at sanctioned tracks then those testing dollars don’t go to the unsanctioned tracks and go to the owners of the sanctioned tracks.
Don’t be fooled, these are the people who will benefit the most by unlimited testing.
With that being said, I’m in favour of unlimited testing because it will benefit all of the teams in some way or another. Each team has a budget of ‘x’ amount of dollars and they will spend it either at sanctioned or unsanctioned tracks, so why not have them spend it at the sanctioned ones where they can actually better use the data they collect?
And if the track owners benefit financially, so be it - maybe they can use that extra money and put up safer barriers all the way around their tracks, on both the outside and inside walls, and not just on the outside walls in the corners.
Do you recall a certain little article I wrote a few weeks back entitled “New Hampshire Melancholy” where I lamented the passing of both Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr at New Hampshire Speedway? Well today is the anniversary of Kenny’s death.
Someone else hasn’t forgotten either.
His name is Jerry Wilson, the author of “Restrictor Plate This: An Unpolegetic Look at NASCAR”. Some of you may know him as The Diecast Dude and author of the SBN Blog “Restrictor Plate This“.
Denny Hamlin beat out teammate Kyle Busch to grab his third win of the season and the eighth of his career Saturday at the Nationwide Series Winn Dixie 250 at Daytona.
Denny Hamlin: I didn’t want to happen what did happen, and that was us get out too far. It looked like the 18 took off the same time I did, but it looked like he didn’t want to go, it looked like he was trying to build up a run with the 5. But you know once we pulled about four car-lengths there I just tried to do my best to just ride that —it’s so hard to do — but ride that brake while you’re in the lead to let those guys catch you. Just sit there and let them catch you, but they’ve got to catch you at the right time. You’ve got to put them to a decision. If they catch you in the center of the corner with a big head of steam they need to make a decision. Are they gonna go for the win and sacrifice maybe a good finish, or are they gonna just ride in line and protect what they’ve got. And by doing that in the corner, that’s what decision you make them make, and I think Kyle realized a one-two finish was better than the alternative.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third behind Hamlin and Busch.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: It was fun, I had a good time. The track was real slick; you know we were able to pass more than I thought we would. And Kyle and Denny were real quick, and they handled really really good. I couldn’t run on by like they were, so I really didn’t have many options, I was trying a couple of things and nothing was really working, so it was hard to come up with anything that would have been able to get by them, so. Anybody really, I think, around the top five did a good job cause it was pretty slick out there, but it was a lot of fun.
On Saturday night I was invited to go to a NASCAR party/BBQ, so I went. Our host and Hostess had a giant screen set up in the yard with a projection unit pointed right at it, and let me tell you, when the sun went down about an hour after the start the picture quality was great.
Until the sun went down we were forced to watch the race on a smaller portable TV on a table. No problem though.
The crowd were from various walks of life ranging from Doctors, to teachers, K-9 control, auto mechanics, NASCAR Collectible store owners, and more, and they were all united in one common cause - watching the race and cheering for their favourite driver(s) - some of us just can’t make up their minds.
It was a good crowd, and, in my opinion, we got to see a good race, well, except for maybe the fact that Kyle Busch won the race - but he did win it fair and square. As much as I don’t like Kyle, I’m glad that Carl ‘Eddie Haskel’ Edwards didn’t win.
Here is my overview of the race in point form:
- Kyle Petty did a great job in the booth. He and Wally should team up and get rid of Webber. I especially liked the fact that Kyle was able to cut himself up and have a laugh about it.
- Kyle Busch has won every time he has a new paint scheme, will someone stop painting his cars differently so other people will win?
- speaking of painting cars, I do realize they ‘wrap’ them in vinyl now-a-days, but there was one car out there that was not ‘wrapped’ and the was Dale Jr’s car. That paint job was really painted, and it looked cool. They’ll make a ton off of the diecast for sure.
- speaking of Dale Jr, I can’t believe that no one, absolutely no one, went with him when he pulled out to go near the end.
- the saying “Cautions breed cautions’ is true, as evident in the last 50 laps.
- NASCAR got it right by not waving the caution flag when Jeff Gordon was spun out. If he didn’t get it started and got himself going then NASCAR would have put out the caution for sure. I was ticked when Jeff got spun BTW. I have my own opinions about Edwards, that yellow line, and Jeff’s spinning that I’m going to keep to myself.
- with that being said, NASCAR did get it right when they put out the caution with all the cars wrecking off of turn 2 that lead to Kyle Busch winning the race because if NASCAR would have let them race to the checker flag then they would have been approaching the crash area at a high rate of speed that would be dangerous to everyone involved.
- will someone give Boris Said a full-time ride already, this cat can drive. I felt so bad for him when he crashed - no fault of his own either.
- did you see who was in the top 15 at the end? Patrick Carpentier, Bobby Labonte, Brian Vickers, Robby Gordon, and David Ragan - all names you don’t normally hear about in the top 15 at this kind of race. Terry Labonte was also in 16th - I wonder if he’ll be coming out of retirement to run full-time somewhere?
- Kenseth is just 15 points out of 12th now, and Truex and Newman aren’t that far behind either. Well at least until NASCAR hands out its fines and penalties to Truex later this week for his ‘illegal’ car.
- Can you believe that Tony got out of his race car? Wow, he must have really been sick because that isn’t like him at all - or any other true race car driver for that matter.
O.K. it’s official, Mark Martin is driving the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy next year and the year after too.
I’d like to say that he has a viable chance at a Championship but I don’t know, that 5 team hasn’t been too strong in the past. Wait, before you start jumping on the Terry Labonte thing just stop right now because if I’m not mistaken this is not the same team. Once Dale Jr came on board he took over the 5 car’s team and the number went to the old #25 team. Get the picture now?
Good.
Tell me if I’m wrong here, because I’d like to see Martin win a Championship - I really do - but I don’t know if he can with that team, if it really is the old 25 team that is.
Here is my latest offering that was in today’s newspaper followed by an addition to the column after the article.
Tomorrow’s race at Daytona will mark the halfway point in the NASCAR season, with only eight races left to “The Chase” - a 10-race shootout between the top 12 in points at the end of the previous 26 races in the regular schedule.
One driver not making the trip to Daytona is last year’s Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) ceased operation of the team’s No. 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Dodge driven by Franchitti due to a lack of sponsorship funding.
“This is a difficult decision for (co-owner) Felix and I that did not come without its share of anguish,” said team owner Chip Ganassi in an official press release earlier in the week.
“In this tough business environment, continuing to run the car without proper funding, has become increasingly difficult.”
If you recall, I have written about the possible sponsorship problems that teams outside of the top 35 of owner points may face and this move by CGRFS is proof positive that making each and every race is important in keeping sponsors and generating interest from new ones.
The blame cannot be laid solely on Franchitti either. CGRFS has had significant perormance issues the last few years.
The lack of performance and not consistently making every race has not been beneficial in luring prospective sponsors to CGRFS, especially for the No. 40 car.
With sponsorship for a top-flight Cup team in the mid- $20-million US range, one can see why sponsors are a little apprehensive in dolling out that kind of money to a team that did not qualify for two races, has not finished higher than 22nd, is 40th in owner points and had a substitute driver for five others while Franchitti sat out with a broken ankle.
At this point in the season, a lot of people are starting to watch what drivers are doing for next year — are they staying with their teams or are they moving to another? — it is commonly referred to as ’silly season’. Case in point, Tony Stewart. Rumours about what he’s doing next year are swirling around faster than the car he drives on the track each weekend and it is getting to be a little ’silly’.
But what people should be watching out for now are not what the drivers are doing, but what the sponsors are doing because if you don’t have a sponsor, you can’t operate a competitive team even if your driver is two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart.
I have a feeling it will be the sponsors deciding which team they want to put their money with that determines where drivers end up next year and not the other way around.
Richard Childress already has a driver-less sponsored car for next year. Who do you think will end up driving it? My guess isn’t Tony Stewart. But you never know, that’s why its called ’silly season’.
Enjoy the race tomorrow, and listen for any ‘firecracker’ sponsorship announcements over the next few weeks, because those just might determine who is driving where next year.
ADDITION: What I really should have said, but didn’t as it was more implied than anything else was that the way the economy is going - especially with the ‘R’ word hanging heavy in the air - NASCAR teams may be forced to find more than one or two sponsors (like Jr did with AMP and National Guard) in order to get the capital needed to fund a competative team as no one sponsor may put up the full amount needed to compete. Jack Roush has been doing this for years.
DEI driver Martin Truex will be using his back up car as soon as its ready because NASCAR took his primary car and won’t give it back.
He missed the first practice session today in Daytona because his crew were getting the back up car ready.
“It has something to do with the roofline, the width of the car,” John Story, vice president of motorsports for DEI, said. “Certainly it was nothing intentional. It fit our templates at the shop; it just didn’t fit NASCAR’s templates here, apparently … it’s brand new,” he continued. “The templates the teams have in the shop and the templates that are here [at the track], they have a slight, slight difference.”
IT’S FREE COKE ZERO ACROSS U.S. IF ONE OF 13 NASCAR DRIVERS WINS INAUGURAL COKE ZERO 400
ATLANTA, July 1, 2008 – For members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family, each victory in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ race is traditionally followed by a thirst-quenching chug of an ice cold Coke Zero in the winner’s circle. This weekend, 13 of the sport’s top drivers will attempt to give fans around the country their own “taste of victory” by taking the checkered flag in the inaugural Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (July 5, 8:00 p.m., TNT).
The Coke Zero “Taste of Victory” program will give fans an added incentive to pull for their favorite Coca-Cola Racing Family members during this weekend’s race. If any one of 13 drivers sponsored by Coca-Cola wins, people across the United States will be able to enjoy the Real Coke Taste and Zero Calories of Coke Zero for free.
Participating Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers include Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer and David Ragan. Terry Labonte also is eligible as the driver of the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge and substitute for Coca-Cola Racing Family member Kyle Petty, who is in the TNT broadcast booth this weekend.
Coca-Cola drivers have won the July race at Daytona five of the last six years – including McMurray’s victory last season – and currently hold six of the top 12 spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ point standings.
If a Coca-Cola Racing Family driver takes the checkered flag Saturday night, fans will be able to visit www.CokeZero.com July 5 through July 13 and follow the instructions to receive a coupon for a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero (*).
“Coke Zero is the only soft drink that delivers real Coke taste and zero calories, and we’re really rooting for one of our drivers to deliver a taste of victory to millions of people this holiday weekend,” said Bill Kelly, senior vice president, Coca-Cola Brands, Coca-Cola North America. “It would be a great way to top off the first-ever Coke Zero 400 with a celebratory toast in Victory Lane.”
“It’s pretty common for the winning driver to spring for a round of drinks after the race, but we’re taking things to a whole new level for the inaugural Coke Zero 400,” said two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ Champion Tony Stewart. “It would be pretty cool to come through for race fans with free Coke Zero. I hope to be in Victory Lane Saturday night telling millions of people that drinks are on me.”
The “Taste of Victory” program is one of many ways Coke Zero has taken a prominent role in NASCAR® this year. Title sponsorship of the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola serves as the centerpiece for the brand’s expanded presence in the sport, and an online voting contest recently allowed fans to select the new race logo. In addition, marketing efforts have included the launch of Coke Zero’s first-ever NASCAR®-themed advertising campaign, driver appearances, high-visibility track signage, at-track sampling and much more – all promoting the brand’s core message – Coke Zero has “Real Coke Taste and Zero Calories.”
Since its launch in 2005, volume for Coke Zero continues to accelerate. Among 350 sparkling beverage brands launched since 2001, Coke Zero is one of only six to surpass 1% market share, and the only one to maintain it – with a current share of 1.5%. By using irreverent, humorous communication and delivering Real Coke Taste and Zero Calories, Coke Zero has established a strong connection with young adult males and achieved the highest trial of any recently launched Coca-Cola North America brand.
The debut of the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola is part of a 10-year sponsorship agreement between Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) and International Speedway Corporation (ISC). Through a variety of track partnerships, brands from CCNA will be refreshing fans at 13 race tracks in 2008 before expanding to 17 race tracks by 2012. Coca-Cola is the official sparkling beverage of NASCAR and has been involved with stock car racing for more than 40 years. A signature part of Coca-Cola’s innovative NASCAR program is the Coca-Cola Racing Family – a collection of veteran drivers and rising stars. In addition to the Coca-Cola sponsored drivers participating in the Coke Zero 400, the Coca-Cola Racing Family includes fan favorite Kyle Petty and recently retired former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Dale Jarrett, who will be serving as grand marshal for this weekend’s race.
(*) Coupons for free 20-ounce bottles of Coke Zero will be redeemable until September 1, 2008 at participating retailers across the country where Coca-Cola products are sold. Limit is one coupon per person. All U.S. residents 13 years of age or older are eligible.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the Company’s portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, POWERade, Minute Maid and Georgia Coffee. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/.
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