NASCAR Belongs in California

Being in Fontana this week reminds NASCAR Nation of a popular sentiment - especially among traditionalists. We are reminded that there are two races at what is not called Auto Club Speedway, one of those dates being Labor Day weekend, which took away a date from Darlington- a source of great consternation.

This bothers old schoolers for a variety of reasons. First, Darlington is a favored haunt in the heart of the deep South. They’ve been racing there since 1950, making it one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks in a region that put NASCAR on the map. Second, the old Southern 500 is one of the sentimental favorites, and prior to 2006 NASCAR’s powers gave that Labor Day event to California. Third, the oval at Fontana is considered a “cookie cutter” track- lacking the character of the old school tracks. Finally, that second date hasn’t drawn especially well. Last Labor Day weekend’s Sony HD 500 was well-noted for all its empty seats. Many perceive southern California lacks an appreciation for NASCAR and isn’t deserving.

This Fontana native submits otherwise.

California has a long standing reputation for being car crazy. People forget that actually, NASCAR has had a California presence for a long time- with events in Riverside, Hanford and even Los Angeles. There are classic car shows all over California. With “the grapevine” and the Sunset Strip, California has a number of reknown places to drive. Heck, with Bakersfield (home to Kevin Harvick), southern California does have some communities with a certain “redneck flavor.

There there’s the real reason we have the two races we do here. Southern California is home to one of the largest media markets. Fontana is in close proximity to Los Angeles, a population center and center of commerce. Traditionalists will argue with me, but NASCAR needs to continue to grow beyond its regional roots. California provides an extremely favorable climate to facilitate growth- especially when one considers the ethnic diversity of the area and the exposure this population gets to the sport. It makes good business sense.

I understand that affinity old schoolers have for old tracks like Rockingham and Wilkesboro which no longer host races. They do possess a certain flair newer tracks lack. By the same token, I cannot fathom why the Carolinas need ALL those races.

I will admit California sports fans are a different breed of cat. If you’ve watched a Dodgers game, then you know the laid back folks of Southern Cal show up late and leave early. A testament to their temperament is the fact that the closest NFL franchise to L.A. is in San Diego! Still, I think you have to give it a chance. After all, in all fairness, that Labor Day race was held in the middle of a blistering heat wave. Sounds wimpy, buy hey, I said California race fans are temperamental.  

Perhaps the second race DOES need a different date. I wouldn’t argue against that. Nonetheless, I think NASCAR needs to be persistent in making a go of stock car racing in California.  I certainly know the area benefits from it. 

Open Wheel Racers: Welcome to NASCAR

Many of the issues currently facing NASCAR revolve around change. There’s been a lot of change going on this decade from the Chase to the ”Car of Tomorrow”. Issues like this and controversies over the “Lucky Dog” and invasion of open wheel drivers to stock car racing’s top level have pitted long time fans versus NASCAR leadership and a newer wave of fans who may be fewer in number.

It is a popular notion among NASCAR traditionalists that the sport is pure American with a particular emphasis on the southern U.S. When you consider that NASCAR was Florida born and its top legends from places like North Carolina, Alabama and the Sunshine State- you’d tend to agree. These same traditionalists have tended to cringe at the building of new tracks throughout the North and West, and they, as a general rule, are not fans of West Coasters such as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Adding to the angst is the presence of a foreign manufacturer (Toyota), and a flood of drivers from foreign lands with names like Franchitti and Carpentier who used to drive funny looking race cars.

Many traditionalists will argue such events are ruining NASCAR, taking it away from its roots. Some will tell you that your dad’s NASCAR was just fine without all of this, and they point to falling TV ratings and ticket sales as evidence to their point. You can imagine the delight of some when owner Bill Davis replaced former open wheeler Jacques Villenueve with Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner on an indefinite basis after the Canadian failed to qualify for the Daytona 500.

Such prejudice is short-sighted at best, and downright prejudicial at worst.

First of all, this is not the first time open wheelers have been present in NASCAR. Do names like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Johnny Rutherford ring a bell? They all ran part time NASCAR racing schedules back in the 60s and 70s. In fact, Foyt earned 7 NASCAR victories and even once won the Daytona 500. What about Tony Stewart? He came over from Indy Car racing. J.J. Yeley and A.J. Allmendinger are also just a couple of NASCAR’s drivers of today who have made the switch- so this is nothing new.

Some argue that these drivers, by jumping from IRL and Formula One without rising through the ranks, are depriving up and coming drivers from sitting in a Sprint Cup ride. Oh really! So if the likes of Scott Wimmer or Jason Leffler were truly ready for the big time, wouldn’t they be given full time Cup rides? Well, considering the expense of competing and the need to be as successful as possible, I think it’s safe to say NASCAR car owners will put the most successful fannies in the seats of their cars, even if it’s a 74 year old from Botswana. What’s more- these are not unproven neophytes, but accomplished drivers. There’s a learning curve, but the open wheelers are just as qualified, if not more to master the learning curve. I submit Sam Hornish’s solid run Sunday as evidence of a guy who’s "getting it" quite quickly. 

Besides, if our home grown guys are so great, let them prove it on the track against the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Sam Hornish (an American born Indy champ). Given the pressure and need to make money in this expensive business, the open wheelers will be gone quicker than you can say Patrick Carpentier if they can’t perform.

I know many fans think the sport was just fine the way it is. In this ever change day and age, NASCAR would have stagnated without the growth brought about by the infusion of new blood behind the wheel. No major sport can sustain itself on purely regional support. Just ask the National Hockey League.

NASCAR fans hate it when I compare it to other sports, but what if baseball kept out the Latinos? There’d be no Juan Marichal or Big Papi Ortiz. What if the NBA shut out Europeans? Say good-bye to Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitski. Without the presence of foreign born players, the NFL would be deprived of Christian Okoye and Usi Omenyura. So why should NASCAR be any different?

I, a proud American of conservative political leanings, want to go on record as being supportive of the presence of the open wheel drivers. It’s a great topic for debate and its good for growing the fan base of the support. Think about it. Your favorite driver is someone you relate personally….more than anything else.

Welcome to NASCAR open wheelers…..let’s see what you’ve got. 

  

NASCAR’s Top 10 Drivers

From personal experience, I know that sports fans love lists. I got my first taste when SPORT magazine did a list of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL about the time I was 13 (back in 1977). I recall a scoring formula being drawn up, and my favorite quarterback of the day, Roger Staubach, being on that list. I also remembered having argument with who and wasn’t on the list.

My point being, I also know that sports fans also love to take issue with lists. I will endeavor to come with a thorough analysis of NASCAR’s best to attempt to put sound reasoning behind my analysis. 

How did I arrive at this list? First, I identified roughly 20 of the Sprint Cup’s best drivers. There’s really no need to bog myself down with the likes of journeymen drivers such as Kenny Wallace and Dave Blaney- though they obviously possess talent. They’ve never won, so it makes no sense to compare them side-by-side with the likes of Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart. I also threw some of the newer drivers out such as David Ragan and Paul Menard, who again, have not yet attained measurable Cup success, though may very well at the end of their careers end up with all the same gaudy statistics of drivers like Jeff Gordon.

From there, I selected six criteria important in driving success: racing skills, strategy, “closing” ability (that ability to charge hard when the driver sniffs a potential win), passion, consistency and equipment. Now I realize strategy and equipment involve other members of the drivers team, but even in those areas- a driver can play a part, and it’s not the only criteria.  All six are needed on some level. to be great, and point values are assigned to each driver for each category on a scale of 1-10- with 10 being the highest. Once all those points are added up, then I add up the grand totals for a driver rating.

So without further ado, here goes (in ascending order):

9- (tie)- Kevin Harvick- The man who took over the late Dale Earnhardt’s ride as a rookie in 2001 for Richard Childress in many ways mirrors some of “The Intimidator”’s qualities. As you will see in the scoring breakdown, Harvick received 9s for racing skills and passion. “Happy” is pretty solid across the board, making one wonder why he was not been a bigger winner, though it should be mentioned he is the #2 winner all-time in what is now the Nationwide series. The double duty may be one of the problems. In recent times, equipment issues have definitely hurt Harvick’s stock.

Scoring: Race Skill- 9, Strategy- 8, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 9, Consistency- 6, Equipment- 7     TOTAL SCORE- 49

9- (tie)- Ryan Newman- If qualifying were winning, “Flyin’ Ryan” would be as familiar as Jeff Gordon or Junior with over 40 poles to his credit. Until Newman won at Daytona, he had not been to victory lane since late 2005. Newman picked up 9s for skills and passion, plus 8s for equipment and closing ability. Consistency and strategy (with a dash of bad luck thrown in) keeps Newman from the top, but this is a pretty good ranking for a guy with a baker’s dozen wins.

Scoring: Race Skill- 9, Strategy- 7, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 9, Consistency- 7, Equipment- 8     TOTAL SCORE- 49

6- (tie)- Clint Bowyer- The Emporia, Kansas native is the car guy’s racer with an impressive collection of classic cars and a dirt track behind his home. The fact that a driver this inexperienced is on the list tells you what I think of his potential. Bowyer is very strong across the board, and needs only to learn to relax to become a mroe frequent victor. Oddly enough, though RCR teammates Harvick and Jeff Burton have had some real equipment issues recently, Bowyer has managed to dodge debilitating car-related problems- perhaps another testament to his skill.

Scoring: Racing skill- 8, Strategy- 8, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 8, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 7 TOTAL SCORE- 49

6- (tie)- Kyle Busch- Some people may disagree with me, but I believe “Rowdy” most resembles Earnhardt than any other driver on today’s NASCAR circuit. The 22 year old is extremely aggressive on the track and will not hesitate to try to thread the needle on a pass. With that, I give Busch a 10 for skill and he also gets a 10 in equipment as a member of the Joe Gibbs stable. Working against him are issues of questionable strategy (maturity?), closing ability (he’s been on the wrong end of way too many photo finishes) and Kyle has a low mark for consistency- again brought about by aggressive driving that has led to early exits. Still- on the whole- you can see how good the Las Vegas born Busch can be.

Racing skill- 10, Strategy- 7, Closing ability- 7, Passion- 9, Consistency- 6, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 49

6- (tie)- Dale Earnhardt Jr.- NASCAR’s favorite son one of three drivers on the list who gets a 10 for skill. A listen in on the radio tells you Junior is very conscious of everything going on out on the track. Lil’ E is also one of four drivers who gets a 10 for passion, something evident in his speed week performance and many interviews. Until his move to HMS, Earnhardt had bad equipment, but gets a 10 here by virtue of being with Hendrick. Consistency and some very questionable strategy have no doubt played some part in Junior not being a more frequent presence in victory lane.

Racing skill- 10, Strategy- 6, Closing ability- 7, Passion- 10, Consistency- 6, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 49

5-Matt Kenseth- While not necessarily the best at anything, Kenseth has virtually no downgrades in any other category other than equipment, somewhat the failure of his team and manufacturer (Ford) in their progress on the “new” car. Nonetheless, the 35 year old has a well-rounded approach and takes very good care of what he has. The 2003 Cup champion has a storied track record for consistency and closing ability. I submit he’d have an even better track record with a team like Hendrick or Gibbs. I’m not suggesting Jack Roush is a slacker, but I would say that his team is behind the curve and Ford’s engines are ponderously weak compared to Chevy and Toyota.

Racing Skill- 9, Strategy- 9, Closing ability- 9, Passion- 8, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 7 TOTAL SCORE- 50

4- Kurt Busch- The only thing that will hamper Busch the elder’s legacy is his propensity to get into trouble. His run-ins with the equally mercurial Tony Stewart and Johnny Benson aside, Busch is another very well-rounded driver. Evidence of the 2004 Cup champion’s skill is his 2nd place finish as Sunday’s Daytona 500 in spite of starting at the very back- 43rd! Kurt is also very aware on the track and rarely makes a bad decision (except when he’s mad). The deal with this guy is he just isn’t weak any ANY category.

Racing Skill- 9, Strategy- 9, Closing ability- 9, Passion- 8, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 8 TOTAL SCORE- 51

3- Tony Stewart- With over 30 victories, “Smoke” is one of NASCAR’s most prolific drivers. A testimony to his abilities are his 2002 & 2005 titles. For his skill and equipment, Stewart gets 10s. In fact, his lowest score comes in the strategy department- a respectable 8. Truth be told, on any given day, this guy is the best- conjuring up in my mind comparisons to Cale Yarborough.

Racing Skill- 10, Strategy- 8, Closing ability- 9, Passion- 9, Consistency- 9, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 55

2- Jeff Gordon-Love him or hate him, you can’t deny greatness of a driver with 81 career wins and 4 Cup titles (1995, 1997, 1998, & 2001). The 36 year old from Vallejo, California also just missed titles in 1996 (to Terry Labonte), 2004 (to Kurt Busch) and 2007 (to teammate and employee Jimmie Johnson). Gordon gets 10s for skill, consistency, and equipment. Gordon also gets very high marks for strategy and passion (though that may begin to wane).

Racing Skill- 10, Strategy- 9, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 9, Consistency- 10, Equipment- 10, TOTAL SCORE- 56

And the winner is………1- Jimmie Johnson- You can’t be REAL surprised can you? At this point in his career, the only category where the two time Cup champ and owner of some 37 wins has ANY weakness is in consistency- and even then, Johnson scores an 8. He races hard, he races smart, knows how to save himself for the end of the race, and his victory total tells you that in spite of his laid back California image, Johnson has a fire in his belly.

Racing skill- 10, Strategy- 10, Closing ability- 10, Passion- 10, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 58

On the cusp: Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton

Back in the day they’d make the list: Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte

Making the list soon: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex

Has potential, but it’s late: David Reutimann, Greg Biffle                                                    

  There you have it. To me it is kind of funny how this pretty closely resembles last year’s Chase. Perhaps What I’m really doing is offering up my ingredient list of how they got there.

I’ll be curious to hear arguments against my list. After all, that debate is what making a “best of….” sports list is all about.

Newman wins at Daytona: Am I Hallucinating?

I just want to know how many people honestly thought that a Dodge driven by Ryan Newman would be the winner at the Daytona 500. Hear that silence? That’s nobody speaking up. Today we saw once again why sporting events aren’t won on paper, and how anything can happen once the white flag waves at Daytona.

The way the Gibbs Toyotas were running today, I was just sure that my forecast of a Tony Stewart victory would come to pass. If not him, it would be Kyle Busch. Kurt’s little bro looked like he built Daytona the way he was leading laps today.

While Stewart, Busch and other strong Toyota runners were disappointed, the disappointment Team Hendrick must be feeling is palpable. Rick Hendrick worked hard to put his brightest star, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in victory lane, and the plan was working. Until today. By his own admission in post-race interviews, Junior made a few questionable decisions, and though he ran well- he came up short. It also didn’t help that Lil E most likely draft partners (fellow HMS studs Gordon, Johnson and Mears), had problems of their own. It’s a reminder of how tenuous team dominance or dominance of any kind is in ths sport.

Still, the biggest surprise to me is the performance of cars bearing the Dodge name plate. Joining Newman in the top 10 from Dodge were Kurt Busch (who started 43rd), Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson and Robby Gordon (who just defected from Ford 3 weeks ago when he hooked up with Gillett Evernham). 

So much for the Toyota takeover, or another dominant day by Chevy.

Today reminds us that while we had plenty of story lines going into 2008, we were reminded that there are plenty more that remain unwritten.

Stay tuned. 

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Team Preview- Petty Enterprises

Next to Earnhardt and France, there is no other name in NASCAR that has as much tradition associated with it as Petty does. Petty Enterprises goes all the way back to NASCAR’s roots when Bill France organized the premier governing body of stock car racing and set forth on it’s maiden voyage in 1949. One of the first drivers to ever make a living at driving, Lee Petty was there, and his organization has been there ever since. Four generations of Petty’s have competed in NASCAR competition, including Lee’s son Richard- the all-time winningest cup driver, as well as “King” Richard’s son Kyle, who’s race on and off with Petty Enterprises for 29 years. The 4th generation of Petty racing came to a tragic end when Kyle’s son Adam died at the age of 19 during a practice run in 2000 in New Hampshire. Only Wood Brothers comes close to Petty in tenure, and like Wood Bros., Petty has greatly struggled in the 21st Century, PE’s last win coming from John Andretti in 2001.

Petty Enterprises displayed a re-birthed commitment to winning by hiring 2000 Cup champion Bobby Labonte to take over Richard’s legendary #43 ride before the 2006 season. As the younger brother of Cup champion Terry, Bobby knows a thing or two about family tradition in the sport. While the 43 year old Texan has yet to win for Petty, he enjoyed stronger runs and even led some laps in 2007, displaying a skill and care for equipment that kept the Cheerio’s/Betty Crocker Dodge on the track. An 18th place finish in the standings might not excite a lot of people, but it meant a lot to an organization has tried every trick in the book to remain relevant.

Petty has moved the team closer to NASCAR headquarters, and he’s tapped into the success of Hendrick Motorsports- hiring former HMS people such as Robbie Loomis, and Jeff Meendering, who goes from being Jeff Gordon’s car chief to being Labonte’s crew chief. 

Labonte is joined on the track by Kyle Petty. The 3rd generation Petty driver has not seen quite the same success as his predecessors (8 wins compared to Richard’s 200 and Lee’s 54), yet the driver of the #45 Wells-Fargo Dodge is still on the track in a career that began in 1979. Petty put together a nice top 5 at the Coca-Cola 600, but he got more attention in ways he’d rather not be remembered. Petty dropped an “F” bomb on national television when he spun out at Sonoma in June, got into a highly publicized tiff with Denny Hamlin after an in-race mishap and the pony-tailed 47 year old also broke has hand after slamming his fist in the garage. Yet in spite of these things, Kyle and his wife are known as NASCAR goodwill ambassadors with the founding of Victory Junction- camp for for terminally and chronically ill children  and their work with other charities. Kyle gave up his ride for a time to sit in the broadcast booth at TNT, and as good as he sounded, many believe he’ll be turning to announcing soon. Some would argue he’d better off there already.

Because Labonte and Petty are well-respected, and because Petty Enterprises represents a dying breed in NASCAR- a family-owned organization- one can only hope good things come their way. Considering the strength of the competition and what looks like a half-hearted commitment to win by Dodge, it’s going to be an uphill battle.

Still- there’s a lot of winners in this company, and if they don’t pick up a win or two, it’s not because they aren’t trying.

Junior’s Bud Shootout Win? Does it Matter?

As I cruise different NASCAR message boards and other related chats, I never cease to be amazed at the staying power of denial. There have been those fans who have stubbornly insisted that Dale Earnhardt Junior’s Bud Shootout victory and the strong performance of Toyota- especially Dave Blaney is just a mirage.

To this I say: Denial is not a river in Egypt.

Yes, I agree it remains to be seen what 500 miles of racing will reap. I also agree that Junior was somewhat  culpable in his 2007 demise. I have no doubt “Lil E” was pressing as he remained on the cusp of Chase competition. There’s little doubt Earnhardt was “crazy” aggressive at the end of the season when there was nothing but pride to drive for.

How quickly people forget. Junior’s 17 cups wins puts him on a par with his more competitive peers. That equals him with 2004 Cup titlist Kurt Busch, and puts the driver of the #88 ahead of the likes of Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle. So don’t tell me this guy’s a loser. Let us also not forget Earnhardt won back-to-back Busch titles around the turn of the century. So haters, go sell your ridiculous ideas somewhere else. I ain’t buying any here.

It’s true Junior will get no points from this. The biggest lift from the win is psychological. In his first time out as a member of the Hendrick Motorsports team, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a WINNER. The monkey is gradually being pried of the big redhead’s back.

On top of that, it is abundantly evident that the HMS team is squarely behind him as Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears fall all over themselves displaying their pleasure at their new teammate. I mean, let’s face it. Would you rather have Junior in your garage, or the maybe he was given too much too soon Kyle Busch. I’ll bet I know the answer to that question.

Don’t get me wrong here, I think Dale Jr. and the Hendrick crew will receive stiff challenges from the Joe Gibbs garage, and even Michael Waltrip is looking poised for a quantum leap in success- not to mention a whole hauler load of other teams that are hungry and ready to dethrone NASCAR’s King Of the Mountain.

But I still think Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a MUCH better year, complete with a few wins and a spot in the Chase, and maybe even a Cup- just in case my predicted champion Tony Stewart or Junior’s fellow HMS studs.

The tone has been set- and 2008 will be an incredible year for NASCAR and one Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

Sneak Preview Saturday Night

If last night’s action is any indication of what’s in store for 2008, fans can look forward to a great 2008. This year’s edition of the Bud Shootout had all the things fans have been clamoring for.

A Junior Victory- Let’s face it, the vast majority of NASCAR fans love the driver of the #88 National Guard/ Amp Chevrolet. NASCAR’s favorite son didn’t disappoint by delivering the first victory he’s had of any kind since the spring of 2006.

Not to put more pressure on him, but I think NASCAR needs Dale Earnhardt Jr. He represents  all the things that fans love about the sport with that down-home demeanor and legendary pedigree. Though he races for the New York Yankees of NASCAR, to many, he just comes across as a lot less corporate, a lot less processed than his Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. As I mentioned in posts on a couple of message boards, this has no real bearing on the season, but it sure sets the tone.

Side-to-side racing- Even in a 70 lap race, you would have thought there would have been some separation at the end. When the checkered flag lowered, cars were still side-by-side. Though Junior won, Any one of a number of drivers from Jimmie Johnson to Dave Blaney could have pulled it out.

I remember comments made recently by Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte that with the “new” (we really can’t call it the Car of Tomorrow anymore) car, we’d see the driver become more a part of the race and less so the car itself. They had it pegged.

Smoke fans need not worry- Given Toyota’s performance and Tony Stewart’s second place finish, fans of the “Big Orange” need not worry that the change in manufacturers will hamper Tony Stewart’s quest for a third Cup title. It still remains to be seen if Toyota can keep it up over 500 miles, but they sure had no problem last night.

Now if they can just solve the Hendrick dominance, they’ll be just fine.

Good race coverage- I’d forgotten how much I’d missed the work of Mike Joy, Larry Mac, DW, Hammond, and Dick Berggren. Unlike many fans, I can’t say I have a deep dislike for ESPN’s work, it’s just there’s something about the way FOX puts on the show that ABC/ ESPN doesn’t.

We’re racing again- Face it fans, we’re spoiled. NFL fans will have to wait until August until their pre-season gets underway. Baseball fans have been on vacation since late October and we’re still weeks away from the spring training getting it on in earnest. NASCAR’s schedule ended a week before Thanksgiving and we’re already at it again- AND WE’RE ACTING LIKE IT’S BEEN 6 MONTHS.

Still- it’s good to see racing again and not just talking about.

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Team Preview- Team Red Bull

For the freshest (and perhaps most promising) faces in NASCAR, one need look no further than Team Red Bull. Perhaps no team has put forward an image with their drivers that more closely fits the brand of the company sponsoring them.  In your minds eye, you can just see A.J. Allmendinger chugging a can of the energy drink in victory lane. Their colorful paint schemes that feature red wheels gives them high visibility on the track. Now the drivers just need to back it up with wins to complete the effect.

For drivers Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger is the good news that this team already know a thing or two about motorsports though they are NASCAR neophytes. Red Bull already operates two Formula One teams and has involvement with Indy Car and Champ Car teams and/or drivers.

Of the two young drivers in the Red Bull shop, Brian Vickers seems poised for the more immediate impact. The 24 year old has been racing Cup full-time since 2004, and has seen what it’s like with a premier NASCAR team as Vickers drove 3 seasons for Rick Hendrick in the ride now occupied by Casey Mears. Vickers has already tasted victory in his former ride, the #25 Chevy at the Fall, 2006 Talladega race.

In 2007, Vickers was the first Toyota driver to lead laps in Cup competition. In fact, Vickers looked like a strong possibility to win the Coca-Cola 600 before gradually tapering off as the race went, an all-too-common malady for the manufacturer in 2007. Like teammate A.J. Allmendinger, Vickers has some moments of greatness in 2007 and seems to have the aggressiveness to win with the big boys. After all, it was Vickers who bumped his then-teammate Jimmie Johnson into Dael Earnhardt Jr.  to get that Talladega win. Anyone Familiar with Hendrick Motorsports knows that’s not only a very gutsy move, but one that will likely spell your departure from the “all for one, one for all” mentality at HMS. Look for continued improvement from the North Carolinian who once boasted a high school GPA of 4.43.

Though Vickers has a load of potential, perhaps the driver with the greatest upside is A.J. Allmendinger. I like this guy. Like another promising young driver by the name of Kyle Busch, Allmendinger will push his car right to the point of losing control of it. The 2nd year Cup driver has tasted success in other motorsports- Allmendinger finished  5th in Champ Car points in 2005. In 2006, the Los Gatos, California native won a Champ Car race at Portland. In 2004, Allmendinger was rookie of the year for Champ Car. Allmendinger has tested very well in the 2008 pre-season.

This is definitely a team on the rise, sponsored by an organization that seems committed to success as a motorsports sponsor. They’re not afraid of change as Red Bull replaced Vickers’ veteran crew chief Doug Richert with Randy Cox in an effort to find a winning fit.

For Team Red Bull and owner Deitrich Mateschitz, it’s just a matter of getting the equipment and team personnel up to the level of the drivers.  

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Preview- Gillett Evernham Motorsports

Potential. One definition of potential in the world of sports is “Hasn’t done it yet.” That definition is very fitting for the Gillett Evernham Motorsports crew- a team with abundant talent that has yet to be realized.

It all starts with Ray Evernham. His 3 Cup titles and 47 victories as a crew chief for Jeff Gordon speaks volumes about his briliance as a pit leader and setup guru. That brilliance set Evernham as the spearhead to lead Dodge’s return to NASCAR in 2001 (it should be mentioned that Casey Atwood did register a top 10 with Evernham as owner in one of three starts in 2000). Along the way, Evernham has had the likes of “Awesome”Bill Elliott, Atwood, Jeremy Mayfield, and Scott Riggs driving for him- but perhaps no driver has meant more to what is now known as GEM than Kasey Kahne.

The boyish Washingtonian roared onto the Cup scene in 2004, earning Raybestos Rookie of The Year honors with a 13th place in the Cup standings. After a bum 2005, Kahne rebounded with an impressive 6 victories in 2006 and 19 top 10’s en route to an 8th place finish at season’s end. Kahne’s 2007 frustrations epitomized GEM’s futility in 2007, as Kahne was never really a factor, other than a Busch Series win. A lot of GEM’s problems were obviously program related. Evernham admitted that trying to juggle business (fundraising and sponsorships) with racing proved to be overwhelming. The team was just never that competitive and looked way behind the curve on Car of Tomorrow development.

To be sure, Kahne has fulfilled some of his promise. Seven wins are not chopped liver. Yet a closer look at the number reveals a need for growth from the 27 year old if he wants to be mentioned in the same breath with Gordon and Johnson. All of Kahne’s wins have come at intermediate tracks (Atlanta, Texas, Lowe’s, Michigan- to name a few). He needs to add super speedway prowess and road course mastery to his resume. On top of that, Kahne has a vexing number of DNF’s on his track record. Compare his numbers to Clint Bowyer’s in 2007 and you get my drift.

If it sounds like I’m being harsh, it’s because he’s capable of more. He’s a winner, but he not only needs more support from his owner and he needs to spend less time enjoying the life of a rock star. He’s tested well at Vegas and California, so there is hope.

Another guy fans hope for more from in 2008 is Elliott Sadler. Like Kahne, Sadler has a following- yet at the rate he’s going, he’s destined to become another Michael Waltrip or Kenny Wallace- a popular guy due more to personality than actual performance. Sadler hasn’t visited victory lane since 2004, when he raced for Robert Yates. Quick- name a race where he was really in contention in 2007. Can’t think of one? I think there’s a reason for that. Here’s hoping the partnership with Gillett will enable Ray Evernham to provide better support for the likes of Kahne and Sadler. They deserve better.

One area where GEM is not left out is in the foreign intrigue department. Scott Riggs is out as the driver of the #10 Dodge and Canadian Patrick Carpentier takes over. So far, the best you can say about Carpentier is that he hasn’t angered established drivers by wrecking them- which puts him ahead of say, Dario Franchitti. If nothing else, Carpentier’s development will help draw attention to Gillett Evernham if winning can’t.

What we have right now is not the notoriety a team really wants: an owner more famous for being the boyfriend of a female racer (Evernham and Erin Crocker have been an item for a while now), a star driver more famous for his commercials fleeing crazed soccer moms, a journeyman driver who’s also more famous for his popularity among women and for his one time promise as a basketball player, and a rookie more famous for being a part of the open wheel mass defection to NASCAR.

These guys are better than that. I think.    

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Preview- Michael Waltrip Racing

It’s gotta be a bummer knowing that your racing team was the punch line in the joke that was your manufacturer’s season in 2007. Sad to say, that was the case for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007.

It all started at Daytona, when the team owned by the legendary Darrell Waltrip’s younger brother was penalized for an illegal fuel additive. It pretty much went downhill from there. Team owner Michael Waltrip’s failure to qualify became so legendary he began to joke about it in his Napa auto parts commercials. The champion’s provisional is meant to be a safety net, but the automatic qualifier became a lifeline for 1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett. Once he ran out of provisionals, Jarrett had qualifying troubles of his own. About the only bright spot for the fledgling team enjoyed is when Waltrip took the pole for the fall Talladega race, and the performance of NASCAR rookie David Reutimann- who also made the top 5 in the Busch Series.

The good news for Michael Waltrip Racing is things can only get better in 2008. All the Toyota teams looked a lot better in recent testing, and the addition of Joe Gibbs and Hall of Fame Racing to the Toyota stable seems to have generated a sense of cooperation among all teams for the Japanese-based auto maker. As 2007 wore on, one certainly got the impression that Toyota got the hang of building a better engine, the question for 2008 is one of whether or not Toyota has engine built to last the long race distances. Before petering out late in races, Waltrip, Reutimann, and Jarrett all had great early race runs in the late schedule.

Despite calls to leaves the cockpit to assume full-time ownership duties, “Mikey” returns to the #55 Camry in 2008. Without violations, it will be interesting to see how the 43 year old Kentuckian does at Daytona. In fact, all 4 of Waltrip’s victories have come at restrictor plate races- 3 of them at Daytona Super Speedway. Waltrip’s first victory in 2001 was marred by the death of his employer at that time-Dale Earnhardt.

2008 is the season Dale Jarrett rides off into the sunset- actually the broadcast booth- following in his father Ned’s footsteps. After the first handful of races, Jarrett will turn over the wheel of the #44 UPS car to David Reutimann, who will in turn hand over the #00 ride to Michael Mc Dowell. It’s been tough to watch the former champion and owner of 32 victories who rose to greatness at Joe Gibbs struggle the way he has, especially when you suspect that the lousy runs have been the result of crappy equipment and not any diminishing driving skill. Jarrett will replace Rusty Wallace in the broadcast booth at ESPN, something I think we all are look forward to.

Look for good things from David Reutimann. “Ruty” has been a winner wherever he’s gone- including the NASCAR Autozone Elite Division Southeast Series where he never finished lower than 7th from 1997-2002, as well as the Busch Series (where he finished 3rd in the 2007 standings) and the Craftsman Truck Series. The Floridian has it in his blood. His father “Buzzie” ran a Cup race Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa in 1963, and was also a competitor in DIRT modifieds. He’ll make a slightly unusual switch by changing rides for the same team in the same season.

Jarrett’s retirement has the net effect of opening a door for Michael McDowell. The 23 year old has enjoyed success as a go-kart racer and 4 races and 9 poles in the ARCA series in 2007. Michael made his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series with one 2007 start. What’s interesting about Mc Dowell is he will be one of the few rookies of the 2008 class to take the more traditional path to Cup competition.

The beauty of starting from the bottom is you can only go up from here. In spite of the struggles, Waltrip and Jarrett have a faithful legion of fans cheering them on to greater success.

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