Kyle Petty

Pull Those Belts Tight! (Race Preview) The “Bermuda Triangle” Edition

Up Next: The Pocono 500, Sunday, June 8, 2008 at Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Green flag: 2 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. PDT. Broadcast: TNT- TV with Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach & Kyle Petty. Radio Broadcast on MRN & Sirius Satellite Radio.

Track Facts- The first race ran here on August 4, 1974. Richard Petty took the checkered flag on the track that started out as a .75 miler when it was opened in 1968. The track was re-done in 1971.

Pocono Raceway is a 2.5 mile tri-oval track nicknamed “The Bermuda Triangle.” This track looks like a coat hanger with a front stretch of 3,740 feet, a short stretch of 1,780 feet and a back stretch of 3,055 feet. There is no banking on the straights, and 6 to 14 degrees of banking in the turns.

Track Records: Bill Elliott takes the honors as the leading winner at Pocono with 5 to his credit. Since Elliott is semi-retired, we should also mention that Jeff Gordon has 4 victories here as well.

Last year- Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch won the Pocono events. Gordon won a rain-shortened Spring race, just edging out Ryan Newman in a controversial finish in which some fans felt favoritism was shown towards Gordon.

The qualifying record is held by Kasey Kahne. Kahne ran a lap time of 52.164 seconds on June 11, 2004 with a speed of 172.533 miles per hour. Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader have captured the most poles with 5 each. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman won poles in 2007.

The fastest race was run by Rusty Wallace. The “Blue Duece” won the July 21, 1996 Miller 500 with a time of 3 hours, 27 minutes, and 3 seconds.

The oldest winner at Pocono is…..who else? Harry Gant. “Mr. September” won the June 7, 1990 AC Spark Plug 500 at the age of 50 years, 5 months, and 7 days. The youngest winner?….who else? Jeff Gordon, at age 24 years, 10 months, and 12 days. The win came at the June 16, 1996 Teamwork 500.

The caution flag waved a record 13 times twice- the most recent in June, 2005. The fewest “yellows” waved in the July, 1978. 1 waved on that day.

Some have referred to Pocono as a “drivers track.” Each turn provides its own unique set of challenges. The high RPM’s can contribute to a large number of engine failures. Six weeks separate the two Pocono events. Commentator Ricky Craven has commented that most teams will use the same set-up for the August event as the June race. It’s an idea that seems to work as Denny Hamlin swept the Pocono races in 2006 (he also captured both poles), Jimmie Johnson did in 2004, Tim Richmond did in 1986 and Bill Elliott in 1985.

This will kick off a challenging 6 week stretch for drivers as they encounter a different track style every week. After this race, the tour will move on to an intermediate in Michigan, a road course in Sonoma, a 1-miler in New Hampshire, a super speedway at Daytona, and a mile-and-a-half tri-oval at Chicago.

Other active winners include Bobby Labonte (3), Denny Hamlin (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Kurt Busch (2), Ryan Newman (1), and Tony Stewart (1). Race analyst Kyle Petty has a win at Pocono too.

Check out my “Fearless Forecast” this Saturday, and I’ll offer up my forecast for the race winner.

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR For Dummies Primer

Contact patch: Sounds like a name for a football field. Actually, the “contact patch” is the portion of the tire that makes contact with the racing surface. The size of each tire’s contact patch changes as the car is driven.

Crankshaft: Before you get the idea that this is what FOX announcer Chris Myers calls pit report Dick Berggren, a crankshaft is “The rotating shaft within the engine that delivers the power from the pistons to the flywheel, and from there to the transmission.”

Magnaflux: What this is not is the condition you get from eating the red hot dogs at Martinsville. Magnaflux is “Short for “magnetic particle inspection.” A procedure for checking all ferrous (steel) parts (suspension pieces, connecting rods, cylinder heads, etc.) for cracks and other defects by utilizing a solution of metal particles and fluorescent dye and black light. Surface cracks will appear as red lines.” 

That’s all for now. Until next time “Keep it off the walls.”

 

“Pull Those Belts Tight!”- The “Monster Mile” Edition

Up Next: The Autism Speaks 400 presented by Best Buy, Dover International Speedway- Sunday June 1, 2008. Green flag start- 2 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. PDT. Broadcast on FOX-TV network with Mike Joy, Larry Mc Reynolds and Darrell Waltrip. Radio broadcast- MRN, Sirius Satellite Network.

Track Facts- The first race ran at the Deleware track on July 6, 1969 as the Mason- Dixon 300. “The King”, Richard Petty won that race, the first of his 7 victories on the “Monster Mile.”

Dover International Speedway is a one mile track with 24 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 on the straights.  With the banks and changing elevation on the track, drivers liken the ride on the concrete track to riding on a roller coaster. Another interesting fact: there are only 42 pit stalls for the 43 drivers. Two of them will have to be nice and share.

Track Records: Richard Petty and Bobby Allison are the all-time leading winners with 7 victories at Dover. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin are the leading winners here among active drivers with 4 each in Cup competition.

Last year- Martin Truex Jr. and Carl Edwards won the Spring and Fall events respectively. For the New Jersey born Truex it was his first and so far, only career victory at the Cup level.

The qualifying record is held by Jeremy Mayfield, who did it in a Dodge for Ray Evernham on June 4, 2004 with a speed of 161.522 m.p.h., for a lap time of 22.288 sec. David Pearson, who won 105 NASCAR Cup races, holds the record for poles at Dover with 5. Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson started out front in the Spring and Fall of 2007.

Who’s the fastest at Dover? Mark “The Kid” Martin finished the MBNA 400 in a time of 3 hours and 50 seconds with an average of 132.719 m.p.h. on Sept. 21, 1997 driving a Roush Racing Ford. 

The oldest race winner at “DIS” was Harry Gant won the race the age of 52 years, 4 months and 21 days on May 31, 1992. The youngest? Jeff Gordon at 24 years, 1 month and 13 days on Sept. 17, 1995. Ever hotice how these guys always show up on this one?

The yellow flag waved a record 16 times on Sept. 16, 1993. There were NO cautions waved at the June 6, 1971 edition of the Mason- Dixon 500.

When fans think of Dover, they think of crab cakes and concrete. Given his record of excellence on concrete tracks, be on the look-out for “Cousin Carl.” Because the surface is concrete, there will be no need to worry about changing track conditions like we had at Lowe’s.  With it’s positioning in the Northeast United States, this is the closest thing to a home track for Martin Truex Jr. and Todd Bodine. Don’t think being close to home matters? “The Onion” (Bodine) has won 3 Nationwide races at Dover, Randy Lajoie 2 in the “second series.” Martin Truex has won a Cup race and 2 Nationwides at DIS.

Some other active winners here include- Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman have 3 wins at Dover, Tony Stewart has climbed the fence in Delaware twice. Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Petty, and Ken Schrader all have a single win at Dover.

We’ll be keeping all these things in mind as we prepare for the “Fearless Forecast” this Saturday. Hopefully, rain won’t be the factor it was last year, though I should warn you the long range forecasts call for a significant chance of rain Sunday. Thankfully, if that be the case, by virtue of being a radio sports guy I have to (oh darn) watch the race at work!

Like that little dog in the Disney movie that Cheech Marin did the voice for said: “If this is torture, chain me to the wall.”

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR For Dummies Primer

Fire extinguisher switch- Did you know that the cars had one of these? All you do is pull the switch and fire-suppressing chemicals are released into the driving compartment. How cool is that?

 Axle- (Not to be confused with Axel, as in Rose)- Rotating shafts connecting the rear differential gears to the rear wheels.

Gears- Circular, wheel-shaped parts with teeth along the edges. The interlocking of these two mechanisms enables one to turn the other.

That’s all for now! Until we meet again, “Keep It Off The Walls.”

 

 

Pull Those Belts Tight!- The Coca- Cola 600 Edition

Up Next: The Coca-Cola 600, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina, May 26, 2008. Green flag- 5:30 p.m. EDT, 2:30 p.m. PDT. Broadcast on FOX-TV with Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry Mc Reynolds. Radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Network.

Track Facts: The First green flag waved for a Cup race here on June 19, 1960. Joe Lee Johnson was the first to see the checkered flag.

Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a mile-and-a-half oval track with 24-degrees of banking in the turns, and 5 degrees on the straights. Track conditions will change considerably mid-race as the race goes from day to night.

The Sprint Cup record for wins at LMS is shared by Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison who each won 6. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead active drivers with 5 apiece. Mark Martin has won 6 races at this track in a Nationwide car.

Casey Mears won last year’s Coca-Cola 600, Jeff Gordon won the Bank of America 500 in October, 2007.

Other Track Records: The qualifying record is held by Elliott Sadler with a time of 27.948 seconds at a speed of 193.216 m.p.h. on October 15, 2005. The “King Of Qualifying” is David Pearson, who captured 14 during his lengthy career.

The fastest race? That was run by Jeff Gordon with a speed of 160.306 m.p.h., running the October 11, 1999 race in a time of 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 31 seconds. Fred Lorenzen has the record for a 400 mile race (1964), and Bobby Labonte has the record for a 600 mile event (1995), but their speeds (134.559 m.p.h. and 151.952 m.p.h. respectively) do not approach Gordon’s.

The oldest winner at Lowe’sis  Cale Yarborough, winning the 1985 Miller 500 at age 46 years, 6 months, and 9 days. The youngest? Jeff Gordon, who at age 22 years, 9 months and 25 days won the 1994 Coca- Cola 600.

A record number of yellow flags waved here 22 times on May 29, 2005. 0 cautions flew on May 21, 1961.

“The 600″ is NASCAR’s answer to a marathon event. Fuel mileage smarts helped pave the way to Casey Mear’s maiden victory last year. The fact the J.J. Yeley and Kyle Petty finished second and third tells yo this race’s outcome can be a little different.

As I mentioned earlier, drivers and crews have to be prepared for changing conditions as the race goes on. You can figure that about the first 2 and a half hours will be in dwindling daylight, and could go as late as another hour to an hour and half under the lights. A driver’s endurance will also be tested. I don’t know how you’d measure a driver’s ability to focus long-term, but it’s not hard to imagine you will need plenty of mental and physical fuel in the tank to take the checkered flag at about 10 p.m.

No doubt Kasey Kahne (who for those of you in Rio Linda won last week’s all-star race at LMS) also has demonstrated mastery of the speedway by sweeping the 2006 races,  will be poised for victory. The aforementioned Gordon and Johnson have their record of success, plus Ryan Newman has a pile of poles. Some other racers to keep your eye on who’ve run well here are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, and Mark Martin.

Saturday- I’ll offer up my predicted winner in the “Fearless Forecast.”

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR For Dummies Primer

Bite: We have two definitions for this term. (1) “Round of bite” describes the turning or adjusting of a car’s jacking screws found at each wheel. “Weight jacking” distributes the car’s weight at each wheel. (2) Adhesion of a tire to the track surface.

Tri-oval: A racetrack that has a “hump” or “fifth turn” in addition to the standard four corners. Not to be confused with a triangle shaped speedway, which has only three distinct corners.

Stagger: The difference in size between the tires on the left and right sides of a car. Because of a tire’s makeup, slight variations in circumference result. Stagger between right-side and left-side tires may range from less than a half inch to more than an inch. Stagger only applies to bias-ply tires and not radials.   

That’s all for this week. Be sure to thank a vet as we celebrate their sacrifices this weekend. Until race day, be sure to take it easy in the turns and keep it off the wall!

Fearless Forecast: The Winner At Richmond Will Be….

Let’s be scientific about this. I respect all 43 guys in the field, but let’s be real- we can eliminate 15 drivers right off the top. we’re talking about the guys in the line-up who’ve never won a Cup race. That includes the likes of David Ragan, Reed Sorenson and Patrick Carpentier-who did put forward good qualifying efforts. To me, this place is just a little too tough for a guy to get his first win. This whittles the field down to 28.

Then there’s the guys, that while capable, just don’t have the equipment to win. There’s about another 4 guys here who’ve won races, but because of things like funding and equipment- they have as much chance as a kerosene cat in Hell with gasoline boxers on. Kyle Petty, Sterling Marlin, and Joe Nemechek are among the racers that fall into this category. OK- now we’re down to 24.

Among the 43 entries are guy who just don’t win at short tracks. This includes all the Roush Fenway guys. I’m not sure what’s missing in their “Car of Today” short track program, but something’s missing. The you’ve got guys like Michael Waltrip, who is to Super Speedways like Boris Said is to road courses. I find 8 drivers in this group- taking the possibilities down to 16. Hard charger Kyle Busch is also in this group. He’ too aggressive on short tracks. You need some patience to win here.

Let’s not forget about the “luck factor.” There’s always somebody out there at any given time who arejust unlucky. Tony Stewart is having a run of bad luck. Bobby Labonte is another one. Overall, this group of guys number 4, so now we have 12 drivers to pick from.

Among the drivers who are left are guys who have the best chance of winning today. Guys who are “in their element” in Richmond. I’m talking about Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer from RCR, Mark Martin from DEI, Kasey Kahne from Gillett Evernham, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. from HMS (Jeff Gordon is one of my “bad luck” guys), and Ryan Newman from Penske- as well as Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs.

Frankly, it comes down to two guys- Denny Hamlin and Junior. Earnhardt has won 3 races at Richmond, and he’s been good enough to win this year, even though he hasn’t broken the spell. Now, I know that Hamlin is going to try to win from the pole- which isn’t easy. I also know the the “law of averages” are against a weekend sweep and he won last night. Yet there’s an “X” factor in all of this, I think the “11′ car has it. So in light of that, I predict…

DENNY HAMLIN WILL WIN AT RICHMOND- fulfilling his dream of winning at home. The odds may be a bit long, but that’s why we call it the “fearless forecast.”

Fearless Forecast: Who Will Win at Texas?

Predicting a NASCAR winner isn’t like picking a Final Four Winner. When you’re picking a winner in the stick and ball sports, it’s a heck of a lot easier to choose between two teams than it is picking a winner among 43 drivers. I haven’t picked a winner yet this year, but I’ve come darn close with Jeff Gordon finishing second last week, Tony Stewart taking third at Daytona and Junior’s third in Atlanta.

Let me start by saying that I’m choosing this week’s winner on the basis of speed. With in mind, I see the racers from Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Roush Fenway Racing as the teams most likely to produce a winner at Texas Motor Speedway. Looks like a pretty safe bet when you consider that Lil “E” has the pole and he’s joined by Carl Edwards of Roush on the front row. Ryan Newman, one of NASCAR’s premier qualifiers is up towards the front, and then you have some other of the usual suspects in the front of the field: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth.

David Ragan will be someone to watch. The pilot of Mark Martin’s old ride did well at Martinsville, and he’s the front of the pack. Let’s tip a cowboy hat to Mike Skinner. Team Red Bull has been vindicated by their selection of the guy more famous for his truck racing prowess to take the #84 over from A.J. Allmendinger. Their goal? To get in race- which unfortunately A.J. wasn’t doing. Skinner got a 9th position yesterday and he’s been getting his car in the race, so the move pays off. I’m not sure Petty Enterprises move of Chad Mc Cumbee for Kyle Petty really did any good, There will be NO #45 car in tomorrow’s field.

So who will win this? The talking heads over at Yahoo! Sports are going with Carl Edwards. A good choice. Some are saying Jeff Gordonwill get HMS off the 2008 snide. Knowing the resemblence this track bears to Atlanta bodes well for AMS winner Kyle Busch. David Reutimann makes a nice dark horse pick. I think if his equipment can hold up, he looks like a winner. Starting out front will be a boon for “Beak” (a nickname given him in high school because of his prominent schnauz), it will keep him away from the wreckers, which is his problem half the time, getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Two time winner Jeff Burtoncan’t be ignored. Niether can Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin or Kevin Harvick.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make history tomorrow. He will do what no other has done at the “Great American Speedway”- win at Texas from the pole. It will be Junior that gives Rick Hendrick his first victory of 2008.

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

This race is about speed and Dale Earnhardt Junior is wicked fast.

It’s Crunch Time For The New “Go or Go Homers”

It’s a long, hard fall for some of the guys who comprise the new list of “go or go home” drivers now that we’re 5 races into the 2008 season and we are no longer running off of the 2007 standings. While I’m sure Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann and Brian Vickers are relieved to be off of this list, thanks to improvements made by Toyota, there are others that have to be seriously concerned about what this portends for their 2008 season. For some, it may mean that their season is awash in anxiety.

Imagine being in Kyle Petty’s shoes. For most of his career, he’s been an automatic entry into the field. As it stands right now, I’d be very concerned if I were him. In looking over qualifying times over the last several races, The #45 has consistently run at or near the bottom of the list. Even when he gets in the race, it’s been monumentally difficult to get above NASCAR’s “Mendoza Line” (35th) to get out of this dreaded category.

It sucks. Just watch a couple of qualifying heats and you see how falling into the “go or go home” category completely fouls up anything resembling a strategy. You have to trim your car to run as fast as it will go just to get in at the expense of running for the duration of a 250-500 mile race. That doesn’t even take into account being at the mercy of poor weather conditions and being shut out if qualifying has to be canceled. Then there’s dealing with being at the end of the qualifying line and all the nerves that come with waiting it out to see if you get in.

Petty has plenty of company- drivers not used to being in this position: former open wheel stud Dario Franchitti joins Patrick Carpentier as drivers who have to get in on time. They’ll be joined by the likes of Jamie Mc Murray and Dave Blaney. These are guys you don’t expect to be joining the ranks of Burney Long and Stanton Barrett.

I have to imagine Mc Murray will pull through this- though you have to think this will make the driver of the Roush-Fenway #26 an odds-on-favorite to be cut when Jack Roush is required to go from 5 teams to 4 next year. Mc Murray has the backing of good equipment, so you’d think he’d be able to raise his standing quickly. By the same token, that Mc Murray finds himself in this position in spite of having a good product to work with doesn’t say good things about his skills.

It reminds me again of my disdain for the Top 35 “automatic qualifying rules.”On this rare occasion, I join the traditional NASCAR fan base by saying everybody in the field should get in on time. I get why the governing body has the rule, as sponsors pay BIG bucks to get their logos on the cars, and it doesn’t behoove a corporation to pay the big green if their car never gets camera time. After all, only the truly seriousfan watches the quals. By the same token, what does this do for the companies who sponsor go or go home drivers? Quick- do you have any idea who sponsors Boris Said? I didn’t think you did. I don’t easily remember either.

My argument to eliminate the rule would be this: If all the other guys are as good as their performance suggests, they’ll get in. Watch the qualifying times of the likes of Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon. About the only time one of the big boys runs lower than top 30 is generally if they’ve wrecked. A miss for one of the top 20 would be rare.

I wish these guys well. Hopefully- NASCAR will see the light on this and we won’t be subject to further “back room deals” like the Hornish- Kurt Busch points swap.

It’s really not good for the sport.