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Questions and Answers Teams went to Charlotte this weekend with many questions about the new surface at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Let’s address a few: - Will grinding the surface allow for multiple grooves and side by side racing? Yes and no. While cars can go through the corners side by side, there is really only one racing groove. It is high through turns one and two and low through three and four with the outside lane open out of four. Cars coming out of four, side by side, will create a great deal of excitement during the 600. A lose inside car or an outside car bouncing off the wall will create a yellow, unless they can gather it up and if (and this is a big if) there are no cars behind them. Because, two cars side by side out of four, even holding there own, will create a bottle neck for cars behind them that get out of four without a car by their side. Maybe this is what happened to Joe Nemechek and Tony Stewart. And remember, during the All-Star event, drivers took the junk to the garage, while in a points race, they will still be on the track. - How important a role will tires play? A greater deal than first expected. Goodyear has developed a good tire that has traction and maintains it for long runs, but issues popped up for the drivers Saturday night. For long runs, the driver will need to take care of his right front tire. Crew chiefs will need to consider air pressure and camber issues on the right front (See Greg Biffle). Right side-only versus all four-tire changes doesn’t seem to make a significant difference on the long run (See Elliot Sadler). Right side-only versus all four-tire changes do make a big difference on restarts (See Jeff Gordon and/or Elliot Sadler). - Which manufacturer has the most work to do before Sunday? Chevrolet. Ford’s with the Roush/Yates horsepower appear poised to dominate the 600. Ryan Newman could carry the Dodge banner by himself. While the Chevy’s finished well enough, I am very concerned with their frequent bottoming out. Some attention will need to be paid to the nose and/or shock package to lessen the frequency of bottoming out. While the sparks at night are spectacular, and weren’t a factor during a short race, 600 miles of bottoming out can produce some serious mechanical issues. Unanswered Questions Will Mike Bliss get fined for his post race reference concerning Brian Vickers similarity to a beast of burden? If NASCAR is consistent, he will…but this was a non-points race, giving them an out. Does anyone know who helped Tony Stewart with his post race behavior? Whoever it was, you’re needed in the 29’s garage.  Well, I have finally recovered from my NCAA basketball hangover and am able to watch sports again. So, I watched the races this weekend at Richmond…of course in my basement. Kudos to: - Elliott Sadler, who showed how very disappointed he was in losing, but did it with class. - Kevin Harvick, who put on a clinic Saturday night on how to drive Richmond, without looking like a Busch driver. - Kasey Kahne, for finally getting that Monkey off of his back. The king is dead. Long live the king. Oh how it used to irritate me that no matter how Jeff Gordon was running in a race, he always seemed to be the main story line for the TV guys. Well, Saturday night proved that is no longer the case. Gordon bounces the DuPont Chevy off the wall, and they can’t even find any coverage of it to show us. Instead, we get to hear what is being said on the radio of the number eight. How to solve the Super Speedway issue: Like I alluded to earlier, I have been living in a cave for the past few months, but has no one else proposed this solution to the restrictor-plate track dilemma? Dictate the drive-train ratios (transmissions and rear ends) so that cars can’t run so fast. With no restrictor plate and the right combination, how about 180 mph at 9,000 rpm? What’s the difference from now? I don’t think there is much. But what I envision would allow you to get off the gas, get back on it, and right back up to speed. It would also let you go faster, but for how long if you are at 12,000 rpm? I believe that with the right gearing package, you would have cars the drivers would be willing to back off when necessary, get away with short bursts, and blow up by 200 miles if they push it too hard. Just wondering: Do Garage Sales attract bad drivers or do they create them? Comments: Garage sales make you a bad driver. I'm a good driver. One time I stopped at a red light and then for no apparent reason went through it and sat in the middle of the road to get on the other side of the highway! Why? I was trying to get to a garage sale. Name: BA State: FL What to write, what to write? Well, if you follow this article, you have noticed that I have neglected to write anything for the past few races. I have to tell you, I had no great excuse either. I haven’t written, because I have been down on NASCAR. I really have not liked the way the yellow flag/caution rule has been used at the end of the race and even more; I noticed I didn’t care who won. I discovered that I am not really as much of a NASCAR fan, as I am a Mark Martin fan. And the previous couple of races didn’t leave me much to get excited about. Of course, this past race at Chicagoland was just a kick in the teeth. I noticed during the pre-race interviews, several times the interviewer asked the guest what they thought about the new point system implemented this year. They all gave the same stock, non-committal answer. This leads me to believe that journalists are trying to start something, or more likely, there is a great deal of grumbling off-the-record that no one is willing to state on air. NASCAR is trying to create a play-off type atmosphere with the final 10 races to maintain fan interest. When this idea was introduced, I thought that was unnecessary. Now I admit that my interest in waning. So I began to examine my views on other playoffs. I am not a Major League Baseball fan really, but I am a Cubs fan. But no matter what, I always watch the World Series. I am not an NFL fan as much as I am a Bears fan, but I always watch the Super Bowl. So as a fan, this new system will affect me, the way NASCAR had intended, at least for the first few races of the 10-race playoff. And finally, if you care, in my opinion, Tony Stewart did not wreck Kasey Kahne intentionally. Was he impatient? Yes. There was no reason for Tony to be so aggressive with tail-end lead lap cars in front, but as we saw, Sterling Marlin was in the way on a couple of restarts. Anything but disappointing If you were disappointed in the way the race at Pocono ended, I would like to know why? I can think of only two reasons you might be disappointed. 1) You’re Jeremy Mayfield fan or 2) You’re a Bobby Labonte fan and you think either of them had a chance to win the race. On either point, you would have been wrong. The Hendrick cars were head-and-shoulders above the others on that day. I was actually surprised that they didn’t finish one through four. Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick made sure the final yellow laps were anything but boring. It was mentioned that all the luck Matt Kenseth had last year is very similar to the luck Dale Earnhardt Jr. is having this year. You have to admit there is a great deal of similarity, in how they get into trouble and still finish in the top ten. On the flip side, I think that Ryan Newman is the recipient of a great deal of bad luck this year. He seems to consistently get up front, only to finish in the rear. You can argue Young Guns versus Cagey Ole Veterans (a DW term), but when it comes to new Ford engine versus old Ford engine, I guess the answer is neither. I bet there is some scramblin’ goin’ on in the Ford shops this week. Now That’s Entertainment The race at Dover had more drama than a daily soap opera, more twists and turns than a road course, and a restrictor-plate “Big One” to boot. It resembled more of a Survivor reality-show series than it did an auto race. And in the end, a patient veteran driver in a Ford prevailed over the Young Guns and the earlier dominance of Dodge and Chevy. It would be hard to argue that the race may not have been just as exciting to see the Ray Evernham Dodge’s of Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield battle to the end. You can even throw into the mix Jimmy Johnson, Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart. But the monster was not going to have anything to do with that as it devoured each car that proved it was fast. Maybe that was Mark’s lucky break, not showing his hand until the end. Or maybe it was shear determination that had Mark running his fastest laps at the end of the day. Looking back over the race, it is amazing to see the amount of times Martin benefited from good luck. This is especially shocking when you review the season to date, and realized how much bad luck he has had each race. While it appears his team has turned the corner, even if it hasn’t, things are beginning to even out. Of course, I know exactly why Mark won. It was I. I changed my routine. I never used to wear Mark Martin apparel on race day because it was bad luck. I wore a Mark Martin t-shirt on Sunday. I did one of the craziest things I have ever done. For the very first time in my life, I bought Budweiser. And finally, I switched from Auto Zone to Napa for my auto parts. I don’t know what the future may hold for Mark, since I doubt I will be buying anymore Bud, but I will be sticking with Napa, because you seem to have to know something about cars before Napa hires you. I don’t know if NASCAR said something or not, but one thing that shocked me throughout the race, was the amount of professionalism that was displayed by the drivers. Joe Nemechek could have said, “You saw what happened, I got ran over!” but he didn’t. Jeff Gordon could have shown severe anger on his face saying that he told his crew the tire was going to blow, but he didn’t. I also liked his comment about not wanting to take a wrecked racecar back on the track. And even Tony Stewart showed an unbelievable amount of class congratulating Mark and telling the press that he was happy with a second-place finish. All of this took place, while most drivers were probably just happy that Dover was over. We’ll see how long it lasts. At least the Bristol night race is nearly two months away. So after Dover, who has the record for the fastest NASCAR race ever run? - Mark Martin; May 10, 1997; Talladega, 188.354 mph average Who has the record for the slowest NASCAR race ever run? - Mark Martin; Dover; June 6, 2004; 97.042 mph average Homer Low Down Well, what more can be said, especially this long after the race. Although I cannot imagine how you can have a “home-field” advantage in NASCAR, the Lowe’s cars seem to have it at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this past weekend. I’ll admit that they deserve the victories. But to change the subject to something I prefer, like Fords, Mark, and I just wired a keyless entry system into my Mustang. I had to build four relays for it as well. Thought you would like to know, just in case you are looking for someone to rewire your car. I might have written this article earlier, although unlikely, but my Memorial Day weekend was packed. I started Friday night with mowing the yard and helping my oldest son with his science project, a solar oven. Which by the way, can warm three hot dogs in 10 minutes and only cost a little more than a microwave...that’s just for the parts, assembly required. Oh yeah, and I drank some beer. Saturday, we finished the oven, I put a coat of paint on the porch...to highlight the flag, and I bought some plants and mulch for the front yard, which I put out as well. Of course, I had time to see parts of the Busch race and I drank some beer. Sunday, I pulled up some sod in a low spot in the yard, filled with dirt and put the sod back on top. Then I watched racing for the rest of the day. That was until the geeky weather-boy with his new computer radar toy kept interrupting the Indy 500 with SPECIAL WEATHER REPORTS. I missed Sam Hornish, Jr’s crash due to this. Well, we did get one-half inch of rain. Yes, I had some beer this day as well. Monday, I put another coat of paint on the porch, rebuilt my pond and waterfall and began landscaping the backyard. This day took a great deal of beer. At this point, you’re probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with NASCAR? My point, to make a long story boring, is that all this time, during Memorial Day weekend, I kept thinking, without the World War II generation, I might not have these options and this entertainment. We all hear of the sacrifice that soldiers and Americans alike had to endure and suffer through just to maintain the freedoms many enjoy. Not to diminish this in the least, but I think many of us forget the contribution of these people after the war. That generation created the middle class in America. They worked their butts off and succeeded not only by their determination, but also by their attitude. These people weren’t so focused on their perceived rights, but on exploring their privileges and understanding that anything worth having is worth working for. (Midwestern phrase ending with preposition) So I spent my weekend thanking those people by buying a poppy; working my fingers to the bone; watching F1, Busch, IRL, Nextel and drinking beer. With their efforts, I have freedom, I have a house, I have a zillion electronic gismos...including satellite and cable with two televisions side by side in the basement to watch two races at one time. THANK YOU. I also kept thinking about those spoiled brat kids that now a days think everything is owed to them. I’ve got one thing to say to those young whippersnappers...I actually deserve it all, so the line begins behind me! I have been watching CBS news this week. You kids just inhale everything at home, you smuggle drugs from Mexico and now I learn you all take steroids. I’m real suspicious of my little seven-year-old called Andy that lives across the hall. He speaks Spanish and is very good at three-legged racing. He won’t let me cut his hair anymore either...bet he’s hiding something in there. HEY, while I’m rambling. AND because we realize that no one reads this for NASCAR news. HECK, only our friends and family skim it occasionally. To paraphrase the Blues Brothers quote, “I hate Illinois Nazis!” I hate militant Gays! I don’t care if you’re gay. I don’t care if you’re openly gay. But when you start stuffing it down my throat, I start getting angry. While I’m no Bruce Banner, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Don’t tell me you don’t have rights. If I expressed my unpopular white-male, father-of-three, married-to-my-kids’-mother, heterosexual beliefs the way you express your views, I’d be in jail and facing countless lawsuits. So, GOD BLESS AMERICA, and the gays, but not those damn militant gays. An All-Star Event? After watching the Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway; Oops, I mean the Nextel All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; I was wondering if this was truly an “All-Star” event. My initial reaction was that it more resembled a group of adolescent boys with only one copy of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition than a sport’s “top professionals” displaying their skills. Then I compared it to other professional sports All-Star events. Baseball: Like NASCAR: Fans get a say in who participates Not like NASCAR: Rivals become teammates, player effort is often less than stellar, and fans interest in who wins is minimal Basketball: Like NASCAR: All the big names are there. Not like NASCAR: See baseball, plus throw in accused felons. Football: Like NASCAR: Similar commercial sponsors. Not like NASCAR: See baseball, plus basketball, plus it is after the season when no one cares. Hockey: Like NASCAR: Violent collisions. Not like NASCAR: Hockey is not like anything…who watches this? Wrestlemania: Like NASCAR: Crazy fans buy all the merchandise they can to show their support. Not like NASCAR: Predetermined winner? So lets see, compared to other sports, NASCAR drivers give it everything they have and showcase their individual talent while working within their own team. A Saturday night event with sparks, thrills and spills, precision racing, and a prize worth fighting for…yep, I guess that qualifies as All-Star. Hey Biffle, get over it. The lucky thing for Jack, was that Matt and Mark were inside you two, and you and Kurt didn’t take them out. Maybe you should talk to your teammate. I don’t mean Busch, I mean Martin. Seems to me, Tony Stewart did the same thing to him a few years back at the same event. Okay, so I am getting a bit slow. No article on California and now so late after the Richmond race. Well, let me tell you, I had a great article on the California race. I was just about to finish it when I ran out of gas. But Richmond is different; it’s a night race and was great just for that fact. One thing I have observed from the last two races is that the safer walls are a great addition to NASCAR. Some observations: - Kasey Kahne may need to be reminded that he is yet a rookie. He is building quite a reputation for himself, some good, some not so good. - The number four car is cursed. It appears that Kevin Lepage’s assessment of the team may be on the money. If so, the best thing Jimmy Spencer may be able to do is run away and don’t look back. - If I was in the winner’s circle with Junior, I believe I would rather have Bud poured on me, than have to drink it. - Some drivers switch roles. Robby Gordon will be playing the part of Tony Stewart, IRL and NASCAR. Bobby Labonte will be playing the roll of Kasey Kahne, always the Bridesmaid and never the Bride. Given the extra time, Stewart and Kahne will just run into other racers on the track. Well, that’s about all the time and energy I have right now. I need to get back to my Playstation2 and practice up this weekend. I am having a great deal of trouble coming off turn four at Charlotte…it’s wicked loose, if I don’t have a car inside of me, I often end up in the grass. 04/26/04 A comment from Adam of North Carolina got me thinking. Yes, I know, a monumental feat that must have been...me thinking that is. But maybe, just maybe, I had lost the true joy of stock car racing. In essence, he thought, I was a bit more negative than usual. Well, of course, my first reaction was, if he disagrees with me, he is an idiot. But as I drank more, I thought, “I am going to puke” and then I thought, “Who the heck is Adam?” and then I passed out. When I awoke in the morning, I wished I were dead. When I realized that I had not been a good enough Christian to expect to have my pain ended mercifully, I did find a bottle of cold water. Was this a sign? No, it was a reminder that I still had to go to work. It wasn’t until later that week, when I had achieved a similar level of understanding (aka blood alcohol level), that I gave it any possible idea of having any relevance to this column...being that I had lost what truly made me like NASCAR racing. I think the answer to this issue lies in the answer to the question, “Why do we eat meals?” Am I being sarcastic? Well, believe it or not, not this time. Look at the question again. It is not, “Why do we eat?” We eat to survive. But, why do eat at regular set times, often with the same or similar group. Eating is more of a social event as it is a need for survival. And for me, NASCAR viewing has become a table for one. So, while none of my local family and friends is into NASCAR, I don’t have to pout. With new fangled things like the telephone and Internet, I can reconnect with my NASCAR family. Interestingly, my NASCAR family drinks a lot more than my other “families.” So Adam, while I still cannot concede that you are NOT an idiot, I can thank you for reminding me to look at why I like NASCAR. So now we have Talladega, and a new outlook. Here are my observations: - I can’t remember the last time I saw such skillful driving by so many different drivers. Whether four-wide through the tri-oval or spinning through the infield and not hitting a thing, it was Joey Chitwood quality. - Fans reacted predictably. They paid a great deal of money to see a great race. Yes, they saw a very great race, but beer-guzzling fans didn’t like the way things ended with the yellow finish, nor the Gordon over Earnhardt victory. Am I condoning the fan behavior of littering the track with beer cans as the cars came to the finish? No. Would I have done it? No, not yesterday. But 20 years ago? If it was Miller NO, but somebody else’s Bud, I would have joyfully chucked over the fence. - NASCAR officials did the right thing. Restarting the race with less than five laps to go would have resulted in millions of dollars of damage to already cash strapped teams. Yes, it would have been thrilling to watch. But any driver behind Gordon, Earnhardt and Harvick has a car today thanks to NASCAR’s decision not to go green. - Jeff Gordon is an @ss. He had no business going back out and trying to insight a riot by trying to do burnouts while he kicked the trash back up into the air which made fans throw more out onto the track. Was I disappointed with the finish? During the white flag lap I was. I knew that it would take less than a half lap for Junior to get past Gordon. I knew with his teammate behind him, Mark Martin could have finished better. Then I remembered a time when Mark had a chance to win the Daytona 500 with Jeff Burton behind him. And I remember the horror I felt as I watched Burton help Dale Jarrett win. Then I realized that with Harvick in front of Mark and Burton behind him, I was just happy knowing that Mark would walk away from this race on his own power. So now I have a rosier outlook. Oh yeah, Mark finishing sixth and the Cubs sweeping the Mets doesn’t hurt my mood any either. I am really hungry now, and I don’t mean for food. Comment: 04/26/04 We'll the CUBS sweep was excellent, unbelievible without Prior 12-6 record never would have believed it. The race was even better than its been for awhile. It was time for Gordon to win, should have won the last two weeks. As for doing a burn out and throw the trash back in the stands to the dumb @sses that acted like 2 year olds, hope someone got hit with a can or something else. It was nice to see the Yates-Roush race engines hold up a little better now that Yates is running the show. It had to be hard for Roush to finally admit that Yates engines were better. If he would have admitted that 10 years ago maybe Mark Martin could retire with a cup championship. Have a trashy day! MR. Wright Not Ole Martinsville, Just Old Martinsville Monday April 19, 2004 Honestly, I don’t always mean to be negative in this column. I always intend to be upbeat and offer some comedic angle. Let me start by saying I love short-track racing. I look forward to Bristol and Martinsville more than any other NASCAR races. But, I found it hard to have any positive feelings about this past race at Martinsville. The obvious problem was the track itself. With NASCAR pulling races from older tracks to give new dates to the cookie-cutter tracks, you would have thought that speedway personnel would have made sure the surface of the track was in the best possible condition it could have been. I believe this break in the race was what was needed to “allow cooler headers to prevail.” Unfortunately, as a fan, that is not what I wanted to see. I don’t know about you, but I sure was hoping to see Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch get into a little disagreement on the track. Alas, Mr. Excitement was anything but exciting. Speaking of Kurt Busch, much was made about his teammate, Jeff Burton and his situation at Roush. My thoughts on that issue are if Jeff Burton is unhappy, how happy can Greg Biffle and Mark Martin be? It seems to me that there may be two tiers of racing teams at Roush. Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch get the best teams and equipment to leave the others to claim what is left. Being a Mark Martin fan, I guess it’s just sour grapes. Maybe I’m starting to get it. I may finally understand this “Young Guns” thing. After Rusty’s victory, my initial reactions were, 1) FINALLY, now the media can stop talking about when Rusty will win again, and 2) Ewww, the old men winning just doesn’t have the TV-appeal of the younger winners (and their girlfriends). A Texas Fairytale Monday April 5,2004 Talk about drama, the Nextel Cup race in Texas had it all. The race started out with some subplots to keep the interest of us older fans. (Bill Elliot charging out front and the Fox crew reminding us that Rusty hasn’t won since cars were called horseless carriages) Then a Cinderella story comes bursting to the forefront. (You know, the same Kasey Kahne tale) And just when you think you know how it is going to end, the evil villain jumps out, appears to have the upper hand and it looks like there is no way to defeat him. (Jeff Gordon) But on cue, the wholesome hero prevails. (Well, at least M&Ms are good) Add a motherless princess and you have the makings of the next Disney movie. Some manufacturer notes: - Ford has nothing to complain about this weekend. Chevy dominated the Busch race and a Ford won. Dodge dominated the Nextel race and a Ford won. - Having owned several GM products and never having one that I did not have to replace the alternator, it’s no surprise to me all the trouble they had with the electrical systems on Sunday. Note to Chevy team owners, go to Autozone and get the “gold” lifetime warranty alternators; I have never had any problems with those. OR, I can tell you that I have never had to replace an alternator on any of my Fords. - As for Dodge, Kasey Kahne personifies the Dodge effort this season with the worst good luck or best bad luck you can imagine. Dodge has more than arrived and Kasey has proven himself, hang in there because the victories are not far away. Other notes and observations: Fair time: If the booth wants to go on and on about how pretty Kevin Harvick’s car is, they should also devote some time to how ugly Kenny Schrader’s car is. Yellows: You have heard the announcers say before, “that yellows breed yellows”. I have a new theory and I think the camera people have picked up on it as well. No matter how poorly he is running they often show Mark Martin pitting. That is because nothing brings out a yellow like a Mark Martin green flag pit stop…you watch next race. Freeze the field: I don’t know about this rule of freezing the field when the yellow is called…note that the field is frozen when a NASCAR official calls for the yellow which is often after the incident and before the flag flies. Why don’t they just go back to the line up of the last green lap? It would be easier to figure out and less cars would have been trapped a lap down for pitting. Busch race finishes: Darrell Waltrip keeps saying that he would like to see Green/White/Checkered finishes instead of the red flag to try and insure green flag finishes. This would mean that if a race were 100 laps and the yellow came out on lap 94, instead of red flagging the race for cleanup, the cars would continue to circle under the yellow. Let’s say the clean up took five laps and the cars took the green on lap 99. Instead of it being the green/white on 99 and checkers on lap 100, it would be green on 99, white on 100 and checkers on 101. I agree with Darrell on this one. It just seems too hard and unfair on the cars to shut them completely near the end of the race and expect them to sprint to the end. Well I would like to write more, but I have to go replace the water pump in my GMC…junk! CORRECTION: I now recall replacing the alternator on my Ford Mustang...after it had 230,000 miles on it. | Return Home | Drivers & Owners | Tracks & Schedules | B.A.'s Race Observations | The Garage | About Us | E-mail Us | |
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