Trouble in Turn2

• After taking a day to reflect on the weekend, it’s time to break down Kyle Busch’s triple. As I noted Friday, I don’t think it was very significant to attempt all three races. Other drivers of lesser skill have accomplished the feat on a companion weekend. Robby Gordon has driven in other countries on the weekend of a Cup race. All three of Busch’s rides were guaranteed to make the race. So the difference was obviously the travel. Trips from Pocono to Texas and Nashville are definitely draining, but if anyone is used to a taxing flight schedule it’s a Cup driver.

  What’s most interesting how some have questioned Busch for racing in all three series based on his results. I suspect some of these people would have hailed Busch’s passion or how he’s a “pure racer” had he won one of the races. I think Busch’s wreck in the Pocono race had more to do with a mistake on the part of Busch and his spotter than the effects of a long weekend.

• Speaking of Busch, Bob Margolis (with a hat tip to Doug Demmons) made an interesting note about Busch’s wreck in Cup practice:
  

  After he wrecked his primary car in practice Saturday morning, NASCAR officials and members of Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing team kept both cameras and fellow competitors away from the front end of Busch’s wrecked Camry. Supposedly the JGR guys have a special front-suspension setup that is a big part of why Busch is so fast these days and they didn’t want anyone to spend too much time checking it out.

  Watching the Dover race, it struck me that Tony Stewart was the only car involved in the big wreck that opted for a brand new nose instead of cutting the front off. I remember a race at Richmond in 2005, Jeff Gordon innocuously hit the wall and the shock completely broke. It was apparently an experimental shock, which also came into play later in the year when Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch had their shocks confiscated at Dover. Now read what Busch’s crew chief Steve Addington said about Sunday’s crash at Pocono:
  

  We had to replace all the front lower chassis points and the whole front end. We cut the whole front end off that had the radiator mount and all that in it. Juts replaced the whole front end. The right front lower control arm pivot points had to weld back into the chassis and all.

  I have no idea whether the suspension is the reason for Gibbs’ and Busch’s 2008 success, but it does share some of the traits of the Hendrick package from 2005. I should also stress that I’m not implying it’s an illegal part either. Like coil binding evolved with the old car, Gibbs might have discovered something that simply works better.

• The #88 finally broke through to win a race in 2008. Well it was Brad Keselowski, not Junior, but it was also deserved after several misses.
  

  You know, I knew we could do this but you never really know other than in your heart until you can prove it on the racetrack, and we’ve been so close and it’s seemed like we’ve caught bad breaks and today we caught the right breaks and that’s what we needed. We needed a little bit of luck with a fast racecar, and we had a fast racecar today and, call it a bit of luck.

  [for the entire audio go to Nationwide’s website]

  It’s the breakthrough for Keselowski that could lead to bigger things. Of the eleven drivers that have won their first Busch/Nationwide races in the last four years, only Stephen Leicht and Justin Labonte have not graduated to a fulltime Cup ride.

• Cue the Duck Aflac announced they will sponsor Carl Edwards in 2009. Supplemental insurance is extremely important when you break your neck doing a backflip and can’t work. Is something like that covered? I am already predicting a commercial with Edwards and the duck doing flips after a win. Either that or Edwards can take a fake swing at the duck. As part of the contract, the answer to all Aflac trivia questions is now “Carl Edwards”. The deal is also apparently the second richest sponsorship deal behind Amp and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Of course Earnhardt Jr’s deal with Amp is essentially for co-sponsorship, as the #88 hauls in additional cash from the National Guard.

• Bruton Smith bought another track, this time Kentucky Speedway. It’s a good pickup, but with Tony George owning Indiana Avenue and ISC/France Family owning Illinois Avenue, it will be very hard to get the Red Monopoly and build hotels. Since he already owns North Carolina Ave, I would have made a play for Pennsylvania Ave now and Pacific (Northwest) Ave later.

• Tom Bowles of SI.com has an interesting take on Michael Waltrip Racing.
  

  It’s no secret the driver mortgaged his financial future to move ahead with this program and that he took on an investor (Robert Kauffman) in October to salvage the team’s long-term future. But if all three sponsors bail — this is the final year of NAPA’s agreement with the No. 55 — all the investment money in the world won’t keep this program on track. And with a tough economy making sponsorship difficult, this could be the biggest-level program that winds up biting the dust.

  I guess Napa can only make so many self-deprecating commercials about how bad Waltrip runs. I don’t have the inside scoop that Bowles does, but I was surprised by this. Given SI’s credibility, I have to believe there’s some truth, but my guess is that if MWR can keep all three cars inside the top 35 Waltrip can make it work to stay in business.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr had a few interesting comments on the future of JR Motorsports. He’s considering moving his Nationwide team to Cup in 2009. If NASCAR’s second-tier series is just as costly to operate that’s a serious problem for all parties.

  He also had this to say about Martin Truex Jr:
  

  “Why would he want to come drive for me?” Earnhardt Jr. asked. “He’s in good stuff now and he’s going to have great opportunities from other people. And I would never do that to him.”

  To me, that’s a subtle way of saying DEI should be looking for a driver for 2009. Junior was clear that he wouldn’t hire Truex, but if you look at the link to the story it’s titled “Friends don’t let friends drive junk”. That could be interpreted as not hiring Truex for a startup Cup team, or implying that something is already brewing with another top Cup team.

• Just four races after a crew chief shuffle at Ganassi Racing, there is another one this week. Prior to Talladega Jimmy Elledge moved from the #41 car to Juan Pablo Montoya’s #42 team. Now Elledge has left Ganassi and Montoya is not happy. Elledge is pretty well regarded in Cup and will turn up somewhere if he hasn’t already struck a deal. One place that makes sense is JR Motorsports, since Elledge is Earnhardt Jr’s brother-in-law, although that might be too much family even for JRM.

  Meanwhile Brian Pattie moves from the Ganassi Nationwide team to head up the #42 crew. Montoya has one top ten (2nd at Talladega) while Ganassi as an organization only has two all season. Obviously things are not going well at Acronym Racing (That’s CGRwFS for the uninitiated) and Ganassi has already ripped his organization once this year. Instead of shuffling around internal crew chiefs among the teams, it might be time to look outside the organization for a different perspective.

Off the Beaten Path

A chance for me to discuss whatever else is on my mind this week. Hey, if Peter King can write about his lattes every week…

• I don’t get very political, especially in this space, but it’s inescapable right now. I saw a report that the presidential candidates have raised over $900 million dollars. It’s mind boggling and we’re not even to the official presidential race. Worse, the entire point of donating money to a candidate is for them to burn through it. With so many problems in this country and abroad, imagine how many causes a billion dollars could go to.

• I saw Zodiac last weekend. A pretty good thriller/mystery with a lot of good actors too. It’s based on the true story of the Zodiac serial killer in California and focuses on the investigation. Jake Gyllenhal and Mark Ruffalo are both really good. My one complaint was that the movie ended with a postscript. I have a TV that’s at least ten years old and I couldn’t read what it said. Even if I wanted to throw in a spoiler here, I couldn’t.

• Have a great and safe weekend and be sure to get plenty of rest on Saturday night. We’ll all need it on Sunday afternoon.

Everyone in sports is always looking for the next big thing. The next Michael Jordan is an ongoing NBA quest (remember when Harold Miner was heir to the throne?). Ever since a 23 year old Jeff Gordon took NASCAR by storm, people want to discover the next Wonderboy (remember when Casey Atwood was heir to the throne?). It’s easy to point to Kyle Busch and think that every young driver will be ready to challenge for wins before their 21st birthday, but he is the exception. It took Brian Vickers nearly three full seasons to get his first win and he is still developing consistency as a 24 year old. It’s a myth that all of the young drivers got their Cup starts very early. Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards all excelled immediately at the Cup level, but they were 24, 25 and 24 respectively during their first seasons. The same is true for almost every top driver since 1999. Every driver, except for Kurt and Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya and Brian Vickers, that has won a race and entered Cup since 1999 has been between 24 and 27 years old. That includes Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart Hamlin, Edwards, Kahne and Casey Mears.

Unfortunately many young drivers are getting fewer starts in smaller windows. An influx of veteran drivers from other international racing series also has not helped young drivers find quality rides with adequate seat time. This weekend’s Nationwide race at Nashville represents a rare chance for the youngsters to shine. Last year Stephen Leicht was the youngster to win a race at Kentucky. Can someone follow suit and win a guitar at Nashville? Here’s four youngsters to keep an eye on.

• Brad Coleman With no room in the Joe Gibbs Inn, Coleman jumped at the chance for a full time ride in the #27 car. Coleman is a legitimate talent and Hall of Fame Racing is working on a part time Cup ride later this year.

• Brad Keselowski Of all the young driving prospects, Keselowski is the one in the best position for a breakout win. He has taken advantage of his top notch Jr Motorsports/Hendrick equipment. He nearly won at Las Vegas and has two top tens through five races this year. Keselowski has an 88.8 driver rating and leads the Nationwide series in quality passes. He might not win this weekend, but it’s only a matter of time.

• Colin Braun Bruan is only 19, but has already won races and competed for a title in the Grand Am series. In three truck starts this season, Braun has started no worse than 9th and scored a top ten at Fontana. He needs more time in a stock car, but he is definitely a top long term prospect.

• Steven Wallace: As the son of a NASCAR legend and champion, not to mention already being in his second Busch season, it’s easy to raise expectations. He’s only 20 and has been thrown in the deep end the last two years. He gets a bum rap because of his appetite for destruction (4 DNF’s due to wrecks in ‘07), but lots of young drivers crash a lot. The fact is he has already won an ARCA race and one of the country’s bigger short track races, the Snowball Derby. The other thing to consider is that RWI has not won a Busch race since 2004. Not every driver will breeze through the ranks like Kyle Busch. It is time for at least one top ten finish, though.

So tell me who you’re keeping an eye on? What traits do you look for in a young driver to indicate success?

With so many changes in the NASCAR world in recent years, it’s easy to assume all the changes are for the worst. When Nationwide was announced as the new title sponsor of NASCAR’s second tier series, it was met by many fans with a suspicious squint. It didn’t help matters when they asked fellow car insurer Geico to leave the sport within two years. But that doesn’t mean that Nationwide was not a good move for NASCAR and their second tier series. Last week as part of the NASCAR Sprint Series Media Tour, Nationwide hosted a breakfast to
announce several new initiatives for the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series. John Aman, strategic sponsorship officer for Nationwide gave some insight into the sponsor’s plans for the series.

On emerging from Anheuser-Busch’s shadow:

We know that out of habit, it will be easy to refer to the series by its
former name. Nationwide will be placing “name jars” at tracks, shops and
other sites across the NASCAR community. Throughout the 2008 season,
we’re asking folks to drop a dollar into the jar every time they let the
old name slip. At the end of the season we’ll match the money collected
and donate it to the NASCAR Foundation. We know we’re the new kid on the
block, but we hope this will serve as a friendly reminder that the
Nationwide Insurance is the new sponsor of the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Too often NASCAR is slow to acknowledge the obvious. The fact that Nationwide enters the sport with the realization that it will take time to convince fans and forge their own identity is a good start. The company is essentially saying, “We’re not Busch, we won’t try to be Busch, but stick around because we have some stuff to offer that Busch never did (more on this later). Taking a humorous approach via the swear jars is different, bold and a good way to announce the new sponsor. Having the proceeds go to charity is also an easy way into a skeptical NASCAR fan’s heart.

Another tack the company is taking is partnering on a new fantasy game:

The Up to Speed Challenge is going to be a lot of fun for fans
because it will provide a chance to experience NASCAR Nationwide Series
racing action like never before. Each week fans can log on to ESPN.com
to pick winning drivers in a series of “speed” categories. Throughout
the season they will have a chance to earn points for a chance to win
some truly incredible prizes.

One fan with the highest point total at the end of the season will win a
$100,000 grand prize. Weekly winners will get some of the best seats at
the track or autographed merchandise.

Fans should plan on logging onto ESPN.com before Daytona to test their
smarts and get “Up to Speed” on their favorite NASCAR Nationwide Series
drivers throughout the season. Additional details and complete official
rules will be available soon at ESPN.com.

Fantasy sports are huge. It has the power to pull in occasional viewers, familiarize them with the sport and convert them to regular fans. One of the knocks on the series lately has been the lack of identifiable stars that are not Cup regulars. With a fantasy game devoted to the series, the door is now open for Cup fans to learn more about drivers like Marcos Ambrose, Brad Coleman or Stephen Wallace.

Perhaps the biggest reason that Nationwide will improve the series is with the checkbook:

We’re also very pleased to announce that in 2008,
Nationwide will make the largest sponsor contribution in series history
to the NASCAR Nationwide Series points fund. We hope this will increase
the level of competition and provide additional resources for NASCAR
Nationwide Series teams.

This is where the biggest change sits. Annheuser-Busch paid a fraction of the cost to be the title sponsor of the Grand National series. That’s good for their exposure, but not for the teams that spend millions getting their cars to the tracks each week only to see a pittance of the money that the Cup race makes. More money in the series means more teams will hopefully see a financial benefit to participating in the series. It may take a few years, but in the long term that means more teams, greater resources and ideally better drivers and tougher competition. And that’s all race fans truly want to see anyway. Now all we have to do is think of a good nickname for the Cup drivers that race in the Nationwide series…

Thanks to Rachelle Lacroix for passing this release along on behalf of Nationwide.