Trouble in Turn2

One of the first topics to come up when a Cup race at Michigan is mentioned is fuel mileage. That is something that usually sets Michigan apart, but this year has already featured four such finishes including the June Michigan race. What is it about Michigan that lends itself to fuel mileage races? I suspect it has to do with a lack of cautions thanks to a wider racing surface plus the ability to pass without incident. It doesn’t explain everything, but it will be a factor come Sunday.

What Happened Last Year

Rain happened. A lot of rain that delayed the race for two days. When the track finally dried on Tuesday morning Kurt Busch was the dominant car, leading 92 laps and winning his second race in three weeks. To be honest, it was a rather uneventful race which seems to fit the mold of rain delayed races. Everyone usually wants to get it over with, pack up and go home.

Notes

• Only 44 cars are on the Michigan entry list. Quick quiz: When was the last time a race only had 43 cars entered? Hint: It’s probably more recent than you think. Last year’s Daytona 500 featured a 61 car entry list. Now the number of willing participants has dwindled to 44. Granted Michigan is longer trip from Charlotte, but the bottom rung teams are really struggling to afford cars each week. [2004 at Rockingham was the last Cup race to feature only 43 entrants, while the 2002 Loudon race was the last with a short field].

• Tony Stewart is entered in this weekend’s Nationwide race and he will sport a special paint scheme publicizing the “Give the Kids the Wolrd view-A-Thon”.
  

  the #20 Old Spice Car will have a new look as it races to help special children from around the world. Give Kids The World, the nonprofit organization that provides week-long, cost-free vacations to Central Florida for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, will be honored with its very own “Give Kids The World Village” design. The brightly colored car was designed by Wish child Emily Marsala and will be driven by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tony Stewart.

  In celebration of this unique partnership, Give Kids The World is encouraging NASCAR fans everywhere to participate in a View-A-Thon to help us raise $25,000, or $100 for every mile of the race.

  

• Brad Coleman will make his Cup debut on Sunday, when he takes the wheel for Hall of Fame Racing’s #96 car. Coleman is only 20 and is a legitimate prospect. He will need to qualify on time, but given his solid Busch/Nationwide qualifying record (16.7 avg start) he shouldn’t have a problem. It will be interesting to see whether he can improve on JJ Yeley’s numbers for 2008. While Yeley definitely struggled this year, I don’t think it was all his fault. The team could probably use some veteran feedback to set a workable baseline. You know, someone like Mike Skinner. Unfortunately for HoF Racing, Toyota’s official/unofficial consultant is already booked this weekend for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Champs, Chumps and Sleepers

Champ: David Ragan Ragan is inching closer to winning and there won’t be a better chance than at the track that Roush owns (not in the literal sense like Roger Penske formerly did, but in the Jimmie Johnson, My House! sense).

Chump: Kyle Busch Yeah I said it! He wasn’t great at Indy and was decent at Pocono. I think he’s due for a crash this weekend.

Sleeper: Mark Martin Martin is phenomenal at Michigan: 4 wins, 16 top 5’s and 27 top 10’s. He also has an 81.3 driver rating in the past seven events and that includes two cool Batman paint schemes.

Who Will Win?

Matt Kenseth. I don’t need to explain why. He’s due, he’s good at Michigan and Roush cars always win at least once at Michigan. Plus I want to see more robot commercials.

[Note: Blogging is a great thing. It allows for freedom and flexibility. These things only apply with the help of a computer, which in my case went AWOL Sunday night. My apologies.]

All right people, move along. Kyle Busch won another Cup race. Nothing to see here.

After Dale Earnhardt Jr passed Busch on the second lap of the race it looked like Busch would be relegated to a middling finish. Instead Busch got off sequence with most of the leaders, pitted earlier and suddenly grabbed the lead and his sequence won out. Given the fact that Busch was joined by his Gibbs Racing teammates, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, on the early pit stop makes you wonder if it was all planned to sandbag the first 15-20 laps.

While some are noting that Busch is closing in on the #1 seed in the Chase, he has already clinched it. Carl Edwards could match his 8 wins, but because of the penalty at Las Vegas he can’t match Busch’s 80 bonus points. The other thing to take away from Watkins Glen is that aside from Busch’s 10 bonus points, the race has zero bearing on what will transpire during the Chase. There are no road races during the Chase, so teams can’t really apply anything they learned on Sunday. Plus the concept of momentum is as effective as the rabbit’s foot on Bobby Labonte’s keychain (seriously, I can’t name a driver that gets caught up in more bad wrecks than Labonte).

While the race won’t have a bearing on the Chase, it did highlight how off Jeff Gordon and Steve Letarte have been at times this year. They’ve struggled at other tracks this year, most notably at certain intermediate speedways, but Gordon is one of the elite road course racers. To struggle at Watkins Glen, especially when teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson ran well, was shocking. While Letarte won’t have to set up another road car, the fact that they missed a fundamental chance for a good day is noteworthy in the Chase.

Hello, my name is Glen. I’m from upstate New York. I throw a party once a year and invite all of my friends to come and hang out for the weekend. My political views are pretty balanced, sometimes I go to the left, other times I lean to the right. Not everyone is used to this balanced path and sometimes it can be frustrating for my friends with less experience at my parties. Alright, I admit it used to be fun playing tricks on these people and watching them spin and get caught in the quicksand, but I’ve matured in recent years. No more sand traps or food poisoning (sorry Tony), only good times and clean fun. Remember 2006? Both the Busch and Cup races featured fierce battles for the lead in the closing laps. So you’re all invited to join the party and hang out this weekend.

What Happened Last Year

Jeff Gordon had the dominant car and with 2 laps left he was apparently already dreaming of his Victory Lane kiss from Ingrid when he went wide on a turn allowing Tony Stewart to squeeze by for the win. Gordon wound up 9th. Of course no one cared about that on Monday morning because Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya rubbed each other’s faces after a wreck. Harvick was mad at Montoya for starting a wreck. Montoya was mad because it wasn’t his fault. So they both decided to engage in some quasi-fisticuffs.

Champs, Chumps and Sleepers

Champs: Ryan Newman Newman has three top tens in six tries. He is still a very good road course racer and won the 2005 Busch race. It might be a small stretch for a Champ pick, but this week’s options are limited.

Chumps: Clint Bowyer It’s not that Bowyer is a bad road racer, he has a 15.0 average finish at The Glen. It’s just that nearly every other top 12 driver is capable of a lot more.

Sleepers: Marcos Ambrose Kangaroo Meat is fast on road courses. The next step is showing he can avoid the ire of other top drivers and can finish the race in one piece.

Who Will Win?

Jeff Gordon is going to finish the job this year. His record on road courses one of the best in Cup history. And he won’t slip up at the end of the race this time.

Until last year the second Pocono race fell prior to the Brickyard 400. Under that arrangement we all believed that Pocono served as a tuneup for the Brickyard. We could catch a glimpse of who might run well at one of NASCAR’s elite events. Nevermind the fact that only two drivers, Jeff Gordon (’98) and Bill Elliott (’02) have won a Pocono race and the Brickyard 400 in the same season. We wanted to believe that the second Pocono had a place of meaning on the schedule. Now it’s the week after the Brickyard, granting it slightly more importance than the Pro Bowl in relation to the Super Bowl. It’s a points paying race, but boy is it hard for a fan to get excited about it. The one advantage Pocono does have is that it promises to be feature the longest green flag runs in three weeks and tires shouldn’t be an issue. I realize I’m hard on Pocono, but I also admit I will watch with the same weekly interest and the hope for a good race. The spring race was one of the more exciting Pocono finishes in recent years in fact.

What Happened Last Year

Dale Earnhardt Jr won his first Cup pole since 2002 but couldn’t hold back Kurt Busch. Busch led 175 of 200 laps and cruised to an easy victory. The race paralleled the points battle between the two drivers that also saw Busch eclipse Earnhardt Jr for 12th place and the final Chase spot. The race was also notable for the absence of Robby Gordon. He was busy sitting in a corner on timeout thanks to his antics at the Montreal Busch race the day before.

Notes

AJ Allmendinger and Red Bull Racing are only one or two solid runs from cracking the top 35 in owner points. Allmendinger failed to qualify for the first two races of the season and was then replaced by Mike Skinner for the next six. After returning to the car at Talladega, Allmendinger has run very well and only sits 63 points shy of 35th place Scott Riggs.

Chad McCumbee will drive the #45 for Petty Enterprises this weekend. McCumbee has failed to qualify at Texas and Dover, but did finish 25th in a Pocono race last year while subbing for Kyle Petty. Petty will return to the car next week at Watkins Glen. It doesn’t look like Petty Enterprises is in a huge rush to get Petty back in the seat which is the strongest signal yet that Petty is nearing retirement. Whether it’s Kyle Petty’s decision or not, more time out of the car will allow him to devote more time and energy to greater things like the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Petty definitely has some very personal reasons for remaining behind the wheel of the #45 and if it NASCAR rides were based on merit over performance Petty would have a ride for life.

5 Drivers Who Like Pocono

Jimmie Johnson has two wins in 13 starts. He only has one finish worse than 15th in his career which includes 4 top 5’s and 8 top 10’s. Johnson has run well all summer and more wins should follow his Indy triumph (please don’t call it momentum).

Kurt Busch has seven top fives including 2 wins and four 2nd place finishes.

Denny Hamlin won his first two times at Pocono in 2006. Since then he has never finished worse than 6th and has led 300 laps in only five starts.

Tony Stewart owns the third best driver rating(102.2) over the last seven Pocono events. He led 14 laps at the June race and appeared set for a top 5 run but was caught speeding on pit row, pinning him a lap down and relegated to 35th.

Ryan Newman has won the pole twice, the race once and has five other top 5’s. His 13.9 average finish is also above average.

Champs, Chumps and Sleepers

Champ: Kurt Busch See above. No matter what the rest of Busch’s season looks like (and right now it looks bleak), he always finds a way to run well at the Triangle of Tedium.

Chump: Clint Bowyer Bowyer hasn’t run well at speedways all season and that trend will likely continue at Pocono.

Sleeper: AJ Allmendinger: Check out his recent speedway driver ratings: Pocono I(95.2), Michigan (79.7), Chicago (83.2), Indy (98.4). That’s a driver ready for some top ten finishes.

Check out One Bad Wheel for more Fantasy news and info on Sleepers.

Who Will Stay Awake Win?

Before I get to this week’s pick, it’s important to remind everyone of the cardinal rule of Fantasy sports: Don’t Outsmart Yourself. Over the past few weeks I have grown tired of choosing Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson to win races each week. So this past week for the Brickyard I decided to tab a darkhorse, Brian Vickers to win. Vickers finished 42nd with an engine failure. While Vickers has certainly impressed this year and is a front runner on speedways, Red Bull Racing isn’t quite ready for prime time and it cost me.

That means this week I’m sticking my hand back into the heavy favorites hat and pulling out a name.

In five races Denny Hamlin has a 130.4 driver rating. That is not the result of one fast car or lucking out. Denny Hamlin is simply awesome at Pocono. After a pit road mistake cost him the race at Indy, you can be sure that was a point of emphasis at the Gibbs shop this week.

It’s Indy time for the Cup guys. That means speeds over 200 mph, a huge purse (last year was over $8 million) and tight racing. With not a lot of room to pass in the corners, horsepower on the straightaways is a driver’s best friend. Dale Earnhardt Jr participated in the recent Goodyear tire test and he also quelled concern about tires.

Tire wear was a big issue. When we first started out, you recall last year and in years past, when we first get there, we go to the cords in about five laps. It takes the whole weekend to build the rubber up on the track before that goes away. We did that again, and we found a tire that will work with another tire that lasted quite a bit longer and ran just as quick.

Because Indianapolis is such a large track, tires can wear out quickly. It’s compounded by the fact that the Trucks and Nationwide cars don’t see the track. That also minimizes the amount of rubber buildup. The fact that Earnhardt is happy with the durability and quality of the tire is a good thing for the level of racing and safety.

What Happened Last Year

Dale Earnhardt Jr dominated the early stages of the race but blew an engine. It was one of three engine failures in the final seven races before the Chase, completely souring his chances to make the Chase or win a race. Tony Stewart took advantage and went on to cruise to an easy win. The win also produced two of the more memorable quotes from Stewart. While closing in on Kevin Harvick, Stewart casually uttered “Here kitty kitty” over the team radio. Then after his win he swore in Victory Lane on live TV. In a post Janet Jackson-FCC crackdown society, Stewart was fined. It didn’t help that it was ESPN’s first broadcast of their new television deal.

Notes

• In the short history at the Brickyard Jeff Gordon owns almost all of the records. 4 wins, 11 top 10’s, 433 laps led, and three poles are all tops.

• In 9 Indy starts Dave Blaney has never led a lap. Every driver with more than 4 starts has led at least one lap.

• Chevy has won the last five races and nine of 14 overall at Indianapolis. Dodge and Pontiac have one win each while Ford has three, although none since 1999. Toyota is tied with Oldsmobile and Scion at zero.

• James at One Bad Wheel has an interesting article on the history of victory lane celebrations. Todd Parrott is credited with starting the brick kissing tradition in 1996. It’s interesting to see how different traditions start and what makes one action stick while others are considered lame? Kissing bricks, climbing fences and drinking milk. They all make perfect sense. In a way it’s like nicknaming yourself. You can’t try too hard and make it intentional or it looks desperate. His article also reminded me of the time in 2005 when Kurt Busch won the fall Richmond race and kissed the asphalt. No one has done it since, thankfully.

• Bill Elliott will attempt to make his 15th Brickyard race. While he is no longer a threat to win races, Elliott can still get it done at select tracks. He has never finished worse than 23rd at Indy and has 5 top 5’s and 9 top 10’s in his career. That includes his 2002 win where he led 93 laps.

Champs, Chumps and Sleepers

Champ: David Ragan Ragan is becoming a serious threat on intermediate tracks. Last year he relied on attrition to score a decent finish. This year he is running in the top 10 and top 15 for the bulk of races.

Champs, Chumps and Sleepers

Chump: Carl Edwards Sure Edwards can win at any track, but so far in his career Indy hasn’t agreed with him. A ninth place finish in 2006 is sandwiched by two mediocre finishes (12th, 18th) with bad driver ratings (69.6 and 67.1).

Sleeper: Mark Martin Martin stayed in the top 5 almost all day at Pocono and has already said he can win at Indy. He is not one to exaggerate.

Who Will Get to 1st Base with the Bricks?

Tony Stewart will surely be a popular choice along with his teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Kasey Kahne has been very good on speedways this summer and Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr could also show up in strength. Kevin Harvick is also one to watch (no matter what loser bloggers might say about his season, he comes good at Indy). Maybe I’m bored of picking the same four or five drivers each week, but I’m going deeper for my pick this week. Over the last two months
Brian Vickers has quietly ran with the leaders on a weekly basis. His driver rating over the last 8 races is a very neat 92.2. He was the fastest car at Michigan and one of the fastest at Lowe’s, Dover and Pocono. He is ready to win and it will be surprising if he doesn’t have a win by the time the Chase rolls around. Win number one for Red Bull Racing might come this weekend.

Someone is about to go for a parachute ride. Based on recent history, it’s inevitable that one and maybe two teams sitting on the good side of the points will tumble between now and September. Since the Chase was created in 2004, at least one driver each season has lost altitude and fallen from a Chase position. With only seven races before the Dirty Dozen are chosen for NASCAR’s playoffs, the pack is tight for the final few spots. In recent years drivers like Bobby Labonte, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Greg Biffle have all seen the bottom fall out. A season filled with the hope of a late season run at a championship suddenly squashed by late season problems.

Of course, for every driver that experiences a late summer slide there is another driver ready to swoop for their Chase spot. Just ask Jeremy Mayfield, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin or Kurt Busch how that feels. One of the keys to making the Chase was winning. Four of these six drivers were propelled to the Chase on the strength of a win. Mayfield’s was the most dramatic. He won the Richmond race to crack the Chase field on the final night. While all wins aren’t as dramatic as Mayfield’s, they all count equally.

This year will again feature some nail biting for some teams as the races count down. 199 points separate 6th place Jeff Gordon from 15th place David Ragan. Ragan is also only 98 points from 12th place Denny Hamlin. A lot can, and will, happen in the next seven races.

Aside from obviously winning a race or scoring six or seven top tens, the biggest key is to avoid awful finishes. Last year Dale Earnhardt Jr had three top fives in the seven races prior to the Chase. Unfortunately he also had three engine failures that resulted in three 30+ finishes. It also didn’t help that his nearest competitor Kurt Busch won two races in the same span.

While some things like engine failures are out of a driver’s control, driver’s still must do everything they can in these seven races to minimize bad finishes. Allowing a rival to pass is worth losing 3-5 points instead of wrecking and losing 50 or more. Maximizing finishes is especially true when looking at the schedule, which is pretty diverse over the next month and a half. Two things that a driver and team must have are a good speedway car and patience. Speedways like Indianapolis, Pocono, Michigan and California are alternated with tricky short tracks like Bristol and Richmond plus the Watkins Glen road course. If a driver doesn’t fare well on road courses or a short track, they must avoid overdriving and making a costly mistake. If their car isn’t handling well, then they have to start considering gambling on pit strategy or fuel mileage.

At this point it’s hard to imagine a team discovering a new trick or making a large advancement that will help over the next seven weeks. For the most part what you’ve seen so far this year is what you can expect from the teams and drivers. With that in mind here’s one way to try and predict who will sneak in to the ball and who will turn into a pumpkin after Richmond. I’m using driver rating to predict future performance. I realize it’s not perfect, but it’s a decent way of telling who is over- and underperforming in relation to their point standings this year.

Of the nine drivers in the gray area (Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson are safe), drivers with the best driver ratings are Jeff Gordon (5th overall, 95.2), Tony Stewart (6th, 94.9), Denny Hamlin (7th, 93.1), Greg Biffle (8th, 89.7), Kevin Harvick (10th, 88.1) and Matt Kenseth (87.3, 11th). Based on their driver ratings compared (which I mentioned earlier in the season) to their point standing Gordon, Stewart and Hamlin are also driving better than they have actually finished. While this doesn’t always translate into improved finishes, it’s a lot easier to take a fast car and finish well than to take a slower car and hope you can outlast enough people for a strong finish. For Gordon, Stewart and Hamlin it’s also a good sign that they have teammates that are running really well every week. That also tells me that they are capable of not only finishing well, but could win a race. Matt Kenseth, despite a miserable start to his season, also falls in the category of a driver capable of winning a race, based on his last nine starts (eight top tens).

Meanwhile drivers like Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick have finished decently but their driver ratings aren’t as stellar. Despite a 3rd place finish last weekend at Chicago, Kevin Harvick has been very anonymous this year. Because Pocono, Michigan and California are unreliable for Harvick, he can’t afford bad finishes at the tracks where he is usually strong at like Indianapolis, Bristol and Richmond. The same goes for Bowyer who despite his win at Richmond has been more of a compiler than a front runner this year.

A little further back is Brian Vickers. He is the one person that is a wild card. He has been incredibly good on speedways and has a realistic chance to win at Indy, Pocono or Michigan. Unfortunately with Red Bull Racing still new to NASCAR, mistakes and letdowns are always lurking on the #83 team. The other issue is Vickers record at Bristol, Watkins Glen and Richmond. He has a combined 2 top tens in 20 starts at the three tracks. If he can mitigate the damage at these tracks with top 15’s or better, he has the speed on the downforce tracks to put a scare into the RCR cars for a spot in the Chase.

So you tell me, who will make it? Who will get tossed to the side? Who will have heartburn for the next seven weeks?

Be sure to check out Racing Nation for more racing news.

It’s been a few weeks since I have done a roundup of the news stories in NASCAR. Apoligies for some of these nuggets being a little old, but it’s a slow news week anyway.

• DEI is reportedly looking for an investor. Apparently after saying no thanks to Dale Earnhardt Jr, Teresa Earnhardt is now looking for an investor in the company. It’s a sign of the times with more and more teams seeking additional capital to combat rising operating costs. It also makes you wonder whether the acquisition of Ginn Racing last year was a wise move. The good news is that I forwarded an email from a Nigerian friend to Teresa that should take care of the companies money worries.

• JJ Yeley and the #96 ran into some trouble last weekend for exchanging water bottles prior to the race. If there is one thing that is detrimental to stock car racing I would point my finger directly at water bottle infractions. It’s gone on for too long. Apparently there was some question about whether the team was attempting some funny business with weight in the water bottle during the inspection process. Filling the water bottle with something heavy during inspection and then swapping it out with a lighter material would allow the car to go faster. Instead of running in the 30’s like normal, they figured they could at least run 24th.

• Earlier this week Ryan Newman notified his boss, Roger Penske, that he would not be back next year. According to reports, Newman began his speech very well. His first sentence was fast, concise and well delivered. Unfortunately he meandered after the first sentence and it caused the entire speech to be less than impressive.

  Newman will be a free agent, for about a week. Then he will likely announce he is joining Stewart-Haas. Lost in some of the talk about how Stewart will do without Greg Zipadelli is that Haas does have a few good crew chiefs in house. Bootie Barker and Matt Borland are both good crew chiefs with engineering backgrounds. It was with Borland that Newman won 13 of his 14 career races. Barker is also a highly regarded crew chief in the garage and while Stewart will probably hire someone else for his team, Barker is far from the worst Plan B.

• GM is reining back their manufacturer support of NASCAR teams as part of a plan to cut $10 billion in spending for the company. It’s not surprising and is simple economics. Sadly some yahoos fans will still blame Toyota for running domestic manufacturers from the sport. Toyota shouldn’t apologize for being profitable, and if they decide to spend their money in NASCAR when others can’t afford to, that too is their prerogative. While the announcement is bad news, it will not signal the demise of Chevy in the sport.

• The weekly Nationwide recap finds Kyle Busch living a charmed life as he discusses the Gibbs domination of the series:
  

  It’s everything, you know, you can make an engine look exceptional if you’ve got a car that goes through the corner as well as it does, and I blew by a lot of guys in the corners, not necessarily just down the straightaway tonight. So you know we’ve got good bodies, we’ve got great chassis, and you know we’ve got front-end stuff that’s working well, we’ve got rear-end springs and stuff that just works and track bar height – mean it’s everything, it’s a whole package, and that’s what you’ve got to have in these series in order to run well. You’ve gotta have the whole package.

  You can listen to audio of this interview plus Denny Hamlin at Nationwide’s website.

• This week Jay Busbee at Yahoo (which is very different than a lowercase yahoo) breached the subject of racism in NASCAR. It was a very interesting, and thoughtful dialog on a sensitive subject in the sport. NASCAR sometimes gets a reputation for being a redneck sport, and while progress has been made, things like the Mauricia Grant litigation took over. I’m no historian, but didn’t the pilgrims flee the tyranny in England in search of a land where they could play Whiffle ball in peace?

• I try my best to avoid political discussion on this blog, but sometimes I see something that is just too much. John McCain sounds like a decent guy with some good ideas, but I’m not sure about him anymore:
  

  At a press availability today, John McCain expressed concern about relations between Russia and a country that hasn’t existed for quite some time. According to a rough pool report transcript, he said:

  “I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech’s agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern.”

  Czechoslovakia, of course, split into two separate countries in 1993.

  As someone that takes a great deal of unnecessary pride in being 25% Czech, John McCain is officially on notice. Maruskas everywhere are not amused.

• If you’re looking for some good summer music off the beaten path, check out Iron & Wine. He has a (very) mellow, acoustic sound with a Southern flavor.

Enjoy the weekend. Remember, there is no race on Sunday so go play outside. Or see the Dark Knight, which could be the best movie of the summer. Me, I’m going to skip my Sunday afternoon nap. That way I can double-up in two weeks for the Pocono race. Whatever you do, have a good weekend.

One of the most exciting parts of sports for me is the transactions and seeing how teams are built. I love drafts, hot stove leagues and trade deadlines. Obviously NASCAR is different since there is no salary cap, anyone can start a team, the draft is only relevant if you have a restrictor plate, and the only high profile commodities are the drivers and crew chiefs. What if there was a trade deadline prior to say the Brickyard 400? Imagine if drivers had no ties to ownership and their contracts were something that actually locked them into a team (let’s face it, it’s easier for a driver to get out of their contract than to escape their Nationwide cars in a bad crash)? It’s impossible for it to truly work, but indulge me for a minute. Pretend that a team could trade drivers and crew chiefs to fill other needs on their teams. For example: Instead of Mark Martin leaving DEI for nothing, Hendrick would have to pay compensation. DEI needs another driver, so maybe Hendrick exchanges Casey Mears and a chassis to be named later for the rights to Martin.

While other sports worry about salary caps or draft picks, NASCAR teams might use sponsorship logos as currency. Occasionally there is talk about franchising the teams in NASCAR, but I’m not waiting for that to happen. I’ve decided to assume they already are. Now that that’s done, here’s a few deals that I could see happening before this year’s trade deadline.

• In a blockbuster, Joe Gibbs Racing trades Tony Stewart to Haas-CNC in exchange for the monster of all wind tunnels. A $40 million rolling wind tunnel, the only one of its kind.

• An unhappy star driver with little chance of making the Chase is a perfect candidate to be dealt. Instead of keeping him there, trade him away for some young prospects. (Maybe that driver’s name rhymes Pawn Jablo Zontoya). Richard Childress Racing needs a skilled veteran driver to pilot their new fourth team for 2009. They might be willing to trade away Scott Wimmer, and crew chief Todd Berrier in exchange for Zontoya’s rights.

• In a mid-summer push to make the Chase and get Brian Vickers to Victory Lane, Red Bull Racing trades development driver Scott Speed and some Red Bull sponsor logos to Yates Racing in exchange for crew chief Todd Parrott.

• BAM Racing deals Ken Schrader to Furniture Row Racing for Joe Nemechek. The deal also apparently involved a swap of antique deck chairs believed to be on the Titanic.

• Jack Roush trades Jamie McMurray to Michael Waltrip Racing in exchange for an undisclosed chassis part. On the surface the trade looks very lopsided and despite no comment from Roush, he was seen in the garage with a large smile.

• With the #96 team outside the top 35, they acquire Ryan Newman and his qualifying prowess. Newman was set to leave Penske Racing for free agency after the season so the team cashed in at the trade deadline. JJ Yeley is sent the other way with Penske planning to field him in an IRL car.

• Owner Robby Gordon trades driver Robby Gordon and his offroad truck to Petty Enterprises in exchange for Bobby Labonte. Gordon the owner thought that the clam Labonte would take better care of his equipment and take Robby Gordon Motorsports to the next level. The move allows the Pettys to double the number of races where they’re competitive to two. Plus the offroad truck will be a big hit at the Victory Junction Gang camp.

What other trades could you see happening or want to see happen? Who should be traded? [note:posts don’t get published when you forget to hit “publish”.]

In the last four races dating back to Sonoma we have seen Kyle Busch in a nutshell. He has won three races at three completely different tracks and also thrown in a nice scuffle at Loudon for good measure. Since his crash at Pocono (and the accompanying nonsense about his lack of focus) he has seen his lead grow from 21 points to 262. If the Chase started today he would have a 50 point lead over Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne.

After Kyle Busch’s first win of the season at Atlanta, I compared his fourth Cup season (at age 23) to that of Jeff Gordon’s 1995 season. In that season, Gordon’s 3rd in Cup (age 23), he won 7 races, had 17 top 5’s and 23 top 10’s, and won his first of four championships. At the time it seemed like a fair comparison. Through three years, Busch’s numbers were very similar to Gordon’s at the same age. Of course, thanks to Busch’s last four races, he is on a completely different plane. Busch is beginning to look like the Jeff Gordon of 1996-1998 when he won 10, 10 and 13 races respectively.

It’s undeniable that Busch is having a great season, but let’s hold off with the “Legendary” labels for now. The 2007 New England Patriots could speak intelligently on the subject. While some fans still feel the Chase is contrived, it’s one more challenge that Busch and any other driver has conquer. Of course Busch is doing everything he can in the regular season to gain the NASCAR equivalent of home field advantage throughout the playoffs by racing up as many bonus points as possible. Even if his 50 point lead holds up or grows, he will still face serious competition during the final ten races. Remember, 50 points is the difference between 1st and 8th place. Carl Edwards is stout on the 1.5 mile intermediate tracks that litter the Chase schedule. Dale Earnhardt has run in the top 5 for the entire season and Jimmie Johnson is quietly rounding into to form (he will win at least one to two more races before the Chase starts). Even teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin have the tools to challenge Busch for the title during the final stretch. Go ahead and pile the compliments on Kyle Busch’s plate right now, he’s had a dream season to this point. But be careful to assume that Busch will win continue winning races at this pace or that the Chase is only a formality.

• Last week I questioned the need for more night races, but Chicago was a good show. It was a lot tougher to pass at Chicago than some of the similar tracks earlier this year and drivers really had to work for several laps to set up passes. Whether that is from the cooler night temperatures, Goodyear’s improved tires, the quality of the Chicago or a combination of factors, it was a good race to watch. The incredible sunset was a nice touch too.

• Speaking of tough to pass, is there a driver that is tougher to pass than Matt Kenseth? He is so adept at finding the line where another driver wants to be and making it really difficult for other drivers. It’s nothing illegal or cheap but it’s his signature move. Other drivers try it, but no one is able to hold on for so many laps with an inferior car to the one attempting to pass.

• TNT took a commercial break while the race was under green with 17 laps left. In a race that featured a lot of tight racing and had just featured a late pass for the lead, TNT should have stayed with the final 20 laps until either the finish or a caution flag. I realize how difficult it is to time commercials and balance the coverage with paying bills, but it seemed like a poor decision. What happens if Johnson cuts a tire, or Kyle Busch wrecks trying to run Johnson down? It created a situation where a race-altering move could have been missed in the final laps of the race.

• Kevin Harvick scored his first top 5 since Richmond nine races ago. The 3rd place finish allowed him to jump 4 spots in the standings to 9th. Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer’s tailspin continued. After his win at Richmond, Bowyer sat in 4th place in the points and had scored 7 straight top tens. He now sits in 13th and only has two top tens in the last nine. The reason for Bowyer’s slide? In the first quarter of the season he ran in the top ten and top 15 avoided trouble to maximize his finishes. Now Bowyer is still running in the top 15 but has not been able to improve his position. His driver rating (79.7) is 17th best. If Bowyer hopes to make the Chase, that number will have to improve.

• Barring major catastrophe the top 5 drivers are pretty well locked into the Chase. Starting with Jeff Gordon in 6th place and back to 15th place David Ragan, there is only a 200 point gap. A lot could happen between now and Richmond to shuffle the bottom half of the Chase field.

For more NASCAR opinion plus other major racing series, check out Racing Nation.

We’re in a recession. Everyone’s felling it and it’s not very funny. But what’s the point if you can’t at least try and laugh about it.

1. The Labor Day race at Fontana will be moved to LA and filmed in front of a green screen. (note: I’ve seen the script and you won’t believe what happens to Kirk Shelmerdine!)

2. Fans at Talladega cease throwing bottles and cans at Jeff Gordon in order to collect the deposit.

3. Pocono sets up a tollbooth at the start of the Long Pond straightaway.

4. With DEI exceeding their budget for tires, crew chief Bono Manion tells Martin Truex to stay out…the entire race.

5. In addition to their necks, fans are now seeing red on their bank statements.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr collectors only buy nine diecast cars this year instead of the normal eleven.

7. The pace car becomes a Toyota Prius. Pace car driver Brett Bodine is replaced by a remote control operated by a 12 year old.

8. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart can’t even buy a win.

9. After the prerace invocation, Mike Helton tries to pass offering plates around the pit area.

10. In an effort to save fuel the #18 pit crew will push Kyle Busch’s car during all burnouts.

11. Bloggers can’t even afford to complete their top ten lists.

Enjoy your weekend and may Saturday’s race be a nice diversion from reality.