Kurt Busch Is Ready To Win Another Championship
Kurt Busch will be a 2x NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion; it’s simply a matter of when it will happen. Although he and Furniture Row Racing are fast this year, I doubt his second championship will come in 2013 but I will be very surprised if they don’t make the chase and win at least one race. Kurt has matured so much as a driver in the last year and has shocked me with his abrupt attitude change. Yes, he will still get animated inside the racecar but if you listened to every driver’s scanner, they all do at some point. After every race, he gives a positive interview no matter what and tempers his emotions which we’ve never seen him do in the past.
At Richmond, he was guaranteed a top three finish until a late race caution jumbled up the running order and he ended up 9th. On the final lap, Kenseth knocked him out of the way costing him a couple more positions and Kurt was obviously upset following the race bumping Matt on the cool down lap but that’s it. In fact, the usually calm Matt Kenseth was more fired up in his post-race interview than the strangely optimistic Kurt Busch. Kurt hasn’t made a single imprudent decision this year and there were multiple incidents when it would have been understandable to be upset.
He’s led over 100 laps this year and has run up front in most of the races although a few of the finishes don’t show it. If this team can get their pit stop mistakes and mechanical issues fixed, then they will become a serious threat on the track. They could have won the All-Star Race if they had a faster stop and loose wheels/lugnuts have destroyed what would have been great races for them on more than one occasion this year. Once again, the elder Busch looked at the brighter side of things following the race instead of dwelling on all the bad moments.
This much more mature Kurt Busch has taken Furniture Row Racing to the next level. Regan Smith was a good driver but Kurt is an extraordinary driver. Kurt’s probably the most versatile racer in the garage right now next to Tony Stewart and very few men throughout racing history have the ability to jump into different kinds of racecars and perform competitively like him. A couple weeks ago, he took a V8 Supercar around the Circuit of the Americas, then he drove an Indycar at 220mph passing rookie orientation and a few days later he shattered the track record at one of the most difficult tracks on the NASCAR schedule (Darlington). Not many people can kill the rear end of a car at Daytona during a crash and come back to win the race like Kurt did last July. Not many people can have their career slammed to the ground but somehow get back up again and be competitive. Not many people can completely change their attitude for the better in the matter of a year. Kurt Busch did.
I have gained so much respect for Kurt recently and it’s paramount that he keeps it up. His temper has been holding him back and now that he’s got his Achilles Heel under control, the field better watch out. When I used to look at Kurt Busch, I thought of a highly aggressive racecar driver that had an uncontrollable temper and would be out of NASCAR soon. Now I look at Kurt and I can see him becoming a Tony Stewart or an AJ Foyt winning many many races and not just in NASCAR. He’s tested the waters of open wheel, took a V8 Supercar for a spin and I think sports cars will be on his radar soon as well. The 24 Hours of Daytona is a highly prestigious race and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t compete in that event within the next couple of years.
The No.78 may be a single car operation but there are no JTG or Swan Racing by any means. Barney Visser has some deep pockets so don’t mistakenly label this team as underfunded. If Kurt or crew chief Todd Berrier need something, they will get it. Their relationship with ECR engines and Richard Childress Racing is really helping them out this year too. Michael Waltrip Racing was the most recent team to work their way from the bottom of the totem pole all the way to the top of the food chain and I believe Furniture Row Racing will be the next to accomplish that feat. They have the driver, the crew chief, the money, the equipment; now all they need is the consistency which they will get eventually. You are doing a great job Kurt and good luck the remainder of 2013!
Why, Bruton, Why?
I hate to quote the Beatles, because it dates me and after watching the Billboard Awards, I get the feeling that no one knows what’s good music is anymore, but all I can say is the first line of a great Beatle song. I heard the news today, but oh boy. The latest news is Bruton Smith, billionaire CEO of Speedway Motorsports is considering moving the fall Charlotte race to Las Vegas. Smith has long wanted a second date at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but taking a race away from one of the sport’s iconic tracks is almost criminal, but that doesn’t matter to Smith. His motto is that it’s all about the money. Proof is in ticket prices that have reached triple digits at most of his tracks, even at Bristol—a 250 mile race. Let’s go a little deeper in this discussion.
There are no tracks that I’d rather visit than Bristol and Charlotte. I’ve been a season ticket holder at Bristol for years. I also attend both races at Charlotte and have for more than twenty years. I’ll be frank in saying that the racing at Bristol isn’t what it used to be and the racing at Charlotte is at best boring. It’s just the way it is. Regardless, both tracks are state of the art, and enjoyable places to visit. The officials at Charlotte have been gracious in granting me credentials forever. They are wonderful folks and in my short meetings with Smith, I find a gracious and wonderful person. There is no one in this sport who is as enthusiastic has Bruton Smith and I glory in the fact that he has lived eight decades and still is the innovator that helped fuel NASCAR’s great surge in the last 40 years, but I have a problem.
Charlotte Motor Speedway is an icon amongst tracks. Smith and Curtis Turner started this track in the 1960’s and today it sits as the crown jewel in the heart of NASCAR Country. Two races have always been there for as long as I remember, one in May and one in October. It’s a lovely facility. It has lots of camping and with the improvements there, it may be the best place to watch a race that isn’t Martinsville or Bristol. That said, the news today that Smith is negotiating a deal that would take the October race at CMS and move it to Las Vegas Motor Speedway “about 70/30” bothers me.
In my private life, I am a businessman. I’ve been pretty successful, and would be a millionaire by now without some missteps. Those missteps have cost me dearly in my career, but I have always kept some principles of what I do. First, don’t do anything that is always working. Don’t change the track (or business) that is so great to make it “different.” Don’t mess with history. If people are feeding the money machine, don’t change anything. It’s good to change things up, but history is important, especially in the south. Smith is forgetting both rules.
Charlotte is the hub of the sport. The Hall of Fame is there, as well as the All Star Race and most of NASCAR history. The sport has already lost iconic tracks at Rockingham and North Wilkesboro, one to Sprint Cup races and the other to any races. Darlington and Atlanta have both lost a race. Losing a race at Charlotte might be the death rattle, but there’s more to this than all of this.
My hope is this is a typical Smith game of politics. Smith threatened to move the race into another county a short time ago when they wouldn’t do what the county surrounding CMS wouldn’t do what he wanted him to do. The fact that he brought forth this suggestion on a Charlotte TV station reeks of politics. Times are tough. Recent Smith tirades have been against Kentucky Speedway’s traffic problems (remember “Vegas,Baby”, recently). With his money and considerable clout, maybe this is just politics as usual, but what if not? A large part of history is gone to an area of the country that has no sense of the history and beginnings of the sport, where only Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is a part of that history
The Final Word – The all-star race might not have been great, but it featured greatness
What can be better than a nice holiday weekend, my boys playing some baseball, a bit of golf, me finally able to mow the lawn, visiting relatives up from California, and sunshine? Add a couple of televised NASCAR races, and you got yourself one happy Canadian.
Next week brings, for my American friends, Memorial Day, but it was Victoria Day for those of us who still call the Queen of the United Kingdom our head of state. I do not think she spent much time enjoying the action from North Carolina, as the boys and girl were featured at Charlotte and NASCAR’s annual all-star race.
When the smoke had cleared, Jimmie Johnson had added to his legacy with a record breaking fourth all-star triumph. That moved him past Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon in that category. Sure, there were some who are tired of seeing the five-time Cup champion add another notch, but seeing an old familiar face time and again is just the price one has to pay for witnessing greatness.
Hockey fans hated watching the Montreal Canadiens win on a regular basis. Baseball fans are not all enamored with the 27 titles owned by the New York Yankees. Basketball fans probably were not thrilled that the Boston Celtics owned the title from the late 1950’s through to the 1970’s. Too bad. Too damn bad.
NASCAR has nine men who, combined, have claimed almost 60% of the 64 Cup titles awarded since 1949. Lee Petty, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Tony Stewart have won three or more apiece. Of the 2365 Cup races ever run, this group has won 798 of them. Nine men has won more than a third of all Cup races since 1949, two of whom have died, four have been long retired, and just three remain active. It would appear NASCAR fans should be pretty used to having familiar faces appear on Victory Lane.
Rating the All-Star race – 8/10
I enjoyed it, though even among the cream of the crop you had an idea who might be there at the end. You knew fan favorite Danica Patrick would not, for example, be among the contenders. I liked the format, broken up into five segments it tried to keep the field somewhat bunched up. Thankfully, they did not bring back the inversion aspect, at least not yet. Moving someone who was stuck near the back and bring them up to the front makes about as much sense as having the drivers wear clown suits and take part in a yodeling competition in mid-race. It just does not have a damn thing to do with racing.
Rating the Canadian series opener – 8/10
I am not used to watching live NASCAR action originating on Canadian soil, yet the opener of the Canadian Tires series season was not only broadcast, but it was entertaining. For most, the road course formerly known as Mosport near Toronto featured 27 no-names and Ty Dillon. While the youngster finished seventh, the win went to a 34-year old Quebecer named L.P. Dumoulin. The action was good, the views of the green grass and campers just beyond the track were attractive, and not a Rusty Wallace type of distraction to be found among the broadcast crew. Hell, even the cars they raced looked like real cars. A 12 race, four month schedule, and it appears all televised, and hopefully live. No point broadcasting a sports event if it is so delayed it should be on the History Channel. Meanwhile, Americans get to see what I mean on Labour Day when the Camping World series makes a visit in late summer.
Next up, Memorial Day weekend and the World 600 from Charlotte and the Indianapolis 500. All I need to do is find some time between my sons’ baseball games this weekend, and this is going to be another memorable weekend. Enjoy the week.
The All-Star Race Needs a Major Makeover
Reflect back to the early to mid 2000’s. The All-Star Races during those years were action-packed and go for broke events. Team owners told their drivers to only bring back the steering wheel. Drivers would listen and by only bringing back the steering wheel, it showed that they went all-out for the victory. The million dollar prize seemed to mean more back then, because drivers seemed to do everything it took to wind up in first place. Those were the good ‘ole days when the All-Star Race was one of the most spectacular events of the season. Now days, the race seems to have changed and the once incredible All-Star Race needs to regain its prestige as the most exciting night in motorsports.
NASCAR has tried very hard to rekindle the fire of the All-Star Race. They have changed the format, made it extra special to run and stay up front, and even put an extra million dollars on the line. It seems as none of those things have worked in trying to spice the All-Star Race back up and if anything, the races have been tamer with those new elements. The only tweaks NASCAR has been making are to the ending of the race, trying to make it an all-out dash for the finish. What they really should be focusing on is how to make the whole race as exciting as the ending should be.
Throughout the years, NASCAR has thrown out new rudiments for the race. As fast as they throw them out there, they take them back. Not allowing the new ways to be tested in multiple races. Innovative ideas that could potentially work have been trashed far before they could be successfully tested. NASCAR needs to give their experiments more than one test trial and if they had done so after the last few races, we could still be ecstatic about this million dollar race. There are a few notable aspects of the race that were once tossed-away, but they are some of the essential elements needed to return the All-Star Race to its top-form.
A few of the thrown out ideas for the race that could come back and enhance the race include the invert and fewer segments. The invert was a fan favorite aspect of the race until NASCAR did away with it after the 2005 race. It would include a randomly selected number of cars switching places on the track after a segment. If the randomly selected number was 6, then the top six drivers would change positions. First would go to sixth, second to fifth, third to fourth and so on. That would create some excitement since the usually faster cars were now behind and they would be hungry to make it back to the top. The inversion of the field would occur early in the race so the drivers would have a chance to make up their lost ground. If NASCAR wants to bring the All-Star magic back, the invert is one idea they need to consider.
Adjusting the number of segments is also an idea that could bring a full-race of action back. The 5 segment format that’s in place now is a little excessive. Shortening the amount of segments would increase the number of laps per segment. Making the segments longer would allow for more action to develop along with a longer amount of time for the drivers to catch the leader if they have a fast car. Having three segments seems like a good number since it’s not too many and at the same time, it’s not one long race.
Throwing a mandatory four-tire pit stop in the middle of one of the segment could also be a positive addition. If that stop were to be put in, then the stop before the final segment wouldn’t need to be there allowing more of a strategy to develop. The first two segments could be longer than the rest since fans may still want a sort of shootout finish, but with more of a strategic feel if NASCAR threw out the mandatory pit-stop before the final segment.
One more potential excitement-adder could be the addition of cars in the race. There are only about 22 cars in the race each year and that doesn’t allow for constant action around the track. If more cars were eligible for the race, there would likely be more racing action throughout the event. Adding all the cars that finished inside the top twenty-five in points during the previous season would boost the number of cars in the race. Adding cars in the main event would decrease the number in the Showdown, but the Showdown would become a race among drivers who don’t usually get to run up-front. That would be a fan-friendly addition and it would benefit the whole All-Star Race night. More of anything usually equals an enhancement of excitement and NASCAR should consider putting more racers in the race.
The time for change has come in the All-Star Race. Fans have sat through too many of these new All-Star Races with a decrease in action as the years go on. The formats NASCAR used in the early 2000’s worked and why they went away from them is beyond me. NASCAR has revived the old-style of drafting at the superspeedways and the old look of the cars, but they have yet to bring back to life the exciting All-Star Races that we used to see. It’s another piece to the puzzle to bring fans back to the sport while continuing to draw new fans in. Fans want exhilaration in races, especially in the race advertised to be the most exciting of the season. NASCAR needs to give the All-Star Race a makeover and that change should revive old All-Star Race elements. The old stuff has been working in racing lately so why not bring back the old style of the All-Star Race? It could be a revolutionary change that could make the All-Star Race a can’t miss event once again.
Thoughts on the All Star Race — Hendrick Rules
My friend Monte Dutton, who is one of the best or probably was one of the best writers on the NASCAR beat, tweeted Saturday night that unlike normal races, the format actually seems to encourage all hell breaking loose UNTIL the end. That was the case on Saturday. There was a lot of good racing and lots of rubbing, but in retrospect, we should have known what was going to happen. The first four 20-lap segments proved one thing—if you got up front, you were going to be there at the end. No matter what NASCAR has tried to do with this Gen 6 car, the dreaded aero-push still exists. So, whenever Kyle or Kurt or Jimmie got in front, they were off to the races. One by one, they got the lead and couldn’t be headed in each segment.
It seems to only happen on the 1.5-mile tracks, or maybe it’s my imagination, but at different times it seemed that Kurt or Kyle, or even Carl or Kasey had the best, almost unbeatable car. In the end, it was the guy who led last, and that was Jimmie Johnson who drove into the sunset, as usual. Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, have all this figured out. No matter where you start, get to the front late and drive away. They constantly outsmart most teams, which is better than having a great driver which is not to discredit Jimmie Johnson. He is a great driver.
That is one of the reasons why I have contended for a long time that the domination of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports is one small factor in the demise or at least one of the factors why NASCAR is not what it was fifteen or even twenty years ago. Yes, Richard Petty, the King, dominated in the 60’s, and others dominated at different times, but never at the length that the Hendrick Motorsports teams have, especially at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 1.5 mile tracks. Given that the final ten races are dominated by such tracks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we’ve already seen who is going to win the NASCAR championship and his name is Johnson. Last year, bad luck played into that scenario, but without that happening, there are no drivers like Brad Keselowski on the horizon to challenge him. Of course, the great part is you never know. Hendrick Chevrolets and Gibbs Toyota dominate the series, but as the season goes along and the expertise of the Hendrick teams continue to shine, we know the outcome, if Jimmie is out front at the end.
Who could be the challenger? Naming them is difficult. Competition from the Chevrolet side would include Johnson’s teammates, but others pale by comparison, and that’s a problem. You might make an argument for Kevin Harvick, but we’ve seen less than stellar performance from any of the Richard Childress Racing team. With so many Chevrolets in the lineup—they dominate—it seems Johnson’s main competition is in house.
Toyota has several challengers. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch from Gibbs (and maybe Denny Hamlin if he can perform a miracle), and Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr. from Michael Waltrip Racing seem to be the best bets. The smart money would be on Kenseth, Busch, or Bowyer, but consistency is a problem so far.
Ford only has Carl Edwards. Brad Keselowski, the defending champion who seems to have been forgotten in all of this, should be at the top of the list and would be if not for that nasty penalty he and Joey Logano received earlier. I look for Keselowski to come on at the end after they are totally comfortable with the new car. Joey Logano is a year away, although his talent is coming through. His second place finish in the Showdown was impressive. Edwards, though not a factor in most races to win, is showing the consistency that crew chief Jimmy Fenning brought Kenseth for so long. Greg Biffle is out to lunch so far and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., though a rookie, is showing signs of improvement and could be a spoiler later on.
In the end, Johnson, who is more than a race ahead of any challenger, will go into the last ten races with a huge advantage, one that will be difficult to overcome. If that happens, it won’t be the drivers’ loss as much as NASCAR. Knowing who is going to win before they play the game (or race) is not going to get more fans in the seats or drive ratings. It’s a problem, but not to the Hendrick guys. They are paid to dominate and it’s up to the opposition to catch up. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened lately. Let’s hope that changes soon.
