The Final Word – Does Kahne’s win at New Hampshire leave only one Chase place up for grabs?
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[/media-credit]What can we say about New Hampshire, the race track, not the state? The action was not exactly gripping, it proved a dandy cure for insomnia, it showed that Denny Hamlin is still tough, but Kasey Kahne was the one celebrating in the end.
Even though Hamlin dominated much of the event, a stop for four put him too far back to make it all the way back to the front, falling a position short. For Kahne, his second win of the season, with seven races to go before the Chase places are determined, solidifies his hopes to be in the running this fall.
Those in the top ten in the standings stayed there, as no one in the top ten finished worse than 13th. Clint Bowyer and Brad Keselowski are in the bottom two spots, but their lead over Carl Edwards means they will still be in the top ten even if they sit out the next one at the end of the month in Indianapolis. Edwards is close, but no wins leaves him behind Kahne and one-time winner Kyle Busch. Both Ryan Newman and Joey Logano have a win, but are about a dozen points behind Busch.
So, when they venture to the brickyard, Edwards needs a win, Busch needs to keep Newman and Logano behind him in the points, or one of the latter trio could certainly help their cause with a second victory. Anyone not in the top ten that I have not mentioned need wins, at least one, over the next seven. Time is running out.
Time ran out for a NASCAR fan, but that didn’t keep him away from his seat in front of the television. A Michigan woman continued to watch the races from her home with her buddy 18 months after the elderly fellow had died. Of course, breaking up is hard to do, especially if you are cashing the guy’s benefit checks. Hey, someone had to pay for the chips.
Pop something you shouldn’t, as you may well have to pay the piper in NASCAR. A.J. Allmendinger remains suspended over a positive drug test, which some find hard to believe due to the ‘Dinger’s squeaky clean public imagine. Could there have been a mistake? Sure, but my initial feelings about Jeremy Mayfield were similar. He seemed like a nice guy who wouldn’t do anything wrong. That is what he seemed to me. However, this is not a perfect world and sometimes folks are not as they seem, or inept or worse and you even start to wonder how protected these tests are. How protected they are from tampering or a screw up of some manner? Dual tests using different labs at different locations might be something to consider. When fitness freak Carl Edwards points out “people are imperfect. Tests are imperfect,” he is right. Of course, maybe Allmendinger just screwed up. In the meantime, we all wait to see how this plays out.
Out is the U.S. Army, which made a strategic retreat from NASCAR sponsorship, but the National Guard plans to remain a sponsor of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not being an American, they are not my tax dollars being spent, and I do not know how effective the outlay is, but I like the fit between NASCAR, its fans, and the armed forces. This relationship began more than 30 years ago, and while Americans are not perfect, none of us are, they do have every reason to be proud of who they are, what they have accomplished, and of those who guard their freedoms.
This weekend the boys have off, but they return for the Brickyard 400 at the end of July. Edwards needs a win, so does Paul Menard, while the likes of Newman and Logano need to catch Kyle Busch in points…or win again. As for Jeff Gordon, he’ll take two, please. Enjoy the next couple of weeks.
Can NASCAR Do Anything About These Boring Races?
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[/media-credit]Why have the NASCAR races lately been so boring? NASCAR has been shooting themselves in the foot since the implementation of the COT for 16 races during the 2007 season. The racing has simply not been exciting for the fans this season. TV ratings are down along with attendance. This doesn’t have anything to do with the economy anymore. It is clearly the quality of the races. The economy does have an impact, but the quality of racing is making a bigger impact.
TNT did an amazing job at Daytona with the side-by-side commercials. Now, why wouldn’t they do that this weekend? TV ratings went up a lot from that race!!!! Did they just assume that because Daytona was so good that that same people would automatically follow? That may be true to an extent, but after about 20-30 laps of action at New Hampshire, I think most of those new fans either went to sleep or switched to baseball. NASCAR has ultimately made the cars so identical that the racing is just really awful. I’m very sad that I have to make so many entries like this, but that’s just the way that it is!
There was no need for the COT. The head and neck restraint plus the addition of the HANS device was absolutely fine. There will always be injuries in this sport. Eric McClure got hurt in the COT racing at Talladega in the Nationwide Series. Dario Franchitti was injured at Talladega in 2008 in the Nationwide Series as well. What was the main reason behind the COT? Dale Earnhardt. If Dale Earnhardt did not die at the Daytona 500 back in 2001, you can expect that nothing would have changed. NASCAR didn’t consider the COT after the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin. Those drivers weren’t as important to NASCAR as Earnhardt. Naturally, NASCAR didn’t want to see a death of a superstar later down the road, which resulted in the COT.
Earnhardt’s seat belt was not installed properly during that race. That is what resulted in the blunt force trauma when his head slammed into the steering wheel. The crash was not all that hard. However; when your seat belt isn’t installed properly, you can expect a pretty hard hit when physics wins the game. NASCAR has damaged its reputation so bad that those fans that have left might never come back. NASCAR brought back the pack racing at Daytona and Talladega. Cool. Now, NASCAR is complaining that the fans are disloyal for dissing the two-car tandems and the pack racing.
Earth to NASCAR! The fans aren’t the problem. You guys are the problem. The two-car tangos were becoming a royal bore! This isn’t the same pack racing. The style of pack racing we have now involves having to watch your temperatures constantly in order to win the race. We did not have this problem as much as we are having it now with the new package. Something needs to be done with this! Do you fans remember the AMP Energy 500 race from 2009 and how terribly boring the action was? NASCAR required the drivers to not draft while in the turns. That is the problem with the new package. When you are in that turn, you have to not draft in there a lot of the time because of the problems with the temperatures.
Is it possible for NASCAR to revert to the old way? The Chase system needs to go! The COT needs to go! A lot of things need to go! NASCAR is turning into a $50.00 per ticket car show for all of the fans. Can we go back to the day where all the Chevrolet’s were Chevrolet’s and all the Fords were Fords? That would honestly make NASCAR a million times better!
Here is a test for race fans. Do you remember who won the fall Texas spring race in 2010? Do you remember who won at Chicagoland in 2009? Ok, did any of you have to think a little to figure that out? That means that the race wasn’t all that meaningful. Now, what about the 1999 Daytona 500 or the 2000 Cracker Barrel 500? For those of us who watched NASCAR then we could say Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt in the blink of an eye. Why? Those races will always be remembered for how exciting the ENTIRE race was.
NASCAR needs to return to those days! NASCAR used my 1-43 points system that I implemented in my fantasy league starting in 2007, please take my advice on this.
From The Gridiron to Pit Road
13 seconds.
That is the average time it takes for a NASCAR pit crew to change all four-tires and fuel the car. One second lost in the pits results in positions lost on the track. That is the pressure that guys like WSC graduates and former football players Drew Molacek and Mark Janssen face each time their car comes in for a pit stop.
Molacek is an over-the-wall tire changer for multiple NASCAR teams. He changes tires for the No. 81 Nationwide Series car driven by Jason Bowles and the No. 49 Sprint Cup car driven by J.J Yeley. Janssen is a member of these same teams, acting as the jackman for the crew. They are both associated with one of NASCAR’s powerhouse organizations, Hendrick Motorsports.
“We are taught to clear our minds and show no emotion at all,” Molacek said. “You aren’t supposed to let your emotions get the best of you, because time is everything on pit road.”
They were recruited to do this job like most people are today. They were picked from a crop of finely tuned athletic machines from other athletic backgrounds. Many of the people you see on pit road today more than likely played some form of college sports.
Molacek and Janssen were given an opportunity to do a tryout put on by Hendrick Motorsports a year ago in Omaha and they both figured they would give it a shot. They were then called to fly down to Charlotte N.C. and participate in another Hendrick tryout. After that test, they were chosen and started training with other crew members.
“Out of the 20 or so guys that they brought in from around the country, they kept 11 of us and currently they are down to just six,” Janssen said. “I was called one day to do a tryout and here I am almost a year later.”
Going to Daytona this year was the first weekend Molacek and Janssen got the chance in a real race to do pit stops. And ever since then, they have both been traveling week to week to all the tracks on the schedule.
“My favorite part about being a Jackman in NASCAR for Hendrick Motorsports is being able to work with such an extremely talented group of guys everyday with similar athletic backgrounds and getting to do something completely outside the box of a normal job,” Janssen said. “We get paid to work out, fly all over the country, and play with races cars every day.”
It’s not all fun and games for Molacek and Janssen. During the week, they train vigorously, no different than any other sport. They hit the gym with a weight program and also train outside with agility and endurance drills.
The feeling inside those 13 seconds for them is unlike anything Molacek and Janssen have ever had before. They feed off of it, and embrace the moment.
“Every time we go over the wall is a rush unlike any other because not only are you jumping out within a foot of getting hit by your own car, but there are another 30 or more cars speeding down pit road that you have to watch out for while you’re doing your job,” Janssen said.
“Standing on the pit wall, anticipating the moment, we were taught to breathe though your stomach, and there’s just a rhythm to doing it,” Molacek said
“I am very happy with where I am and what I am doing,” Janssen said. “Playing football at WSC is a huge part of who I am and what got me to this point in life.”
Carpentier to race Montreal, returns from retirement
After announcing the end of his career a year ago, Patrick Carpentier will come out of retirement to contend the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the circuit Gilles Villeneuve on August 18th.
Carpentier suffered a late race mechanical failure and finished 32nd in his home race in 2011. With the disappointment from last year, Carpentier did not hesitate to say yes when he got the call to compete in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series race across the northern border of the US. The five time CART winner will drive for Michael Waltrip Racing in the #99 NAPA Toyota Camry entered by RAB Racing.
The NAPA Auto Parts 200 has been held since 2007 and in its short history has produced exciting races for the Canadian NASCAR fans. The first ever NASCAR sanctioned race to compete in the rain was held at the Canadian track in 2008, with the fans being excited by a Canadian victor in Ron Fellows.
A year earlier, in 2007, Robby Gordon and Marcos Ambrose dueled with a handful of laps to go, making contact twice and resulting in Gordon being excluded from the next day’s Sprint Cup Race in Pocono. Three out of the five races since the inaugural 2007 race have produced a green-white-checker finish (2007, 2009, and 2010.)
Success hasn’t completely eluded Carpentier in a race that is one of his favorites. In 2007, he sat on the pole and was running 2nd by the time the checkered flag flew. The following year Carpentier qualified 4th and grabbed another 2nd place finish. The next two seasons saw the MWR driver experience bad luck in Canada with his string of results being 38th and 32nd in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
With Canadian fans heavily supporting all their drivers, Carpentier can expect thunderous applause each lap he takes around the man-made island along the St. Lawrence River.
Other Canadian crowd favorites will be Ron Fellows and 1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villesneuve.
HOORAHS & WAZZUPS: RACES STILL ARE WON AND LOST IN THE PITS
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[/media-credit]During the NASCAR weekend, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, we learned that races are still won and lost in the pits. On one extreme of the theory eventual Sprint Cup winner Kasey Kahne showed us how well it can work. On the opposite extreme Denny Hamlin, who should have won the race, showed us the importance of good communication skills prior to entering pit road. Then Kyle Busch showed us what happens when pit road gets turned into a disaster area. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:
HOORAH to Kasey Kahne for winning last Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A two tire call, on the final stop of the race, from crew chief Kenny Francis turned out to be a pivotal moment that led the Kahne’s 14th career Sprint Cup win. Of greater importance, it was Kahne’s second win of the season and currently places him in command of the first Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship’s wild card berth. His outstanding performance at New Hampshire could be the key to the Hendrick Motorsports driver making the 2012 Chase line up.
Accenting the positive, let’s send driver Denny Hamlin a HOORAH for an incredible on track performance that should have landed in New Hampshire’s victory lane. Hamlin, clearly the class of the field, led a race high 150 laps. During the waning moments of the race he was charging hard to get back to the lead before the laps simply ran out.
Having said that, it’s time to give this team a WAZZUP for that massive miscommunication that occurred on their radio prior to their final pit stop. Crew chief Darian Grubb initially called for a two tire stop. However, Hamlin said something that led Grubb to the conclusion that his driver wanted four tires. All the other teams on pit road opted for a two tire change. Hamlin came onto pit road leading the race and left pit road in 14th. That led to his mad dash to get back to the front. He literally put on a driving clinic racing his way back to second place before time ran out.
HOORAH to Hamlin for a very classy post race interview where he said “I told Darian all I needed was tires. It was just a miscommunication. We’ve got some good things, (race tracks), coming up and our cars are getting better and better.” Hamlin had every right to be upset but he declined to throw anyone under the bus. That’s a class act.
HOORAH to Grubb for falling on the sword, after the pit stop, by telling his driver “my bad” over the radio. That’s also very classy.
HOORAH to the TNT broadcast team for sharing a wonderful story about how the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr resolved a tire dispute with a crew chief. While making his way down pit road, the “Intimidator” said: “I want four damn tires and I ain’t leaving until I get them.” Now that’s communication.
HOORAH to driver Jamie McMurray for doing the right thing when it mattered the most. With five laps remaining in the race, McMurray was a lap down and positioned between the two race contenders. He made a wide turn to the left on the front stretch to allow Hamlin to pass him and continue his pursuit of Kahne. That’s the kind of on track respect that will be returned sometime in the future.
Again, attempting to accent the positive, HOORAH to Kyle Busch for being the fastest in Sprint Cup practice, Coors Light qualifying and, for 72 laps, the fastest car on the track. HOORAH to this team’s 13.6 second four tire stop.
Having said that, WAZZUP with Kyle Busch also being the fastest on pit road? That pit road speeding penalty was the starting point of a very long day in New Hampshire.
HOORAH to the crew chief, Dave Rogers, for being classy enough to take the blame for the speeding penalty. In a live, post race, television interview, Rogers said the penalty was not his driver’s fault. He explained that there was a mathematical miscalculation in the RPM’s used to determine pit road speed and added “we simply gave Kyle Busch the wrong numbers.”
WAZZUP with a botched pit stop, due to problems changing the right rear tire, that had this team resembling Saturday morning cartoon chracters? WAZZUP with another tough pit road moment when the driver overshot the pit box and then had to spend the remainder of the afternoon handling a car that he called “wrecking loose” to a 16th place finish. Again, a tough afternoon for a team that had so much potential.
HOORAH Mother Nature for not getting involved in this race at a point in time when we all thought she would.
HOORAH to the TNT Network for placing microphones on the members of Clint Bowyer’s pit crew. It turned out to be very insightful. ************ HOORAH to Brad Keselowski for winning the F W Webb 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at New Hampshire. The driver of the Penske Racing Dodge passed Kevin Harvick, on lap 179, to collect his second series win of the season and his 19th career win. The effort now moves him to 15th on the series’ all time win list in only 182 starts.
WAZZUP with Kevin Harvick losing this race under very unnecessary circumstances? Seemingly well on his way to another NASCAR win, Harvick was in the process of passing driver Amber Cope who was a reported 33 laps down. He attempted to pass her on the low side of the backstretch when, all of a sudden, her car started moving down on him. Harvick had to almost come to a complete stop to avoid a collision. That’s when the second place Keselowski was able to catch up to Harvick and make the race winning pass.
HOORAH to Kevin Harvick for being-well Harvick after the race. During the cool down lap he waited for Cope and gave her a little fender tap en route to pit road to express his displeasure. Afterwards, during a live television interview, Harvick questioned whether or not Cope she be in the Nationwide Series and said “she has no clue. She wants to be Danica (Patrick) but she can’t even hold her (Danica’s) helmet.” This is why Kevin Harvick has so many fans.
In the aftermath Amber Cope, and her twin sister, fired a few nasty gram “Twitter” messages at Harvick but the question remains: WAZZUP with any driver that far off the pace, again a whopping 33 laps, impeding the progress of a race leader especially when he’s that close to a win?
The New Hampshire race was round one of the Nationwide Dash 4 Cash program featuring the four highest finishing Nationwide Series regulars from the previous race at Daytona. HOORAH to Austin Dillon for winning round one and the $100,000 bonus. HOORAH to Nationwide Insurance for providing this outstanding program for the series’ teams.
Let’s give a Iron man HOORAH to reigning Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr who was seen lying on pit road after the race very ill and dehydrated. It was later revealed that the Roush Fenway Racing driver had been battling a bad case of strep throat and actually lost nine pounds over the previous week. Despite the illness, and the extreme heat inside of the car, Stenhouse kept his focus on the race and drove his Ford to a 5th place finish.
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HOORAH to Timothy Peters for winning the American Ethanol 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the Iowa Speedway. Peters, in his Red Horse Racing Toyota, out dueled series veteran Ron Hornaday Jr following a late race restart with only ten laps remaining. It led to his first win of the season and his fourth career win.
A HOORAH and a God bless goes to the race winner following the announcement that Peters and his wife Sara are expecting their first child.
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The final HOORAH of the week goes to the SPEED Channel for a public service ad, featuring SPEED personality Krista Voda, warning of the dangers of sending text messages while driving. The ad tells us that when we text and drive we are taking our eyes off of the road for approximately 4.5 seconds. At 55 MPH that’s like driving the length of a football field blind. Very well done SPEED Channel.
