A Harmless Interview With Jeff Gordon
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[/media-credit]Jeff Gordon let the cat out of the bag, so to speak this week. Well, it was no secret, for that matter. For a long time, it has been said that Stewart-Haas Motorsports Racing got parts and supplies from Rick Hendrick’s organization, but the denials were sharp that the two teams were separate. A telling interview with Gordon this week muddied the water somewhat.
It seems that Gordon has been asked by several teams to get on his radio channel for drafting purposes and Gordon was not good with that at all. The list of teams that Gordon is willing to talk with includes teammates Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Mark Martin, but he added Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman to the mix. Interesting, isn’t it?
“We had people coming to us last week wanting our radio approval, and we’re like, ‘No,'” Gordon said. “We’re not ready to do that. Having somebody be able to get on your channel is more complicated than some people are making it out to be. I’m not for that. We want to stay in control of what’s said and be able to talk to the crew chief. I have one of the best spotters, so I want my spotter to be leading the way as much as possible. So we’re very hesitant when it comes to that.”
Back long ago, Jack Roush was told he could only have four teams. At the time, he had five, so one had to go. He was grandfathered in for a time, but on a date certain, he had to reduce to four teams. So, Roush did exactly that, which left Jamie McMurray’s No. 26 entry out in the cold. Roush sold that team to another owner, as he was told to do.
He developed alliances with Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing, but never denied that he was supplying cars to those teams. On NASCAR radio and in other places, people were led to believe that Stewart-Haas was totally independent of Hendrick Motorsports except that HMS supplied engines and chassis to Stewart-Haas. Seems that there is more to it than that.
Roush pretty much is the Ford Racing program, supplying engines and chassis to his own Roush-Fenway racing team as well as Front Row Motorsports, the Wood Brothers, Richard Petty Motorsports, and now the TRG team. Formerly, he supplied the same services to Yates Racing, the team left behind when Robert Yates left the business to son Doug Yates. Chevrolet, on the other hand, has strong teams in HMS, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, and Richard Childress Racing, who operate as separate entities, except for the fact that engines from EGR are supplied to several teams. They always find a way around the rules, don’t they?
The difference is that it appears there is more to it than that. The fact that Gordon (and maybe other Hendrick teammates) are going to work with Stewart-Haas means that maybe Stewart-Hass is Hendrick Motorsports in kind of a disguised way. Seems that way.
I find it interesting that all this came about. Despite NASCAR’s rule, a little interview with the former champ showed us what we all knew. Rick Hendrick has six teams. Roush has more than that. Why didn’t they just leave things alone? In the name of competition, they tried to change the domination of one owner over the little guys, and what did they get? More domination. Watch them at Talladega this weekend and see who lines up with whom. That might be more interesting than the race itself.
Points leader Johnny Sauter talks about season and more
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[/media-credit]To say that the beginning of the year has been good for Johnny Sauter would be understatement as currently the driver of the No. 13 for ThorSport Racing sits first in points with his teammate Matt Crafton second with a win from Martinsville under his belt.
This weekend marks a big date on the schedule for Johnny as Curb Records, which has been associated with Johnny his entire career, will make their 500th career shot next weekend at Nashville Speedway.
Johnny took some time to answer some questions with regards to his season, Nashville and more.
Ashley McCubbin: What are some of your thoughts on the season so far?
Johnny Sauter: Its been a good year. To be first in points and have a win in the first four races, there’s nothing to ashamed off so we got to keep going. There’s 21 races left so hopefully we can win a couple more races and make a good run for the championship.
AM: What are some of your thoughts with regards to the competition level in the series?
JS: As far as the competition level, personally I think its one of the most competitive seasons so far with all the teams that are involved. I think we had a lot more teams show up at Daytona than anybody probably even realized. You got some rookie drivers, you got some veteran drivers, you got them all paired up with good teams. I think its, you know obviously you got some of the Cup guys that come run with us, so I think you obviously got to look at it as being really competitive and pretty tough right now.
AM: You spoke of some of the Cup drivers coming in and running in the Truck Series. What are some of your thoughts on that?
JS: I mean, it doesn’t bother me at all. You could make a case for everything, especially now a days, so obviously they’re going to come down and race and there’s no rule against it. A lot of people spend, in my mind, too much time worrying about what Cup drivers are doing in the Trucks or the Nationwide Series. That’s part of life and we feel that we got a team that we can beat the Cup guys. We just got to keep doing what we’re doing at ThorSport with what we’re doing and not get caught up in what everybody else is doing.
AM: How did you originally get involved with ThorSport Racing?
JS: Well, I mean it was a deal where in 2005, I ran a race down for them at Homestead, the final race of the year, and that was the first time that I met some of the people with ThorSport. I think it’s just one of those deals where there was a opening and I happened to be looking and we were able to put a deal together to race together and here I am in my third season with them and the rest of the history as they say.
AM: What are some of your thoughts on working with your teammmates Matt Crafton and Dakoda Armstrong?
JS: Matt has been in the Truck Series for a while and has been real consistent and we both kind of have the same background with short track late model racing so we have fun cutting up with each other, being teammates, and whatever. We race each other hard and have fun. Dakoda is obviously the new face and just to get to see his development and getting starting in the series and all the things that he has to learn and hopefully me and Matt can help him along with all that stuff. It’s just going to be interesting to watch and fun through the year.
AM: This weekend marks the 500th start for Curb Records. What are some of your thoughts on that?
JS: I don’t think a lot of people know that much of his background in the sport. You know, he’s been around a long time and have had a lot of success with a lot of different drivers – Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty when he won his first race. He’s been involved in the sport for a long time and he’s always liked me as a driver and me as a person and he’s always been involved wherever I’ve been racing. It means a lot to me and to have his 500th start and me be going to the guy going to his hometrack, that’s a big deal.
AM: How’d you originally get involved with Mike Curb?
JS: He was always racing and he had a Nationwide team and he was looking for a driver and I was looking at different avenues and I was able to come in and fill the void and Mike and Kari and I won a race together in the Nationwide Series a while back and that’s how I originally got to meet him and got to know him and he’s been around hanging with me ever since.
AM: What track is at the top of your list to win at next?
JS: I think knowing how hard it is to win the Superspeedway races, like Daytona and Talladega, would be pretty cool. Everything just has to go right, no mistakes, no wrecks, just a different type of racing so I think Daytona or Talladega would be pretty sweet to win.
AM: What would it mean to you to win the championship this year?
JS: It would be huge. A championship in any division is huge. I don’t care if its NASCAR or Late Models or Sportsmen division or whatever. Championships are hard to win and not only do you have to win races, but you have to be consistent week-in-week-out to win championships so that’s what we aim for – we try to win races and win championships. So I don’t know how you put that into words as that’s what we’re here to do.
AM: What is your first racing memory?
JS: I mean, I first started racing, I still remember my first race driving a Sportsmen car at Wisconsin Dells Motor Speedway and I spun out two people out in 25 laps and the officials and the people there weren’t happy with me. I didn’t understand why I was spinning people out; it was something I had to learn.
AM: And what would your favourite racing memory be?
JS: I’ve got too many of them to narrow it down that much. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of good memories. I mean, winning the ASA championship and winning 10 of 20 races, winning two Nationwide races and last year in Trucks winning two races. There’s so many good memories that I just can’t tell you one that’s my favourite.
AM: What are some of your thoughts heading into Nashville this weekend?
JS: Just excited, obviously. We got a brand new truck that we’re taking so excited to see how we can do with that new truck. It’s a race track that I feel that I’ve been close at before, as far as winning. So with that bundled up with Curb’s 500th start, I’ve had some good races and it’s been a good track. So I feel we should go there and try to win the race and see what happens.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE NATIONWIDE SERIES AT TALLADEGA
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[/media-credit]The NASCAR Nationwide Series will take on the largest track on their schedule with Saturday’s running of the Aaron’s 312 at the Talladega Super Speedway. It’s race number seven of the 2011 34 race schedule and it’s expected to be loaded with typical Talladega excitement. It’s also loaded with special guests from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
For many years now NASCAR Nationwide Series events has entertained guest from the Cup Series. Add that trend to the prestige of racing and winning at Talladega and you can well imagine the interest of Cup drivers who has entered Saturday’s race. That list includes:
Jamie McMurray. #1 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet. James Finch owner
Kevin Harvick. #4 Armour Vienna Sausages Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick Inc, owner
Dale Earnhardt Jr. #7 Sauve Men Chevrolet. J R Motorsports
Trevor Bayne. #16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Kyle Busch. #18 Z Line Designs Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing
Joey Logano. #20 Game Stop/Mortal Combat Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing
Brad Keselowski. #22 Discount Tire Dodge. Roger Penske Racing
Clint Bowyer. #33 Rheem Dot Com Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick Inc
Carl Edwards. #60 Fastenal Ford. Roush Fenway Racing
Joe Nemechek. #87 Nemco Motorsports Toyota
Michael Waltrip. #99 Aarons Toyota. Pastrana Waltrip Racing
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Kevin Harvick Inc will be teaming up with Pinnacle Foods, the makers of Armour Vienna Sausages, to host a special day for 18 kids from the Magic Moments program. Established in 1984 in Birmingham-Alabama, Magic Moments is dedicated to making non medical wishes come true for kids who are not able to live out a normal childhood due to unfortunate illnesses.
In addition to getting an up close and personal look at the Talladega racing action, the kids will also be treated to a private meet and greet with Kevin Harvick and SPEED Channel personality Kyle Petty.
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Six races in to the 2011 season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series is already generating some impressive stats. All four auto manufacturers, in the series, have now won a race since the arrival of the new Nationwide car. Dodge and Chevrolet got their wins last year when the new car ran four test and tune races. Toyota got their new car win this year at Phoenix while the Ford Mustang parked in victory lane for the first time last weekend in Texas.
There have also been four different winners in the first six Nationwide Series events this year. That’s the good news for what appears to be a rather competitive season. The bad news for the competition is Kyle Busch has won three of them. Other winners this year includes Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and Carl Edwards.
According to NASCAR’s loop scoring data, there has already three perfect driver ratings, of 150.0, this year. Kyle Busch has two of them, following the Phoenix and Bristol events, and Carl Edwards earned the third one at last weekend’s Texas race.
Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr remains as the fourth series points leader in the last six events. Previous championship points leaders include Landon Cassill, Reed Sorenson and Jason Leffler.
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota #20, driven by Joey Logano, became the fourth leader in the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ owner’s points standings after six races. But it’s only a one point advantage over Roush Fenway Racing’s #60 Ford, driven by Carl Edwards, and Kevin Harvick Inc’s #33 Chevrolet which has featured a variety of drivers including Harvick himself.
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THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The Aaron’s 312 is 117 laps/311.22 miles around the Talladega Super Speedway’s massive 2.66 mile quad oval.
The race has 45 entries vying for the 43 starting positions and the winner’s share of the race purse in excess of $1.1 million. 15 of those entries are on the go or go home list. These teams are not guaranteed a starting berth in the race because they are currently outside of the Nationwide Series’ top 30 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying times to earn a starting spot in the race. The Lone exception is Jeff Green who has a past champion’s provisional available if needed.
The Aaron’s 312 will mark the Nationwide Series’ debut of their new car at Talladega under competitive racing conditions. The new car was on the track for the first time in October of 2009 for a special practice session.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series has raced at Talladega 19 times in the past while sending 16 different winners to victory lane. Two time series champion Martin Truex Jr leads the series win list with three while series regular Joe Nemechek leads the current active drivers with two wins. The 19 series events at Talladega has also turned up 13 winners of the Coors Pole Position award also led by Nemechek who set fast time at the speedway on five different occasions.
The Aaron’s 312 will be broadcast live by the ESPN2 Network with the pre race show beginning at 2 pm eastern time.
