Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Pocono 400 Winners And Losers
Pocono's first race of 2012 and its winners and losers -
WINNERS:
JOEY LOGANO - winning the race in and of itself is a huge development for a driver who has run poorly throughout his Cup career. The way he won, though, is also noteworthy, because he screwed up on the last restart where Mark Martin got the lead and appeared cemented to the win; Logano was able to run him down and take the lead late in the race.
MARK MARTIN - Finishing second after contending for the win is nothing to be ashamed of.
TONY STEWART - A superb finish after a very spotty portion of the season.
PAUL MENARD - A driver who frankly doesn't belong gave a decent effort.
JAMIE MCMURRAY - Solid outing after a rough run the last year-plus.
POCONO RACEWAY'S PAVEMENT - there were concerns aplenty going in; the pavement proved not to be any kind of issue. Though there were numerous yellows and several wrecks, the race if anything was noticeably less aggressive than some recent Pocono races (notably 2009 and 2010) had been.
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There were plenty of losers to sort through in this race.
LOSERS
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - His efforts have gotten gushing coverage, and he is solid in the points race. At Pocono he led, but as the race went on he seemed to get somewhat weaker. Finishing eighth is a solid effort but also a letdown given how he ran to the front, and it raises anew the question of why he's never able to go for a win even with consistent finishes.
NASCAR's PREPOSTEROUS CONTROL OVER PIT ROAD - NASCAR's rule closing pit road when the yellow comes out has always been a problem since debuting in late March 1989; it led to numerous pit crashes and eventually to the present system of pit speed limits. Those rules haven't prevented pit crashes since they debuted in 1991, and the epidemic of pit penalties in this race was worse than usual. Why NASCAR won't consider dropping the pit closure rule et al - basically going back to pit rules pre-1989, an era when pit road was safer than it's been since March 1989 - remains baffling and indefensible.
GREG BIFFLE AND KYLE BUSCH - both had engine issues.
PETTY MOTORSPORTS - Marcus Ambrose ran respectably but got a mediocre finish out of it. Aric Almirola clawed into top-ten contention, then seemed to throw it away on a restart where he fell out of the top-20, then crashed out. Richard Petty deserves much better than this.
SHORTENED DISTANCES - Mark Martin likely wanted another 50 to 100 miles for the race distance so he could get back at Logano. This first 400 miler for Pocono added nothing competitively to the racing, just as 400-mile distances have never added anything that 500 miles ostensibly do not have. 400 wasn't enough; 500 remains the better race.
So Pocono is a wrap and Michigan awaits.
WINNERS:
JOEY LOGANO - winning the race in and of itself is a huge development for a driver who has run poorly throughout his Cup career. The way he won, though, is also noteworthy, because he screwed up on the last restart where Mark Martin got the lead and appeared cemented to the win; Logano was able to run him down and take the lead late in the race.
MARK MARTIN - Finishing second after contending for the win is nothing to be ashamed of.
TONY STEWART - A superb finish after a very spotty portion of the season.
PAUL MENARD - A driver who frankly doesn't belong gave a decent effort.
JAMIE MCMURRAY - Solid outing after a rough run the last year-plus.
POCONO RACEWAY'S PAVEMENT - there were concerns aplenty going in; the pavement proved not to be any kind of issue. Though there were numerous yellows and several wrecks, the race if anything was noticeably less aggressive than some recent Pocono races (notably 2009 and 2010) had been.
**********
There were plenty of losers to sort through in this race.
LOSERS
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - His efforts have gotten gushing coverage, and he is solid in the points race. At Pocono he led, but as the race went on he seemed to get somewhat weaker. Finishing eighth is a solid effort but also a letdown given how he ran to the front, and it raises anew the question of why he's never able to go for a win even with consistent finishes.
NASCAR's PREPOSTEROUS CONTROL OVER PIT ROAD - NASCAR's rule closing pit road when the yellow comes out has always been a problem since debuting in late March 1989; it led to numerous pit crashes and eventually to the present system of pit speed limits. Those rules haven't prevented pit crashes since they debuted in 1991, and the epidemic of pit penalties in this race was worse than usual. Why NASCAR won't consider dropping the pit closure rule et al - basically going back to pit rules pre-1989, an era when pit road was safer than it's been since March 1989 - remains baffling and indefensible.
GREG BIFFLE AND KYLE BUSCH - both had engine issues.
PETTY MOTORSPORTS - Marcus Ambrose ran respectably but got a mediocre finish out of it. Aric Almirola clawed into top-ten contention, then seemed to throw it away on a restart where he fell out of the top-20, then crashed out. Richard Petty deserves much better than this.
SHORTENED DISTANCES - Mark Martin likely wanted another 50 to 100 miles for the race distance so he could get back at Logano. This first 400 miler for Pocono added nothing competitively to the racing, just as 400-mile distances have never added anything that 500 miles ostensibly do not have. 400 wasn't enough; 500 remains the better race.
So Pocono is a wrap and Michigan awaits.
Pocono Pavement Proves A Mixed Blessing
Pocono debuted its new pavement for Cup cars and it held up well. The Igdalskys never sweated over the repaved speedway and their faith was rewarded with a 400-mile race that produced a surprising winner and, despite the mini-epidemic of cautions that most tracks have not had in 2012, was fairly smooth.
If anything the action was noticeably less aggressive than one might have expected, especially after the opening lap melee and Dale Junior's risky three-wide pass on a mid-race restart. Pocono in 2009 and 2010 saw some of the most aggressive racing in NASCAR with numerous bouts of five-abreast racing up front (highlighted by a spirited Jeff Gordon-Juan Montoya-Denny Hamlin slugfest in 2010) and numerous wild crashes. That this Pocono 400 didn't quite reach that level of aggression was something of a letdown.
It helped illustrate that shorter races aren't better races. Pocono's 500s were among the sport's most competitive non-plate races; shortening the race didn't lead to harder racing; if anything one will find some views that an extra 50 to 100 miles would have made for a more exciting finish by alloweing Mark Martin (astonishingly winless at Pocono) some more opportunity to grab that win.
In all the new pavement was a success, and one hopes come August drivers start fighting harder up front.
If anything the action was noticeably less aggressive than one might have expected, especially after the opening lap melee and Dale Junior's risky three-wide pass on a mid-race restart. Pocono in 2009 and 2010 saw some of the most aggressive racing in NASCAR with numerous bouts of five-abreast racing up front (highlighted by a spirited Jeff Gordon-Juan Montoya-Denny Hamlin slugfest in 2010) and numerous wild crashes. That this Pocono 400 didn't quite reach that level of aggression was something of a letdown.
It helped illustrate that shorter races aren't better races. Pocono's 500s were among the sport's most competitive non-plate races; shortening the race didn't lead to harder racing; if anything one will find some views that an extra 50 to 100 miles would have made for a more exciting finish by alloweing Mark Martin (astonishingly winless at Pocono) some more opportunity to grab that win.
In all the new pavement was a success, and one hopes come August drivers start fighting harder up front.
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Pocono 400 Preview
Mike Mulhern previews the Pocono 400 with new pavement.
My Take: - Hitting 215 MPH as the Cup cars are now doing on the straights is never a good idea for racing. Grip levels are by all accounts good, and the Goodyear tires appear to be holding up. The ARCA cars will race on Saturday and they run Hoosiers, which have reacted differently with Goodyear rubber now laid down. Some drivers like Dale Junior and Greg Biffle are predicting five-abreast passes given the need to basically dive-bomb other cars with passing almost impossible in the sport in general and with this new pavement in particular; given that the 1996 Pocono 500 saw a large number of laps where the lead changed up to three times in one lap, there's some hope for a repeat of such in this 400-miler.
It's also Pocono's first 400 mile race after forty years running 500 milers. 400 is not enough; 500 remains a better race, a better test of racecar and racer and allows more passing. We hope Pocono reverts to 500 milers soon.
My Take: - Hitting 215 MPH as the Cup cars are now doing on the straights is never a good idea for racing. Grip levels are by all accounts good, and the Goodyear tires appear to be holding up. The ARCA cars will race on Saturday and they run Hoosiers, which have reacted differently with Goodyear rubber now laid down. Some drivers like Dale Junior and Greg Biffle are predicting five-abreast passes given the need to basically dive-bomb other cars with passing almost impossible in the sport in general and with this new pavement in particular; given that the 1996 Pocono 500 saw a large number of laps where the lead changed up to three times in one lap, there's some hope for a repeat of such in this 400-miler.
It's also Pocono's first 400 mile race after forty years running 500 milers. 400 is not enough; 500 remains a better race, a better test of racecar and racer and allows more passing. We hope Pocono reverts to 500 milers soon.
Monday, June 04, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Beyond Racing's Mixed Memorial Weekend
Racing's Memorial Day weekend turned into a radically mixed and decidedly surprising affair that was a balm of sorts for Indycar racing and a continuation of the fundamental problem within the NASCAR realm of competition.
The Indianapolis 500 was the first superspeedway race for Indycars since Dan Wheldon's death at Las Vegas, and the new chassis bearing his name got its first big track test. The results were not just mixed, they were radically so. Marco Andretti left the field in the first half, then his race fell apart and the lead became a slugfest; the lead changed an eye-opening 34 times, a new record for the 500 and tying the Winston 500's number from four weeks earlier - further illustrating the disconnect in NASCAR's competition circles as just a year earlier - with a far-racier spoiler and radiator package - the 2011 Winston 500 tied the 2010's running with 88 lead changes, still the all-time mark for competitive depth in auto racing.
The race was ultimately won by Dario Franchitti - which inflicted upon the sport the embarrassment of witnessing the prancing of Franchitti's insufferable wife Ashley Judd (Ashley, let go of Jerry Punch's microphone) - but that was the least of the 500's issues. As stunningly racy as this new car was, it remains rather ungainly a creation and also disturbingly easy to crash, first witnessed during practice and pole day when crashes periodically happened in quick succession - quick enough succession to warrant concern. It also did nothing to assuage the memories of Wheldon's airborne tragedy from last October - on the contrary, Mike Conway's airborne crash, noticeably less violent than Wheldon's, helped make insufferable nonsense of the grotesque indictment of pack racing that raged after the 2011 Vegas 300.
And the upshot - the Indycar sanctioning body is being torn apart from infighting yet again.
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Following the 500, the 2012 World 600 engaged and after some four hours was won by Kasey Kahne, for his first win since 2009, but the uncompetitive nature of the 600 brought further attention to NASCAR's competitive ennui - though it must be noted this ennui applies to lead changes and passing in general; in terms of different winners the nine that have been seen in the first twelve races is an excellent display of competitive depth in the Cup Series.
It has also been a further stain on the many drivers who have displayed ability to race to the win but have struggled so far in 2012; there was considerable attention to pole sitter Aric Almirola in Richard Petty's #43 but Almirola did little to assuage critics pointing to the below-subpar numbers posted in his career. Teammate Marcus Ambrose ran much better in the 600 but broke. Others with greater expectations than what their points standings show include A.J Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer.
It actually further pushes the issue of lack of lead changes, for these tracks are more than capable of having the many winners and also break 40 or more lead changes per race. The points-racing ethos in the sport now remains - there is no kinder word for it - a cancer. And it's part one of a two-pronged cancer to the competition. Brian France mandated shaving the side skirts of the cars to make them harder to drive; it accomplished nothing and sends the message that the 5&5 Myth Of Auto Racing remains a central tenet of his leadership in NASCAR. With his public "repurposing" of NASCAR's R&D Center, his promise of improving the racing will never be fulfilled as long as the 5&5 Myth remains a NASCAR tenet.
**************
Indycar and NASCAR both need to give up on racing's technology arms races. They both need to restrict horsepower and add bolt-on air-displacement to attack the aeropush issue that is parallel with the general weakness of the draft at most tracks - the 500 showed the draft to work there; it needs to be strong enough to work at more tracks as well.
The Indianapolis 500 was the first superspeedway race for Indycars since Dan Wheldon's death at Las Vegas, and the new chassis bearing his name got its first big track test. The results were not just mixed, they were radically so. Marco Andretti left the field in the first half, then his race fell apart and the lead became a slugfest; the lead changed an eye-opening 34 times, a new record for the 500 and tying the Winston 500's number from four weeks earlier - further illustrating the disconnect in NASCAR's competition circles as just a year earlier - with a far-racier spoiler and radiator package - the 2011 Winston 500 tied the 2010's running with 88 lead changes, still the all-time mark for competitive depth in auto racing.
The race was ultimately won by Dario Franchitti - which inflicted upon the sport the embarrassment of witnessing the prancing of Franchitti's insufferable wife Ashley Judd (Ashley, let go of Jerry Punch's microphone) - but that was the least of the 500's issues. As stunningly racy as this new car was, it remains rather ungainly a creation and also disturbingly easy to crash, first witnessed during practice and pole day when crashes periodically happened in quick succession - quick enough succession to warrant concern. It also did nothing to assuage the memories of Wheldon's airborne tragedy from last October - on the contrary, Mike Conway's airborne crash, noticeably less violent than Wheldon's, helped make insufferable nonsense of the grotesque indictment of pack racing that raged after the 2011 Vegas 300.
And the upshot - the Indycar sanctioning body is being torn apart from infighting yet again.
**************
Following the 500, the 2012 World 600 engaged and after some four hours was won by Kasey Kahne, for his first win since 2009, but the uncompetitive nature of the 600 brought further attention to NASCAR's competitive ennui - though it must be noted this ennui applies to lead changes and passing in general; in terms of different winners the nine that have been seen in the first twelve races is an excellent display of competitive depth in the Cup Series.
It has also been a further stain on the many drivers who have displayed ability to race to the win but have struggled so far in 2012; there was considerable attention to pole sitter Aric Almirola in Richard Petty's #43 but Almirola did little to assuage critics pointing to the below-subpar numbers posted in his career. Teammate Marcus Ambrose ran much better in the 600 but broke. Others with greater expectations than what their points standings show include A.J Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer.
It actually further pushes the issue of lack of lead changes, for these tracks are more than capable of having the many winners and also break 40 or more lead changes per race. The points-racing ethos in the sport now remains - there is no kinder word for it - a cancer. And it's part one of a two-pronged cancer to the competition. Brian France mandated shaving the side skirts of the cars to make them harder to drive; it accomplished nothing and sends the message that the 5&5 Myth Of Auto Racing remains a central tenet of his leadership in NASCAR. With his public "repurposing" of NASCAR's R&D Center, his promise of improving the racing will never be fulfilled as long as the 5&5 Myth remains a NASCAR tenet.
**************
Indycar and NASCAR both need to give up on racing's technology arms races. They both need to restrict horsepower and add bolt-on air-displacement to attack the aeropush issue that is parallel with the general weakness of the draft at most tracks - the 500 showed the draft to work there; it needs to be strong enough to work at more tracks as well.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Brian France Blabs Again
Brian France gave another of his state-of-the-sport soliloquies during Winston All Star weekend.
And he shows anew his lack of qualification for his job as NASCAR head.
France was defensive about the poor quality of racing in 2012 with drivers too afraid of losing points to try and win races. His explanations once again make no sense because the lack of lead changes in the sport proves anew the low quality of the racing. He cited Jeff Gordon as though Jeff has undergone a resurgence on the track; though he's led over 300 laps in 11 races he's struggled to finish and looked downright poor despite the pole at Talladega. France was curt in dismissing driver complaints and whined about "we've got a hard job." It won't work no matter how much he whines - what the racing itself says matters most and the racing itself has been poor, with Daytona and Talladega the biggest disappointments because of France's idiotic hatred of tandem drafting and resultant rules changes that did nothing about tandems but did take away a lot of ability to race.
France also claimed Danica Patrick has been good for the sport - even though the backlash against her from the fanbase caused Jenna Fryer to pen one of the dumbest defenses of a driver authored in years - which only raised further questions about Ms. Fryer's competence at covering the sport.
He then waxed poetic about NASCAR's R&D center and how "we're zeroing in on the aero issue" with a small shave to the car's side skirts to take away some downforce. One has heard before how NASCAR has been zeroing in on aero and the result has universally been negative. It just shows that the more Brian France stays in NASCAR the more he shows how out of touch with reality he remains. 2012 is looking like one of those lost years in NASCAR and Brian France remains a major reason for it.
And he shows anew his lack of qualification for his job as NASCAR head.
France was defensive about the poor quality of racing in 2012 with drivers too afraid of losing points to try and win races. His explanations once again make no sense because the lack of lead changes in the sport proves anew the low quality of the racing. He cited Jeff Gordon as though Jeff has undergone a resurgence on the track; though he's led over 300 laps in 11 races he's struggled to finish and looked downright poor despite the pole at Talladega. France was curt in dismissing driver complaints and whined about "we've got a hard job." It won't work no matter how much he whines - what the racing itself says matters most and the racing itself has been poor, with Daytona and Talladega the biggest disappointments because of France's idiotic hatred of tandem drafting and resultant rules changes that did nothing about tandems but did take away a lot of ability to race.
France also claimed Danica Patrick has been good for the sport - even though the backlash against her from the fanbase caused Jenna Fryer to pen one of the dumbest defenses of a driver authored in years - which only raised further questions about Ms. Fryer's competence at covering the sport.
He then waxed poetic about NASCAR's R&D center and how "we're zeroing in on the aero issue" with a small shave to the car's side skirts to take away some downforce. One has heard before how NASCAR has been zeroing in on aero and the result has universally been negative. It just shows that the more Brian France stays in NASCAR the more he shows how out of touch with reality he remains. 2012 is looking like one of those lost years in NASCAR and Brian France remains a major reason for it.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Hendrick: The Myth And The Machine
With Jimmie Johnson's win in the 2012 Southern 500, Rick Hendrick now has 200 wins as a Winston Cup car owner. The accomplishment has already brought out the expected hagiographical pieces about Hendrick's humble beginnings in NASCAR. The reality is not so wholesome.
Joseph Riddick Hendrick began in drag racing and boat racing while building his way up in the car dealer business. The way he was building up the business empire that would seed his racing empire, though, would not exactly hold up in court. Hendrick as a youth befriended Jack Billmyer, an official with the US brand of Honda who was building up the US end of the company by wallowing in bribes and kickbacks from dealers. "All it took was a few gifts," as former American Honda official Steve Lynch once noted, and Rick Hendrick's business empire began with "a few gifts" transmuting in a steady stream of "gifts" - periodically at the expense of rival dealers who would find cars allotted to them instead winding up at Hendrick's stores.
With his car dealer empire growing on graft, Hendrick's racing interest soon found the man who could make it happen in NASCAR in the wild and wooly days of the 1980s when business of lavish appearances (and dubious bank accounts) began populating the sport. When Hendrick was looking for a place to store his drag boats, he found former crew chief Harry Hyde, the 1970 Grand National champ bankrupted by crooked coal miner James "J.D." Stacy in the late 1970s. They wanted to form a NASCAR team and after an aborted alliance with Richard Petty, they hired Geoff Bodine to be their driver. The team clicked and in their third season Hendrick decided to add a second car; he hired Tim Richmond and teamed him with Hyde, a pairing that went poorly at first until both men figured out each other and a spectacular 1986 season ensued.
The success on the track wasn't sustained - after nine wins in 1986 the organization won seven races the next two years - yet Hendrick added a third team in 1987 with Darrell Waltrip as driver, and with that Hendrick Motorsports became almost the only organization to win for Chevrolet in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series (the Richard Childress team was the other, and it out-won Hendrick Motorsports badly). The team rebounded with eight wins in 1989 then hit a skid, winning only six races 1990-3 even as the team was commanding more and more of Chevrolet's resources - Hendrick and RCR were Chevy's lone front-runners, where rival Ford worked to sustain success for a wide variety of its teams and Chevy's GM brethren Pontiac worked aggressively to build a deep roster of race teams.
But even as Hendrick looked to the world as a bloated, inefficient outfit (it won just one race in 1990 and at times looked even worse than that), a fatal NASCAR rule change of 1990 began the path toward a monopoly. NASCAR limited teams in testing to seven test sessions during the season; it left a mid-November to mid-March opening for unlimited testing and teams took advantage of it; in 1990 the Cup series saw 14 different winners (matching the total of 1988) but RCR won just under 1/3 of the series races; in 1991 fourteen winners was replicated but this time competitive depth for the series took over as muscle was flexed by RCR, Robert Yates, the Leo Jackson-Andy Petree outfit, and others.
Then in 1994 as Chevy was granted control of all of GM's racing efforts (and the company cut back to backing just Chevy and Pontiac), NASCAR cut testing to seven per season with a test ban period for November-December. Suddenly the sport had a condition that favored multicar giants like Hendrick - and by 1997 the sport's exodus of team owners had begun as multicar teams squeezed out prospective new winners. It was also when Hendrick was indicted in the mammoth bribery scandal at American Honda. Hendrick escaped punishment despite conviction and was eventually pardoned by Bill Clinton - in part because of Hendrick's involvement with Bank Of America. The conviction nonetheless exposed Hendrick not as someone who reached success from humble beginnings but as someone who took bribery to a new level - especially with hints his car dealership briberies extended to brands other than Honda.
He's continued on and now has 200 wins and ten NASCAR titles. Yet one would feel better about it if Hendrick really were someone of humble beginnings.
Joseph Riddick Hendrick began in drag racing and boat racing while building his way up in the car dealer business. The way he was building up the business empire that would seed his racing empire, though, would not exactly hold up in court. Hendrick as a youth befriended Jack Billmyer, an official with the US brand of Honda who was building up the US end of the company by wallowing in bribes and kickbacks from dealers. "All it took was a few gifts," as former American Honda official Steve Lynch once noted, and Rick Hendrick's business empire began with "a few gifts" transmuting in a steady stream of "gifts" - periodically at the expense of rival dealers who would find cars allotted to them instead winding up at Hendrick's stores.
With his car dealer empire growing on graft, Hendrick's racing interest soon found the man who could make it happen in NASCAR in the wild and wooly days of the 1980s when business of lavish appearances (and dubious bank accounts) began populating the sport. When Hendrick was looking for a place to store his drag boats, he found former crew chief Harry Hyde, the 1970 Grand National champ bankrupted by crooked coal miner James "J.D." Stacy in the late 1970s. They wanted to form a NASCAR team and after an aborted alliance with Richard Petty, they hired Geoff Bodine to be their driver. The team clicked and in their third season Hendrick decided to add a second car; he hired Tim Richmond and teamed him with Hyde, a pairing that went poorly at first until both men figured out each other and a spectacular 1986 season ensued.
The success on the track wasn't sustained - after nine wins in 1986 the organization won seven races the next two years - yet Hendrick added a third team in 1987 with Darrell Waltrip as driver, and with that Hendrick Motorsports became almost the only organization to win for Chevrolet in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series (the Richard Childress team was the other, and it out-won Hendrick Motorsports badly). The team rebounded with eight wins in 1989 then hit a skid, winning only six races 1990-3 even as the team was commanding more and more of Chevrolet's resources - Hendrick and RCR were Chevy's lone front-runners, where rival Ford worked to sustain success for a wide variety of its teams and Chevy's GM brethren Pontiac worked aggressively to build a deep roster of race teams.
But even as Hendrick looked to the world as a bloated, inefficient outfit (it won just one race in 1990 and at times looked even worse than that), a fatal NASCAR rule change of 1990 began the path toward a monopoly. NASCAR limited teams in testing to seven test sessions during the season; it left a mid-November to mid-March opening for unlimited testing and teams took advantage of it; in 1990 the Cup series saw 14 different winners (matching the total of 1988) but RCR won just under 1/3 of the series races; in 1991 fourteen winners was replicated but this time competitive depth for the series took over as muscle was flexed by RCR, Robert Yates, the Leo Jackson-Andy Petree outfit, and others.
Then in 1994 as Chevy was granted control of all of GM's racing efforts (and the company cut back to backing just Chevy and Pontiac), NASCAR cut testing to seven per season with a test ban period for November-December. Suddenly the sport had a condition that favored multicar giants like Hendrick - and by 1997 the sport's exodus of team owners had begun as multicar teams squeezed out prospective new winners. It was also when Hendrick was indicted in the mammoth bribery scandal at American Honda. Hendrick escaped punishment despite conviction and was eventually pardoned by Bill Clinton - in part because of Hendrick's involvement with Bank Of America. The conviction nonetheless exposed Hendrick not as someone who reached success from humble beginnings but as someone who took bribery to a new level - especially with hints his car dealership briberies extended to brands other than Honda.
He's continued on and now has 200 wins and ten NASCAR titles. Yet one would feel better about it if Hendrick really were someone of humble beginnings.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Will The Southern 500 Deliver?
Mike Mulhern on Talladega, EFI, the curious officiating at Richmond, the Southern 500 this Saturday night, and Penske Racing in the transition year from Dodge to Ford.
My Take: Mulhern nails it by noting the subpar quality of racing since Kyle Busch's Daytona Shootout win. While the Winston 500 was better than some make it out to be it nonetheless was a huge disappointment because the drivers had to breathe the cars instead of race.
"NASCAR's no-call (on Danica Patrick's cheap shot at Sam Hornish after the Nationwide thriller at Talladega) speaks volumes..." It does, as NASCAR obviously thinks the inept Ms. Patrick can actually deliver something to the sport other than being a woman and a soft-porn model for a soft-porn website to boot.
As to whether Darlington will ignite a more competitive phase of the 2012 season, I'm not counting on it given that the racing there has been poor since 1993.
My Take: Mulhern nails it by noting the subpar quality of racing since Kyle Busch's Daytona Shootout win. While the Winston 500 was better than some make it out to be it nonetheless was a huge disappointment because the drivers had to breathe the cars instead of race.
"NASCAR's no-call (on Danica Patrick's cheap shot at Sam Hornish after the Nationwide thriller at Talladega) speaks volumes..." It does, as NASCAR obviously thinks the inept Ms. Patrick can actually deliver something to the sport other than being a woman and a soft-porn model for a soft-porn website to boot.
As to whether Darlington will ignite a more competitive phase of the 2012 season, I'm not counting on it given that the racing there has been poor since 1993.
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Aarons 499: Sack The Pack
Are drivers starting to turn against the rule changes to limit tandem drafting at Daytona and Talladega?
It's a question worth asking following another disappointing race where the NASCAR-approved catchphrase "The Pack Is Back" was brought out. The 2012 Winston 500 saw some excellent racing, with several lengthy periods where the leaders raced nose to nose for multiple laps. But it simply didn't live up to the tradition of Talladega - and didn't even live up to the Saturday Aarons 312; the 500 saw 34 lead changes, the 312 broke 37 - because NASCAR's changes to radiators and spoilers took away most of the passing and left the drivers having to breathe the cars instead of race.
It's worth noting Jeff Gordon's post-crash comments where he talked about liking to push people to pass and also said "we're borderline too conservative" in the racing. With everyone having to run hot all day, it took away from passing - and in the end the tandem drafts began coming out more frequently as the race went on, with the final pass coming - you guessed it - because of tandem drafting.
That the tandems are starting to get back to the front shouldn't surprise anyone because tandem drafting remains a power to pass too powerful to be defeated. All NASCAR has done is gotten in the way of passing, and this is what fools do. Racing is about passing and nothing is ever supposed to get in the way of passing.
NASCAR needs to get the message - Sack The Pack. Give us back the tandem drafts; give us back the lead changes the tandems produced.
********************
The "Pack Is Back" catchphrase has become an embarrassment, but a greater embarrassment is the hype before the race that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would break through to the win. That Junior has posted enough top-tens to be third in points so far is surprising, but even in his runner-up finishes he showed he doesn't have the moxie to take the win.
For that matter Hendrick Motorsports as an organization suddenly doesn't look like something that can take the win, stuck on 199 wins and frankly looking outmuscled by Roush and the Toyotas. Jeff Gordon won the pole and looked mediocre once the race began. Jimmie Johnson's five straight titles look like a distant memory. Kasey Kahne looks horribly out of place with this organization.
Among the teams that got unexpected attention this weekend, the Richard Petty Motorsports group ran okay in the 500; Aric Almirola salvaged 12th but still looks lacking in the fight needed to seize the win; it's better than it was but going for the lead is a requirement before he can be taken seriously as a racer.
There was also continuation of engine and fuel problems, with NASCAR's EFI experiment again seeming to get in the way with grossly untoward issues hitting more than enough teams to warrant continued concern.
The bottom line was thus that Talladega produced some excellent racing but Brian France got in the way, and he needs to get out of the way.
It's a question worth asking following another disappointing race where the NASCAR-approved catchphrase "The Pack Is Back" was brought out. The 2012 Winston 500 saw some excellent racing, with several lengthy periods where the leaders raced nose to nose for multiple laps. But it simply didn't live up to the tradition of Talladega - and didn't even live up to the Saturday Aarons 312; the 500 saw 34 lead changes, the 312 broke 37 - because NASCAR's changes to radiators and spoilers took away most of the passing and left the drivers having to breathe the cars instead of race.
It's worth noting Jeff Gordon's post-crash comments where he talked about liking to push people to pass and also said "we're borderline too conservative" in the racing. With everyone having to run hot all day, it took away from passing - and in the end the tandem drafts began coming out more frequently as the race went on, with the final pass coming - you guessed it - because of tandem drafting.
That the tandems are starting to get back to the front shouldn't surprise anyone because tandem drafting remains a power to pass too powerful to be defeated. All NASCAR has done is gotten in the way of passing, and this is what fools do. Racing is about passing and nothing is ever supposed to get in the way of passing.
NASCAR needs to get the message - Sack The Pack. Give us back the tandem drafts; give us back the lead changes the tandems produced.
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The "Pack Is Back" catchphrase has become an embarrassment, but a greater embarrassment is the hype before the race that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would break through to the win. That Junior has posted enough top-tens to be third in points so far is surprising, but even in his runner-up finishes he showed he doesn't have the moxie to take the win.
For that matter Hendrick Motorsports as an organization suddenly doesn't look like something that can take the win, stuck on 199 wins and frankly looking outmuscled by Roush and the Toyotas. Jeff Gordon won the pole and looked mediocre once the race began. Jimmie Johnson's five straight titles look like a distant memory. Kasey Kahne looks horribly out of place with this organization.
Among the teams that got unexpected attention this weekend, the Richard Petty Motorsports group ran okay in the 500; Aric Almirola salvaged 12th but still looks lacking in the fight needed to seize the win; it's better than it was but going for the lead is a requirement before he can be taken seriously as a racer.
There was also continuation of engine and fuel problems, with NASCAR's EFI experiment again seeming to get in the way with grossly untoward issues hitting more than enough teams to warrant continued concern.
The bottom line was thus that Talladega produced some excellent racing but Brian France got in the way, and he needs to get out of the way.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Aarons 312 Breakdown
The NASCAR Nationwide series took the green flag at Talladega for the 21st time in the series' modern touring incarnation (it raced there several times in the latter 1970s as the Late Model Sportsman series) and the ensuing Aarons 312 became a milestone for Toyota, as Joey Logano stormed to the win and gave Toyota its 200th NASCAR win between the three touring series.
The race saw 37 lead changes among 18 drivers - while a drop from the 54 of last year, it is nonetheless an awesome number and a vindication of sorts for NASCAR, as the cars got some changes to break up tandem drafting after what transpired at Daytona's 300-miler; the result was the race saw plenty of tandem drafting but the tandems didn't monopolize the racing and the race also saw a striking effectiveness in sidedrafting, with tandems stalling out as cars sucked off the air from their sides.
There is plenty to break down in this race, beginning with the rule changes and their effect on the racing. They had an effect on the racing, but ultimately didn't hurt it - though this says more about Talladega's near-immunity to NASCAR rule changes than anything else.
Other breakdowns -
Dale Junior runs strong but comes up short again - Junior is considered the huge favorite for the Winston 500 and he certainly showed muscle, but he came up short again - his Cup failings have been well known but in the Busch Series he hasn't won since 2006, outside of 2010's bizarre (and I dare confess suspicious) monopoly of the Firecracker 250 in an RCR Chevrolet with Wranglers Retro paint. The hype for Junior just keeps going and one has to wonder if it will ever stop given his inability to deliver what is now expected.
Annett's victory bid thrown away - The stupid move of the race came when Michael Annett, going for the win, made the mistake of trying to force open a closing hole; the result was the wreck of the race and injury to Eric McClure. It wasted a spectacular run by Annett and a much-needed victory bid for the sport's ultimate champion, Richard Petty. Annett overall, though, has done okay in Petty's #43, and the overall run is a great omen for the Winston 500 and the resurgence of the Cup #43 for Aric Almirola.
Speaking of dumb moves, here's Danica - It bears repeating because the Race Stream Media won't admit the truth - the fact of being a woman is why Danica Patrick has a racing ride. It's for no other reason, and it showed in another petulent incident on-track as she lost spots at the end and then took it out on Sam Hornish. Give Hornish criticism for swerving, but he had more right to the track than Little Miss Danica. It bears repeating she's only finished on the lead lap nine times and crashed in roughly half her stock car starts.
Kurt Busch won't go down - Kurt Busch has had a star-crossed period beginning with the humiliating release from Penske Racing and the closure of top-drawer rides from him. In the Busch Series he's won once and at Talladega he showed the heart of a champion - so did James Finch's squad as they rallied from a wreck to finish sixth. Busch may have had success come before truly earning it - he's now earning it.
Joe Nemechek, hero of the race - Joe Nemechek had a superior run in last year's 312; he had another awesome run in this one, a renaissance of sorts for one of the series' ironmen - and a reminder that the old guard has a place in racing still.
It made for a great race and the promise of redemption come the future, near and far.
The race saw 37 lead changes among 18 drivers - while a drop from the 54 of last year, it is nonetheless an awesome number and a vindication of sorts for NASCAR, as the cars got some changes to break up tandem drafting after what transpired at Daytona's 300-miler; the result was the race saw plenty of tandem drafting but the tandems didn't monopolize the racing and the race also saw a striking effectiveness in sidedrafting, with tandems stalling out as cars sucked off the air from their sides.
There is plenty to break down in this race, beginning with the rule changes and their effect on the racing. They had an effect on the racing, but ultimately didn't hurt it - though this says more about Talladega's near-immunity to NASCAR rule changes than anything else.
Other breakdowns -
Dale Junior runs strong but comes up short again - Junior is considered the huge favorite for the Winston 500 and he certainly showed muscle, but he came up short again - his Cup failings have been well known but in the Busch Series he hasn't won since 2006, outside of 2010's bizarre (and I dare confess suspicious) monopoly of the Firecracker 250 in an RCR Chevrolet with Wranglers Retro paint. The hype for Junior just keeps going and one has to wonder if it will ever stop given his inability to deliver what is now expected.
Annett's victory bid thrown away - The stupid move of the race came when Michael Annett, going for the win, made the mistake of trying to force open a closing hole; the result was the wreck of the race and injury to Eric McClure. It wasted a spectacular run by Annett and a much-needed victory bid for the sport's ultimate champion, Richard Petty. Annett overall, though, has done okay in Petty's #43, and the overall run is a great omen for the Winston 500 and the resurgence of the Cup #43 for Aric Almirola.
Speaking of dumb moves, here's Danica - It bears repeating because the Race Stream Media won't admit the truth - the fact of being a woman is why Danica Patrick has a racing ride. It's for no other reason, and it showed in another petulent incident on-track as she lost spots at the end and then took it out on Sam Hornish. Give Hornish criticism for swerving, but he had more right to the track than Little Miss Danica. It bears repeating she's only finished on the lead lap nine times and crashed in roughly half her stock car starts.
Kurt Busch won't go down - Kurt Busch has had a star-crossed period beginning with the humiliating release from Penske Racing and the closure of top-drawer rides from him. In the Busch Series he's won once and at Talladega he showed the heart of a champion - so did James Finch's squad as they rallied from a wreck to finish sixth. Busch may have had success come before truly earning it - he's now earning it.
Joe Nemechek, hero of the race - Joe Nemechek had a superior run in last year's 312; he had another awesome run in this one, a renaissance of sorts for one of the series' ironmen - and a reminder that the old guard has a place in racing still.
It made for a great race and the promise of redemption come the future, near and far.
Friday, May 04, 2012
Richmond rearview and Talladega preview
Mike Mulhern perviews Talladega and looks back again at a Richmond 400 that is becoming more and more controversial.
My take: Surprisingly, Mulhern doesn't particularly delve into the possibility that two-car superdrafts could become a force again at Talladega despite NASCAR's absurd changes to spoilers and radiators intended to break them up. Given that Talladega is more forgiving than Daytona - and given that tandem drafts decided all the Speedweeks races leading up to a 500 where the drivers seemed to quit on trying to win after waiting through two rain delays and then the bizarre Montoya crash with a jet dryer - one can be confident the tandems will make some sort of comeback; they're still a power to pass stronger than anything else. I expect the Winston 500 to be the same mixture of the pack and tandem drafts the Daytona Shootout was. The points racers will of course stroke it until the end like they usually do. I'm certainly hoping the tandems come back because the passing produced is awe-inspiring.
Aric Almirola got to a strong start with a superb Friday practice - he needs to back it up on Sunday in the debut race of his new crew chief.
The Richmond controversy just won't go away, as Mulhern notes spotters were told four different times Carl Edwards was the leader, this on top of every scoring angle showing Edwards as the leader. And there's the fact Tony Stewart utterly gagged the restart.
My take: Surprisingly, Mulhern doesn't particularly delve into the possibility that two-car superdrafts could become a force again at Talladega despite NASCAR's absurd changes to spoilers and radiators intended to break them up. Given that Talladega is more forgiving than Daytona - and given that tandem drafts decided all the Speedweeks races leading up to a 500 where the drivers seemed to quit on trying to win after waiting through two rain delays and then the bizarre Montoya crash with a jet dryer - one can be confident the tandems will make some sort of comeback; they're still a power to pass stronger than anything else. I expect the Winston 500 to be the same mixture of the pack and tandem drafts the Daytona Shootout was. The points racers will of course stroke it until the end like they usually do. I'm certainly hoping the tandems come back because the passing produced is awe-inspiring.
Aric Almirola got to a strong start with a superb Friday practice - he needs to back it up on Sunday in the debut race of his new crew chief.
The Richmond controversy just won't go away, as Mulhern notes spotters were told four different times Carl Edwards was the leader, this on top of every scoring angle showing Edwards as the leader. And there's the fact Tony Stewart utterly gagged the restart.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Spygate Returns
The Baltimore Ravens dragged Spygate into the fore again as coach John Harbaugh publicly questioned the integrity of the New England Patriots' three Superbowl titles. That he's doing this now shows how desperate the Ravens have become in their inability to defeat New England. Having won just one game in their entire history over the Patriots, it's clearly gotten to them that they've been unable to beat them.
Dragging Spygate into the issue continues to show how ignorant everyone remains about what actually happened - Roger Goodell lashed out at the Patriots because he didn't understand his own league's constitution and bylaws - a controversy that began because a league memo falsified what the rule in question actually allows.
The Mainstream Sports Media did an abysmal job examining Spygate and continues to do so. The fact remains the New England Patriots are owed a massive apology by the league - and everyone else.
UPDATE: Typical - Harbaugh has backtracked.
Dragging Spygate into the issue continues to show how ignorant everyone remains about what actually happened - Roger Goodell lashed out at the Patriots because he didn't understand his own league's constitution and bylaws - a controversy that began because a league memo falsified what the rule in question actually allows.
The Mainstream Sports Media did an abysmal job examining Spygate and continues to do so. The fact remains the New England Patriots are owed a massive apology by the league - and everyone else.
UPDATE: Typical - Harbaugh has backtracked.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Talladega And The Continued Ineptitude of Brian France
The 2012 NASCAR season enters the first of two weekends at its greatest speedway. Daytona, Charlotte, Pocono, and Michigan all have rich competitive history - Ontario Motor Speedway built a very memorable competitive history cut short far too early - but for sheer competitive ferocity nothing compares to Talladega Superspeedway.
But entering this Winston 500 weekend we've gotten reminder that this 2012 season has already been a season of frustration and ineptitude. The Richmond 400 weekend began with a surprising comeback win by Kurt Busch in the Nationwide 250 but it ended with a scoring breakdown and foolish officiating, resulting in a penalty to race contender Carl Edwards and a strikingly anticlimactic win by Kyle Busch. Scoring controversies are not new to NASCAR and officiating controversies are not new, either, yet neither should be happening today between electronic scoring and the far greater sophistication involved in racing in all its aspects.
Making it worse, the sport in a sense returns to the scene of the first crime of the season. Talladega returns the absurd rules package designed to limit tandem drafting at restrictor plate races - an absurdly small spoiler and even more absurdly small radiator, designed to make the drivers breathe the cars instead of race. The package came because Brian France of NASCAR claimed a fan poll showed overwhelming opposition by fans of tandem drafting, yet as Bob Pockrass pointed out earlier this year there never was any evidence of widespread fan distaste for tandem drafting. This package came because Brian France and no one else hated tandem drafting.
Of course Dale Earnhardt Jr. became hypocritically critical of tandem drafting (people forget he brought to the mainstream in 2009 in the Winston 500, though it had been building for years before) and the arguments against it remain insufferable - Junior's talk about drivers not controlling their own destiny is insulting because tandem drafting creates a power to pass unprecedented in racing history - and this is by definition having a measure of control of your own destiny.
Do you want to control your destiny or do you want ability to pass people? Racers are supposed to want ability to pass; it makes Junior's verbiage utterly without credibility. It of course was telling that all the racing before the 500 was decided by tandem drafting - the Busch Clash, both 150s, and the N'wide 300 (which runs the "old" spoiler and radiator package), by far the best race of Speedweeks.
Given that Talladega is different from Daytona, the poor quality of racing seen in the Daytona 500 may not be replicated, but the 500 set in motion a general sense of ennui in the drivers - the infamous non-finish by Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 500 has been replicated in spirit if not in literal sense in the racing in general, a fact that has helped ignite real controversy that has taken Carl Edwards for one by surprise.
**********
The end result remains an indictment of Brian France. His reign as NASCAR president has been abysmal between the mass exodus of sponsors, controversies over exclusivity deals, the draining of life out of the racing not just by the sport's technology arms race but by its ever-growing emphasis on points instead of actual racing, and running rules packages hoisted by France and by his Cup director John Darby that have consistently failed - running battles against downforce, frequent changes to the cars between spoilers and sway bars, and the net result is worsened racing.
Brian France has proven he isn't qualified for his job, and no matter how the Winston 500 weekend turns out it will indict him more - the Alabama 312 for the Nationwide series runs the "old" spoiler/radiator package so tandem drafting will predominate; it resulted in a new Daytona race record for lead changes for the series in February. This will illustrate what Speedweeks illustrated - the fundamental failing of Brian France's war against tandem drafts. If the Winston 500 turns out as mediocre as the Daytona 500 it proves France's rule change is a failure; if Talladega is a great race it will show France's changes didn't take away tandem drafting after all (remember, the Clash and 150s were all decided by tandem drafting) - either way he can't win here.
He can't win, and he keeps proving he can't win in general. Richmond's officiating controversies merely add to his legacy of ineptitude.
But entering this Winston 500 weekend we've gotten reminder that this 2012 season has already been a season of frustration and ineptitude. The Richmond 400 weekend began with a surprising comeback win by Kurt Busch in the Nationwide 250 but it ended with a scoring breakdown and foolish officiating, resulting in a penalty to race contender Carl Edwards and a strikingly anticlimactic win by Kyle Busch. Scoring controversies are not new to NASCAR and officiating controversies are not new, either, yet neither should be happening today between electronic scoring and the far greater sophistication involved in racing in all its aspects.
Making it worse, the sport in a sense returns to the scene of the first crime of the season. Talladega returns the absurd rules package designed to limit tandem drafting at restrictor plate races - an absurdly small spoiler and even more absurdly small radiator, designed to make the drivers breathe the cars instead of race. The package came because Brian France of NASCAR claimed a fan poll showed overwhelming opposition by fans of tandem drafting, yet as Bob Pockrass pointed out earlier this year there never was any evidence of widespread fan distaste for tandem drafting. This package came because Brian France and no one else hated tandem drafting.
Of course Dale Earnhardt Jr. became hypocritically critical of tandem drafting (people forget he brought to the mainstream in 2009 in the Winston 500, though it had been building for years before) and the arguments against it remain insufferable - Junior's talk about drivers not controlling their own destiny is insulting because tandem drafting creates a power to pass unprecedented in racing history - and this is by definition having a measure of control of your own destiny.
Do you want to control your destiny or do you want ability to pass people? Racers are supposed to want ability to pass; it makes Junior's verbiage utterly without credibility. It of course was telling that all the racing before the 500 was decided by tandem drafting - the Busch Clash, both 150s, and the N'wide 300 (which runs the "old" spoiler and radiator package), by far the best race of Speedweeks.
Given that Talladega is different from Daytona, the poor quality of racing seen in the Daytona 500 may not be replicated, but the 500 set in motion a general sense of ennui in the drivers - the infamous non-finish by Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 500 has been replicated in spirit if not in literal sense in the racing in general, a fact that has helped ignite real controversy that has taken Carl Edwards for one by surprise.
**********
The end result remains an indictment of Brian France. His reign as NASCAR president has been abysmal between the mass exodus of sponsors, controversies over exclusivity deals, the draining of life out of the racing not just by the sport's technology arms race but by its ever-growing emphasis on points instead of actual racing, and running rules packages hoisted by France and by his Cup director John Darby that have consistently failed - running battles against downforce, frequent changes to the cars between spoilers and sway bars, and the net result is worsened racing.
Brian France has proven he isn't qualified for his job, and no matter how the Winston 500 weekend turns out it will indict him more - the Alabama 312 for the Nationwide series runs the "old" spoiler/radiator package so tandem drafting will predominate; it resulted in a new Daytona race record for lead changes for the series in February. This will illustrate what Speedweeks illustrated - the fundamental failing of Brian France's war against tandem drafts. If the Winston 500 turns out as mediocre as the Daytona 500 it proves France's rule change is a failure; if Talladega is a great race it will show France's changes didn't take away tandem drafting after all (remember, the Clash and 150s were all decided by tandem drafting) - either way he can't win here.
He can't win, and he keeps proving he can't win in general. Richmond's officiating controversies merely add to his legacy of ineptitude.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Kyle Busch Richmond 400 Win
Mulhern reviews 2012 Capital City 400 won amid controversy by Kyle Busch
My Take: Kyle Busch pulled off his first Cup win since August 2011 thanks in part to a controversial restart earlier in the race that swatted out Carl Edwards - Edwards led over 200 laps; on a restart around a quarter distance to the end he was posted as the leader when Tony Stewart was ostensibly the actual leader; Stewart then gagged on a restart and Edwards blew ahead; he was blackflagged by NASCAR. A late caution (14 to go) allowed Busch to close up, get tires, and beat Stewart to the restart when Tony gagged again and Busch was gone to the win. NASCAR is borderline here - Edwards being where he was, ostensibly outside the restart box, made the call ticky tax at best, and the ideaq of a penalty deciding a race is never persuasive.
The Busch win came in a race where tire wear was a major issue - tire conservation appeared to take precedence over fighting for the win, making nonsense of the long-standing driver talking point - reiterated by Edwards in recent interviews about the uncompetitive nature of 2012's racing - about softer tires making for better racing.
Much will be made of Dale Earnhardt Jr's runner-up finish - that Junior has shown marked improvement in his finishes is clear, but with Hendrick Motorsports curiously faltering in its quest to win its 200th race, one has to wonder if the improvement really telegraphs a pending victory - especially with Talladega beckoning.
Two disappointments in the race were AJ Allmendinger and Aric Almirola. Allmendinger raced well most of the night yet curiously faded at the end, continuing the trend of him being the organization's "backup" racer to Keselowski. Allmendinger deserves better than that and may be finding his Penske deal isn't better than the deal he had with Petty 2009-11.
As for Petty's present driver, Aric Almirola was rather vocal before the race about running well at Richmond. He then went out and laid a big egg, something he's been doing almost all season. Given Petty's status in the sport, it's insulting that the #43 is getting so little for it out of its driver.
See also Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards postrace comments.
My Take: Kyle Busch pulled off his first Cup win since August 2011 thanks in part to a controversial restart earlier in the race that swatted out Carl Edwards - Edwards led over 200 laps; on a restart around a quarter distance to the end he was posted as the leader when Tony Stewart was ostensibly the actual leader; Stewart then gagged on a restart and Edwards blew ahead; he was blackflagged by NASCAR. A late caution (14 to go) allowed Busch to close up, get tires, and beat Stewart to the restart when Tony gagged again and Busch was gone to the win. NASCAR is borderline here - Edwards being where he was, ostensibly outside the restart box, made the call ticky tax at best, and the ideaq of a penalty deciding a race is never persuasive.
The Busch win came in a race where tire wear was a major issue - tire conservation appeared to take precedence over fighting for the win, making nonsense of the long-standing driver talking point - reiterated by Edwards in recent interviews about the uncompetitive nature of 2012's racing - about softer tires making for better racing.
Much will be made of Dale Earnhardt Jr's runner-up finish - that Junior has shown marked improvement in his finishes is clear, but with Hendrick Motorsports curiously faltering in its quest to win its 200th race, one has to wonder if the improvement really telegraphs a pending victory - especially with Talladega beckoning.
Two disappointments in the race were AJ Allmendinger and Aric Almirola. Allmendinger raced well most of the night yet curiously faded at the end, continuing the trend of him being the organization's "backup" racer to Keselowski. Allmendinger deserves better than that and may be finding his Penske deal isn't better than the deal he had with Petty 2009-11.
As for Petty's present driver, Aric Almirola was rather vocal before the race about running well at Richmond. He then went out and laid a big egg, something he's been doing almost all season. Given Petty's status in the sport, it's insulting that the #43 is getting so little for it out of its driver.
See also Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards postrace comments.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Greg Biffle And Carl Edwards Discuss Owners And Aerodynamics
Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards discuss NASCAR's dearth of team owners and also the aerodynamics issues still affecting the racing.
My Take: Biffle discusses the sport's lack of team owners with the aging of its Big Five - Hendrick, Childress, Roush, Penske, and Joe Gibbs - and the huge drop in number and performance levels of the few remaining teams under different ownerships. Biffle really doesn't break any insightful ground here; he makes clear he's not up for becoming a team owner in the future. I'd add that Kevin Harvick's decision to close his own BGN/Truck team shows the sport is reaching the point of pricing itself out of anyone's range.
Edwards discusses the aerodynamics of the racecars and rehashes the hoary old gripe that the cars shouldn't be racing with downforce, sideforce, and "all these aerodynamic devices" and of course advocates a softer tire. Problem remains that prescription has been a failure - taking away downforce etc. is a proven failure as is softer tires. Taking away downforce didn't make aeropush go away, it made it worse - the sport proved that in 1998 and also in the 2000s with John Darby's multiple changes to the cars taking away downforce; Dale Junior's talk late last year regarding eliminating tandem drafting centered on changing dirty air to a "beachball effect" - it's exactly what has happened on the intermediate tracks in the last decade-plus.
It's why the old roof rail remains something the sport needs to try not just for the plate tracks where it is a spectacular success but the other tracks - the story was back in January 2001 that NASCAR was planning to phase in the roof rail to non-plate tracks in 2002; it of course panicked after that 2001 season. Bigger spoilers also remain a necessity. I will say I'm coming around on the airdam as low to the ground as it is; the roof rail package allowed shaving of airdam to allow air under the car while keeping the nose firmly planted.
Edwards also delves into the point structure and the Chase format and shows anew how it has corrupted the integrity of the season.
My Take: Biffle discusses the sport's lack of team owners with the aging of its Big Five - Hendrick, Childress, Roush, Penske, and Joe Gibbs - and the huge drop in number and performance levels of the few remaining teams under different ownerships. Biffle really doesn't break any insightful ground here; he makes clear he's not up for becoming a team owner in the future. I'd add that Kevin Harvick's decision to close his own BGN/Truck team shows the sport is reaching the point of pricing itself out of anyone's range.
Edwards discusses the aerodynamics of the racecars and rehashes the hoary old gripe that the cars shouldn't be racing with downforce, sideforce, and "all these aerodynamic devices" and of course advocates a softer tire. Problem remains that prescription has been a failure - taking away downforce etc. is a proven failure as is softer tires. Taking away downforce didn't make aeropush go away, it made it worse - the sport proved that in 1998 and also in the 2000s with John Darby's multiple changes to the cars taking away downforce; Dale Junior's talk late last year regarding eliminating tandem drafting centered on changing dirty air to a "beachball effect" - it's exactly what has happened on the intermediate tracks in the last decade-plus.
It's why the old roof rail remains something the sport needs to try not just for the plate tracks where it is a spectacular success but the other tracks - the story was back in January 2001 that NASCAR was planning to phase in the roof rail to non-plate tracks in 2002; it of course panicked after that 2001 season. Bigger spoilers also remain a necessity. I will say I'm coming around on the airdam as low to the ground as it is; the roof rail package allowed shaving of airdam to allow air under the car while keeping the nose firmly planted.
Edwards also delves into the point structure and the Chase format and shows anew how it has corrupted the integrity of the season.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Darrell Waltrip On Points Racing Circa 2012
Mike Mulhern talks to Darrell Waltrip on the change coming to Bristol and whether the lack of competition in the sport is due to the points system the sport has going for it.
My Take: Darrell is 100% right about tires - you don't want a tire that's questionable. The whole tire issue is - pun - sideways. The tires being as hard as they are isn't the problem; the problem has been ability to lean or them or race them the way they were raced on in the days of bias-ply tires. The best example remains the 1991 Michigan 400, won by Davey Allison over Waymond "Hut" Stricklin - the first half of that race saw a huge battle for the lead involving multiple cars with Allison, Dale Earnhardt, and Mark Martin providing the largest percentage of fight. The lead changed unofficially 30 times in a 15-lap span before Stricklin took over around the 50-lap mark.
There was word in 2010 that Goodyear would widen its tires by 2011 or 2012 - I'm curious as to what happened there.
Waltrip also raises the points system and he's right again - the points system has the exact same failing as the old Latford Point System in that it refuses to reward winning and also leading the most laps. The points system and the Chase format have to go; revert to the old Latford System but increase the bonus for winning the race by over 100 points, and increase the bonus for most laps led by 100 points - make it where winning the most races and leading the most laps are the focus of the championship.
Waltrip also talks about how the cars can be changed. It remains - go back to the roof blade; restrictor plate the cars; go back to the 2010 radiator and grille package to allow tandem-drafting - Brian France was wrong about tandem-drafting; it's superior racing (shown by the 300 lead changes in Cup's four plate races in 2011, not to mention the nearly 160 in the last four plate races in the Nationwide Series 2011-12).
My Take: Darrell is 100% right about tires - you don't want a tire that's questionable. The whole tire issue is - pun - sideways. The tires being as hard as they are isn't the problem; the problem has been ability to lean or them or race them the way they were raced on in the days of bias-ply tires. The best example remains the 1991 Michigan 400, won by Davey Allison over Waymond "Hut" Stricklin - the first half of that race saw a huge battle for the lead involving multiple cars with Allison, Dale Earnhardt, and Mark Martin providing the largest percentage of fight. The lead changed unofficially 30 times in a 15-lap span before Stricklin took over around the 50-lap mark.
There was word in 2010 that Goodyear would widen its tires by 2011 or 2012 - I'm curious as to what happened there.
Waltrip also raises the points system and he's right again - the points system has the exact same failing as the old Latford Point System in that it refuses to reward winning and also leading the most laps. The points system and the Chase format have to go; revert to the old Latford System but increase the bonus for winning the race by over 100 points, and increase the bonus for most laps led by 100 points - make it where winning the most races and leading the most laps are the focus of the championship.
Waltrip also talks about how the cars can be changed. It remains - go back to the roof blade; restrictor plate the cars; go back to the 2010 radiator and grille package to allow tandem-drafting - Brian France was wrong about tandem-drafting; it's superior racing (shown by the 300 lead changes in Cup's four plate races in 2011, not to mention the nearly 160 in the last four plate races in the Nationwide Series 2011-12).
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
1977 Winston Cup LA Times 500 part 1 of 3
Part One of the 1977 LA Times 500, an illustration of auto racing in an era when the technology arms race did not overwhelm the sport.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Rockingham And The Hype For A Nonexistent Nostalgia
The former North Carolina Motor Speedway hosted NASCAR's Truck Series on April 15, 2012, eight years after the track closed upon being sold to Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Kasey Kahne won after taking the lead with 46 laps to go, aided when F1-reject Nelson Piquet Jr. was blackflagged for speeding down pit road. He finished seventh after leading 107 laps.
Kahne's win came eight years after he came up inches short in the track's last Winston Cup race, the 2004 Carolina 400 won by Matt Kenseth. The debut of NASCAR's Truck Series marked the return of a major touring series of NASCAR to the track, and it immediatelty unleashed a wave of commentary about how good it was for NASCAR to return to the track.
The problem, though, is that the nostalgia for the speedway willfully ignores why the track lost its Winston Cup dates to begin with. The Truck 200 there played before a speedway where some 50,000 seats had been torn down and the seating capacity was thus 32,000. The track's recorded attendance was 27,000. Lack of attendance was a factor in why the track lost its Cup dates. But several myths have been perpetrated by fans trying to explain why Rockingham didn't draw well - chief among the myths is that the track's dates were not condusive to quality weather - that it would have sold out its dates had they been moved to warmer times such as April through August instead of February/March and October/November.
That myth got exposed when the track reopened amid heavy hype and promotion of SPEED TV coverage of its inaugural race in May 2009 for ARCA stock cars - amid excellent weather, maybe 10,000 people showed up. The hype for this Truck race was of course even higher, and yet the track still could not sell out even with reduced seating capacity.
There remain fans who praise the quality of Rockingham's racing, despite all evidence to the contrary. The Truck 200 saw seven lead changes, dismal for a 200-lap race and indication the track is not terribly raceable. Making it worse is the track's notorious surface, which throughout its existence has devolved into a surface that wore out tires to where fresh tires were usually four seconds per lap faster. The racing suffered as a result, with cars strung out, over half the field getting lapped by halfway, and crashes occurring with varying frequency.
At its best Rockingham was a pale carbon of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Rockingham had some good races, most notably the 1984 American 500, but it simply is too small a track and too narrow for the racing to be all that good.
Ultimately Rockingham cannot be more than it now is - a 1-mile track with some room to race but not as much as what major league racing needs, a track that is good for local racing but useless for major league racing like Winston Cup, and a track whose demographic simply is not strong enough for more than it now has for racing. There remains fans who want the track to bring back Cup racing, but such fans need to evolve here.
Kahne's win came eight years after he came up inches short in the track's last Winston Cup race, the 2004 Carolina 400 won by Matt Kenseth. The debut of NASCAR's Truck Series marked the return of a major touring series of NASCAR to the track, and it immediatelty unleashed a wave of commentary about how good it was for NASCAR to return to the track.
The problem, though, is that the nostalgia for the speedway willfully ignores why the track lost its Winston Cup dates to begin with. The Truck 200 there played before a speedway where some 50,000 seats had been torn down and the seating capacity was thus 32,000. The track's recorded attendance was 27,000. Lack of attendance was a factor in why the track lost its Cup dates. But several myths have been perpetrated by fans trying to explain why Rockingham didn't draw well - chief among the myths is that the track's dates were not condusive to quality weather - that it would have sold out its dates had they been moved to warmer times such as April through August instead of February/March and October/November.
That myth got exposed when the track reopened amid heavy hype and promotion of SPEED TV coverage of its inaugural race in May 2009 for ARCA stock cars - amid excellent weather, maybe 10,000 people showed up. The hype for this Truck race was of course even higher, and yet the track still could not sell out even with reduced seating capacity.
There remain fans who praise the quality of Rockingham's racing, despite all evidence to the contrary. The Truck 200 saw seven lead changes, dismal for a 200-lap race and indication the track is not terribly raceable. Making it worse is the track's notorious surface, which throughout its existence has devolved into a surface that wore out tires to where fresh tires were usually four seconds per lap faster. The racing suffered as a result, with cars strung out, over half the field getting lapped by halfway, and crashes occurring with varying frequency.
At its best Rockingham was a pale carbon of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Rockingham had some good races, most notably the 1984 American 500, but it simply is too small a track and too narrow for the racing to be all that good.
Ultimately Rockingham cannot be more than it now is - a 1-mile track with some room to race but not as much as what major league racing needs, a track that is good for local racing but useless for major league racing like Winston Cup, and a track whose demographic simply is not strong enough for more than it now has for racing. There remains fans who want the track to bring back Cup racing, but such fans need to evolve here.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The entire Obama presidency in one anecdote — updated
The entire Obama presidency in one anecdote — updated - Obama was baffled that government spent money on infrastructure and nothing happened - it shows what's fundamentally wrong with how he thinks.
Friday, April 13, 2012
The Failure Of The American Welfare State
The US spends some $1 trillion per year on welfare - with nothing to show for it.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Monday, April 09, 2012
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Friday, April 06, 2012
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
CBO report shows how new Ryan budget plan puts U.S. on path to solvency
The CBO examined an adult's budget plan amid the budget games of the child from Chicago.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
No surprise: TARP bailout encouraged banks to make riskier loans
The Treasury Department released some charts to showcase Obama "successes" - except all charts about TARP prove is that he failed - because all Obama did was put in bailouts that are breeding more bailouts.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Thursday, March 01, 2012
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