NASCAR's regular season takes a breather this coming weekend, but the tour's participants don't, as they get ready for Charlotte's All Star Race weekend. The much-hyped weekend sees the All Star Showdown for cars that have not made the field for the All Star Race (2012 winners plus winners so far in 2013, which makes David Ragan eligible), and the top two of them makes the All Star field. The All Star Race has four 20-lap segments and a 10-lap shootout, with a $1 million bonus for winning all five segments.
A question that never gets asked anymore but which still is relevant to the sport - does the All Star Race really serve any worthwhile purpose for the sport? The 29 runnings of this race have gotten a lot of hype, yet the moments that tend to be cited in discussions of the race are always the crashes. As far as good racing, the All Star Race has come up short virtually every time. Only 1994 and 2000 produced battles that were actually good racing.
Given the reported attempt for Iowa Speedway to get a Cup date, one has to ask whether it's time to end "gimmick" races such as the All Star Race and the Clash at Daytona and instead spend the money used for adding another Cup race.
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The Southern 500 was an uncompetitive affair and yet another poor showing for the Generation Six racecar, and the postrace commentary showed the Gen-6 is going nowhere toward solving the sport's issue of aeropush - a contrast to the Kansas Truck 200 a month ago where dirty air helped create passing. It is also telling that we lately haven't seen much NASCAR hype of scoring loop data with regard to the Generation Six.
That the Southern 500 was run under the lights contrasts with the Winston 500 last week, which doesn't have lights, and with Indianapolis Motor Speedway to add lights for 2014 or 2015 with a $100 million state-backed upgrade. The rumor is thus already starting that Talladega will add lights down the road and we'll of course get griping that NASCAR should switch more races to night - never mind the complete lack of any improvement in the sport's ratings or popularity with night racing and the damage done to local tracks that are basically bullied out because NASCAR runs at night.
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An underrated issue remains the over-centralization of engine supply in NASCAR, with basically only four teams - Hendrick, RCR, Roush, and JGR building their own engines and other teams having to get their engines from them; even more curious is the seeming lack of outside engine shops such as the old Pro Motor Engineering or Mike Ege Racing Engines or Joey Arrington engine shops that once proliferated in the sport at the Cup level. The economics involved make sense to a point, yet also don't make sense in the larger picture of how much autonomy a team can have - one need recall Rick Hendrick's cryptic warning to Tony Stewart after he won the 2011 championship with Hendrick engines.
Racing writer Mike Mulhern has noted the absurdity of the issue with regard to NASCAR's recent clamp-down on Joe Gibbs and how outdated NASCAR's approach now seems to be.
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It is telling that while five teams teams have won so far in 2013 with credible efforts from Richard Petty Motorsports thrown in for good measure, Hendrick and Joe Gibbs have won all but three of the first eleven races. The biggest surprise of the season is not the Talladega win by Front Row Motorsports, not that that gigantic upset doesn't warrant continued attention.
The biggest surprise remains the collapse of Stewart Haas Racing, though even here the sense of shock is grossly tempered by the fact this scenario has been repeated. SHR's newest driver has a history not only of poor racing but of dragging down the organizations for which she races. To say Danica Patrick is a cancer in the garage of every team she races for is to be blunt about it. Her gender is her entitlement to race and her presence has a track record of collapsing everything around her.
RCR has just one win (with a presumed lame-duck driver in Kevin Harvick), and that fact plus the issue of engines of course tie in to the rumor of a brand switch for RCR sooner or later; if a rumored Dodge to RCR (with the resurgent Petty team as part of the package) switch happens it's definitely to the benefit of the sport, with potential improvement in its competitive depth an obvious example of benefit.
So it is right now entering Charlotte's two weeks of racing.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
The Benghazi Scandal Grows
The Obama regime's rewrites of talking points points to greater dishonesty while the Obama regime touts an "investigation" that didn't particularly investigate. (See also here)
Thursday, May 09, 2013
NASCAR And Letting Go
Two recent decisions by the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel and the chief officer of appeals, ex-Pontiac honcho John Middlebrook, have been stunning defeats for NASCAR, involving reversals of severe penalties toward Penske Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing by NASCAR. The reversals have led to some speculation there is some sort of "open revolt" in NASCAR as Middlebrook has "consistently slapped NASCAR's enforcement hand when it comes to the penalties it assesses." In addition Middlebrook and NASCAR have worked seemingly at cross-purposes with each other; racecaster Dave Moody notes the fundamental difference between them - "Middlebrook is concerned primarily with fairness....NASCAR, meanwhile, is focused almost entirely on deterrence."
Writer Jim Utter wonders "How far (NASCAR) will go to maintain its control..." and it's a question worth asking. More to the point, the question is this - should NASCAR try to "maintain its control"? In other words, despite Mike Helton's insistence that NASCAR won't change, is it time for NASCAR to start letting go of some control?
In terms of what teams do or don't do to their racecars, the long-standing criticism is that NASCAR has too many rules. Of course that's always been the case, and usually when NASCAR tightens down on inspections it helps the competitive depth of the fields. There is also the crocodile tears angle - team cheating has always been ahead of the NASCAR inspectors (see Tom Jensen's book CHEATING: An Inside Look at the Bad Things Good NASCAR Winston Cup Racers Do In Pursuit Of Speed for the best summary of the history of this technology arms race between teams and the inspectors) and with the escalation of the overall technology arms race in the sport one shouldn't give Penske or JGR the automatic benefit of the doubt here.
But would there be benefit to the sport if NASCAR let go some of its control? For his part Helton said there is need for more specificity "so (we) can show a third party why we reacted the way we reacted." But beyond specificity in the rulebook, is there need to change the rulebook to allow more freedom of movement for teams?
There are some areas where the answer is manifestly yes, notably in terms of race operations. Talladega last week showcased two chronic absurdities allowed the officiating tower - racing to the stripe when a yellow flies, and not allowing passing below the yellow line on restrictor plate tracks. One has yet to see a credible argument against NASCAR giving up on policing those areas - certainly Regan Smith in 2008 and others before and after would benefit from eliminating any yellow line rule.
In terms of the racecars themselves the issue is more complex, for there doesn't seem much benefit to the overall sport by liberalizing some of the control wielded by the sanctioning body. If anything, Middlebrook and company's reversals of NASCAR penalties may have the effect of enabling more extensive - and more flagrant - cheating by teams that now see they can get away with it without much damage.
The rock and hard place gets illustrated here, for one can see where NASCAR is right but also where John Middlebrook is right.
Writer Jim Utter wonders "How far (NASCAR) will go to maintain its control..." and it's a question worth asking. More to the point, the question is this - should NASCAR try to "maintain its control"? In other words, despite Mike Helton's insistence that NASCAR won't change, is it time for NASCAR to start letting go of some control?
In terms of what teams do or don't do to their racecars, the long-standing criticism is that NASCAR has too many rules. Of course that's always been the case, and usually when NASCAR tightens down on inspections it helps the competitive depth of the fields. There is also the crocodile tears angle - team cheating has always been ahead of the NASCAR inspectors (see Tom Jensen's book CHEATING: An Inside Look at the Bad Things Good NASCAR Winston Cup Racers Do In Pursuit Of Speed for the best summary of the history of this technology arms race between teams and the inspectors) and with the escalation of the overall technology arms race in the sport one shouldn't give Penske or JGR the automatic benefit of the doubt here.
But would there be benefit to the sport if NASCAR let go some of its control? For his part Helton said there is need for more specificity "so (we) can show a third party why we reacted the way we reacted." But beyond specificity in the rulebook, is there need to change the rulebook to allow more freedom of movement for teams?
There are some areas where the answer is manifestly yes, notably in terms of race operations. Talladega last week showcased two chronic absurdities allowed the officiating tower - racing to the stripe when a yellow flies, and not allowing passing below the yellow line on restrictor plate tracks. One has yet to see a credible argument against NASCAR giving up on policing those areas - certainly Regan Smith in 2008 and others before and after would benefit from eliminating any yellow line rule.
In terms of the racecars themselves the issue is more complex, for there doesn't seem much benefit to the overall sport by liberalizing some of the control wielded by the sanctioning body. If anything, Middlebrook and company's reversals of NASCAR penalties may have the effect of enabling more extensive - and more flagrant - cheating by teams that now see they can get away with it without much damage.
The rock and hard place gets illustrated here, for one can see where NASCAR is right but also where John Middlebrook is right.
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Iowa And Getting A Cup Race
The Iowa Speedway is a 3/4-mile oval identical to Richmond International Raceway, built by Rusty Wallace as such and later sold to the Clement family, owners of the Featherlite trailers company. The track has drawn Indycar races as well as NASCAR's Nationwide and Truck tours, the NASCAR East and West series, ARCA, and other smaller tours. The most competitive race in its history came in September 2006 involving the Pro Cup stock car series; in a green-white-checker finish Woody Howard fought off Daniel Johnson for the win after 11 yellows and 25 lead changes. In May 2007 a combination East-West 200-lapper was won by Joey Logano. But the most famous finish in the track's history came in 2011 when Ricky Stenhouse won despite blowing up and getting blasted in the back by Carl Edwards.
There has been some commentary advocating that Iowa Speedway be given at least one Winston Cup date. Commentary has become outright effort as Iowa legislators have included $8 million over four years to be spent on upgrades to the speedway in an effort to attract the Sprint Cup Series there. The bill hasn't passed the Iowa House as of yet, but state Senator William Dotzler is pretty spirited in advocating including Iowa on the Winston Cup tour.
Such advocacy of course isn't new - Rusty Wallace presumably had Cup in mind when he built the track. Yet when one considers adding Iowa to the Cup tour, the arguments for it really aren't that impressive.
Of the speedways in racing in general and NASCAR in particular, short tracks - contrary to the argument pushed by their advocates - have never been the best venues for stock car racing. At a local level they certainly work well such as for places like Thompson Speedway, Stafford Speedway, etc. At the Cup or even Nationwide and Truck level they create attention more for the wrong reasons (crashes) than the right ones (good racing). In NASCAR history when one examines the 50-plus most competitive races ever, the only short track race that makes the list is the 1991 Southeastern 500 at Bristol, a chaotic and competitive affair thanks to a one-race-only pitstop and restart procedure coming out of that season's aborted rule banning tire changes under yellow. The lead changed 41 times on double-file restarts and Rusty Wallace lost two laps on two occasions before making them up and beating Ernie Irvan by six feet.
Not that the short tracks otherwise haven't produced some memorable moments, but overall they just don't produce memorable racing, and this is inherent in their size and design. Even Richmond Raceway has had good moments but generally has not had great races even though it has ample room to race on.
The argument is often made that short tracks are less dependent on aero than bigger tracks, except this has never been true; there has never been a case of an aerodynamically inferior racecar winning short track races.
Adding Iowa to the Cup schedule also opens the debate about whether a track should lose a Cup date. Some of these tracks simply do not have markets that are all that stout, notably Martinsville - lack of a credible racing market is why the Rockingham track, despite commendable work by Andy Hillinberg, will not acquire Cup racing ever again barring an unlikely strengthening of that demographic. The Fontana track is often ripped for lack of a demographic, and it had two Cup dates but lost the date in September-October; the Atlanta and Darlington tracks already lost dates, and the way the sanctioning body has maneuvered the schedule it's gotten to where they really can't take a date away from a track - and speedway fratricide is never good for the sport.
There would of course be complaints if Iowa was added as an extra date, but at this point even with the decline in popularity of the sport, demand for it is such that NASCAR may have no choice but to add dates.
There is one other angle worth commentary because it deals with tracks such as Nashville and St. Louis that no longer race at all and further explains why Iowa wants a Cup date - NASCAR's TV rights package for Cup, which pays billions for Cup but reportedly pays little more than metaphorical pennies for any other series. The Nationwide Series is not broadcast by anyone except ESPN while the Trucks are limited to what is now SPEED Channel; why NASCAR doesn't invest more than it presently does into these series (or put them up for television bid) is baffling, since they can be more valuable competition properties if NASCAR would treat them as such as thus better deal with demand for racing. It should not have come to the point that the St. Louis and Nashville tracks had to close because of lack of Cup dates, especially after in 2010 the St. Louis track saw a spirited battle for the lead before the most vicious crash in NASCAR in awhile.
So Iowa will get advocacy for NASCAR to add it to the Cup schedule. But one should not blindly assume it deserves it.
There has been some commentary advocating that Iowa Speedway be given at least one Winston Cup date. Commentary has become outright effort as Iowa legislators have included $8 million over four years to be spent on upgrades to the speedway in an effort to attract the Sprint Cup Series there. The bill hasn't passed the Iowa House as of yet, but state Senator William Dotzler is pretty spirited in advocating including Iowa on the Winston Cup tour.
Such advocacy of course isn't new - Rusty Wallace presumably had Cup in mind when he built the track. Yet when one considers adding Iowa to the Cup tour, the arguments for it really aren't that impressive.
Of the speedways in racing in general and NASCAR in particular, short tracks - contrary to the argument pushed by their advocates - have never been the best venues for stock car racing. At a local level they certainly work well such as for places like Thompson Speedway, Stafford Speedway, etc. At the Cup or even Nationwide and Truck level they create attention more for the wrong reasons (crashes) than the right ones (good racing). In NASCAR history when one examines the 50-plus most competitive races ever, the only short track race that makes the list is the 1991 Southeastern 500 at Bristol, a chaotic and competitive affair thanks to a one-race-only pitstop and restart procedure coming out of that season's aborted rule banning tire changes under yellow. The lead changed 41 times on double-file restarts and Rusty Wallace lost two laps on two occasions before making them up and beating Ernie Irvan by six feet.
Not that the short tracks otherwise haven't produced some memorable moments, but overall they just don't produce memorable racing, and this is inherent in their size and design. Even Richmond Raceway has had good moments but generally has not had great races even though it has ample room to race on.
The argument is often made that short tracks are less dependent on aero than bigger tracks, except this has never been true; there has never been a case of an aerodynamically inferior racecar winning short track races.
Adding Iowa to the Cup schedule also opens the debate about whether a track should lose a Cup date. Some of these tracks simply do not have markets that are all that stout, notably Martinsville - lack of a credible racing market is why the Rockingham track, despite commendable work by Andy Hillinberg, will not acquire Cup racing ever again barring an unlikely strengthening of that demographic. The Fontana track is often ripped for lack of a demographic, and it had two Cup dates but lost the date in September-October; the Atlanta and Darlington tracks already lost dates, and the way the sanctioning body has maneuvered the schedule it's gotten to where they really can't take a date away from a track - and speedway fratricide is never good for the sport.
There would of course be complaints if Iowa was added as an extra date, but at this point even with the decline in popularity of the sport, demand for it is such that NASCAR may have no choice but to add dates.
There is one other angle worth commentary because it deals with tracks such as Nashville and St. Louis that no longer race at all and further explains why Iowa wants a Cup date - NASCAR's TV rights package for Cup, which pays billions for Cup but reportedly pays little more than metaphorical pennies for any other series. The Nationwide Series is not broadcast by anyone except ESPN while the Trucks are limited to what is now SPEED Channel; why NASCAR doesn't invest more than it presently does into these series (or put them up for television bid) is baffling, since they can be more valuable competition properties if NASCAR would treat them as such as thus better deal with demand for racing. It should not have come to the point that the St. Louis and Nashville tracks had to close because of lack of Cup dates, especially after in 2010 the St. Louis track saw a spirited battle for the lead before the most vicious crash in NASCAR in awhile.
So Iowa will get advocacy for NASCAR to add it to the Cup schedule. But one should not blindly assume it deserves it.
Romney On Marriage
Mitt Romney made some innocuous remarks about marriage that angered liberals because - natch - liberals think they know what in fact they don't.
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Monday, May 06, 2013
The Upside Down Status Of NASCAR After Talladega
Suddenly the sport - for now - doesn't look the same.
The Winston 500 was not the most competitive race (it had just 30 lead changes), yet it produced the most amazing finish racing has seen in years, this following an Alabama 500k that almost was the most competitive race in the history of NASCAR's second-tier stock car tour (47 lead changes, just short of the all-time record 56 set in 2011's 312-miler) and topped by a three-abreast finish almost more astonishing than in the 500.
Talladega's Aarons Upsets are just part of a striking change in the sport so far, seen in the varied winners and losers of the weekend.
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WINNERS -
Front Row Motorsports for the biggest upset and most amazing racing finish in years. The team is a small outfit even though it is fielding three cars. What kind of competitive boost comes from this win remains to be seen, but to have gotten this far this fast suggests they can build something going forward; indeed Ford should be working to shore up the depth of its fleet by helping Front Row be able to build its own engines.
David Ragan specifically is also the winner not only of the race, but also the winner in terms of erasing a negative view of his racing career, as he drove Roush Fenway Racing's #6 and managed just one win (the 2011 Firecracker 400); being axed from RFR carried the stigma of career failure, a stigma wiped out in the Talladega rain.
Regan Smith is another big winner, as he was in contention for the Winston 500 and nearly pulled off the Talladega sweep. Suddenly upward mobility in modern NASCAR may not be extinct after all.
Historically one wouldn't consider Richard Petty's #43 any kind of darkhorse, but given where The King's car owning career has gone the last decade-plus the comeback of the #43 in 2013, notably Aric Almirola's victory bid at Talladega, this on top of Marcus Ambrose's two Watkins Glen wins, counts as the surge of a darkhorse; it also gives Petty ammo if/when Dodge comes back to the sport.
Roush Fenway Racing is also the winner, as it has taken the mantle of restrictor plate mastery from RCR and Hendrick as well as Joe Gibbs Racing.
The other winner is NASCAR the sanctioning body, this despite another example of a race marred because the officiating tower has too much control of the racing - the Alabama 500k was marred because NASCAR ruled Regan Smith the winner based on a scoring loop with the yellow flying instead of by the cars racing to the stripe. Even with that and the disappointing level of competition for most of the Winston 500, the shocking finish on Sunday combined with the exhilarating level of competition Saturday more than made up for shortcomings. Sunday also showed real competitive potential with the Generation Six - there was noticeable push-drafting on Sunday and it's no longer implausible to see the Firecracker 400 breaking 40 lead changes and October's Diehard 500 going for 60, and other darkhorses suddenly stealing thunder for the sport.
NASCAR also deserves praise for finishing the two races despite the persistent rain, though the inevitable calls for lighting at Talladega should be ignored given night racing has not been the benefit to the sport often claimed.
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But with winners there are also losers. Richard Childress, winner at Richmond and once the dominator of Talladega, had a very rough weekend and little to be happy with by the end of Sunday. Joe Gibbs Racing was also a loser despite Matt Kenseth's 142 laps led - the most at Talladega since Jeff Gordon in 2005. Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing isn't making anyone ignore the rumored sale of the outfit to John Menard. Penske Racing had a disappointing weekend. And Trevor Bayne - the comparisons with Tim Tebow work more than he'd like, because like Tebow Bayne has been MIA since 2011.
But the biggest loser is Stewart-Haas Racing, in a race that illustrates that Danica Patrick is doing again what she did in Indycars - dragging down the organization for which she races. SHR has struggled as an organization with Ryan Newman leading the way with four top ten finishes but a paltry 17th in points. Little Miss Danica is 27th in points and the surge from Daytona Speedweeks has gone the way of expectations after the 2005 Indianapolis 500. But the biggest surprise is Tony Stewart himself, with one top-ten finish.
That Newman is right now SHR's top dog is surprising given how much he has slid competitively even with three wins 2010-12 and amid the rumor he is on the way out to be replaced by Kevin Harvick in 2014. Newman's semi-petulant tantrum after the backstretch melee merely underscores that there is something wrong with how he races to be constantly involved in these crashes.
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And so we approach Darlington, site of Regan Smith's first official Cup win. In the upside down world of 2013 NASCAR, he may be the favorite.
The Winston 500 was not the most competitive race (it had just 30 lead changes), yet it produced the most amazing finish racing has seen in years, this following an Alabama 500k that almost was the most competitive race in the history of NASCAR's second-tier stock car tour (47 lead changes, just short of the all-time record 56 set in 2011's 312-miler) and topped by a three-abreast finish almost more astonishing than in the 500.
Talladega's Aarons Upsets are just part of a striking change in the sport so far, seen in the varied winners and losers of the weekend.
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WINNERS -
Front Row Motorsports for the biggest upset and most amazing racing finish in years. The team is a small outfit even though it is fielding three cars. What kind of competitive boost comes from this win remains to be seen, but to have gotten this far this fast suggests they can build something going forward; indeed Ford should be working to shore up the depth of its fleet by helping Front Row be able to build its own engines.
David Ragan specifically is also the winner not only of the race, but also the winner in terms of erasing a negative view of his racing career, as he drove Roush Fenway Racing's #6 and managed just one win (the 2011 Firecracker 400); being axed from RFR carried the stigma of career failure, a stigma wiped out in the Talladega rain.
Regan Smith is another big winner, as he was in contention for the Winston 500 and nearly pulled off the Talladega sweep. Suddenly upward mobility in modern NASCAR may not be extinct after all.
Historically one wouldn't consider Richard Petty's #43 any kind of darkhorse, but given where The King's car owning career has gone the last decade-plus the comeback of the #43 in 2013, notably Aric Almirola's victory bid at Talladega, this on top of Marcus Ambrose's two Watkins Glen wins, counts as the surge of a darkhorse; it also gives Petty ammo if/when Dodge comes back to the sport.
Roush Fenway Racing is also the winner, as it has taken the mantle of restrictor plate mastery from RCR and Hendrick as well as Joe Gibbs Racing.
The other winner is NASCAR the sanctioning body, this despite another example of a race marred because the officiating tower has too much control of the racing - the Alabama 500k was marred because NASCAR ruled Regan Smith the winner based on a scoring loop with the yellow flying instead of by the cars racing to the stripe. Even with that and the disappointing level of competition for most of the Winston 500, the shocking finish on Sunday combined with the exhilarating level of competition Saturday more than made up for shortcomings. Sunday also showed real competitive potential with the Generation Six - there was noticeable push-drafting on Sunday and it's no longer implausible to see the Firecracker 400 breaking 40 lead changes and October's Diehard 500 going for 60, and other darkhorses suddenly stealing thunder for the sport.
NASCAR also deserves praise for finishing the two races despite the persistent rain, though the inevitable calls for lighting at Talladega should be ignored given night racing has not been the benefit to the sport often claimed.
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But with winners there are also losers. Richard Childress, winner at Richmond and once the dominator of Talladega, had a very rough weekend and little to be happy with by the end of Sunday. Joe Gibbs Racing was also a loser despite Matt Kenseth's 142 laps led - the most at Talladega since Jeff Gordon in 2005. Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing isn't making anyone ignore the rumored sale of the outfit to John Menard. Penske Racing had a disappointing weekend. And Trevor Bayne - the comparisons with Tim Tebow work more than he'd like, because like Tebow Bayne has been MIA since 2011.
But the biggest loser is Stewart-Haas Racing, in a race that illustrates that Danica Patrick is doing again what she did in Indycars - dragging down the organization for which she races. SHR has struggled as an organization with Ryan Newman leading the way with four top ten finishes but a paltry 17th in points. Little Miss Danica is 27th in points and the surge from Daytona Speedweeks has gone the way of expectations after the 2005 Indianapolis 500. But the biggest surprise is Tony Stewart himself, with one top-ten finish.
That Newman is right now SHR's top dog is surprising given how much he has slid competitively even with three wins 2010-12 and amid the rumor he is on the way out to be replaced by Kevin Harvick in 2014. Newman's semi-petulant tantrum after the backstretch melee merely underscores that there is something wrong with how he races to be constantly involved in these crashes.
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And so we approach Darlington, site of Regan Smith's first official Cup win. In the upside down world of 2013 NASCAR, he may be the favorite.
Sunday, May 05, 2013
Talladega Sees A Ragan Revolution
We've seen it all before.
Yet when it happens again, it feels like we'd never seen anything like it before.
This is what we get when racing produces a darkhorse winner even at a speedway whose history is filled with them.
There were of course numerous candidates for darkhorse winner, even after one of them flipped over down the backstretch. Kurt Busch's tumble set up a green-white-checker finish and then saw what seemed impossible - the Saturday Alabama 500k produced a finish seemingly impossible to top - yet the Winston 500 actually topped Saturday's three-wide photo finish, and reintroduced the sport not only to David Ragan - the winner in the 2009 500k - but reintroduced the sport to the Talladega jinx.
Of all the tracks in racing, one cannot think of any other that has seen as many darkhorse winners as Talladega. From the 1969 opening marred by a mass driver park-out over speeds too high for available tires to handle, Talladega has been the stage for the darkhorse. Richard Brickhouse was the first. James Hylton in 1972 after a new Goodyear compound literally blew up in Goodyear's face was the second, going with year-old tires and rocketing from 22nd to domination. Dick Brooks 40 years ago this season was the next one, whipping a year-old Plymouth from 24th to a wild upset win.
Dave Marcis outlasted another ferocious 500 in 1976 for his lone Talladega win. Lennie Pond in 1978 then whipped to his only win. The most famous upset of all remains Ron Bouchard in 1981 in a finish that always comes to mind when there is a three-wide photo finish, be it Regan Smith's win in Saturday's 312-miler or Tim Richmond's 1986 Pocono win or Sam Hornish's 2003 Chicago Indy 300 win.
After Bobby Hillin Jr., Davey Allison, and Ken Schrader in Richmond's #25 won Talladega, the darkhorse era at Talladega appeared to end in the 1990s as only Greg Sacks in the 1996 Alabama 500k pulled off an upset for the track in that decade. The darkhorse era then started creeping back in 2006 with Brian Vickers; Regan Smith's stolen 2008 win pushed the darkhorse era closer to the fore, but it was 2009 that truly brought it back between Brad Keselowski's slugfest with Carl Edwards and then Jamie McMurray's surprise win that autumn.
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This spectacular win has also reintroduced the sport to new team owners getting the win. Front Row Motorsports began with Jimmy Means and restaurant chain owner Bob Jenkins (not the Bob Jenkins of ESPN fame). Being small has of course been a strike against them, and with the win, being small is also an illustration of how much opportunity Talladega Superspeedway opens up for racers.
The Jenkins team was not the only darkhorse outfit strutting its stuff in this race, as James Finch's team with Regan Smith (who had a legitimate shot at the end for the Talladega sweep) as well as the Baldwin Racing #36 were also in contention with the #30 of David Stremme. No one will ever confuse the #43 for a darkhorse but Richard Petty's mount damn near pulled off the win as well. No one will ever confuse Jeff Gordon's #24 for a darkhorse either, yet after two wrecks Gordon finished 11th anyway.
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Given how much positivity the 2013 Winston 500 produced, it seems inappropriate to pick nits, yet one should point out this race was not quite the ringing endorsement of the Generation Six racecar the spectacle of the final laps showcased. The racing at the end was spectacular, and one wishes the combat up front had been at something close to that level for the event's duration as was the case in the 312-miler the day before - after seeing 47 lead changes on Saturday, the 30 produced Sunday ought to have been twice that number.
The other nit to pick is Ryan Newman, who continues to be an insufferable baby; one should be concerned that Kurt Busch flipped onto his racecar, but to blame it on NASCAR is another case of Newman going too far. Newman is 100% wrong; restarting the race was the right call; he should be angry at whoever spun out whomever to detonate the crash; Newman should also reexamine his own racing competence given how far he's slid down the racing totem pole.
The upshot is that pointing out the nits to pick only illustrates that the Gen-6 actually is making progress toward living up to the hype. There was some serious push-drafting at the end and that's a manifestly good sign for the sport, for that opens up passing - and the sport needs all the passing there is to have.
So the Aarons Talladega weekend after two drawn-out races can only be considered a smashing success, which produces yet one more illustration - The Thrill Isn't Gone after all.
Yet when it happens again, it feels like we'd never seen anything like it before.
This is what we get when racing produces a darkhorse winner even at a speedway whose history is filled with them.
There were of course numerous candidates for darkhorse winner, even after one of them flipped over down the backstretch. Kurt Busch's tumble set up a green-white-checker finish and then saw what seemed impossible - the Saturday Alabama 500k produced a finish seemingly impossible to top - yet the Winston 500 actually topped Saturday's three-wide photo finish, and reintroduced the sport not only to David Ragan - the winner in the 2009 500k - but reintroduced the sport to the Talladega jinx.
Of all the tracks in racing, one cannot think of any other that has seen as many darkhorse winners as Talladega. From the 1969 opening marred by a mass driver park-out over speeds too high for available tires to handle, Talladega has been the stage for the darkhorse. Richard Brickhouse was the first. James Hylton in 1972 after a new Goodyear compound literally blew up in Goodyear's face was the second, going with year-old tires and rocketing from 22nd to domination. Dick Brooks 40 years ago this season was the next one, whipping a year-old Plymouth from 24th to a wild upset win.
Dave Marcis outlasted another ferocious 500 in 1976 for his lone Talladega win. Lennie Pond in 1978 then whipped to his only win. The most famous upset of all remains Ron Bouchard in 1981 in a finish that always comes to mind when there is a three-wide photo finish, be it Regan Smith's win in Saturday's 312-miler or Tim Richmond's 1986 Pocono win or Sam Hornish's 2003 Chicago Indy 300 win.
After Bobby Hillin Jr., Davey Allison, and Ken Schrader in Richmond's #25 won Talladega, the darkhorse era at Talladega appeared to end in the 1990s as only Greg Sacks in the 1996 Alabama 500k pulled off an upset for the track in that decade. The darkhorse era then started creeping back in 2006 with Brian Vickers; Regan Smith's stolen 2008 win pushed the darkhorse era closer to the fore, but it was 2009 that truly brought it back between Brad Keselowski's slugfest with Carl Edwards and then Jamie McMurray's surprise win that autumn.
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This spectacular win has also reintroduced the sport to new team owners getting the win. Front Row Motorsports began with Jimmy Means and restaurant chain owner Bob Jenkins (not the Bob Jenkins of ESPN fame). Being small has of course been a strike against them, and with the win, being small is also an illustration of how much opportunity Talladega Superspeedway opens up for racers.
The Jenkins team was not the only darkhorse outfit strutting its stuff in this race, as James Finch's team with Regan Smith (who had a legitimate shot at the end for the Talladega sweep) as well as the Baldwin Racing #36 were also in contention with the #30 of David Stremme. No one will ever confuse the #43 for a darkhorse but Richard Petty's mount damn near pulled off the win as well. No one will ever confuse Jeff Gordon's #24 for a darkhorse either, yet after two wrecks Gordon finished 11th anyway.
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Given how much positivity the 2013 Winston 500 produced, it seems inappropriate to pick nits, yet one should point out this race was not quite the ringing endorsement of the Generation Six racecar the spectacle of the final laps showcased. The racing at the end was spectacular, and one wishes the combat up front had been at something close to that level for the event's duration as was the case in the 312-miler the day before - after seeing 47 lead changes on Saturday, the 30 produced Sunday ought to have been twice that number.
The other nit to pick is Ryan Newman, who continues to be an insufferable baby; one should be concerned that Kurt Busch flipped onto his racecar, but to blame it on NASCAR is another case of Newman going too far. Newman is 100% wrong; restarting the race was the right call; he should be angry at whoever spun out whomever to detonate the crash; Newman should also reexamine his own racing competence given how far he's slid down the racing totem pole.
The upshot is that pointing out the nits to pick only illustrates that the Gen-6 actually is making progress toward living up to the hype. There was some serious push-drafting at the end and that's a manifestly good sign for the sport, for that opens up passing - and the sport needs all the passing there is to have.
So the Aarons Talladega weekend after two drawn-out races can only be considered a smashing success, which produces yet one more illustration - The Thrill Isn't Gone after all.
Regan Smith And NASCAR's Comeuppance
NASCAR's 2013 Aarons Talladega weekend got off to a nasty start with rain galore and delay of the Alabama 500k race - aka The Aarons 312 - by some three hours. The wait turned out to be worth it as far as mind-blowing racing goes. It was also worth it for NASCAR getting some much-deserved comeuppance.
The race was cut short by seven laps because of impending darkness, and it turned into an amazing thirteen car shootout and a three-abreast finish that should have been a photo finish - except the initial ruling of Kasey Kahne as the winner was reversed by NASCAR based on freezing the field when the caution comes out instead of racing to the flag. NASCAR ruled Regan Smith was ahead of Kahne based on a scoring loop as the yellow flew, so Smith was declared the winner.
Regan Smith being involved in controversy over a win at Talladega - the irony is delicious, because this time Smith is the one benefitting from a NASCAR rule that objectively speaking has no business existing. NASCAR stopped allowing cars to race to the line after the 2003 New Hampshire 300 because of foolish driving by Michael Waltrip amid a crash involving Dale Jarret. NASCAR had had similar incidents before - such as involving Geoff Bodine at the 1989 Summer 500 at Pocono amid a crash involving Bobby Hillin Jr. - and dealt with them sensibly without changing the rule. The objective reality is the finish ought to be determined at the start-finish line, not by a scoring loop when the yellow comes out. Several races have seen the wrong winner declared because of not allowing racing to the stripe when the yellow comes out - the infamous 2004 Winston 500 won by Jeff Gordon, the 2005 Diehard 500 won by Dale Jarrett, the 2006 Diehard 500 won by Brian Vickers, and the 2008 Firecracker 400 won by Kyle Busch come immediately to mind - and then there are the races where a crash happened and the yellow DIDN'T fly, in effect allowing the field to race to the line - the 2004 Firecracker 250 won by Mike Wallace and the 2007 Daytona 500 won by Kevin Harvick come to mind.
What NASCAR thinks it is preventing by not allowing racing to the stripe, especially in situations such as listed above, does not come across as valid. Freezing the field is not preventing any crash; all it is doing is creating controversy that should not even exist. That Regan Smith is the beneficiary here is the comeuppance for NASCAR for the 2008 Diehard 500 - Regan Smith drafted past Tony Stewart to the stripe, but NASCAR disqualified the pass because Smith went below the yellow line - a rule dating to Jimmy Spencer's petulant bitch-fest at the 2001 Alabama 500k. To that point passing below the yellow line had never been an issue to the racers; suddenly NASCAR now had controversies based on giving the officiating tower more element of control over the racing - it blew up with Dale Earnhardt Jr's 2003 Talladega win where he passed on the apron of Turn Three; there have been other incidents of passing below the yellow line - some like Tony Stewart at the end of the 2003 Diehard 500 went unnoticed; others have resulted in NASCAR penalties - none bigger than Regan Smith in 2008.
The fact is NASCAR was wrong in 2008 - there is no objective legitimacy to the rule against passing below the yellow line; making it more devastating was a quote attributed to Ramsey Poston of NASCAR claiming that the yellow line rule did not apply to last-lap passes. So five years later another rule that has no place in the sport - freezing the field instead of racing to the line when the yellow flies - winds up in effect making up for the wrong rule (and ruling) of 2008.
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The rain and the controvery merely added to the exhilaration of another amazing Talladega Busch/Nationwide race. Because NASCAR's rules czars have largely left the N'wide cars alone for the plate tracks, the tandem draft is extremely effective and it showed in 47 lead changes among 16 drivers, not a record for NASCAR's second-tier stock car tour (2011's 56 lead changes is the record) but darned close and an awesome number even for a 500 MILE race.
The race showcased not only superb competition from Smith and Kahne, it also showed strong efforts by cars wiped out in the plethora of wrecks - notably Reed Sorenson and Travis Pastrana after a tag from Brian Scott while racing with the leaders. And there was also another Danica crash.
It's regrettable rain plagued the weekend this way, but when the sport produces racing this ferocious and this competitive, it's all worth it.
It also proves that sometimes what goes around does come around.
Regan Smith being involved in controversy over a win at Talladega - the irony is delicious, because this time Smith is the one benefitting from a NASCAR rule that objectively speaking has no business existing. NASCAR stopped allowing cars to race to the line after the 2003 New Hampshire 300 because of foolish driving by Michael Waltrip amid a crash involving Dale Jarret. NASCAR had had similar incidents before - such as involving Geoff Bodine at the 1989 Summer 500 at Pocono amid a crash involving Bobby Hillin Jr. - and dealt with them sensibly without changing the rule. The objective reality is the finish ought to be determined at the start-finish line, not by a scoring loop when the yellow comes out. Several races have seen the wrong winner declared because of not allowing racing to the stripe when the yellow comes out - the infamous 2004 Winston 500 won by Jeff Gordon, the 2005 Diehard 500 won by Dale Jarrett, the 2006 Diehard 500 won by Brian Vickers, and the 2008 Firecracker 400 won by Kyle Busch come immediately to mind - and then there are the races where a crash happened and the yellow DIDN'T fly, in effect allowing the field to race to the line - the 2004 Firecracker 250 won by Mike Wallace and the 2007 Daytona 500 won by Kevin Harvick come to mind.
What NASCAR thinks it is preventing by not allowing racing to the stripe, especially in situations such as listed above, does not come across as valid. Freezing the field is not preventing any crash; all it is doing is creating controversy that should not even exist. That Regan Smith is the beneficiary here is the comeuppance for NASCAR for the 2008 Diehard 500 - Regan Smith drafted past Tony Stewart to the stripe, but NASCAR disqualified the pass because Smith went below the yellow line - a rule dating to Jimmy Spencer's petulant bitch-fest at the 2001 Alabama 500k. To that point passing below the yellow line had never been an issue to the racers; suddenly NASCAR now had controversies based on giving the officiating tower more element of control over the racing - it blew up with Dale Earnhardt Jr's 2003 Talladega win where he passed on the apron of Turn Three; there have been other incidents of passing below the yellow line - some like Tony Stewart at the end of the 2003 Diehard 500 went unnoticed; others have resulted in NASCAR penalties - none bigger than Regan Smith in 2008.
The fact is NASCAR was wrong in 2008 - there is no objective legitimacy to the rule against passing below the yellow line; making it more devastating was a quote attributed to Ramsey Poston of NASCAR claiming that the yellow line rule did not apply to last-lap passes. So five years later another rule that has no place in the sport - freezing the field instead of racing to the line when the yellow flies - winds up in effect making up for the wrong rule (and ruling) of 2008.
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The rain and the controvery merely added to the exhilaration of another amazing Talladega Busch/Nationwide race. Because NASCAR's rules czars have largely left the N'wide cars alone for the plate tracks, the tandem draft is extremely effective and it showed in 47 lead changes among 16 drivers, not a record for NASCAR's second-tier stock car tour (2011's 56 lead changes is the record) but darned close and an awesome number even for a 500 MILE race.
The race showcased not only superb competition from Smith and Kahne, it also showed strong efforts by cars wiped out in the plethora of wrecks - notably Reed Sorenson and Travis Pastrana after a tag from Brian Scott while racing with the leaders. And there was also another Danica crash.
It's regrettable rain plagued the weekend this way, but when the sport produces racing this ferocious and this competitive, it's all worth it.
It also proves that sometimes what goes around does come around.
Friday, May 03, 2013
Thursday, May 02, 2013
The Forgotten Flow Of Integration
Barry Goldwater's role in integration has long been forgotten - and it should not, for it illustrates how market forces create real social change.
Hillary's Benghazi Cover-Up
The Hillary Milhous Clinton campaign to hide the Benghazi disaster is coming undone as messages sent by her are uncovered.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
Obama's Growing Terrorist Problem
Obama's poor response to the Patriots Day bombing is illustrative of his fundamental inability to see Islamo-Arab imperialism for what it is - a state-sanctioned ideology of pure hatred. Islamist ideology requires killing non-believers everywhere, and killing is the driving ideology of states like Iran and Syria and of Saddam Hussein's Iraq (contrary to the myth that Iraq supposedly was enemies with Islamists).
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Santos Puts The Spring In The Spring Sizzler
Sometimes it's all about one guy.
Stafford Speedway opened its season at the end of April, and the Spring in Spring Sizzler was redefined with stunningly good weather on Sunday. The Whelen Modified Tour was the big show of a Sunday feast of racing that began with Stafford's SK Modifieds, a 40-lap feature that compressed a plethora of yellows and some good battling up front into the first 20 circuits before Ryan Preece put it away in the final 20 laps. Mod Tour veteran Mike Stefanik had not driven a Stafford SK since 1993 yet was pressed into a relief role as track regular Keith Rocco was nursing a wrist injury.
The SK feature was the warmup for several drivers competing in the Sizzler 200-lapper, notably Preece, Ted Christopher, Woody Pitkat, Rowan Pennick, and Stefanik. SK veteran Todd Szegedy was on the Tour feature's front row alongside pole-sitter Bobby Santos III. A native of Franklin, MA, Santos' youthful quality makes one forget he's been a Tour regular since 2004 and has also raced in the Nationwide Series, notably last July at Daytona in Tommy Baldwin Jr's Chevrolet; he also raced Daytona's February 300-miler in Jimmy Means' car in 2011.
His attempts at the big leagues so far haven't borne fruit, and he's car-hopped in the Mod Tour with such teams as Joe Brady, Boehler Racing, Bob Garbarino, his own cars, and lately Sully Tinio's #44. It's illustrutive of the general sense of neglect by NASCAR toward the Modified Tour that Santos won twice in 2012 yet had to miss five of fourteen races. But there's reason for optimism for Santos right now, as he cleaned house at the Sizzler by leading 197 of 200 laps and was never threatened at any point of the race, even with several late yellows (including a brief red flag for a Lap 150 melee involving Bryon Chew, Ken Heagy, Ronnie Silk, and Gary McDonald) and the likes of Ryan Preece, Christopher, Pennick, and Justin Bonsignore making spirited efforts into the front five.
That Teddy was even in contention was surprising, as his Boehler #3 never seemed hooked up and he spent a long time outside the top ten; he managed to get into the top seven and then nearly got waylaid with fifteen to go in a three-wide slugfest ending in a four-car crash and Szegedy's elimination from the race after a frustrating day.
In the end Teddy and Bonsignore, like everyone else, had nothing for Santos. The win is Santos' third in the last four Modified Tour races, and it showed that sometimes it's all about one guy - it was certainly about Santos at Stafford's Spring Sizzler in 2013.
Stafford Speedway opened its season at the end of April, and the Spring in Spring Sizzler was redefined with stunningly good weather on Sunday. The Whelen Modified Tour was the big show of a Sunday feast of racing that began with Stafford's SK Modifieds, a 40-lap feature that compressed a plethora of yellows and some good battling up front into the first 20 circuits before Ryan Preece put it away in the final 20 laps. Mod Tour veteran Mike Stefanik had not driven a Stafford SK since 1993 yet was pressed into a relief role as track regular Keith Rocco was nursing a wrist injury.
The SK feature was the warmup for several drivers competing in the Sizzler 200-lapper, notably Preece, Ted Christopher, Woody Pitkat, Rowan Pennick, and Stefanik. SK veteran Todd Szegedy was on the Tour feature's front row alongside pole-sitter Bobby Santos III. A native of Franklin, MA, Santos' youthful quality makes one forget he's been a Tour regular since 2004 and has also raced in the Nationwide Series, notably last July at Daytona in Tommy Baldwin Jr's Chevrolet; he also raced Daytona's February 300-miler in Jimmy Means' car in 2011.
His attempts at the big leagues so far haven't borne fruit, and he's car-hopped in the Mod Tour with such teams as Joe Brady, Boehler Racing, Bob Garbarino, his own cars, and lately Sully Tinio's #44. It's illustrutive of the general sense of neglect by NASCAR toward the Modified Tour that Santos won twice in 2012 yet had to miss five of fourteen races. But there's reason for optimism for Santos right now, as he cleaned house at the Sizzler by leading 197 of 200 laps and was never threatened at any point of the race, even with several late yellows (including a brief red flag for a Lap 150 melee involving Bryon Chew, Ken Heagy, Ronnie Silk, and Gary McDonald) and the likes of Ryan Preece, Christopher, Pennick, and Justin Bonsignore making spirited efforts into the front five.
That Teddy was even in contention was surprising, as his Boehler #3 never seemed hooked up and he spent a long time outside the top ten; he managed to get into the top seven and then nearly got waylaid with fifteen to go in a three-wide slugfest ending in a four-car crash and Szegedy's elimination from the race after a frustrating day.
In the end Teddy and Bonsignore, like everyone else, had nothing for Santos. The win is Santos' third in the last four Modified Tour races, and it showed that sometimes it's all about one guy - it was certainly about Santos at Stafford's Spring Sizzler in 2013.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Boston Bombers - Homegrown, Foreign, or Both?
International connections to the Patriots Day bombers need to be investigated. It seems obvious the bombers and their allies didn't do this out of being Chechens.
2012 Regulatory Rules Outrace Everyone Else
Report: 2012 Regulatory Rules More Costly than All Rules in 'Entire First Terms of Presidents Bush and Clinton, Combined' - yet another sign that government meddling in the economy doesn't work.
Sizing Up Cup In Mid-April
With Kansas done the Cup series hits Richmond for a Saturday night bash before the Winston 500 at Talladega. A look at drivers, their teams, and how they're doing entering Richmond -
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HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS - We start with point leader Jimmie Johnson, as there isn't much to say given his two wins and having just two finishes lower than sixth so far. His teammate Kasey Kahne got off to a very slow start but has posted a win and two runner-ups since February.
Faltering right now is - as usual - Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has looked bad the last three races, fulfilling the pattern that has defined his career since the end of 2004. Curiously also faltering is the old man at Hendrick (and when was the last time that could be said?), Jeff Gordon, who has led laps as is custom but hasn't cashed in on anything. One may have to start wondering about Gordon this season.
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PENSKE RACING - Switching to Ford isn't what's hurting this outfit; what's hurting is their new hire - Joey Logano. Despite two top fives Logano has showcased his dangerous driving as well as propensity to crash between the brawl at Fontana and now the bad crash at Kansas, which elicited a Twitter-published epistle of outright hate from Denny Hamlin that is simultaneously surprising yet to be expected in modern NASCAR. Such a semi-anonymous attack on another driver is indicative of the hatred that exists against Logano, a hatred brought about by his years of immaturity and the often-mind-blowing brainlessness of his racing. It's also in its own way refreshing, for if nothing else it is brutally honest - something sorely missing in society.
Brad Keselowski's solid finishes have been overshadowed of late by NASCAR's public punishment of the Penske organization at Texas as well as the continuing controversy over Brian France's overall handling of the defending series champion.
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ROUSH-FENWAY RACING -The good news is Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards are solidly in the top ten in points. The bad news is despite Edwards' Phoenix win there seems to be little momentum going for the organization; Edwards hadn't led a lap after Phoenix until Kansas, while Biffle hasn't led since Phoenix and has pretty much been all over the map as far as the racing goes. Rookie Ricky Stenhouse, while not running poorly, nonetheless looks like a typical rookie and his romantic relationship with Danica Patrick is no help career-wise.
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JOE GIBBS RACING - It says volumes about the absurdity of NASCAR's whole philosophy on points systems that Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth have won four of the first eight races and have combined for 917 laps led, yet are realistically in no contention for the title. The #11 car has suffered with Denny Hamlin's injury, yet it also bears mentioning that Hamlin wasn't setting anything on fire before that wreck - his Fontana victory bid and the 117 laps led at Bristol were by far his best efforts in the 2013 season. When he comes back one wonders whether he'll bring the same ferocity.
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MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING - Clint Bowyer continues to carry the organization despite leading exactly one lap (this coming at Daytona) in the first eight races. His finishes have been all over the map so far but he's accounted for three of MWR's six top fives so far. Martin Truex has been surging lately, leading 188 laps in the last two races, but we've seen such spurts from him before with nothing coming of it. Mark Martin has run decently in MWR's #55.
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RCR ENTERPRISES - Amid the Dodge rumor that isn't going away, RCR's points positions are actually better than their cars have looked. Paul Menard remains tenth in points while lame-duck Kevin Harvick is twelfth, but it says a lot about how far the RCR fleet has fallen than Menard has four of the fleet's six top ten finishes so far yet has nothing better than a pair of ninths to show for it and has accounted for the only lap led so far by RCR cars. Jeff Burton meanwhile appears at the end of the line, 23rd in points and displaying zero firepower anywhere.
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EARNHARDT-GANASSI RACING - There's definitely something to the story that John Menard will buy out Ganassi; it's showing in how mediocre this organization is. Juan Montoya has been pretty much a NASCAR drafting bust while Jamie McMurray has been decent so far this year, posting three top tens. Yet even with that the Ganassi cars don't look like there's anything left for them, and given the exodus of car owners from the sport the last few years one should keep an eye on the Menard story.
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RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS - A subplot of the RCR-to-Dodge rumor is that Petty would be part of the package, becoming a satellite outfit for RCR. Given the surge of the Petty team of recent, if Dodge comes back they'll get a good package reuniting with The King. Aric Almirola has been coming on so far, posting back-to-back top tens and showing respectable muscle every week in Petty's #43.
If the Dodge rumor comes true one wonders what would then become of Ford stalwart Marcos Ambrose, who's won the last two Watkins Glen grands prix yet so far in 2013 hasn't been that hot outside of eighth at Martinsville. Regardless, right now Petty Motorsports is a team on the rise.
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STEWART-HAAS RACING - Are they regretting hiring Danica Patrick yet?
The pattern she showed in Indycars is repeating itself in NASCAR - she drags down every organization that takes a chance on her. The pole at Daytona and a surprising Martinsville effort can't hide the poor performances everywhere else, and it's dragged down the rest of the Stewart-Haas fleet. Ryan Newman has four of the group's six top tens and its only top five, and it says a lot about Newman that this is the team's best effort. Newman's career has never recovered from the Rusty Wallace-led rules blitz in reaction to Newman's 2003 victory surge, and his career continues to flounder amid the real possibility he will be the odd man out once Kevin Harvick arrives.
Team co-owner Stewart was shockingly successful his first four seasons as an owner-driver, but now it's obvious he's in over his head just like other owner-drivers have been. One wonders when the shoe will drop here.
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BARNEY VISSER - The sport's only notable one-car effort employs Kurt Busch and Busch has grabbed a pair of top-five finishes, surprisingly stout but inevitably the apex for a season that looks to already be on its downward spiral. The rumor that Busch will take over one of the RCR cars is out there as well.
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THE REST OF THE FIELD - Brad Daugherty's team plugs along with Bobby Labonte, but outside of 15th at Daytona there really isn't much here. James Finch's #51 has a seventh at Daytona with Regan Smith and that's it. Germain Racing and Tommy Baldwin's team aren't going anywhere, either.
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So there we are eight races into the 2013 season, with Richmond and Talladega beckoning.
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HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS - We start with point leader Jimmie Johnson, as there isn't much to say given his two wins and having just two finishes lower than sixth so far. His teammate Kasey Kahne got off to a very slow start but has posted a win and two runner-ups since February.
Faltering right now is - as usual - Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has looked bad the last three races, fulfilling the pattern that has defined his career since the end of 2004. Curiously also faltering is the old man at Hendrick (and when was the last time that could be said?), Jeff Gordon, who has led laps as is custom but hasn't cashed in on anything. One may have to start wondering about Gordon this season.
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PENSKE RACING - Switching to Ford isn't what's hurting this outfit; what's hurting is their new hire - Joey Logano. Despite two top fives Logano has showcased his dangerous driving as well as propensity to crash between the brawl at Fontana and now the bad crash at Kansas, which elicited a Twitter-published epistle of outright hate from Denny Hamlin that is simultaneously surprising yet to be expected in modern NASCAR. Such a semi-anonymous attack on another driver is indicative of the hatred that exists against Logano, a hatred brought about by his years of immaturity and the often-mind-blowing brainlessness of his racing. It's also in its own way refreshing, for if nothing else it is brutally honest - something sorely missing in society.
Brad Keselowski's solid finishes have been overshadowed of late by NASCAR's public punishment of the Penske organization at Texas as well as the continuing controversy over Brian France's overall handling of the defending series champion.
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ROUSH-FENWAY RACING -The good news is Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards are solidly in the top ten in points. The bad news is despite Edwards' Phoenix win there seems to be little momentum going for the organization; Edwards hadn't led a lap after Phoenix until Kansas, while Biffle hasn't led since Phoenix and has pretty much been all over the map as far as the racing goes. Rookie Ricky Stenhouse, while not running poorly, nonetheless looks like a typical rookie and his romantic relationship with Danica Patrick is no help career-wise.
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JOE GIBBS RACING - It says volumes about the absurdity of NASCAR's whole philosophy on points systems that Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth have won four of the first eight races and have combined for 917 laps led, yet are realistically in no contention for the title. The #11 car has suffered with Denny Hamlin's injury, yet it also bears mentioning that Hamlin wasn't setting anything on fire before that wreck - his Fontana victory bid and the 117 laps led at Bristol were by far his best efforts in the 2013 season. When he comes back one wonders whether he'll bring the same ferocity.
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MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING - Clint Bowyer continues to carry the organization despite leading exactly one lap (this coming at Daytona) in the first eight races. His finishes have been all over the map so far but he's accounted for three of MWR's six top fives so far. Martin Truex has been surging lately, leading 188 laps in the last two races, but we've seen such spurts from him before with nothing coming of it. Mark Martin has run decently in MWR's #55.
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RCR ENTERPRISES - Amid the Dodge rumor that isn't going away, RCR's points positions are actually better than their cars have looked. Paul Menard remains tenth in points while lame-duck Kevin Harvick is twelfth, but it says a lot about how far the RCR fleet has fallen than Menard has four of the fleet's six top ten finishes so far yet has nothing better than a pair of ninths to show for it and has accounted for the only lap led so far by RCR cars. Jeff Burton meanwhile appears at the end of the line, 23rd in points and displaying zero firepower anywhere.
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EARNHARDT-GANASSI RACING - There's definitely something to the story that John Menard will buy out Ganassi; it's showing in how mediocre this organization is. Juan Montoya has been pretty much a NASCAR drafting bust while Jamie McMurray has been decent so far this year, posting three top tens. Yet even with that the Ganassi cars don't look like there's anything left for them, and given the exodus of car owners from the sport the last few years one should keep an eye on the Menard story.
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RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS - A subplot of the RCR-to-Dodge rumor is that Petty would be part of the package, becoming a satellite outfit for RCR. Given the surge of the Petty team of recent, if Dodge comes back they'll get a good package reuniting with The King. Aric Almirola has been coming on so far, posting back-to-back top tens and showing respectable muscle every week in Petty's #43.
If the Dodge rumor comes true one wonders what would then become of Ford stalwart Marcos Ambrose, who's won the last two Watkins Glen grands prix yet so far in 2013 hasn't been that hot outside of eighth at Martinsville. Regardless, right now Petty Motorsports is a team on the rise.
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STEWART-HAAS RACING - Are they regretting hiring Danica Patrick yet?
The pattern she showed in Indycars is repeating itself in NASCAR - she drags down every organization that takes a chance on her. The pole at Daytona and a surprising Martinsville effort can't hide the poor performances everywhere else, and it's dragged down the rest of the Stewart-Haas fleet. Ryan Newman has four of the group's six top tens and its only top five, and it says a lot about Newman that this is the team's best effort. Newman's career has never recovered from the Rusty Wallace-led rules blitz in reaction to Newman's 2003 victory surge, and his career continues to flounder amid the real possibility he will be the odd man out once Kevin Harvick arrives.
Team co-owner Stewart was shockingly successful his first four seasons as an owner-driver, but now it's obvious he's in over his head just like other owner-drivers have been. One wonders when the shoe will drop here.
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BARNEY VISSER - The sport's only notable one-car effort employs Kurt Busch and Busch has grabbed a pair of top-five finishes, surprisingly stout but inevitably the apex for a season that looks to already be on its downward spiral. The rumor that Busch will take over one of the RCR cars is out there as well.
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THE REST OF THE FIELD - Brad Daugherty's team plugs along with Bobby Labonte, but outside of 15th at Daytona there really isn't much here. James Finch's #51 has a seventh at Daytona with Regan Smith and that's it. Germain Racing and Tommy Baldwin's team aren't going anywhere, either.
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So there we are eight races into the 2013 season, with Richmond and Talladega beckoning.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Kansas Whips Up The Action
The repaved Kansas Speedway whipped up the action starting with its 200-miler for the Truck Series, a race where the draft kicked in like the series hasn't seen on an intermediate in years and passing up front was heavy, but so were the wrecks, notably Todd Bodine's nasty melee.
That the Trucks saw a drafting effect kick in showed anew what is missing from modern NASCAR and what makes the intermediates better racetracks than the short tracks or dirt ovals such as what the Trucks will race at Eldora. It is an even more pronounced problem with the cars; where back in the day the draft meant something even on intermediates and flat superovals like Pocono, Michigan, and Ontario, it has been almost entirely MIA in Cup for over a generation.
The Truck 200 at Kansas also showed anew the other big problem the sport has - the speeds are too fast. The Trucks run tapered spacers so that helps, but it didn't work for them at Kansas; it indicates a need for more restriction. Certainly the Truck racing was very good and has been for the Trucks on the much-maligned intermediates, notably with memorable battles for first at Texas and Atlanta last season and this Kansas shootout, and what made it good - the above-mentioned draft - is what the sport needs along with reduction in horsepower to get back. It's a fact the Cup Series still hasn't gotten right. The 400-miler saw its own share of hard crashes - highlighted by Kyle Busch's ugly ricochet into Joey Logano - and also saw a dearth of passing. The repaved Kansas track showcased a bizarre problem - for all the talk about downforce (shown in Todd Bodine's silly post-wreck rant) the Kansas track was criticized by several drivers for not having any grip with some criticism also aimed at the matchup of the car, the track, and the tires.
The 400 showed anew the loss of competitive momentum that has hit the Generation Six racecar after encouraging races in March. Given NASCAR's seemingly desperate push to promote the Generation Six (their earlier citation of scoring loop data showcasing an increase in lead changes, official and otherwise) it's bad news that passing has dropped since the Fontana melee.
The Gen-6's next test is Richmond Saturday night, but Talladega at the start of May will be the true next big test - Daytona was a fiasco for the Generation Six, and for the Winston 500 the excuses about lack of parts causing conservative racing won't apply. If the Gen-6 produces another Talladega thriller then NASCAR will have turned a corner.
That the Trucks saw a drafting effect kick in showed anew what is missing from modern NASCAR and what makes the intermediates better racetracks than the short tracks or dirt ovals such as what the Trucks will race at Eldora. It is an even more pronounced problem with the cars; where back in the day the draft meant something even on intermediates and flat superovals like Pocono, Michigan, and Ontario, it has been almost entirely MIA in Cup for over a generation.
The Truck 200 at Kansas also showed anew the other big problem the sport has - the speeds are too fast. The Trucks run tapered spacers so that helps, but it didn't work for them at Kansas; it indicates a need for more restriction. Certainly the Truck racing was very good and has been for the Trucks on the much-maligned intermediates, notably with memorable battles for first at Texas and Atlanta last season and this Kansas shootout, and what made it good - the above-mentioned draft - is what the sport needs along with reduction in horsepower to get back. It's a fact the Cup Series still hasn't gotten right. The 400-miler saw its own share of hard crashes - highlighted by Kyle Busch's ugly ricochet into Joey Logano - and also saw a dearth of passing. The repaved Kansas track showcased a bizarre problem - for all the talk about downforce (shown in Todd Bodine's silly post-wreck rant) the Kansas track was criticized by several drivers for not having any grip with some criticism also aimed at the matchup of the car, the track, and the tires.
The 400 showed anew the loss of competitive momentum that has hit the Generation Six racecar after encouraging races in March. Given NASCAR's seemingly desperate push to promote the Generation Six (their earlier citation of scoring loop data showcasing an increase in lead changes, official and otherwise) it's bad news that passing has dropped since the Fontana melee.
The Gen-6's next test is Richmond Saturday night, but Talladega at the start of May will be the true next big test - Daytona was a fiasco for the Generation Six, and for the Winston 500 the excuses about lack of parts causing conservative racing won't apply. If the Gen-6 produces another Talladega thriller then NASCAR will have turned a corner.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Giffords's Husband Needs To Shut Up
THIS WAS FIRST POSTED ON APRIL 16:
The husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is whining that the "Gun Lobby" is More Powerful than Obama.
So what?
It's more and more clear that gun control isn't going to pass in Congress, and there is a reason for that - gun control doesn't work. The "gun lobby" is the convenient excuse by Democrats who can't bear to admit they're wrong.
UPDATE: The Toomey-Manchin gun control bill died, losing 56-44. Obama called it a "shameful day in Congress." He has no right to talk.
So what?
It's more and more clear that gun control isn't going to pass in Congress, and there is a reason for that - gun control doesn't work. The "gun lobby" is the convenient excuse by Democrats who can't bear to admit they're wrong.
UPDATE: The Toomey-Manchin gun control bill died, losing 56-44. Obama called it a "shameful day in Congress." He has no right to talk.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Obama's Use Of The Term Terrorism
It took over a day before Barack Obama brought himself to identify the bombing in Boston as "terrorism." Why he does this says everything about Obama's foolishness.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
From Texas To Thompson
As April thaws further out racing begins stepping up, and touring series under NASCAR sanction outside of the big three of Cup, Nationwide, and the Trucks start getting into gear. Such was the case a night after NASCAR's Texas 500, a race where a doltish Senator's demand that the race not be broadcast because of National Rifle Association sponsorship of it provided more fireworks than the racing itself - a controversy quickly lapped by bouts of "cheating by the Penske Fords before the race and then flunking of postrace inspection by runner-up Martin Truex. Keselowski in particular was angry, claiming the Penske Fords had been "targeted" by NASCAR. "We're not going to take it," he added.
The "cheating" by the Penske Fords supposedly involved beating NASCAR inspection to suppress rearend "skewing" that had become popular in 2012 by Jimmie Johnson but which now is disallowed by NASCAR; how they did it isn't clear though the story is they used a "floating" rearend. Of course it's not a simple case of NASCAR politics or a team being brazen in its cheating, because in the heavily political and often murky world of NASCAR there's reason to believe both sides - politics in racing are as old as racing (see for just one example such cases as Junior Johnson's outsized engine at Charlotte in May 1991 and the following revealation of excessive fuel storage in his Ford at the same track in October 1991) and so is cheating - and to use an old Sam Moses line, cheating, or as Bill Gazaway would put it, fudging, or as Richard Petty put it, just trying to get an edge.
There of course is the reality of the raceteams being ahead of the inspectors in the technology arms race, which makes things murkier - how long have the Penske guys been able to get away with rearend skew before getting caught? And chances are other teams will slip something past NASCAR inspectors, and when the racing is genuinely good then "cheating" issues tend to alleviate themselves.
This certainly was the case at Thompson Speedway's Icebreaker the afternoon following the Texas 500. The Whelen Modified Tour was the primary feature but multiple racecar classes strutted their stuff, with two great battles in particular standing out - the limited sportsman feature was decided in a terrific five-lap shootout won by Larry Barnett, who raced nose to nose with Jesse Gleason - Gleason and Barnett drove mid-80s Monte Carlos, but Gleason's car sported a 1988 Buick nosepiece, a charming hybrid surpassed only by Seekonk's Late Models where several have 1990s Monte Carlo noses but latter-80s Monte Carlo bubble-glass bodies - with Gleason killing Barnett high in One and Two - sporting a somewhat pronounced dip in the middle - but Barnett beating everyone alive on the backstrtech.
The second thriller was the SK-class Modified shootout. Keith Rocco, Woody Pitkat, and Kerry Malone got into an exciting battle for the win in the final ten laps and there were some three lead changes involving crossover passing - except Pitkat's last crossover crossed him out of contention off Two with three to go.
Not that the Modified Tour race was any slouch. Numerous cautions flew thanks to a rough day for Gary McDonald, but the worst yellow came near halfway of the 150-lapper thanks to a nasty crash in One involving Ron Yuhas - unsung hero of New Hampshire International Speedway in 2006 - and Ron Fuller, a crash necessitating a red flag.
Lap 111 saw another yellow and Mike Stefanik - the polesitter who got knocked out of the top six on the opening lap - got tires while Rowan Pennick and Chuck Hossfeld gambled on tires and stayed out. Several late yellows helped Stefanik close up on Pennick, and the final restart with 11 to go was decisive as Pennick surprisingly lost the lead despite starting on the outside row - the preferred line for most of the day. Even with losing the lead Stefanik's new tires didn't allow him to get away from Pennick, as Mike won by only a couple of lengths.
Curiously, Stefanik was self-depricating in victory lane about the whole thing as he posted the win with a new team.
Before the race Justin Bonsignore stated the Hoosier Tires the Tour runs, "They'll last at least eighty-five or ninty laps if we have to....here at Thompson you probably want new tires." It certainly proved the case, and also showed "there's a lot of good quality cars (in the Modified Tour).....There's still ten to fifteen cars that can win every week."
The Tour has often been seen as the red-headed stepchild in the NASCAR scheme of things, and "the cost of racing has gone up, but the cost of everything has gone up," says Bonsignore. "I think it's a little out of hand now. If they make big changes to try and cut costs, it's going to cost us more up front again. It might save you money in the long run."
One such area is spec motors, which seem to be creeping into the Tour, though there also seems to be a diversity of engine builders/suppliers still. Billy The Kid engines and Bob Bruneau, long-time engine figures on the Tour, are still common in the garage area, and some Tour cars run Rahmoc engines - yes, the company that once upon a time fielded super-strong Pontiacs for Neil Bonnett and Morgan Shepherd. A Grand National Series branded spec motor built by Roush-Yates is also to be found in the Mod Tour garage area.
The cost issue plagues racing at all levels, but in the end exciting finishes such as seen at Thompson's Icebreaker make the hassles all worth it.
The "cheating" by the Penske Fords supposedly involved beating NASCAR inspection to suppress rearend "skewing" that had become popular in 2012 by Jimmie Johnson but which now is disallowed by NASCAR; how they did it isn't clear though the story is they used a "floating" rearend. Of course it's not a simple case of NASCAR politics or a team being brazen in its cheating, because in the heavily political and often murky world of NASCAR there's reason to believe both sides - politics in racing are as old as racing (see for just one example such cases as Junior Johnson's outsized engine at Charlotte in May 1991 and the following revealation of excessive fuel storage in his Ford at the same track in October 1991) and so is cheating - and to use an old Sam Moses line, cheating, or as Bill Gazaway would put it, fudging, or as Richard Petty put it, just trying to get an edge.
There of course is the reality of the raceteams being ahead of the inspectors in the technology arms race, which makes things murkier - how long have the Penske guys been able to get away with rearend skew before getting caught? And chances are other teams will slip something past NASCAR inspectors, and when the racing is genuinely good then "cheating" issues tend to alleviate themselves.
This certainly was the case at Thompson Speedway's Icebreaker the afternoon following the Texas 500. The Whelen Modified Tour was the primary feature but multiple racecar classes strutted their stuff, with two great battles in particular standing out - the limited sportsman feature was decided in a terrific five-lap shootout won by Larry Barnett, who raced nose to nose with Jesse Gleason - Gleason and Barnett drove mid-80s Monte Carlos, but Gleason's car sported a 1988 Buick nosepiece, a charming hybrid surpassed only by Seekonk's Late Models where several have 1990s Monte Carlo noses but latter-80s Monte Carlo bubble-glass bodies - with Gleason killing Barnett high in One and Two - sporting a somewhat pronounced dip in the middle - but Barnett beating everyone alive on the backstrtech.
The second thriller was the SK-class Modified shootout. Keith Rocco, Woody Pitkat, and Kerry Malone got into an exciting battle for the win in the final ten laps and there were some three lead changes involving crossover passing - except Pitkat's last crossover crossed him out of contention off Two with three to go.
Not that the Modified Tour race was any slouch. Numerous cautions flew thanks to a rough day for Gary McDonald, but the worst yellow came near halfway of the 150-lapper thanks to a nasty crash in One involving Ron Yuhas - unsung hero of New Hampshire International Speedway in 2006 - and Ron Fuller, a crash necessitating a red flag.
Lap 111 saw another yellow and Mike Stefanik - the polesitter who got knocked out of the top six on the opening lap - got tires while Rowan Pennick and Chuck Hossfeld gambled on tires and stayed out. Several late yellows helped Stefanik close up on Pennick, and the final restart with 11 to go was decisive as Pennick surprisingly lost the lead despite starting on the outside row - the preferred line for most of the day. Even with losing the lead Stefanik's new tires didn't allow him to get away from Pennick, as Mike won by only a couple of lengths.
Curiously, Stefanik was self-depricating in victory lane about the whole thing as he posted the win with a new team.
Before the race Justin Bonsignore stated the Hoosier Tires the Tour runs, "They'll last at least eighty-five or ninty laps if we have to....here at Thompson you probably want new tires." It certainly proved the case, and also showed "there's a lot of good quality cars (in the Modified Tour).....There's still ten to fifteen cars that can win every week."
The Tour has often been seen as the red-headed stepchild in the NASCAR scheme of things, and "the cost of racing has gone up, but the cost of everything has gone up," says Bonsignore. "I think it's a little out of hand now. If they make big changes to try and cut costs, it's going to cost us more up front again. It might save you money in the long run."
One such area is spec motors, which seem to be creeping into the Tour, though there also seems to be a diversity of engine builders/suppliers still. Billy The Kid engines and Bob Bruneau, long-time engine figures on the Tour, are still common in the garage area, and some Tour cars run Rahmoc engines - yes, the company that once upon a time fielded super-strong Pontiacs for Neil Bonnett and Morgan Shepherd. A Grand National Series branded spec motor built by Roush-Yates is also to be found in the Mod Tour garage area.
The cost issue plagues racing at all levels, but in the end exciting finishes such as seen at Thompson's Icebreaker make the hassles all worth it.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Sizing Up NASCAR Entering Texas
Mike Mulhern authors a good thorough examination of the Winston Cup season so far, with particular attention focused on the NASCAR policy where a driver has to start the race in order to get championship points plus the separate driver points and owner points dichotomy in the sport.
I'm not in favor of allowing a substitute driver to earn points for another driver, because for all the hype about racing being a team sport - and certainly teams do matter as far as the building of the racecars etc. - in its essence the sport is one driver racing a racecar vs. 42 other drivers racing racecars. The analogy to NFL teams using backup quarterbacks when the starter gets injured fails because in the NFL multiple participants are on the field at the same time as a single unit facing another such unit; in racing it is one car vs. another car vs. another car etc. An individual racecar represents less a team than an individual, be it the driver or the car owner (i.e. the #43 as Richard Petty's car regardless of who the driver is); even the car number often reflects an individual driver (remember the insane controversy over the #8 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. switched to Hendrick Motorsports?) as opposed to a team.
The concern is because of injured drivers trying to race instead of sitting out races. Certainly NASCAR needs to stand up more and bench injured drivers to heal up a lot more than the sanctioning body presently does. But it should not basically reward being injured.
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As far as the racing goes, the Generation Six got off to the dismal start, then picked up at Bristol and the surprisingly raucous California 400 before tailing off at Martinsville. Texas will be a test of the Generation Six, for if it puts on memorable racing up front - the sport needs races in addition to Daytona and Talladega that even flirt with 60 lead changes - then it will be making believers out of people who still have reason not to buy into the concept. Goodyear is bringing a new right side tire to Texas, which adds another question mark.
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As far as individual racecars, Brad Keselowski has the best average finish of all drivers, but hasn't won, while Joey Logano got into two scrapes at Martinsville. The Penske effect extends into the Ford fleet, where as expected his bunch is ahead and it's coming at the expense of the other Fords. The Toyotas of JGR have won twice and Kyle Busch is fourth in points, while the Hendrick Chevys led by Jimmie Johnson are of course above everyone else.
Falling the deepest has been Tony Stewart and his fleet - a result to be expected given the fall of Danica Patrick's other raceteams when she raced Indycar. Also embarrassing is RCR, where the inept Paul Menard is in the top ten in points and Kevin Harvick is riding out his string at RCR while Jeff Burton is going nowhere in every sense of the term. While on the Toyota side, Michael Waltrip's team gets Clint Bowyer and as usual nothing else.
Outside of this, no one else has done anything of note in the series so far. STP's sponsorship of the Virginia 500 was a very nice gesture but they didn't get anything out of Aric Almirola as his career continues to go nowhere - a further insult to Petty's #43 (and Mulhern asks a good question in noting the lack of information of Michael Annett after his Daytona crash). The Ganassi Chevys are in even worse shape as Juan Montoya's lack of stock car moxie curiously keeps getting overlooked while Jamie McMurray can only be known as a one-shot wonder.
So the sport enters Texas for the seventeenth season of this tumultuous track's existence hoping to accelerate positive momentum.
I'm not in favor of allowing a substitute driver to earn points for another driver, because for all the hype about racing being a team sport - and certainly teams do matter as far as the building of the racecars etc. - in its essence the sport is one driver racing a racecar vs. 42 other drivers racing racecars. The analogy to NFL teams using backup quarterbacks when the starter gets injured fails because in the NFL multiple participants are on the field at the same time as a single unit facing another such unit; in racing it is one car vs. another car vs. another car etc. An individual racecar represents less a team than an individual, be it the driver or the car owner (i.e. the #43 as Richard Petty's car regardless of who the driver is); even the car number often reflects an individual driver (remember the insane controversy over the #8 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. switched to Hendrick Motorsports?) as opposed to a team.
The concern is because of injured drivers trying to race instead of sitting out races. Certainly NASCAR needs to stand up more and bench injured drivers to heal up a lot more than the sanctioning body presently does. But it should not basically reward being injured.
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As far as the racing goes, the Generation Six got off to the dismal start, then picked up at Bristol and the surprisingly raucous California 400 before tailing off at Martinsville. Texas will be a test of the Generation Six, for if it puts on memorable racing up front - the sport needs races in addition to Daytona and Talladega that even flirt with 60 lead changes - then it will be making believers out of people who still have reason not to buy into the concept. Goodyear is bringing a new right side tire to Texas, which adds another question mark.
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As far as individual racecars, Brad Keselowski has the best average finish of all drivers, but hasn't won, while Joey Logano got into two scrapes at Martinsville. The Penske effect extends into the Ford fleet, where as expected his bunch is ahead and it's coming at the expense of the other Fords. The Toyotas of JGR have won twice and Kyle Busch is fourth in points, while the Hendrick Chevys led by Jimmie Johnson are of course above everyone else.
Falling the deepest has been Tony Stewart and his fleet - a result to be expected given the fall of Danica Patrick's other raceteams when she raced Indycar. Also embarrassing is RCR, where the inept Paul Menard is in the top ten in points and Kevin Harvick is riding out his string at RCR while Jeff Burton is going nowhere in every sense of the term. While on the Toyota side, Michael Waltrip's team gets Clint Bowyer and as usual nothing else.
Outside of this, no one else has done anything of note in the series so far. STP's sponsorship of the Virginia 500 was a very nice gesture but they didn't get anything out of Aric Almirola as his career continues to go nowhere - a further insult to Petty's #43 (and Mulhern asks a good question in noting the lack of information of Michael Annett after his Daytona crash). The Ganassi Chevys are in even worse shape as Juan Montoya's lack of stock car moxie curiously keeps getting overlooked while Jamie McMurray can only be known as a one-shot wonder.
So the sport enters Texas for the seventeenth season of this tumultuous track's existence hoping to accelerate positive momentum.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Monday, April 08, 2013
Sunday, April 07, 2013
Martinsville Pick Six
The 2013 Virginia 500 has come and gone and six items are worth analyzing -
The "fall off" tire didn't make the racing better - much was made of Goodyear's tire that was meant to produce greater wear and thus "fall off" more. The argument was it would produce better racing and put it back into the drivers hands. Neither happened in the Cup race. Jimmie Johnson led 346 laps and was almost never challenged, even on late restarts. Drivers were talking about "You can't abuse the tires." It showed; they didn't try to abuse the tires and thus they didn't race particularly hard. Even with that Chad Knaus was still arguing for more abrasive tires claiming tracks with less tire wear "the racing is not as good, because the line selection is minimized."
It's also not much of an endorsement of the Generation Six racecar after some encouraging signs the previous three races.
Danica Patrick actually raced well - and yet it is damning of the quality of the racing that she was basically the only interesting competitive angle all day. Finishing 12th was shocking - by her own admission - and it was the only area all day where anything interesting was happening. Her Stewart-Haas teammates certainly didn't do anything all race; Ryan Newman in particular was embarrassing when he stopped to bring out a yellow and got a three-lap penalty as a result..
Joey Logano, no-show - He got into a scrape during practice and another during the race, but other than that NASCAR's newest "star" was MIA.
Yet another sign Kevin Harvick will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing - after Brian Vickers played bumper tag with Danica Patrick at the finish, Harvick spun him out. Patrick is presumably Harvick's teammate in 2014.
RCR is in serious trouble - 8th, 14th, and 24th in standings isn't particularly encouraging - of the organization's combined five top ten finishes three are the result of Paul Menard, who is assured of a fast fall from contention as the season goes on. Keep an eye on the rumored switch to Dodge in 2014 for RCR and potentially two other teams, because it's obvious Chevrolet isn't keeping RCR in the fold.
Which "name" driver will get the in-season axe first? - I'm going to guess Juan Montoya doesn't finish the season with the woeful Ganassi/Earnhardt squad. Clearly overrated when he signed with Ganassi's Dodge fleet in 2007, it's amazing he won two races, and despite a paucity of results - 51 top tens isn't bad but for the talent he ostensibly has it's pretty thin gruel - he's won $33 million in NASCAR.
And so with Martinsville out of the way the Cup series heads to Texas.
The "fall off" tire didn't make the racing better - much was made of Goodyear's tire that was meant to produce greater wear and thus "fall off" more. The argument was it would produce better racing and put it back into the drivers hands. Neither happened in the Cup race. Jimmie Johnson led 346 laps and was almost never challenged, even on late restarts. Drivers were talking about "You can't abuse the tires." It showed; they didn't try to abuse the tires and thus they didn't race particularly hard. Even with that Chad Knaus was still arguing for more abrasive tires claiming tracks with less tire wear "the racing is not as good, because the line selection is minimized."
It's also not much of an endorsement of the Generation Six racecar after some encouraging signs the previous three races.
Danica Patrick actually raced well - and yet it is damning of the quality of the racing that she was basically the only interesting competitive angle all day. Finishing 12th was shocking - by her own admission - and it was the only area all day where anything interesting was happening. Her Stewart-Haas teammates certainly didn't do anything all race; Ryan Newman in particular was embarrassing when he stopped to bring out a yellow and got a three-lap penalty as a result..
Joey Logano, no-show - He got into a scrape during practice and another during the race, but other than that NASCAR's newest "star" was MIA.
Yet another sign Kevin Harvick will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing - after Brian Vickers played bumper tag with Danica Patrick at the finish, Harvick spun him out. Patrick is presumably Harvick's teammate in 2014.
RCR is in serious trouble - 8th, 14th, and 24th in standings isn't particularly encouraging - of the organization's combined five top ten finishes three are the result of Paul Menard, who is assured of a fast fall from contention as the season goes on. Keep an eye on the rumored switch to Dodge in 2014 for RCR and potentially two other teams, because it's obvious Chevrolet isn't keeping RCR in the fold.
Which "name" driver will get the in-season axe first? - I'm going to guess Juan Montoya doesn't finish the season with the woeful Ganassi/Earnhardt squad. Clearly overrated when he signed with Ganassi's Dodge fleet in 2007, it's amazing he won two races, and despite a paucity of results - 51 top tens isn't bad but for the talent he ostensibly has it's pretty thin gruel - he's won $33 million in NASCAR.
And so with Martinsville out of the way the Cup series heads to Texas.
Saturday, April 06, 2013
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Monday, April 01, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Climate less sensitive to greenhouse gases than thought
Climate may be less sensitive to greenhouse gases than previously thought. So now what? How about calling off the crusade to "do something" about global warming? Because the science NEVER supported the crusade.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The Scam Of Gay Marriage
A Social Experiment Without Science.
"There has only been one study using a large randomized sample, objective measures of well-being, and reports of grown children rather than parents." And it shows children suffer from gay parents.
"There has only been one study using a large randomized sample, objective measures of well-being, and reports of grown children rather than parents." And it shows children suffer from gay parents.
Joey Logano And His Enemies
As NASCAR enters its Easter bye week, the story that isn't going away is Joey Logano and the bad crash involving Denny Hamlin at Fontana. Hamlin's back injury has left him sidelined for perhaps six weeks, and has also touched off criticism (notably from Darrell Waltrip) that there was no SAFER barrier in the area near pit road where he hit. This criticism, though, ignores that Michael Annett at Daytona this year and Eric McClure at Talladega last year were both seriously injured in head-on crashes into SAFER barriers; we really shouldn't assume that having a SAFER barrier where Hamlin hit would have made much difference.
The sport has famously upgraded its safety efforts since 2001 yet it is flirting once again with something worse than what we're presently seeing.
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The issue goes further into the fundamental fitness of Joey Logano to be involved in the sport. The Fontana melee included a brawl Tony Stewart and Logano over the last restart, and the verbiage between the two was unusually vicious between Stewart's rant about Logano's "spoiled" upbringing and Logano lashing at Hamlin for previous incidents - "He shouldn't have done what he did last week (at Bristol) so that's what he gets."
Given the history of Hamlin's career, one actually has to grudgingly agree. ATHLON SPORTS in its 2013 NASCAR preview noted that Hamlin has the most off-turning personality in the garage area, and his past scrapes in the sport further fuel his image as stuck up. Of course Logano's career in effect began with his 2009 Irwindale cheapshot and subsequent disqualification at Irwindale Speedway and it's never gotten better with frequent crashes, poor driving, and periodic fights with other drivers.
What it boils down to with Logano is that he is a combination of Ryan Leaf and Jack Tatum - he's the stuck-up talentless jerk that was Leaf and carries an intimation of malice befitting Tatum. That he spoke of Hamlin's past scrapes and in effect said Hamlin got what he deserved is one of those radically mixed bags that leaves one uncomfortable - it bespeaks of a bloodthirsty character yet is also an appropriate retort to previous instigation, and given that the law of the jungle applies to sports it's commendable to a point for Logano to say it - the blunt truth is Hamlin did get what he deserved.
Even with that, what amounts to a broken back that could have been worse is scary and leaves one angry with both. Yet it is typical of this generation of NASCAR racer, where unprofessional behavior on and off the track has long been the norm. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards to an even greater severity, and the Busch brothers are the archetypal punk racers of the sport. For the entirety of their careers they have been reason not to watch.
For now the sport has a bye week, but it gets back to Martinsville and the "rubbing is racing" ethos is likely to see more of the ugliness this 2013 season has already seen.
The sport has famously upgraded its safety efforts since 2001 yet it is flirting once again with something worse than what we're presently seeing.
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The issue goes further into the fundamental fitness of Joey Logano to be involved in the sport. The Fontana melee included a brawl Tony Stewart and Logano over the last restart, and the verbiage between the two was unusually vicious between Stewart's rant about Logano's "spoiled" upbringing and Logano lashing at Hamlin for previous incidents - "He shouldn't have done what he did last week (at Bristol) so that's what he gets."
Given the history of Hamlin's career, one actually has to grudgingly agree. ATHLON SPORTS in its 2013 NASCAR preview noted that Hamlin has the most off-turning personality in the garage area, and his past scrapes in the sport further fuel his image as stuck up. Of course Logano's career in effect began with his 2009 Irwindale cheapshot and subsequent disqualification at Irwindale Speedway and it's never gotten better with frequent crashes, poor driving, and periodic fights with other drivers.
What it boils down to with Logano is that he is a combination of Ryan Leaf and Jack Tatum - he's the stuck-up talentless jerk that was Leaf and carries an intimation of malice befitting Tatum. That he spoke of Hamlin's past scrapes and in effect said Hamlin got what he deserved is one of those radically mixed bags that leaves one uncomfortable - it bespeaks of a bloodthirsty character yet is also an appropriate retort to previous instigation, and given that the law of the jungle applies to sports it's commendable to a point for Logano to say it - the blunt truth is Hamlin did get what he deserved.
Even with that, what amounts to a broken back that could have been worse is scary and leaves one angry with both. Yet it is typical of this generation of NASCAR racer, where unprofessional behavior on and off the track has long been the norm. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards to an even greater severity, and the Busch brothers are the archetypal punk racers of the sport. For the entirety of their careers they have been reason not to watch.
For now the sport has a bye week, but it gets back to Martinsville and the "rubbing is racing" ethos is likely to see more of the ugliness this 2013 season has already seen.
Telling The Truth About Iraq
A representative tells the truth about Iraq. Also a look at six issues of the war by Victor Hanson.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
George Will On Perversion
George Will looks at the shaky science used to justify "same sex" marriage.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Ontario Motor Speedway Meets Bristol
For most of its life California Speedway was routinely dismissed by racefans because of the lack of ferocious racing there. A track like this was what NASCAR had in mind with its controversial Generation Six racecar, and entering Winston Cup's Easter bye weekend, something decidedly unexpected is happening here.
A sign there was something about this weekend showed in the Nationwide 300 won by Kyle Busch, a spirited affair with several very good battles up front. The Cal 400 then saw some decent racing before a late caution set off a shocking ten-lap shootout between cars on worn tires and cars on fresh tires. It began with seven-abreast into One and then it all got ugly on the final lap between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin and both crashed - but the worst came when Hamlin stabbed hard into the concrete and was hospitalized overnight with a compression fracture in his lower back.
Some criticized that the area he hit didn't have a SAFER barrier, but after Michael Annett and Eric McClure's bad injuries when they hit one it's not a particularly valid criticism anymore.
The wreck renews questions about the fundamental fitness to be in this sport of Joey Logano. Racecaster Dave Moody likens the incident to Logano now standing his ground as a racer. Roger Penske defended Logano after the wreck but Logano was in a fight last week after a wreck and now was in the middle of this melee and then got into an actual punches-thrown brawl on pit road. Logano's career in effect started by wiping out a group of cars in the Toyota All Star Race at Irwindale in 2009 and continued through a pathetic career with Joe Gibbs Racing - that career clearly has brought out a savagery in Hamlin as their feud since Logano went to Penske Racing has become perhaps THE story of the season so far.
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Except there are other stories right now. NASCAR's Generation Six racecar has been criticized because it came out of box poorly at Daytona and Phoenix. Since then, though, there was some decent racing at Vegas and a spirited affair at Bristol, and now comes Fontana's wildest finish ever. This thing may actually start making believers out of people.
There is also the worn out nature of Fontana's asphalt, a fact that earned rave reviews from just about everyone from the TV broadcasters (if Andy Petree uses the word "character" again I'll explode) to Dale Earnhardt Jr, though he did complain about the bumpiness at the end of the backstretch. The idea that tracks need worn asphalt to put on good racing, though, seems a stretch after seeing good racing on new pavement at Pocono and elsewhere.
A curious aspect of the race is also Logano's Ford, which was missing the left corner of its front splitter - yet seemed to run better without it than with it.
Another angle is that in the frantic finish Kyle Busch and Logano among several others did not get tires under the late caution - Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Dale Junior, and Hamlin were drivers who got fresh tires and bolted through the field yet once they got there had nothing for the leaders. I wonder what those drivers were thinking when they found the cars on old tires held them off despite fresh tires.
In any event the Easter bye gives the sport something to chew on and also gives it reason for optimism about where it's going after all.
A sign there was something about this weekend showed in the Nationwide 300 won by Kyle Busch, a spirited affair with several very good battles up front. The Cal 400 then saw some decent racing before a late caution set off a shocking ten-lap shootout between cars on worn tires and cars on fresh tires. It began with seven-abreast into One and then it all got ugly on the final lap between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin and both crashed - but the worst came when Hamlin stabbed hard into the concrete and was hospitalized overnight with a compression fracture in his lower back.
Some criticized that the area he hit didn't have a SAFER barrier, but after Michael Annett and Eric McClure's bad injuries when they hit one it's not a particularly valid criticism anymore.
The wreck renews questions about the fundamental fitness to be in this sport of Joey Logano. Racecaster Dave Moody likens the incident to Logano now standing his ground as a racer. Roger Penske defended Logano after the wreck but Logano was in a fight last week after a wreck and now was in the middle of this melee and then got into an actual punches-thrown brawl on pit road. Logano's career in effect started by wiping out a group of cars in the Toyota All Star Race at Irwindale in 2009 and continued through a pathetic career with Joe Gibbs Racing - that career clearly has brought out a savagery in Hamlin as their feud since Logano went to Penske Racing has become perhaps THE story of the season so far.
------------------------
Except there are other stories right now. NASCAR's Generation Six racecar has been criticized because it came out of box poorly at Daytona and Phoenix. Since then, though, there was some decent racing at Vegas and a spirited affair at Bristol, and now comes Fontana's wildest finish ever. This thing may actually start making believers out of people.
There is also the worn out nature of Fontana's asphalt, a fact that earned rave reviews from just about everyone from the TV broadcasters (if Andy Petree uses the word "character" again I'll explode) to Dale Earnhardt Jr, though he did complain about the bumpiness at the end of the backstretch. The idea that tracks need worn asphalt to put on good racing, though, seems a stretch after seeing good racing on new pavement at Pocono and elsewhere.
A curious aspect of the race is also Logano's Ford, which was missing the left corner of its front splitter - yet seemed to run better without it than with it.
Another angle is that in the frantic finish Kyle Busch and Logano among several others did not get tires under the late caution - Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Dale Junior, and Hamlin were drivers who got fresh tires and bolted through the field yet once they got there had nothing for the leaders. I wonder what those drivers were thinking when they found the cars on old tires held them off despite fresh tires.
In any event the Easter bye gives the sport something to chew on and also gives it reason for optimism about where it's going after all.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Obama and Rand Paul's Cylon Wars
The always-thoughtful Charles Krauthammer authors another intelligent gem, this time discussing the rise of drone warfare and Rand Paul's famous filibuster effort. Krauthammer delivers the key to understanding Paul's objections when he notes that his filibuster was "theatrically brilliant and substantively irrelevant." Rand Paul's real issue is that the US is actually fighting back against an enemy, and it is an issue that has hurt libertarian thinking forever. Rand is sneakier than his father Ron Paul, who was maddeningly myopic on American power and America's enemies, but Rand Paul's real objection is to the US actually defending itself.
Krauthammer brilliantly notes the complete and utter hypocrisy of Democrats, who routinely object when Republicans are in power and fight back against America's enemies. Barack Obama's pious opposition to victory over Saddam Hussein's Iraq illustrates Democratic hypocrisy as Obama uses attack drones for pinprick raids on Islamo-Arab terrorist nests - the only thing missing is the building of Cylon base stars from which to launch these attack drones - and the result has been over 4,000 dead terrorists - as a substitute for actually defeating Islamo-Arab terrorism.
The reality remains that terrorism is state-sanctioned war by proxy - Iraq was its largest sanction state and now Iran and Syria are the largest sanction states. The myth of rogue terrorist groups - the Osama Bin Elvis ideology or what I call The Ernst Stavro Blofeld Myth of international terrorism - is what has driven US policy and it remains foolish because only the overthrow of the states that sanction it will bring it to an end. And the US has had that in Iraq yet is steadily throwing it away because of Obama's obsession with withdrawal from the Middle East.
Drone warfare remains a pathetic pinprick substitute, and no matter what Obama or Rand Paul do to wish it away, it won't leave until the US stops leaving and starts going for real victory.
Krauthammer brilliantly notes the complete and utter hypocrisy of Democrats, who routinely object when Republicans are in power and fight back against America's enemies. Barack Obama's pious opposition to victory over Saddam Hussein's Iraq illustrates Democratic hypocrisy as Obama uses attack drones for pinprick raids on Islamo-Arab terrorist nests - the only thing missing is the building of Cylon base stars from which to launch these attack drones - and the result has been over 4,000 dead terrorists - as a substitute for actually defeating Islamo-Arab terrorism.
The reality remains that terrorism is state-sanctioned war by proxy - Iraq was its largest sanction state and now Iran and Syria are the largest sanction states. The myth of rogue terrorist groups - the Osama Bin Elvis ideology or what I call The Ernst Stavro Blofeld Myth of international terrorism - is what has driven US policy and it remains foolish because only the overthrow of the states that sanction it will bring it to an end. And the US has had that in Iraq yet is steadily throwing it away because of Obama's obsession with withdrawal from the Middle East.
Drone warfare remains a pathetic pinprick substitute, and no matter what Obama or Rand Paul do to wish it away, it won't leave until the US stops leaving and starts going for real victory.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
The Wreck It Ralph 500 Part II
The 2013 Southeastern 500 was an anticipated race given Bristol's history of crashes and also of driver/crew spats. And the Winston Cup Series will be talking about this one for awhile, but as has been seen before the discussion will be for reasons both good and bad. Start with the good of the weekend - the racing at Bristol after the track's change to the turns before last August's Volunteer 500 turned out to be interesting. The Nationwide 300-miler on Saturday saw several dices up front and a surprising finish as rookie Kyle Larson used lapped traffic and nearly got Kyle Busch at the line. The 500 turned out to be similar, though passing up front was noticeably harder and the leaders got strung out more. If anything the comparison shows anew justification for NASCAR to switch to smaller tapered engine spacers for the Cup cars, as the N'wide cars with 200 less HP saw some better racing. Regardless, Bristol has finally proven itself as a good racetrack, reverting to the form it had shown in its final four seasons before it was converted to concrete.
Another positive from the race was the stellar finish of Kurt Busch and the underfunded Furniture Row team, hustling to fourth place. One should add also a respectable 13th for AJ Allmendinger.
--------------------------
In the bad section, the crashes that are always a part of Bristol racing were out in force again, and this time there was also a tire issue - this following Phoenix's tire problems - with multiple blowouts and several hard crashes, notably the crash that wiped out race leaders Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. Goodyear stated there were issues of melting sealing beads caused by brake heat - which is another bad sign for this Generation Six car, which is noticeably faster and is handling poorly, which tends to lead to more braking. It's also worth noting a crew chief who offered an alternate take on the race's tire issues.
Then there is Joey Logano, punted hard by Denny Hamlin on a restart, this following a set-to at Daytona. If you remember his bad wreck at Irwindale in 2009 where he plowed sideways into the field, you saw right away a driver long on hype and short on talent as well as short on accountability and that this combination would mean a subpar at best Cup career. It's now becoming more obvious how in over his head he is in Winston Cup and one can also suspect what kind of negative dynamic went into his stay at Joe Gibbs Racing given the nastiness between him and ex-teammate Denny Hamlin - though it's no endorsement of Hamlin, either, who has been described in ATHLON SPORTS as having the worst personality in the garage area.
Speaking of negative dynamics, Stewart Haas Racing isn't exactly cleaning up, either, and given the presence of a certain Cup rookie on their roster, one need remember how two powerhouse Indycar teams - Rahal Letterman and Andretti Racing - suffered in the 2005-12 period during that rookie's tenure.
The lackluster crowd at the track has led to criticism of the track's mid-March date as opposed to the early-April date of the past, but this is a laughable criticism - March Bristol races have been fairly common in its history.
So the Southeastern 500 goes into the books and the 2013 begins building steam.
Another positive from the race was the stellar finish of Kurt Busch and the underfunded Furniture Row team, hustling to fourth place. One should add also a respectable 13th for AJ Allmendinger.
--------------------------
In the bad section, the crashes that are always a part of Bristol racing were out in force again, and this time there was also a tire issue - this following Phoenix's tire problems - with multiple blowouts and several hard crashes, notably the crash that wiped out race leaders Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. Goodyear stated there were issues of melting sealing beads caused by brake heat - which is another bad sign for this Generation Six car, which is noticeably faster and is handling poorly, which tends to lead to more braking. It's also worth noting a crew chief who offered an alternate take on the race's tire issues.
Then there is Joey Logano, punted hard by Denny Hamlin on a restart, this following a set-to at Daytona. If you remember his bad wreck at Irwindale in 2009 where he plowed sideways into the field, you saw right away a driver long on hype and short on talent as well as short on accountability and that this combination would mean a subpar at best Cup career. It's now becoming more obvious how in over his head he is in Winston Cup and one can also suspect what kind of negative dynamic went into his stay at Joe Gibbs Racing given the nastiness between him and ex-teammate Denny Hamlin - though it's no endorsement of Hamlin, either, who has been described in ATHLON SPORTS as having the worst personality in the garage area.
Speaking of negative dynamics, Stewart Haas Racing isn't exactly cleaning up, either, and given the presence of a certain Cup rookie on their roster, one need remember how two powerhouse Indycar teams - Rahal Letterman and Andretti Racing - suffered in the 2005-12 period during that rookie's tenure.
The lackluster crowd at the track has led to criticism of the track's mid-March date as opposed to the early-April date of the past, but this is a laughable criticism - March Bristol races have been fairly common in its history.
So the Southeastern 500 goes into the books and the 2013 begins building steam.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
More On The Generation Six
THIS WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MARCH 9.
The Generation Six racecar continues to generate controversy as NASCAR's heavy-handed punishments of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski for speaking out continue to generate debate amid the car's poor competition performance and burgeoning support for Hamlin. Largely lost amid the controversy is another story circulating under the radar that may be a major change in the sport - the striking level of cooperation between manufacturers in the sport.
It's a major change given the bitterness that permeated manufacturer rivalries in the past. If it is real, it can help the sport in multiple ways. Right now, though, the Gen-6 car is not producing what was promised of it, and the talking point of "give it time" sounds as Mike Mulhern puts it - "'come back next year and we'll have it all sorted out for you.'"
"That is unacceptable," as Mulhern succinctly puts it, and it is given the project began in mid-2010 but which was obviously working where no one seemed to know what they were doing. Testing showed almost right away the car was not going to make anything better - one of the most notable changes was at the splitter; it was advocated that removing the splitter would help alleviate aeropush; when NASCAR did just that for tests at Texas and Kansas, the change produced failure.
The story of the Gen-6 racecar is evolving into one of the more graphic fiascos in recent NASCAR history and a further indictment of the sanction body's leadership from Brian France to John Darby.
UPDATE: Hamlin chose not to appeal NASCAR's fine, but the fine has left a sullen atmosphere in the garage area which brought about this thoughtful piece by Nate Ryan about NASCAR's inability to lead.
The Generation Six racecar continues to generate controversy as NASCAR's heavy-handed punishments of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski for speaking out continue to generate debate amid the car's poor competition performance and burgeoning support for Hamlin. Largely lost amid the controversy is another story circulating under the radar that may be a major change in the sport - the striking level of cooperation between manufacturers in the sport.
It's a major change given the bitterness that permeated manufacturer rivalries in the past. If it is real, it can help the sport in multiple ways. Right now, though, the Gen-6 car is not producing what was promised of it, and the talking point of "give it time" sounds as Mike Mulhern puts it - "'come back next year and we'll have it all sorted out for you.'"
"That is unacceptable," as Mulhern succinctly puts it, and it is given the project began in mid-2010 but which was obviously working where no one seemed to know what they were doing. Testing showed almost right away the car was not going to make anything better - one of the most notable changes was at the splitter; it was advocated that removing the splitter would help alleviate aeropush; when NASCAR did just that for tests at Texas and Kansas, the change produced failure.
The story of the Gen-6 racecar is evolving into one of the more graphic fiascos in recent NASCAR history and a further indictment of the sanction body's leadership from Brian France to John Darby.
UPDATE: Hamlin chose not to appeal NASCAR's fine, but the fine has left a sullen atmosphere in the garage area which brought about this thoughtful piece by Nate Ryan about NASCAR's inability to lead.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The Wreck It Ralph 500
The 2013 Winston Cup season plods along and enters Bristol, TN for the first of NASCAR's two annual Cup weekends at Bristol International Raceway - I know, the official name is Bristol Motor Speedway, and that doesn't matter - and NASCAR's Generation Six racecar debuts at the high banked bowl. This is the second weekend since Bristol's progressive banking was ground down to try and increase "action" - aka the crashes - and the last time out the racing produced another epidemic of crashes (13 yellows totalling 87 laps) and a helmet-throw by Tony Stewart on Matt Kenseth, yet curiously produced racing where cars still ran the high groove (notably Kasey Kahne).
The race is the fourth for the Gen-6 car after NASCAR made a point of saying that the Vegas 400 saw 31 lead changes official and otherwise. While that number is certainly a step up from Phoenix, it's just a start as far as vindicating NASCAR's efforts go. And Bristol really isn't a great venue to test how racy the Gen-6 really is because of all the crashes the joint usually produces.
Indeed, the one word to describe Bristol is Overrated. Debuting in 1961, Bristol saw some good racing in its first decade, notably the 1968 Southeastern 500 as several hard battles erupted for the lead between Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Leeroy Yarbrough, and Richard Petty. In 1969 the track was banked from 18 degrees to 36 for greater speeds; crashes escalated, then became less numerous (even seeing 1971's caution-free Volunteer 500) before wavering up and down over the 1970s and first half of the 1980s. The crashes escalated in a big way in the late 1980s with four consecutive Southeastern 500s (1988-91) erupting to 64 cautions; the upshot of it all was that the racing was also the best the track had ever seen - there were an eye-popping 34 official lead changes in 1989 before a bizarre one-race pitstop and restart rule that doubled up the field produced a still-standing-short-track-record 41 lead changes in 1991. In between, 1990's Southeastern 500 saw numerous battles for the lead and a wild four-car finish.
Struggle to keep the asphalt surface in raceable shape led in 1992 to paving of the track with concrete; suddenly passing became absurdly difficult and the crashes, like the hits, just kept on coming - so much so that the track redid the corners in 2007 with progressive banking before switching back in 2012. The irony is the progressive banking actually made Bristol a competitive race, with memorable side by side battles for the lead in 2010 and 2012 and a noticeable reduction in yellows. 1
The track is hyped as producing the best racing, yet though it's certainly had some good races over the years it really isn't that much. It's the highest banking in the sport yet the actual racing generally has left something to be desired. It's also not the best test bed for the Gen-6 racecar given its small size and lack of racing room. NASCAR's sensitivity to the Gen-6's struggles explains their hype of Vegas' 31 lead changes. Certainly we all want the sport to be more competitive, and 31 lead changes is a start - if we start seeing races other than the plate races where 50 lead changes is broken, that will be the truest sign the project is working. For now, though, I'm expecting at least thirteen crashes at Bristol; I'll be surprised if there is as much passing as a Winston Cup race ought to have.
======================
1 - Racing Reference Bristol Raceway page
The race is the fourth for the Gen-6 car after NASCAR made a point of saying that the Vegas 400 saw 31 lead changes official and otherwise. While that number is certainly a step up from Phoenix, it's just a start as far as vindicating NASCAR's efforts go. And Bristol really isn't a great venue to test how racy the Gen-6 really is because of all the crashes the joint usually produces.
Indeed, the one word to describe Bristol is Overrated. Debuting in 1961, Bristol saw some good racing in its first decade, notably the 1968 Southeastern 500 as several hard battles erupted for the lead between Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Leeroy Yarbrough, and Richard Petty. In 1969 the track was banked from 18 degrees to 36 for greater speeds; crashes escalated, then became less numerous (even seeing 1971's caution-free Volunteer 500) before wavering up and down over the 1970s and first half of the 1980s. The crashes escalated in a big way in the late 1980s with four consecutive Southeastern 500s (1988-91) erupting to 64 cautions; the upshot of it all was that the racing was also the best the track had ever seen - there were an eye-popping 34 official lead changes in 1989 before a bizarre one-race pitstop and restart rule that doubled up the field produced a still-standing-short-track-record 41 lead changes in 1991. In between, 1990's Southeastern 500 saw numerous battles for the lead and a wild four-car finish.
Struggle to keep the asphalt surface in raceable shape led in 1992 to paving of the track with concrete; suddenly passing became absurdly difficult and the crashes, like the hits, just kept on coming - so much so that the track redid the corners in 2007 with progressive banking before switching back in 2012. The irony is the progressive banking actually made Bristol a competitive race, with memorable side by side battles for the lead in 2010 and 2012 and a noticeable reduction in yellows. 1
The track is hyped as producing the best racing, yet though it's certainly had some good races over the years it really isn't that much. It's the highest banking in the sport yet the actual racing generally has left something to be desired. It's also not the best test bed for the Gen-6 racecar given its small size and lack of racing room. NASCAR's sensitivity to the Gen-6's struggles explains their hype of Vegas' 31 lead changes. Certainly we all want the sport to be more competitive, and 31 lead changes is a start - if we start seeing races other than the plate races where 50 lead changes is broken, that will be the truest sign the project is working. For now, though, I'm expecting at least thirteen crashes at Bristol; I'll be surprised if there is as much passing as a Winston Cup race ought to have.
======================
1 - Racing Reference Bristol Raceway page
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Saturday, March 09, 2013
Friday, March 08, 2013
NASCAR Credibility And The Gen-Six Racecar
NASCAR's Generation Six racecar after just two races seems already to have set a new standard for controversy as NASCAR fined Denny Hamlin some $25,000 for public criticism of the car's lack of passing at Phoenix, this after the disappointing Daytona 500 (and the spectacle of Brian France's bullying dinner date with Brad Keselowski after Keselowski's USA Today interview critical of the sanctioning body). The fine has led drivers to refrain from criticism of the car, and racecaster Dave Moody comments taking both NASCAR and Hamlin to task. Moody takes hamlin to task for saying passing was harder now than before, noting Hamlin started 43rd and finished second at Phoenix. Moody has been a strong defender of the Gen-6 racecar and made valid points noting the car's hurried deployment and lack of parts at Daytona as contributory issues to the car's lack of passing.
But while there were such factors involved, the defenses of the Gen-6 racecar do not overall come across as valid, because the car's promises are familiar from the days of the unmourned Car Of Tomorrow, a vehicle that (much like the Gen-6) was advertised as a design that would reduce or even eliminate aeropush - and failed entirely. NASCAR's inability to deal with the sport's chronic lack of passing has been a running issue from the 2000 season onward. In the John Darby era, which spans the bulk of the last ten to twelve seasons, the sport has mandated multiple changes to tires, swar bars, the cutting of downforce, and now the COT and the Gen-6 - and outside of Daytona and Talladega the racing has been subpar - only in spots at races such as Pocono in 2009-10, at Charlotte's 600-miler in 2011 (also noteworthy were Charlotte's 2005 races with an epidemic of yellows), at Fontana on a hot September night in 2007, and at Dover in 2006 has the sport seen battles up front that live up to the sport's competitive promise.
Discussion within the sport certainly continues, with the softness of the tires a running controversy and also the splitter used on the cars, with advocacy that it be removed to allow air under the car, only to see that idea backfire in preseason testing with exacerbated inability to pass.
The recent catchphrase used is "give it time." While the point on its own is valid, the history of the sport's consistent Darby-era failures in improving the ability to race weighs against everything revolving around this Gen-6 racecar. And NASCAR's draconian reaction to driver criticisms adds more credibility issues because all it is doing is making more graphic that seemingly no one knows what they are doing.
And that is the greatest shame of all - it certainly is true that not every race can see 60 lead changes or anything close to that, but it's also true that 60 lead changes can - and absolutely should - not be the exception for the sport, whether it be the restrictor plate tracks, or the unfairly maligned "cookie cutter" intermediates, or the sport's low-banked superovals like Pocono and Indianapolis.
But while there were such factors involved, the defenses of the Gen-6 racecar do not overall come across as valid, because the car's promises are familiar from the days of the unmourned Car Of Tomorrow, a vehicle that (much like the Gen-6) was advertised as a design that would reduce or even eliminate aeropush - and failed entirely. NASCAR's inability to deal with the sport's chronic lack of passing has been a running issue from the 2000 season onward. In the John Darby era, which spans the bulk of the last ten to twelve seasons, the sport has mandated multiple changes to tires, swar bars, the cutting of downforce, and now the COT and the Gen-6 - and outside of Daytona and Talladega the racing has been subpar - only in spots at races such as Pocono in 2009-10, at Charlotte's 600-miler in 2011 (also noteworthy were Charlotte's 2005 races with an epidemic of yellows), at Fontana on a hot September night in 2007, and at Dover in 2006 has the sport seen battles up front that live up to the sport's competitive promise.
Discussion within the sport certainly continues, with the softness of the tires a running controversy and also the splitter used on the cars, with advocacy that it be removed to allow air under the car, only to see that idea backfire in preseason testing with exacerbated inability to pass.
The recent catchphrase used is "give it time." While the point on its own is valid, the history of the sport's consistent Darby-era failures in improving the ability to race weighs against everything revolving around this Gen-6 racecar. And NASCAR's draconian reaction to driver criticisms adds more credibility issues because all it is doing is making more graphic that seemingly no one knows what they are doing.
And that is the greatest shame of all - it certainly is true that not every race can see 60 lead changes or anything close to that, but it's also true that 60 lead changes can - and absolutely should - not be the exception for the sport, whether it be the restrictor plate tracks, or the unfairly maligned "cookie cutter" intermediates, or the sport's low-banked superovals like Pocono and Indianapolis.
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
Obama As Electoral Gamer
By now it has been manifest that Barack Obama is incompetent at governing. An insightful look at why is shown in this piece on Obama's paralysis on the Keystone Pipeline that shows that Obama's problems are structural (though I disagree with the writer's assertion that it isn't ideological, since the leftism permeating Obama has been a consistent failure then and now) in that he's all about winning elections - and doing so by "gaming" the system as opposed to winning on his own merits; this showed in his consistent debating losses and also how he actually won the 2008 election. He is the ultimate narcissist.
Monday, March 04, 2013
The President Who Cried ‘Sequester!’
Obama's credibility gets pummeled, notably with Head Start. The President applies the old Democratic tactic of "baseline budgeting," where unspent increases are treated as cuts, in claiming the sequester would eliminate 70,000 children from the program when its previous budgets indicate it merely doesn't take in 3,000 more.
Obama's serial economic illiteracy continues as he and liberals falsify economic growth in the past generation.
Debunking Tax The Rich
The Brookings Institution's Tax Policy Center has found the "rich" pay by far the most taxes both in hard cash and in percentages, while the bottom 20% of earners pay no taxes.
Phoenix Early Bad News For Gen-6
Phoenix has been run and NASCAR's Generation Six racecar got its first test on a track a mile or less, and Carl Edwards grabbed his first win since March 2011, but the result for NASCAR's ballyhooed new racecar was decisively poor.
The Gen-6 was in development for some three years, yet passing was as rare with this car as it was with the COT, and there was literally no sign that this new car has solved any of the sport's competition issues. "Clean air is probably more important than ever," said Brad Keselowski; "It did not race as good as our generation-five cars" (aka the COT, which raced poorly) said Denny Hamlin; Jimmie Johnson half-jokingly recommended leaving the cars alone for 20 years.
Making it worse was another chapter in tire trouble with Goodyear, which brought a harder compound (particularly on left sides) yet saw multiple tire failures, notably right fronts.
It begs the question that has plagued the sport for now over a decade - why can NASCAR not get these racecars to where they WANT to race in dirty air, where passing and repassing are NOT the exception, to where racing like in the Daytona 300 is the norm?
And it begs the question - is John Darby the problem? It has been painfully clear from the start that Darby has grossly misread the sport's competition issues and continues to do so; an ardent supporter of the COT, Darby has been in charge of the garage area yet has curiously gone without criticism from the racing media.
Certainly the high-ups at Daytona have failed again and Darby warrants criticism of his role in NASCAR's continuing failure to redress the sport's competition woes. Phoenix may be one race, but the Gen-6 was unimpressive at Daytona and was even less impressive at Phoenix, with no evidence to believe it can make things better at Vegas or down the line.
The Gen-6 was in development for some three years, yet passing was as rare with this car as it was with the COT, and there was literally no sign that this new car has solved any of the sport's competition issues. "Clean air is probably more important than ever," said Brad Keselowski; "It did not race as good as our generation-five cars" (aka the COT, which raced poorly) said Denny Hamlin; Jimmie Johnson half-jokingly recommended leaving the cars alone for 20 years.
Making it worse was another chapter in tire trouble with Goodyear, which brought a harder compound (particularly on left sides) yet saw multiple tire failures, notably right fronts.
It begs the question that has plagued the sport for now over a decade - why can NASCAR not get these racecars to where they WANT to race in dirty air, where passing and repassing are NOT the exception, to where racing like in the Daytona 300 is the norm?
And it begs the question - is John Darby the problem? It has been painfully clear from the start that Darby has grossly misread the sport's competition issues and continues to do so; an ardent supporter of the COT, Darby has been in charge of the garage area yet has curiously gone without criticism from the racing media.
Certainly the high-ups at Daytona have failed again and Darby warrants criticism of his role in NASCAR's continuing failure to redress the sport's competition woes. Phoenix may be one race, but the Gen-6 was unimpressive at Daytona and was even less impressive at Phoenix, with no evidence to believe it can make things better at Vegas or down the line.
Sunday, March 03, 2013
Obama Flirts With Sort-Of Armageddon
Barack Obama has been praying for Armageddon from the sequester's overrated budget cuts, he becomes a fool should the fear fizzle. And given how miniscule the budget cuts are under the sequester - a sequester that was Obama's idea to start with as he sought a deal to raise the debt ceiling - he's destined to become a fool.
Except he has been a fool throughout his life. And like all fools he is a bully, and his bullying personality is getting worse as he fights harder to bully and control what has been a sickeningly pliant Mainstream Media.
And while he's bullying the media and anyone else he can find, he remains a coward against America's enemies.
He may have won the election, but he did so by losing the argument on facts - and his manipulative skill with social media won't change facts.
Except he has been a fool throughout his life. And like all fools he is a bully, and his bullying personality is getting worse as he fights harder to bully and control what has been a sickeningly pliant Mainstream Media.
And while he's bullying the media and anyone else he can find, he remains a coward against America's enemies.
He may have won the election, but he did so by losing the argument on facts - and his manipulative skill with social media won't change facts.
Saturday, March 02, 2013
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