CARL EDWARDS UNFORTUNATE ACT COULD HAVE COST LIVES

March 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

NASCAR Ranting and Raving

There is no mistaken what Carl Edwards did today to Brad Keselowski was a big no no in the eyes of anyone watching the race including NASCAR but what kind of penalty is he going to face as a result?

Well Keselowski wants Edwards parked for at least one race, which seems possible but unlikely in my opinion.

Why?  Sponsorship dollars.  Think of the lost revenue by not having the Afflac, Scotts, (name of other sponsors here) car in the race.  Certainly if I were a sponsor of Edwards I would not be pleased that my car was not in the race with my driver behind the wheel.  Of course the 99 car would be in the race, but not with Edwards behind the wheel.

In fact I might just be so upset that I would pull all of my television advertising from the race too which would mean a loss of revenue for NASCAR and FOX.

Get the picture?

So what would you do?

star divide.v5547 CARL EDWARDS UNFORTUNATE ACT COULD HAVE COST LIVES

Looking at Edwards’ past history might help NASCAR’s decision, so let’s do that.

1)  In 2006 Carl was wrecked on the last lap while leading at MIS in an incident caused by eventual winner Dale Jr.  After getting fresh rubber Carl went back out on the track and crashed into the driver’s side of the Dale Jr’s car while he was on his cool down lap and while Jr had his hand out the window.  He was given a fine and put on probation.
2) In 2006 Carl retaliates on Tony Stewart for a bone head move Stewart did earlier in the race and Carl spins out Tony while entering pit road for caution period pit stops while pit crew members were over the wall on pit road.  I still have problems with this one even though Carl claimed that he spun Tony away from the pit crews, but Tony could have easily lost control of his car and went in a totally opposite direction.

3) Carl has an altercation in front of cameras with teammate Matt Kenseth after a race where Carl threatens physical aggression on a stunned Kenseth.

4) Carl and Kevin Harvick get into a shoving/wrestling match in the pits after practice – it is reported that punches were exchanged between the two.

These are just off the top of my head too, there might be more.  I do believe that Carl and Busch got into it in Bristol one time, but I’m also sure Busch started it.

So what to do now that we’ve established a bit of ‘history in payback’ as it were?

Look at similar cases;

1)  Kevin Harvick was parked for a Cup race for his actions in a Truck race at Martinsville involving the late Bobby Hamilton.

2)  Ted Musgrave was parked for a race because he went back out on the track and wrecked Kelly Bires after being more than 100 laps down because of an altercation with Bires that caused him to be down that many laps.

3)  Kevin Harvick and Jamie MacMurray are fined and put on probation for banging bumpers on each other.

and the list goes on.

So what now?

Well Dustin Long thinks NASCAR should just fine him a ton of points so its like he has been parked a race.  Not a bad idea really.

Nail him hard so that it is like he missed a race.  I’m OK with that, but I think I might just take it a bit further.

I’d nail him a minimum 200 points and park him a race too.  If they can fine Carl Long 200K for a large motor in an exhibition race then they can fine Carl 250K for overly aggressive driving with the potential to injure other drivers (look at the A-piller on Keselowski’s car – man he is lucky it didn’t collapse any more) as well as spectators.  Then I’d fine Roush/Fenway racing for not controlling their driver, make them take some ownership too.  Roush would get hit with the same amount of point and dollar fines.  Also, I’d make the 99 car ineligible for the next race regardless if they had a different driver in the car.  They can run a different number on the car if they want, just not the 99 so they can’t collect Owner Points either.

Harsh?  Yes.  Unfair?  Maybe.  Unrealistic?  In the world of NASCAR yes.  But if you don’t make an example now then what’s next?  I mean the precedent of a one race suspension was set with Musgrave when, under similar circumstances he deliberately drove into Kelly Bires at Martinsville which is a short track where the speeds are about 1/2 they are at Atlanta, and Bires’ truck didn’t get airborne.

Some of you may think that I’m just saying this because I’m not an Edwards fan, well you have your right to say that, but based on this history and the precedents already established by NASCAR I’d be saying that about any driver out there that would be in Carl’s shoes at this moment – even Dale Jr.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m sure Carl had no intention for Keselowski’s car to get airborne and I’m quite sure that he regrets doing what he did to Brad and if I had thought otherwise I would have said so and made the punishment even more harsh.  We all do stupid things everyday, and we all must face the consequences of our actions – intended or not – and a NASCAR driver is no different in my opinion.

There’s “Have at it boys” and then there’s “Have havoc boys” – which is it going to be and at what cost?


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Talladega Leaves Race Fans Unimpressed

November 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

Sunday’s race at Talladega was an exciting one to say the least.

What?

You don’t agree?

You think it was boring?

Really?

The race had fuel mileage strategies, car preservation strategies, rule changes before the race, two major crashes, a red flag period, cars running out of gas, a non-Chase winner on his way out at Roush-Fenway, etc.

What?  You still think it was boring?

star divide.v5547 Talladega Leaves Race Fans Unimpressed

Well you aren’t the only one, it seems that some of the blogs and message boards out there are full of upset fans saying the race was boring.

O.k. if you think it was boring then tell me how because I want to know.  Come on think about it, how was this race any different than any other – especially the 1.5 mile tracks?

The only difference I see is that the track is smaller so it looks like there is more racing going on because the leaders are lapping the slower cars, other than that what is the difference?  The cars are all in a line for the better part of the race until there are restarts.

The race at MIS where Brian Vickers won in Aug was similar to the race at Talladega this past weekend, except there were no cars getting airborne or barrel-rolling down the front stretch.

If you don’t understand the strategies playing out before you as you watch the race I guess you will think its boring to watch.

If you are only watching the race to see the wrecks then I guess you would have thought that most of the race was boring – go watch Days of Thunder then, it is only in that make believe NASCAR world where you can beat on each other’s cars at 200 mph destroying the car’s aero-dynamic properties making it look like a brick, then spin out loosing several of your forward gears, pit for new tires because all 4 of yours are flat, and then come from the back without a drafting partner and win the race; all at a 2-mile oval no less.

I guess how you watch the race determines your opinion of it.  I for one liked the race, and even found it funny that Harvick and his Crew Chief were talking about having an I-pod in the car so he could listen to it during the race.  The reason I thought that was so funny is because I always thought that if I were a driver I would want someone piping music to me over my headset to keep me motivated.  You know some AC/DC or Kiss or Metallica (Give me fuel, give me fire, give me which I desire – to win baby!), no Lionel Richie here (Hello?  Is it me you’re looking for? – Nope) – well maybe after the race though.


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Why Teams Need Sponsors

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

by Bob Ellis

NASCAR Ranting And Raving

When I went to the race a few weeks ago I walked up and down Pit Road and checked out the various pit boxes sometimes called ‘war wagons’ and I just shook my head at the way technology has changed the way teams build and design their pit boxes.

I have heard that a ‘top of the line’ pit box like what the major teams have can run well over $100K – tools included.

Other teams have to suffer with not so state of the art pit boxes.

After the jump you will find pictures of what I’m talking about along with what Michael Waltrip had to say about the cost of putting a team together for even just one Nationwide race.

star divide.v5547 Why Teams Need Sponsors

Michael Waltrip answered somebody’s Tweet about the cost of putting a entry into a Nationwide race and over several Tweets Michael Twittered back;

“you need a license, bout $5k.entry bout $2k so is a set of tires. rent an engine for prolly $50k. buy used car about $25k. then…all you need is a crew a driver a tractor trailer some hotel rooms and pit equipment. oh a gear and tranny. course sorings an … shocks. to enter a race you will need about $150k. but if you make the race it pays $20k to finish youll need more stuff to race … thats why us racers love our sponsors. NAPA, Aarons,Toyota,Best Western, ect. ect.”

And that is just to enter a Nationwide race.   You have to spend $150K just to earn a guaranteed $20K no wonder you need sponsors to go racing with the big boys.

This picture that Waltrip paints makes it clear that start-up teams or those that are running on a shoe-string budget show up with less than the cutting edge pit boxes.  The disparity of pit boxes on pit road is significant and I noticed it more this year at Michigan than in previous years.

In the past it has only been one or two teams at most that had disadvantaged pit boxes, but the number this year at Michigan had increased significantly.

I also noticed that not every team had a brand new pit box either, some teams were using pit boxes that were several years old, while others had new ones built for this racing year.

Some of the newer pit boxes come complete with up to 4 different flat screen T.V.’s all hooked up to DVD players, Satellite feeds, kick-ass stereo systems and a bank of lap-top computers located at the top of the box.

Each of the newer boxes come complete with weather overhangs with detachable side walls to keep the sun, rain, or wind off of the computers and team members sitting atop of the box.

Speaking of the top of the box some of the boxes also had stadium seating so that those in the back row have a better view of what is going on.  Each box comes complete with new cordless tools, compressors, generators, etc. all stored in specifically designed compartments for easy access and storage.

Of course this is but a sample of what these boxes have – some boxes even had their own refrigerators!

Below are some photos of the ‘Haves’ and the ‘Have-Nots’:

Why Teams Need Sponsors

Mike Skinner’s team box (note there is only 1 set of extra tires).

Why Teams Need Sponsors

Back Side of Dale Jr.s Pit Box.

Why Teams Need Sponsors

Front Side of Dale Jr.’s Pit Box.

Why Teams Need Sponsors
Front side centre portion of Jeff Burton’s Pit Box.

Why Teams Need Sponsors

Tony Stewart’s Pit Box (note the bank of monitors across the top).

Why Teams Need Sponsors

Older Pit Box (note the lack of over hang on one of the hottest days of the year too).

Why Teams Need Sponsors

The UPS crew takes a break in the shade of their trendy pit box.


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Talladega Recap: Dangerous And Exhilarating

April 28, 2009 By 2 Comments

By Bob Ellis

Nascar Ranting and Raving

Nationwide race talladega spring 2009 medium Talladega Recap: Dangerous And Exhilarating

In easily the most exciting race of the 2009 Nationwide Series season, David Ragan barely beat Ryan Newman by only .300’s of a second to take the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. Coming out of turn four on the final lap, Ragan’s Discount Tire Ford was in a big pack of cars with Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick’s number 33 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 5 car battling out front. Ragan explains what happens next.

David Ragan:
You know it’s like the 5 jumped out, he had a small run but 33 blocked him. Kind of slowed down the bottom lane and I just happened to have enough push from the 20 and the 33 moved back down the racetrack to block the inside and just kind of opened up a little bit of gap. Something that certainly isn’t scripted by any means, things just tend to happen and I think the biggest thing is just being in position. Certainly if we would have been 10th we couldn’t have won, if we would have been sixth we couldn’t have won. So just being in position and making a good decision coming out of turn four.

Just before they got to the line Newman moved up and body slammed Ragan in the driver’s door but the 23-year-old Georgia native was able to hold on by the thinnest of margins to grab his first career Nationwide series win, leading only the money lap.

Ragan:
You know it feels great, it will probably soak in a little more the beginning of next week but it certainly feels good to win. It feels good to make a last lap pass like that. You know it’s something that you grow up watching on TV and I’m just fortunate to be in a position to make it happen.

Even though they didn’t wind up in victory lane, neither Newman or Dale Jr. were upset about how the race ended.

Ryan Newman:
If David Ragan told you he thought he was going to win the race from where he was at on that last restart he would have probably been lying through his teeth but things happen and the way the racing is here at Talladega, you know it was his day.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
It was a lot of fun, a lot of great racing out there. Congratulations to David getting his first win. I told him before the race he was certainly due and I had a good time. We had a good car. The GoDaddy Chevrolet was running really good all day. It was fast and we were right where we needed to be at the end of the race to put a move on him and we just got to beating around and it knocked all the speed out of the car. The run I had was gone once, it was just fun racing their team.

In the mad scramble coming to the checkered flag Junior was bumped back to fifth with Joey Logano finishing third behind Newman, fourth, driving for an under funded team, Tony Raines.

Tony Raines:
I honestly thought last re-start I had a shot to win because I knew the 5 was going to try to get by the 33 and if he crossed him up and I slipped by but I also knew just as easy I could get collected in a wreck so, it was just a crap shoot you know and you come out of here with one piece of Talladega which is very unusual for me. I’m very thankful for that and I had a lot of fun.

Six to 10 at the end were Jason Leffler, Jason Keller, Scott Lagasse Jr., Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Carl Edwards came home 13th and fell 62 points behind Kyle Busch in the battle for the Nationwide Series championship. Now there were no big multi-car crashes but there was one spectacular wreck when ironically David Regan flipped his team mate Matt Kenseth down the back straightaway. After that 180 mph tumble team owner Jack Roush caught up with Kenseth at the infield care center.

Jack Roush:
I looked at him in the eye, both of his eyes were pointed straight ahead and they were speaking clearly and he said, “That’s the first time I’ve been upside down so that was no great fun.” I said, “Well I know it’s not worth much but I will give you that car” and he said, “Well thank you very much.” He didn’t even ask me if I would fix it for him. I’ll let David fix it for him if it gets fixed.

A full set of the pictures taken at Talladega Superspeedway can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationwide/sets/72157617266070111/

The Nationwide Series will run at the Richmond International Raceway. Look for the audio interview following the Lipton Tea 250.

What a race!  Did you see the mayhem?  It was vehicular carnage at best.

In the Race Day Open Thread I asked whether ‘The Big One’ would come at the beginning, middle, or end of the race. Little did I know it would come at nearly all three points of the race (lap 8, lap 180, and the last lap).

As most of you know I’m not even close to being a Carl Edwards fan but let me tell you when his car went airborne towards the fence in the tri-oval I was hoping he’d be alright. Man was I glad to see him get out of that car and to see him run down the track to cross the finish line was pretty cool.

Edwards Crash Talledega 2009 medium Talladega Recap: Dangerous And Exhilarating

Edwards Runs to Finish line Talladega 2009 medium Talladega Recap: Dangerous And Exhilarating

But what impressed me the most was his acceptance of the crash as his fault for trying to put up a block and failing rather than it being Keselowski’s fault.

Although he did lay blame on NASCAR for making the yellow line a no-no to go below forcing Keselowski to stay where he was on the track instead of moving out of the way of Edwards’ car and you know I can’t blame him for saying that either – I know I would have said it too if I were him.

What is really tragic here is that (according to latest reports) at least 7 fans were injured in the mess. None seriously but 2 were taken to hospital for further treatment.

Restrictor plate racing has its pros and cons – the cars go too fast to safely circle the track with no restrictor plate and bunch up too much with a restrictor plate creating the kind of racing we saw today.

NASCAR needs to re-evaluate the situation before more fans are hurt or even killed in the future, but I don’t know what they are going to do about it – run 4-cylynders on super-speedways?

So what about Keselowski? What a great run for him. His win proves one thing though, anyone, absolutely anyone, can win on a restrictor plate track regardless of funding. Congratulations to Brad for his 1st career Cup win.

BTW, I don’t believe that Brad did anything wrong on the last lap either. He got his nose under Carl fair and square and stayed within the rules as defined and enforced by NASCAR.

There are a lot of other story lines that unfolded today as a result of the crashes (like the change in point standings due mostly to the first and second wrecks) but I’m tired and I’m going to bed now so I’ll touch on them tomorrow … er … I mean later today!

Take Care.

Talladega 2009 wreck 1 medium Talladega Recap: Dangerous And Exhilarating

Keselowski Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

First Wreck Photo from nascar.com via yahoo.com

Edwards Running To Finish Line from nascar.com via yahoo.com

Edwards Crash Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR



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Radio Access: To Be Or Not To Be?

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

NASCAR Ranting and Raving

There has been much talk about race team communications during races and who should be listening, especially after Kurt Busch had his blow up with his car owner Roger Penske during last week’s race.

It seems that the garage area has advocates in favour of limiting access to team communicaions during races and then there are those who feel the fans should have access to what is being said over the radios during a race.

NASCAR’s view on this topic is clear; anyone can listen to what you are talking about so you better watch what you say.

I agree with NASCAR on this one, fans should have access to what is being said over the airways.  It adds a whole new dimension into the sport, one that makes NASCAR more unique than any other sport out there.  No where do you here in real time the actual conversations that goes on within a team during the course of the game/event.  The closest thing you get are edited sound bites from special microphones hidden within a chosen player’s equipment and that is it.

Giving fans the access to listen in on team communications gives them insight into team strategy, keeps them up-to-date with events happening on the race track that they can’t see or missed (no luxery of replay) which allows them to watch the race better.

If drivers like Kurt Busch don’t like it then “oh well” for them.

I understand that emotions run high during the course of a race, but if you don’t keep them in check it doesn’t matter who is listening because it’ll effect you on the track and with the TV reporters in the pits the average race fan will find out about it later as people talk about it.  So who cares.

I personally don’t mind the conversations that go on over the radio, even if it consists of more ‘colourful’ language from time to time.  I’ve been at football games sitting halfway up the stadium and have heard the players swearing at each other, so its nothing new here.

I’ll leave the debate here for now, but rest assured there’s a business angle for NASCAR having radio communications available to fans but they are currently selling this debate as if they are looking out for the best interests of the average fan.

What’s your say?


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Kenseth Wins Wet Daytona

February 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bob Ellis

Nascar Ranting and Raving

Matt Kenseth leads one lap on a big push from Kevin Harvick to take the 43 car field to the red flag, which would eventually turn into a checkered flag when NASCAR determined that the race could not be re-started due to the rain.

kenseth 2009 daytona 500 medium 201x300 Kenseth Wins Wet Daytona

I'm all wet!

Congratulations to Kenseth and his Roush-Fenway team – proving that you only need to lead one lap to win a race.

Kenseth wasn’t exactly my pick to win the race on Sunday, I was kind of figuring that his Roush-Fenway teammate Greg Biffle would win – he evntually finished 20th.

In fact, I thought maybe Dale Jr might be able to pull off a win as we all know he is pretty good on restrictor plate tracks, but he instead pulled off the most talked about move of the day – his right turn in Brian Vickers.

I don’t honestly know if it was deliberate or not, I mean didn’t Jr wreck his teammate Michael Waltrip when he slid in front of Jr a few years ago?  And you must remember what happened to his father back in 2001, I certainly think he hasn’t forgot about it, and I don’t think he would deliberately put anyone else in that kind of position do you?

With that being said, I think maybe Jr might need to get his eyes checked.  He had problems getting into his pitbox all week and then he ‘misjudges’ his re-entry onto the track and takes out Vickers and several other front runners including Kyle Busch.

Speaking of Busch I think he handled himself quite well in his interview, don’t you?  I wonder what he would of said if it was anyone else but Jr – say Tony Stewart perhaps?


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NASCAR Looks To Get Around The Economy

January 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog

When I went to the Canadian Motorsports Expo on the weekend I had an interesting conversation with a die-hard Dale Jr fan, he was worried about the economic state of NASCAR.

He asked me about my thoughts on the subject which I coincidentally had already shared with a friend of mine at work just days before.

Basically here is how I see it, we will see races without a full field of cars this year – most likely at the tracks that are further away from NASCAR’s epicentre, Charlotte N.C. The number of cars trying to qualify for a race will decrease proportionately with the increase in travel distance from the race shops in the Charlotte area.

Also, you will see a lot of low calibre cars trying to make races that have larger purses like the Daytona 500, The Coca Cola 600 at Lowes and the Allstate 400 at Indy. Just making the race and running one lap can mean a $50 000 plus payday for some struggling teams. Look for these cars to run one lap and then go to the garage area because of ‘mechanical problems’. ‘Mechanical problems’ meaning they only have one motor (probably leased from a big name team like Hendrick) and they can’t afford to loose it because they need it to qualify and the next high paying race.

In a way NASCAR is returning to its roots in that they will struggle to fill race fields and that there will be some low budget teams trying to get some quick cash to support their struggling racing programs. This happened in the early days in NASCAR as well as during periods of the 1970′s, 1980′s, and 1990′s so this is nothing new to NASCAR although this is something new to the ‘new’ NASCAR of the new century and it’s new fans who never experienced this in NASCAR before.

Hey I just had a thought, maybe Tommy Baldwin has foreseen this situation and that is why he is starting his own team to run full-time. Since there will be fewer cars trying to make each race then his start-up team should make more races and maybe even compete for a top 35 spot in the owner points. I did call him shrewd.

Anyway, to sort of confirm my thoughts about the upcoming year in NASCAR I came across this article over at John Daly’s blog about what DW had to say off camera about the number of cars coming out to each race this year. Looks like DW has the same opinion I do. Don’t bother going to the youtube link either it has been ‘removed’.


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Jimmie Johnson Graces SI Cover

November 19, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

sicover 112408 jimmiejohnson1 2 Jimmie Johnson Graces SI Cover

Look mom, no hands!

Much to my surprise the powers that be over at Sports Illustrated have emailed me confirming that Jimmie will indeed be on their upcoming November 24th cover entitled “NASCAR COOL”. The email included the picture of the cover and the complete Lars Anderson story of Jimmie’s record tying 3rd straight Championship. As a NASCAR fan I appreciate the fact that Jimmie is finally getting his due – he deserves it. Thanks SI.

I don’t know if I have permission to do this but I’m going to put the cover up on my site for you to look at, but the Lars Anderson story you’ll have to get from the newsstand or si.com when it comes out – it is a good read by the way and I recommend you read it even if you are not a Jimmie fan because you just might be more of one when you’re done.

Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated (with thanks).

NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog Has Been Ranked The 7th Most Influential Nascar Blog By Sports Media Challenge As Seen On Their Sports Blogs Index™ Top 10 NASCAR Blogs.


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Patrick Carpentier Cut Loose

October 9, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

Two things caught my eye tonight while I was web-crawling the usual NASCAR related haunts:

aj allmendinger Patrick Carpentier Cut Loose1) NASCAR.com is reporting that ARMY will indeed be pulling its sponsorship from DEI. This is really nothing new, but here is the twist; they are moving to Stewart-Haas Racing to sponsor Ryan Newman in the #39 car.

Hmm … interesting.

2) AJ “The Dinger” Allmendinger is going to drive the last 5 races in GEM’s #10 car, with Mike Wallace handling the duties this weekend at Charlotte as AJ has already committed to drive MWR’s 00 car this week.

This leaves Patrick Carpentier high and dry for the remainder of the year. He was already out at the end of this season anyway because Reed Sorenson was going to be taking over the 10 car next year.

NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog Has Been Ranked The 7th Most Influential Nascar Blog By Sports Media Challenge As Seen On Their Sports Blogs Index™ Top 10 NASCAR Blogs.


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Should NASCAR Use Rain Tires For Their Tracks?

August 9, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

There has been somewhat of a debate in the media and over the web about using rain tires in NASCAR all of the time.

Should they or shouldn’t they?

They shouldn’t.

They can use them on their lower speed tracks like Martinsville (provided it drained properly), but to use them at Daytona, Talledaga, etc. is nuts.

Imagine headed into trurns 3 and 4 at Daytona doing 196 mph on rain tires?
Rain+Tire+Montreal+2008 Should NASCAR Use Rain Tires For Their Tracks?
You wouldn’t even leave a good looking corpse.

End of debate.

NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog Has Been Ranked The 7th Most Influential Nascar Blog By Sports Media Challenge As Seen On Their Sports Blogs Index™ Top 10 NASCAR Blogs.


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