It’s always nice for the teams when we get to this part of the schedule, because with all three series racing in Charlotte, it means most get to sleep in their own beds. But a crowded weekend schedule, along with a trip to Iowa for the Nationwide cars, means some will have a very busy couple of days.
As we’ve talked about here many times before, there are some individuals and some full crews that pit race cars across multiple series. A few do it within their own companies, and others pit cars for many different race teams. You’d think Charlotte races would make for an easier weekend, but that isn’t necessarily the case.
Consider this example. The five guys that pit Trevor Bayne’s Cup car are also the same guys that pit Carl Edwards’ NNS ride. With their commitments between both cars, they will be pitting race cars four straight days. The Daytona 500 win made Bayne eligible for the All Star race, and his crew eligible for the Pit Crew Challenge. So his guys will spend Thursday at Time Warner Cable Arena for the Challenge. Then, they will head out to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday because qualifying for the All Star race includes that all important pit stop. On Saturday, the team will be busy working the All Star race. And they will close out their weekend with a nice short trip out to Iowa to pit Edwards’ Mustang on Sunday. Whew, I’m tired for them.
Besides this group, there are other guys and crews who will work Friday night’s Truck race, Saturday’s All Star race or Showdown, and then fly out to Iowa for the NNS race. The backup teams for the likes of Red Bull Racing and Hendrick Motorsports will have weekends similar to this. And many of these guys will be right back to their shop or other jobs on Monday morning.
Thanks to weekends like this, it isn’t uncommon for some guys to pit race cars in 70+ races a year. It can be extremely grueling and tough on the body over the course of a 10 month season. But for those that are willing to hustle, there is experience to be had and some nice money to be made.
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Charlotte Motor Speedway kicked off its season on Wednesday with a press/advertising event for the Sprint All Star race at Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Whiskey River bar in Uptown Charlotte.
Speedway President Marcus Smith said during the event no changes would be made to the format (selection or otherwise) before the race in May.
I for one was thrilled. Seeing the constant rules changes with the All Star race (and Bud Shootout) has been maddening. Who can keep them straight?
Do you realize since 1985 (the first year of The Winston) there have been 10 different formats? Six of those have been in the last 10 years. That’s completely insane.
We finally have a couple of seasons of consistency with this race.
The bad news for some of you is that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has lost his eligibility. That 10 year exemption he had as a winner of the event came and went last year. Never fear though, NASCAR’s most popular driver has an ace in his pocket. Remember the fan vote? He’s all but a lock to win it.
Though I’m happy to see the status quo maintained momentarily, I can’t help but think there’s something to the whole fan voting thing. Dale Jr. fan or not, at least you have some say in who gets that last slot into the show.
NASCAR runs the All-Star race as an exhibition for the fans, but the fans don’t have much of a voice. I think there’s a strong case to be made for changing that.
Consider the fan involvement of some other major sporting bodies’ All Star games. Major League Baseball allows fans to select 17 of 66 players for its All Star game rosters and the National Basketball Association lets fans choose the starting players for both teams in its All Star game. Now isn’t that the way it should be?
I don’t think fans should a say over the entire field for the All-Star race, but I think it’s important for them to have a greater voice. Readjusting the selection format to more closely mirror that of other sporting bodies would also eliminate the constant need to adjust the process so there’s a decent field – or, so your most popular drivers are in the field.
So I’m happy things are staying the same for the moment, but realize there needs to be a better, more permanent solution for selecting our All-Stars. I’m not holding my breath though. What do you think?
Race week in Charlotte is in full effect. Fans will descend on the QC this week to watch the Coca Cola 600 and to check out all there is to see in the center of the NASCAR universe. In case you are coming to town and are looking for stuff to do, we’ve put together a nice list to get you started (see it here). If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Bill:
With Bruton Smith offering up $20M to run in and win both the Indy 500 and Coke World 600, I got to thinking… It obviously wouldn’t be possible to run the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo, the Indy 500, and the Coke World 600. But, could someone run in Monte Carlo and Charlotte in the same day?
Well the Monaco Grand Prix took place this year on May 16 (Red Bull’s Mark Webber won). Last year it was the day before the 600. If they fell on the same date would it be possible? The race starts at 8 a.m. eastern standard time (Monte Carlo is six hours ahead). If the race lasts, say two hours (and you figure another hour to get to the airport and take-off – flying private of course), and the flight is about 9 hours (so the Internet tells me) that would put you back in Charlotte at 8 p.m. – too late to make it in time for the start of the 600 (which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.). – Journo
2. From Sue:
Does it really make a difference for team morale when a driver shows up at the shop daily or weekly vs those who rarely do?
I certainly don’t think a driver coming into the shop regularly is a bad thing. Guys know the drivers are busy and some, like Montoya, don’t even live in Charlotte, so shop visits aren’t always realistic. But the occasional visit is good for everyone, I think. – T.C.
3. From Gabi:
The cameras at the track record in 720p format or in 1080i? Thanks.
I believe the cameras Fox and ESPN use shoot in 720p, but don’t quote me. Maybe someone else knows for sure? – Journo
4. From Bristol_B:
First of all, thanks for sharing your insight, and perspective. Your website is a must read for any race fan! Now, I’m confused about the All-Star Race eligibility. Is it the car or the driver? Brad Kesekowski won last year in James Finch’s #09, but that car is not entered. Keselowski is entered in the #12 Penske car. Red Bull has entered the #83 with Casey Mears as the driver in place of recovering Brian Vickers. So if it’s the car why isn’t the #09 entered, does Finch need special dispensation due to a driver change? Thank you in advance for clarification!
All Star race eligibility is based on the driver’s accomplishments, not the team or car’s. With the situation surrounding Brian Vickers, NASCAR made a special exception to allow Casey Mears to pilot Red Bull’s #83 in the race. That is why Keselowski is in the race, and the #09 Finch car is not. – T.C.
5. From Christopher:
Cup teams generally bring two cars to a race, correct? What if they outright total both of them during practice? I know this is a stretch, but I could see it happening at Talledega, where you do have to practice dangerous drafting moves. Secondly- has this ever happened?
If I remember correctly, this happened a couple of years ago when Casey Mears was driving for Hendrick. He wrecked both his backup and primary at a race. I believe he ended up using one of his teammate’s backup cars in the race. This also happened to Ryan Newman at Daytona last year. He wrecked his primary in the 150 qualifier and his backup in final practice. I believe a third car was brought from Charlotte for Newman to race with. So if they are close enough, a car could be brought from the shop, if not, a teammate’s backup would work. - T.C.
6. From Steve:
Your thoughts on Vickers/Red Bull/Mears? Given the investment Red Bull has in both Vickers and Speed, would you agree that Red Bull needs Mears to do badly, at least worse than Speed does and worse than Vickers was doing? Any better, and it raises the question of why they wouldn’t keep Mears next season. And yet while Red Bull doesn’t want Mears doing too well, Mears knows this is a great shot at impressing people to earn a ride next year – a bit of a conflict, perhaps?
I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. Casey Mears has seven full Cup seasons under his belt (all together 255 series starts) and one full Nationwide season (with a total of 93 starts). Scott Speed on the other hand has 52 Cup starts, 13 Nationwide starts, and 16 Truck starts. I would hope Casey performs better than Scott. Speed is very much a driver in development (not at all the case for Casey), so I think it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Speed still has the potential for growth – with Casey I think what you’ve seen is what you get. It is true however that this is Casey’s fourth opportunity with one of the sports top teams (recall Ganassi, Hendrick and Childress) to show he can be competitive (I’m not holding my breath). – Journo
7. From Melissa:
Between the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 weekend do the haulers return to their shops or do the crews replenish what they need and switch out cars using other transports?
Being so close to home, and seeing as how there is no track activity all week, the haulers go back to the shops. The Cup haulers will return to the track on Thursday to park for the weekend. – T.C.
8. From Emanuel:
When we’re watching the race at home, they allow us to “ride along” with the car, with the roof mounted cameras. Sometimes junk ends up on the lens, and you can see the lens rotate, and tada!, no more junk. Does the lens constantly spin, or does it “sense” when it get junked up, and then rotate itself to get the junk off the lens?
There is a little tape mechanism inside the cameras (it’s clear and in front of the lens) that allows the production crews to ensure the view from the camera is always clear. Check out this great NASCAR.com article for everything you wanted to know about onboard cameras. – Journo
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
When a driver becomes a Cup Series champion a certain amount of gravitas is permanently attached to him. Being a champion puts a driver in the league with the sports all-time greats and marks him permanently in the annals of history in the sport. He’ll forever be introduced as a Cup Series champion. I digress.
There had been rumblings for a while that TRG would begin starting-and-parking. Given their limited sponsorship and their history with the practice it seemed incredibly likely that it would happen again this season. The one caveat I heard though was Bobby Labonte would not participate in the practice.
Unfortunately on Sunday Bobby did just that. After 65 laps, the TRG car pulled into the garage and ended its day early citing “electrical” issues. I think we all know what that means.
After 19 seasons, 594 starts, 21 wins, and one championship Bobby Labonte deserves better. He owes it to himself and to his legacy to not ever start-and-park again.
Now a lot of drivers have had less than spectacular years toward the end of their careers. Think Dale Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip and others. Still they went out with their dignity intact, knowing that they left nothing on the table. It’s just not realistic, especially in this day and age, to leave the sport (or any sport) on the very top, Ned Jarrett-style. What Bobby Labonte did though was far below not making races or running in the back.
At age 46 Bobby Labonte isn’t going to have a Mark Martin or Jeff Burton-esque rebirth or renewal. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I feel comfortable in saying Bobby Labonte’s best years are behind him. That said, I don’t have a problem with the guy continuing to race if that’s what he wants to do. He deserves better than a start-and-park ride with a mediocre team though.
As good a guy as he is, I’d much rather see him retire or look for opportunities in lower series, than to see this continue. Here’s hoping Bobby Labonte, the man and the Cup Series champion, realizes he and his legacy deserve better.
Casey Mears Is In the All-Star Race? What!?
If I was James Finch at this moment I would be furious. I would be on the phone wearing out Mike Helton, John Darby and anyone else who would take my phone calls. Why you ask? Because NASCAR allowed Casey Mears to sub for Brian Vickers in the All-Star race – something Casey neither earned nor deserved.
This puts James Finch in exactly the same situation as Red Bull – both had teams that won a race, but don’t have the winning driver in the car. Red Bull is allowed to sub a driver, Finch and Phoenix are not.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the seriousness and unexpected nature of the situation at Red Bull. It stinks for the #83 team that Brian Vickers is unable to compete because of his health. Certainly this was beyond Team Red Bull’s and Vickers control.
Still, NASCAR has a duty out of fairness to every competitor to uphold their rules (note these are THEIR RULES). If something unexpected happens the sanctioning body should not change set rules or guidelines to accommodate a particular organization or driver.
This is a admittedly a bit of a stretch, but NASCAR didn’t give Denny Hamlin his position back this past weekend after he was wrecked under caution by Clint Bowyer. Hamlin couldn’t control what Bowyer did – it certainly was unexpected. But there is no precedent for giving a driver his position back and it would have been unfair – NASCAR didn’t do it. This situation should not, in my opinion, be any different.
My point here is, it is ridiculously unfair to change the rules in the middle of the game and not make concessions for others in a similar position. Incidents like this do absolutely nothing to help the credibility of NASCAR as a sanctioning body – let’s be honest it makes them look wishy-washy. It says they’ll change the rules depending on who you are and whatever unfortunate extenuating circumstances you may be facing. Bad move NASCAR.
In light of today’s announcement that starting this weekend at Pocono NASCAR will make all restarts double file, I thought it might be fun to get some of your thoughts on what else you would change or add to competition. It sounds as though many people are happy NASCAR made this change, and hopefully it will lead to some better racing.
Let me kick this off with a couple of suggestions. One is from me, and another from one of our great readers, George. They both have to do with qualifying.
First, here is George’s take on qualifying:
If I were in charge of competition, I would elect to start each year with a clean slate. When you show up at Daytona you have to get in the race based on performance. Keep the same format, but no more starting the race on owner points, past champions, etc. If after the first five events they want to have owners points get starting spots then so be it. I think the best is when it is all down to weekly performance.
How great would it be for qualifying to actually have a little bit of drama? I got this email from George following bump day for the Indy 500. Those nail-biting final minutes of the last day to qualify for the 500 are crazy intense. Imagine if it came right down to the wire for somebody like Dale Jr. or Tony Stewart to qualify for a race!
My suggestion for qualifying comes from the same place the double file restarts came from; the All Star race. What if we threw in a pit stop during qualifying? It would certainly shake things up and make it more interesting. Plus, it gets the crew more involved. You would not only have to have fast laps, but also a fast pit stop, and good entry and exit from pit road. All I keep thinking about was Tony Stewart leaving his stall after two tires, and having to throw it in reverse to get the left sides.
I feel like either qualifying suggestion would make the normally monotonous time trial sessions more entertaining, and I bet the tracks would sell more tickets for pole day.
Now I will turn it over to you. Feel free to either comment on the double file restart situation and/or throw out your own suggestions. I know Neon will throw out his heat racing idea…