With big announcements flying this week, the teams are getting geared up to head for Bristol for a little short track Saturday night action. Don’t forget, the Truck Series races tonight at the ”World’s Fastest Half Mile.” 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 Michael in SoCal:
Following up on Franq’s question from last week about using the road course at Indy for the Cup Series race, what about using one of the road courses at Pocono? If the Cup Series is going there twice within a span of about seven weeks, it might be a nice change of pace, Your site is a daily read! Thanks.
Thanks Micheal! The Pocono road course is nowhere near ready to handle a NASCAR race – as we saw a couple of weeks ago the main track isn’t either. Even if Pocono were interested in upgrading their road course, I still don’t think NASCAR is all that interested in adding road courses to the schedule. I do agree though seven or eight weeks is a little ridiculous between races, and any change would be welcome. – Journo
2. From Dan:
Hey guys I know you all remain anonymous but what I wonder about is how you get info (outside the technical stuff) without raising suspicions. The answer you gave last week ( Ask the Insiders #87) about the Target sponsorship and the deal they have with EGR/ CGR I would think would be only privy to those associated with that team. Of course that’s not to say you all couldn’t find out. But couldn’t someone connect the dots after seeing an answer to a question? Like hey I was asked that last week by so and so. Hope what I’m saying makes sense. Anyway just curious.
Well we would never ask someone a question that appears on the site for the exact reason you suggest. If we ever don’t know an answer to a question or can’t easily find out through inconspicuous means we’ll tell you we don’t know. As far as last week’s question goes, Ganassi’s program is very well known to those who are familiar with sponsorship in the sport. On top of those at the team that are familiar with the program you’ve got to consider all the people connected with those individual sponsorship deals that are also familiar with it – literally hundreds of people currently and formerly associated with the team and sponsors. – Journo
3. From red8814:
I understand that Sadler’s helmet, seat & HANS were all scheduled to be scanned for fractures following his wreck at Pocono. If a driver is in a far less severe, “moderate” wreck that takes him to infield care b/c the car won’t start up, is there any automatic review of his safety equipment, including the belts/harness?
Not that I am aware of. All over the rule book in the section about safety gear, it is repeated that the drivers are responsible for their own safety equipment and it’s proper usage. NASCAR is in no way responsible for any of it. – T.C.
4. From Michael in SoCal:
Any thoughts on why Robby Gordon put PJ Jones in the # 7 and moved himself into the # 07 last week at Michigan? Thanks.
Robby put PJ in the #7 car because he knew they would be guaranteed to start the race (PJ qualified 41st) – he knew he would be much better positioned to get into the race on speed (he qualifed 35th). And then they both start-and-parked – the double start-and-park, always a classy move. – Journo
5. From Ryan:
T.C.-After reading that Casey Mears will take over the Germain #13 car starting at Atlanta and full-time next year, I’m wondering how well do you think he will do?
I wouldn’t expect much from this move. While Mears is certainly more experienced than Papis, his performances certainly haven’t been stellar over his career. Let’s remember that this is the same Mears who struggled at Ganassi, Hendrick, Childress, and Red Bull. He certainly won’t resurrect his career in an underfunded Cup car for Germain Racing. – T.C.
6. From Denny:
Have been reading a blog which mentions something about Reuti running a non-approved intake supplied by TRD on the engine which won at Chicago. Even one of the announcers stated Reuti showed-up with a different intake for this race. How could they possibly get away with this, with all of the inspections going on, both before and after the race in Chicago. Also, reading that NASCAR will be testing engines after MIS. Does anyone, other than NASCAR officials get to view the actual testing? Will these be a real dyno test…..on a stand-type engine dyno or just a chassis dyno? Thanks for the great info, as always!
Honestly, I don’t know anything about this. If it’s actually true, both MWR and TRD have done a remarkable job keeping it quiet. NASCAR’s inspection process is certainly extensive, and if any other team caught any wind of this, it would have been reported to NASCAR immediately. That fact alone makes me question the validity of what you’ve read. And after Michigan, NASCAR did take 16 engines from various teams. Since they only took the engines, the dyno tests will be done on a standard dyno, not a chassis dyno. Don’t expect NASCAR to make the results public unless a drastic rule change comes about because of the tests. – T.C.
7. From Allen:
Why doesn’t NASCAR consider doing the “side by side” coverage, commercials on the right and the race on the left? If IndyCar can pull it off we can.
It’s all got to do with the way the advertising is structured within NASCAR’s TV deals, and I’ll be honest I really don’t know all the specifics. It’s feasible, we’ve seen them do it with the Coke Zero 400 on TNT, but I don’t know that NASCAR and their broadcast partners are all that interested in doing it. Here is an article from 2006 that answers some of your questions. – Journo
8. From Justin:
I know questions about payouts have been asked before, but none of it really makes sense. Just a few examples from Michigan. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19th $86,050, David Gilliland 36th $86,148. Brad Keselowski 34th $98, 535, Sam Hornish Jr 32nd $79,950. Clint Bowyer 13th $89,975, Jeff Burton 24th $111,565. The payouts don’t make any sense. Why would one team apart of the same organization take part in different contingency programs? What contingency program could David Gilliland be a part of that Dale Jr isn’t?
It’s not all about what contingency programs a team is involved in. The reason some drivers make more then others depends on what contingency programs a team is involved in AND in what payout plan a team is in. I believe NASCAR has four different plans setup, and each team fits into one of those plans. I don’t know specific details, but the plans award prize money based on not only where you finish, but also past performance and longevity. – T.C.
9. From Newracefan:
I heard several times on Nascar Now about the HMS cars not having speed. I know when I listened to the 48 scanner Sunday on more than one occasion JJ was sayong the car was good but Chad was saying it he wasn’t fast enough. Is there something to this?
It is certainly possible for a car to have a good balance with the chassis setup, but just not be very fast. I’m just speculating, but maybe they were missing something aerodynamically, or they were possibly down on horsepower a bit. Let’s not forget that Johnson still finished 12th, so it must not have been that bad. – T.C.
10. From Lost in Texas:
With Kahne and Ambrose settled for next year, does this make Sadler the top free agent on the market for this year and who is the top ride that will be looking for a driver?
Well, unless a team does something drastic, or a team like Gibbs finally starts a fourth team, there aren’t really any open rides left. If Scott Speed and/or Brian Vickers don’t return to Red Bull, there might be an opening there, but that’s about it. Besides that, RPM is realistically the only team left with openings. Childress, Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, Stewart Haas, MWR, EGR, and Penske are all full up for 2011. So I guess you could make the argument that Sadler is the top free agent driver, but without any openings, I’m not sure that means much. – T.C.
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!
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Nothing like a little drama to make things interesting. After a very interesting finish to the Pocono weekend, the Trucks and Cup cars head to Michigan this week, while the Nationwide cars take to Kentucky Speedway. This week’s 78th edition of ATIW is a full one, so we’ll get to it. 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 Ric:
With regards to Burton Smith’s $20M offer. I’m wondering if it would be possible, since the Indy winner would not have time to hang around to do interviews, photo shoots, etc. Would the sponsors just say, NO?
I think you could probably work it out to do all of that stuff the following day. That said, I just don’t think it would be feasible to do it. Tony Stewart was the last to do it and he was so dehydrated and exhausted, he was pretty worthless for the Coke 600. If IRL and Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart couldn’t pull it off, I’m not sure who could. – Journo
2. From Kyle:
Is it possible we will ever see tracks such as Rockingham or North Wilkesboro return to NASCAR in either the Nationwide or Truck series? It would help NASCAR with the hardcore fanbase and would provide more standalone dates for the Nationwide series (making it less likely a cup driver would run all the races, plus more races for a nationwide regular to realisticaly have a shot at winning). Is this even a possibility?
Never say never, but I don’t know if NASCAR would be too interested in re-entering those areas. I agree with you, it would be fantastic to see one of those tracks back on a national series schedule, but it’s hard to see what NASCAR would boot from the schedule. You can count out any SMI or ISC tracks. And Wilkesboro is still owned by SMI and in increasingly bad shape. It’s a good idea, I just don’t think it’s on NASCAR’s radar. – Journo
3. From Allen:
What are the 2 small strips on the left front bumper? They are on top of one another, but about 2-3 inches apart. Never noticed them until practice at Pocono on Carl Edwards CHEEZ-IT car.
Those are the part numbers of the nose pieces. The nose on a Cup car is actually two pieces, and NASCAR wants the teams to leave that part number exposed when they paint the car. You should be able to spot those two strips on most of the cars. I know a few paint over it, but if there is ever a question about the nose, the team would have to sand down the paint in that spot. - T.C.
4. From Lost In Texas:
The #7 has a long history in NASCAR, Alan and Geoff to name some of the recent owner/drivers. With the #7 slipping out of the top 35 last week and missing the race this week, do you think that spells the end for one of the last owner/drivers?
Well, after the penalties come down on the #38 team, I think Robby will have a second chance at life. That said, money is going to continue to be a problem for him going forward. Without sponsorship, I don’t know if I think Robby can or will continue for much longer. The points might not necessarily kill off Robby Gordon Motorsports, but lack of sponsorship very well could. – Journo
5. From Brad:
I’m a Huge Mark Martin fan. I just want to know what’s going on with his season this year. After being fairly dominate last season.
I think it’s a mixed bag over there. You can’t say it’s been a terrible season, he hasn’t had any wins, but he’s 11th in points. His average finish is 15.2 just a tick worse than it was last season, he just hasn’t had the consistency. There is still a lot of time left, and plenty of time for the #5 team to start winning races. Don’t count them out yet. – Journo
6. From Kevin:
Hey guys, just read the article about Phil Parsons, and to be honest I didn’t know before this week that he was going to be part of the TNT telecast. Watching the race today, with the included 2 hour delay, I was pleasantly surprised with his contributions. I thought he did an awesome job and was a breath of fresh air compared to the regular guys. I hope he gets to continue. I think people are letting their negative view of start and parkers infringe on him as a TV personality. I mean, the chance that he will ever need to interview one of his teams is slim and none. I don’t see any conflict of interest, its not as though Joe Gibbs is wanting to broadcast.
The problem is, Phil Parsons being part of the broadcast is exactly like Joe Gibbs being part of the broadcast. Phil Parsons is still a team owner in the Cup Series, whether his team start and parks or not. If an issue occurs with one of his teams he will not be able to talk about it impartially. The same issue could occur with team owners Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. It may seem petty, but I believe the fans deserve an honest and fair broadcast and they’re just not going to get every time when one of the reporters has such a financial interest in the sport. Unfortunately, this is a very incestuous business, and ESPN and TNT are only more than happy to feed into it. In my opinion whether you work as a White House correspondent for the New York Times or as a pit reporter for ESPN (and yes TNT too), you need to adhere to professionally recognized ethics standards. In other words, I’m with Daly on this on. These guys need to decide whether they want to be broadcasters or team owners. – Journo
7. From Ella:
This weekend Harvick’s crew prevented Joey from reaching Harvick on pit road. Do crews have practiced responses to driver disputes on the track or do the crews just sort of take it on themselves to intervene in some way? Is the primary goal just to keep the two separated?
There aren’t practiced responses, but there is kind of an unspoken rule that crew guys protect the drivers. It’s fine if there is just talking going on, but when it escalates, you will often see crew guys step in. – T.C.
8. From Foster:
Hey guys. I am a huge fan of the site! I was wondering, could you explain if more rubber on the track means there is more or less grip for the cars?
In most cases, more rubber on the track means better grip for the cars. As the tires wear, the soft rubber will stick to the track and create more grip. -T.C.
9. From AJ:
After watching Denny hit the wall during his burn out got me thinking about NASCAR’s thoughts on it? Will that affect how the car fits the template and if a team has a borderline item on the car could this type of incident help hide it?
Don’t forget, the cars go through tech before the race, and must fit the templates then. It would be VERY difficult for a team to alter a body during the race that would give them an advantage without NASCAR seeing it. In post race inspection, the cars aren’t required to fit the templates again. Car heights, engines, gears, and other mechanical bits are under scrutiny in those inspections. – T.C.
10. From Matt:
Where does NASCAR get all the prize money for each race? I know that sounds completely stupid, but I don’t know how they could possibly make the millions they have to pay out every week just off ticket sales and what not. Also the start and park teams shouldn’t even get any money, or at least have theirs reduced. Seeing 7 cars pull off before Lap 20 is getting really old for us fans who pay to see 43 cars race, not 36.
No, not a stupid question at all. The money comes from the TV contracts (which is the biggest piece of the pie), and sponsorship dollars through contingency programs. Now in order to get money from these contingency programs you actually have to participate in them. It’s a little bit of a complicated process so I’m going to direct to a good article written by Lee Spencer on how the process works. As far as the start and park teams go, the problem is it gets complicated to prove they’re actually doing it. From the surface it’s easy to say who’s doing it, but not worth the process to tear cars down to prove it. NASCAR doesn’t like the teams doing this either, but they’ve created an environment that allows it to happen. – Journo
11. From Ron:
TNT had some excellent incar shots at Pocono . One thing I noticed is Denny Hamlin’s has very limited rollbar padding and doesen’t appear to have the netting or other equipment above the driver that some used in the past . is this part of the current rush to take weight of the cars? And where are they shifting weight to?
Remember that the COT has a lot more room inside the car then the previous car did, and in some cases, a ton of roll bar padding isn’t necessary. Also, the amount of weight saved by removing a little bit of roll bar padding would be minimal. Plus, you don’t sacrifice driver safety for a few ounces of saved weight. NASCAR mandates what the weight distribution is from left to right and front to rear. What teams are trying to do is get the weight as low as possible. – T.C.
12. From Ric:
Saw on TV at Pocono a crew member of the 48 team was putting a left side tire over the wall. As he was putting it out as far away from the wall he could, he over extended himself. To keep from falling over the wall he put his hand (or both) down in the pit stall. My question is when is a person considered over the wall towards counting for one of the 7? What is the penalty for having too many people over the wall?
The rulebook actually makes mention of feet and actually stepping in the stall. I’m sure if the official really wanted to, he could call a penalty on the team for the guys hands being down, but most won’t. In a case like that, it was just an accident that the guy ended up over the wall. No advantage was gained. – T.C.
The teams have a short trip this weekend, as the Truck and Cup Series head to Martinsville, VA. The teams are also spending the week getting some spoiler testing done at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And while they work, we’ve got another round of questions and answers. 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 Lee:
It is my understanding that Goodyear brings the tires that will be used for that race to the track. Do the teams get the tires from Goodyear at the track, then take them and mount and balance them on their own? Or do they bring their rims to Goodyear, and they mount and balance the tires for the team?
A company called Champion Tire & Wheel hauls all the wheels to the track. Once there, Goodyear takes them and mounts and balances all the tires for the teams. After the race, all the tires are returned to Goodyear. They are then broken down and loaded back up. Champion checks the wheels for damage, cleans them, and hauls them to the next race. – T.C.
2. From Ric:
Do crew members and drivers travel together or separate? I know it various from team to team, race to race. Just looking for in general.
Generally crew members travel together. Of course most teams have A team and B team guys that come into the race track different times during the weekend, but those groups do travel together. Drivers generally come in to the race track by themselves, but that’s not always the case; especially for the ones who don’t have private planes, or access to a private plane. – Journo
3. From Eddie:
With the 12 Hrs at Sebring this weekend, is it possible in the future for a NASCAR driver to race that event and still race the Sprint Cup event on Sunday? Also have any NASCAR drivers raced in the ALMS series before?
Probably not. The reason I say that is because the weekends don’t really work well together. Running in the 12 hours would screw up practice and qualifying on the Cup side, which would require teams to find someone to fill in. This is something a team owner wouldn’t be too keen to do. The 24 Hours of Daytona works because it’s out of season and Indy and the 600 were able to work because of how spread out things were. I don’t see this working though. To your second question the answer is yes. IMSA (the current sanctioning body of the ALMS which was formed in 1999) ran the 24 Hours of Daytona for many years until the creation of Grand Am. I can’t think of anybody driving in it recently, but Roger Penske had an ALMS team until 2008 (they ran Grand-Am in 2009). – Journo
4. From Ray in NJ:
Hey TC, I have a question regarding the spoiler change for Martinsville etc. If I remember correctly when the COT was first created the drivers were complaining about not enough downforce on the car and handling extremely poor…remember Kyle Busch complaining each time he won…..as a result NASCAR decided to add the wing and then during testing the drivers commented it was much better…..now people are saying the wing is causing or enticing the car to go airborne when turned around…so it makes me think we are going to keep the car on the track…but handling and downforce could be a problem again…what do you think?
During some of the initial COT testing, the car had a spoiler. But the COT was never actually raced in competition with a spoiler. It always had the wing. So saying the car is going to revert back to how it handled in the beginning isn’t necessarily accurate. The teams are definitely going to have to relearn how to set these cars up, but I don’t foresee huge problems with handling and downforce. – T.C.
5. From Michele:
Hi T.C. and Journo! Hearing lots about the Legend race @ Bristol running “faster more dangerous” cars than current Sprint & N’wide drivers. Is there anything to that or just ‘Hot Air’? Thanks for a great column!
I believe that the Legends race at Bristol had the drivers just running crate motor late models. The cars don’t have as much horsepower and are lighter then a Cup or Nationwide car, but their setup makes them easier to drive. I believe that is why we saw lap times that were as fast or faster then the other series. On a short track they are fast, but I don’t know if we can call them more dangerous. The incident with Pearson and Glotzbach was just an unfortunate accident I believe. - T.C.
Remember too this race wasn’t sanctioned by NASCAR. The race was put on by BMS. – Journo
6. From Mike:
How does the payout system work? I see at Bristol that Truex finished 12th with 500 laps earning $89,475 whereas Kahne finished 34th with 432 laps earning $123,390. Neither driver led a lap.
The reason some drivers make more then others depends on what contingency programs a team is involved in, and in what payout plan a team is in. I believe NASCAR has four different plans setup, and each team fits into one of those plans. I don’t know specific details, but the plans award prize money based on not only where you finish, but also past performance and longevity. – T.C.
7. From djones:
Hi TC & Journo, Two questions if OK. Regarding tire tests. If Goodyear brings tire ABC to test , why do they bring tire XYZ to run the race at the track they tested at? I am referring to comments made by Regan Smith at Bristol. Also, why use an Indy tire (flat track) at Bristol (high banked)? Why don’t the tire changers where some kind of dust mask? Doesn’t that brake dust cause health problems? Thanks guys. Read you every week.
Goodyear uses tire tests to try different compounds and combinations. Their data from the test will tell them what they need to know to select a tire. They may bring ABC to the test, but realize later that XYZ will be better for the race. And just because a tire is used at Indy doesn’t mean it won’t work for Bristol. Goodyear decided that the conditions the Indy tire was built for would also work at Bristol. There are a ton of factors that go into selecting a tire. And I don’t really know why changers don’t wear dust masks. You will see some front changers wearing full face helmets because of the brake dust. I’m sure inhaling the dust isn’t good for you, but I’ve never heard of specific health problems caused by it. – T.C.