You heard him say it. Sure he was angry and it’s not true – Waltrip did win two Daytona 500s after all – but it definitely adds an uncomfortable element to the Clint Bowyer to Michael Waltrip Racing rumors. Strange bedfellows?
We often say around here not to burn bridges – the community is too small and you never know when you might need someone’s help. While that’s especially true for crew members and other team employees, it also applies to drivers.
Beyond the obvious awkwardness, Bowyer generally finds himself in a very difficult spot.
In a year where a driver like Greg Biffle acknowledged he took a cut in pay with his new contract, Bowyer, according to some reports, was asking for as much as $7 million a year and helicopter rides to the track. While that may not quite be the case, we keep hearing the number is high. It’s no wonder he hasn’t locked anything down.
Even with sponsorship from 5 Hour Energy, a deal rumored to be just a partial season, Bowyer’s position isn’t a whole lot better. I think what we’re seeing is Bowyer without any really good option left, looking for a team willing to take a chance that it can close the gap. Enter Michael Waltrip Racing.
If all goes according to plan it looks like Bowyer will make the move. In reality the team represents a step down from RCR. In five full NASCAR Cup seasons MWR has just two wins and has firmly cemented itself as a weekly field filler with performance that can best be described as mediocre.
To Bowyer’s credit, he represents the hope and aspirations of an organization that has struggled through the years. Is he the answer for MWR? Only time will tell.
But what about that comment?
Even Denny Hamlin jokingly asked Waltrip about it last night on Inside NASCAR. An awkward exchange ensued where Waltrip half-laughing pointed out that Bowyer called him the worst NASCAR driver EVER. Yikes.
Obviously this is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. And with the right amount of money, anybody can get over anything. I suppose it’s not like Bowyer called Waltrip the worst owner in NASCAR ever. That might have been unforgivable.
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
For much of the early part of the season it was Carl Edwards who took up all the oxygen as the chief target of 2012 speculation. And after months and rumors, Edwards ultimately re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing.
Up next was Clint Bowyer who looked early on like another candidate to re-sign with his existing organization. Then came the end for Red Bull Racing and revelations that Bowyer was in advanced negotiations with the team. After that Bowyer began earnest negotiations with Richard Childress Racing, but in recent weeks those have fallen apart.
This weekend both Bowyer and team owner Richard Childress commented on the driver’s contract.
Childress said:
“We’ve tried and we’ve worked really hard to put the deal together to keep Clint. It’s not 100 percent off the table but it’s getting tougher and tougher as the day goes by.”
Bowyer, responding to Childress’ comments, said:
“That’s fair. Just working on everything. That’s the biggest thing, trying to get everything done as far as the future. There’s opportunities and stuff we’re trying to weight out.”
With the window for re-signing about closed it looked like Bowyer had a couple of alternatives in Richard Petty Motorsports, Michael Waltrip Racing and potentially Roush Fenway and Joe Gibbs.
Then on Wednesday Lee Spencer at FoxSports reported that RPM co-owner Andrew Murstein said the organization was no longer in discussions with the driver. She also reported JD Gibbs said a lack of sponsorship made pursuing Bowyer a “non-issue.”
So Bowyer appears to have burned the bridge at RCR and is left without opportunities at RPM and JGR. What’s available to him is a potential ride at MWR and the off chance of a ride at RFR. If I were Bowyer, I’d be reconsidering my managment right now.
He’s potentially leaving behind an organization with a combined 99 Cup Series wins and six Cup championships – with one driver currently tied for the points lead – and his only serious option is a team with two wins in five seasons of full-time Cup competition. Yikes.
Even if Roush is an option you have to believe with the existing holes the team has in sponsorship for several of its drivers, it wouldn’t sign another, presumably to take over for David Ragan, without serious dollars backing said driver.
There is absolutely a chance something else could come together – perhaps even a return to RCR – and there has been the long standing rumor that Bowyer has sponsorship from 5 Hour Energy (sponsorship that I suspect is not worth much if this rumor is true) but with the season winding down, Bowyer’s options are running out.
With just 10 races to go until we crown a champion, this will definitely be a storyline to keep an eye on. I wish Clint Bowyer good luck in finding a situation that’s even in the neighborhood of the one he has now.
As rumors have started to float around about where Carl Edwards could end up for 2012 and beyond, we asked our Twitter (@nascarinsider) followers last week if they’d be surprised if he left Roush Fenway Racing. The answers were pretty mixed, but our question seemed to spawn another question from many: where would he go? There are certainly going to be plenty of options, and it sounds as though he’s going to take all the time he needs to make a choice.
As Edwards begins to explore his options, lets take a look at where he could realistically end up. Outside of the RFR/Richard Petty Motorsports bubble, Hendrick and RCR are out, because they have signed drivers and no room to expand. Of the upper tier teams, that leaves the likes of Penske Racing, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Red Bull Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, and Stewart-Haas Racing. All either have drivers leaving, the ability to expand, or both.
In Edwards position, I’m not convinced that if he does actually leave RFR, it will be about money. The driver who serves as his own agent is already making some serious coin in his current spot, and the current economic climate may limit his earning potential somewhat. I’ve got to believe that Edwards wants to be where he has the best chance to win races and ultimately, championships.
Of the available teams, I’m not sure the argument could be made that any of them provide Edwards with a better situation than does Roush Fenway. A possible fourth team at JGR would probably be the closest option, but they’ve had their struggles in this young season and would he really gel as a teammate to Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch?
Another curious option is Red Bull. Owner Dietrich Mateschitz has the seriously deep pockets needed to bring in a driver like Edwards and they will be looking to replace the departing Kasey Kahne. But barring some sort of dramatic turn around, RBR doesn’t yet have the competitive pedigree necessary to attract a driver like Edwards.
Edwards’ recent comments to ESPN about not being in a hurry to get a deal done probably isn’t a great sign for RFR. With the future of his career at a serious crossroads however, it’s hard to blame Edwards for taking some time to explore all of his options. The question still remains though, would he really leave Roush?
I didn’t have one idea that I wanted to focus on with my last blog post before the 2011 season gets under way this week, so instead I’ve got a bunch of mini topics to touch on. Feel free to comment on any or all of them.
New Points System I’ve been asked by a few people what my opinion is of the new points system NASCAR has instituted for this season, and I’ve got to say, I don’t really care. It seems on initial inspection that it isn’t a ton different then the old system, and I really don’t believe it will change the way teams race. Teams will still try like hell to win races, and when they can’t, they will do whatever is necessary to get the best possible finish they can. You will also still see teams try and get their race cars back on track after a wreck in order to ride around and get as many points as they can. The mindset won’t change. So I guess if the new system makes things easier for the fans, cool, but other than that, I don’t care.
Final Pit Procedure Thoughts We’ve talked quite a bit around here about the new pit road procedures with the elimination of the catch can position, but I just wanted to offer a few final points. I encourage you to really pay attention to pit stops at Daytona, because you will definitely see some differing techniques among the teams. I also wouldn’t be surprised if it appears as though one or two teams use a system that works better than the others, and for the other teams to follow suit shortly. It will be kind of a “monkey see, monkey do” situation once the teams get a chance to scout each other. These changes will also have a significant impact on pit strategy and what adjustments will get made. It’s a whole new ball game for crew chiefs and engineers now, and I think there is a much larger emphasis now on the decisions they make during the races. You will see a lot more races decided based on pit strategies – at least in the short run.
Important Season For Many Drivers, Teams, and Sponsors There are quite a few drivers and sponsors this season that have contracts that will be expiring after Homestead in November. Lee Spencer from FoxSports.com recently had a bit up about all the Cup drivers who are in the final year of their contracts in 2011 (see it here). This really could be a year that we look back on and say that this was the year that made or broke driver X or team Y. There will be a lot of pressure on those drivers and teams to put in solid performances every week in order to help secure their futures. With the economy continuing to a be a big factor with sponsorships, these teams don’t want to give these companies any reason to either switch to another race team, or pull out completely. It will certainly be an interesting story line to watch.
Nationwide Series Changes I’m really curious to see how the 2011 season unfolds for the Nationwide Series after the championship eligibility changes were made. Will it really help bring the series back to being a developmental series, or will the Cup drivers continue to dominate regardless? We haven’t had a solid Cup rookie class in a couple of years, and the deterioration of the Nationwide Series has certainly played a part in that. In order to keep the talent coffers full of new young drivers, it’s vital that the NNS get back to being a place where these kids can learn how to race.
Championship Predictions We don’t normally do a ton of predictions around here, because they are mostly useless, and it’s pretty much impossible to get them right. But with that said, I’m going to give you my picks on who I think will win each of the top three championships. In the Truck Series, I believe the addition of Jeff Hensley to KHI will pay off big and Ron H0rnaday will return to dominance. Hornaday ran really well last season, but just had a lot of bad luck. Expect that to change for 2011. For the Nationwide Series, I think the pick has to be Elliott Sadler. The Joe Gibbs Toyotas are pretty much unstoppable, but since neither Joey Logano nor Kyle Busch can win the championship, the balance shifts towards KHI. Sadler has the talent and will have the equipment to be a contender every week, and I don’t see any of the younger drivers putting it together for 34 races. And finally, the 2011 Cup Series champion will be Denny Hamlin. The bitter taste of being the runner up to Jimmie Johnson in 2010 will be serious motivation for this team to take the next step, and with Hamlin being 100% healthy this season, he will put it together and unseat the 48 bunch.
The off season has ended, and teams will head to Daytona this week. The next time you hear from me, we’ll have our first race winner (even if it is an exhibition race), and the front row will be set for the Daytona 500. Welcome to 2011!
Just as I was about to complete and publish a post on Wednesday night about Kasey Kahne and his lame duck situation, the story broke that Kahne had been released from Richard Petty Motorsports. And just like that, my 600 word post was out the window. Oh well. I then spent the next 30 minutes or so watching the story develop on Twitter (follow us @nascarinsider - shameless plug over), along with all the reactions from fans, media, and the like. And what I’ve decided, after all that has transpired this season and over the last four days specifically, is that Kahne’s release needed to happen as soon as possible.
What I had written about in my other, now defunct, post for Thursday was that in a nutshell, Kahne brought this lame duck situation on himself. His days as the top driver at RPM were over the second he announced his intentions to leave. He was still going to get good stuff, but the full brunt of RPM’s resources would now be focused on their future. If that angered or frustrated him, he really had nobody to blame but himself.
With that said, I understand his frustration over part failures and bad performance. He wants to run well, and from his perspective, the cars were not letting him do that. I would have been mad too.
But, even with how the season has gone and knowing what transpired at Charlotte, I have to say this: you absolutely never quit on your team. His guys have been behind him all season, and to quit on them in a moment of anger is a complete slap in the face. I don’t care if he was sick or not. Kahne is a very talented driver and has a very bright future with Hendrick, but in this case he was wrong. And it was his refusal to get back into the car after it was wrecked that sealed his fate at RPM.
In the end, this move benefits all parties involved. RPM is rid of an unhappy driver who wanted out anyway, and Kahne gets to make his move to Red Bull early (which we all expect will happen at any second).
What will be interesting to see now is just how well Kahne is able to perform in the Red Bull equipment. They have struggled all season with their own performance woes, and now Kahne will have just a few races in 2010 before taking over for another lame duck season in 2011. Not exactly a positive combination of factors.
In the end, for me personally anyway, I will remember this situation more for Kahne’s antics at Charlotte than for RPM releasing him early. If a driver wants his guys to fight for him every week for 36 weeks, he must do the same for them. It’s this ability to fight through adversity that separates the good drivers from the great drivers.
We’ve got a ton of questions this week, so I’ll just get right into it. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering 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 Nathan in Washington:
Is it common knowledge in the garage area that you two are doing this blog, or do you keep it a secret even from your fellow hard-carders?
As far as we know, nobody knows our identities. And we work pretty hard to keep it that way. The anonymity allows us to reveal information to you that you won’t find anywhere else. - T.C.
2. From Fred:
To follow up on Melissa’s question, are NASCAR officials assigned to the Cup, Nationwide or Truck series for the year, or do they rotate from week to week as needed?
Some are assigned, and some aren’t. I know of some officials that will do all three series in a weekend. It depends on the official and their responsibilities. - T.C.
3. From Peter:
What would be the KEY components of a NASCAR racing game? What is the essence of NASCAR - is it the claustrophobic nature of the pack, the constant battle to balance the car or the feeling of speed due to been close to something all of the time? If you accept that NASCAR games have always lacked something - what would make a new version the computer game that everyone HAD to have?
I think you could probably work on adding more of all of those things. Making a racing game realistic would require some way to “feel” the racecar. And by “feel” I mean the handling, the speed, the wrecks, etc. Right now, manufactured feel can be had, and that is through force feedback wheels. But even those don’t feel correct. Without a force feedback wheel, all you actually feel is the tensioning system. - T.C.
4. From Gary:
Hey guys as members of pit crews would you rather have a fiery driver that you know cares so much about racing that he will do anything to win ie Stewart ,Harvick, Kyle Busch but sometimes can also be a pain to deal with or the ” nice guys” that always says the right thing? Foyt and Stewart are my favorite all time drivers but i’ve never worked for them…
Their outward personality to media and fans is something I could care less about. I want a guy who is absolutely a competitor and is focused 100% on trying to get better and win races. If that means the occasional rant on the radio, so be it. - T.C.
5. From Jennifer:
Hi Guys! I love the site and can’t wait for Ask Wednesdays. I have a question regarding the Nationwide race at Charlotte. When qualifying was rained out they set the grid by order of the qualifying draw. I thought the rule stated that if qualifying could not be completed the lineup was set by owners’ points. Can you explain why NASCAR used the qualifying draw instead? Thanks and keep up the awesome job!
Qualifying for the Nationwide Series race at Charlotte wasn’t rained out. They got trials in before the rains came. But you are correct, if qualifying is canceled then the field is set by owner points. - T.C.
6. From Mandy:
Seeing Kyle Busch working on his own cars during practices made me wonder: are most drivers that comfortable under the hood, to work on their own equipment? Are there any drivers whose mechanical knowledge you find particularly impressive?
I think guys like Kyle Busch are becoming few and far between. I feel like the new generation of drivers don’t have quite the mechanical knowledge of their predecessors. And that comes from having to work on your own racecars coming up. Kyle might actually be the most impressive. I’ve seen him set up his own truck for a Truck Series race. - T.C.
7. From Bryan:
Great site, guys! Why doesn’t NASCAR have a dedicated safety crew similar to the Indy Car Series? It seems that everyone would benefit from having a safety crew that was more familiar with the cars and how they are built.
That is a very good question and one I don’t have a good answer for. I personally am an advocate of a dedicated safety crew. Not to take anything away from the safety crews who help on the weekends, but they just aren’t adequately prepared to respond to emergencies and crises. Perhaps it is an issue with money, I don’t really know. The line you’ll get from NASCAR is that they are OK with the way things presently are. - Journo
8. From Benjamin:
Would it be possible to send me a typical food menu that would be availabe at a nascar race? I’m interested in seeing what types of foods, snacks, drinks, etc. are sold.
The food at a NASCAR race is just like the concessions sold at any other sporting event (except for maybe some of the fancier ball parks). It’s hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ, soda, candy etc. It’s the standard fare. - Journo
9. From Dot:
While watching the pit crew members sweep the water out of the pit stalls at Lowes, I thought of this question. Why didn’t someone think to put in some kind of drainage at the edge of the pit wall? Would it be difficult to install something like that? I’m thinking of some kind of small trench with a grate/screen over it.
Some of the newer race tracks have drainage systems installed on pit road, but many of the older tracks don’t. I would imagine if you are building or re-doing a pit road, it wouldn’t be a difficult thing to do. - T.C.
10. From Gordon:
Hello. I was wondering if you could give me some advice about seating at MIS. I have a chance to buy tickets for the June race. The seats are in turn 4, sect 94 row 8. From the seating chart, sect 94 looks like a decent location, but i didn’t know if row 8 would be too close to the track to see much other than right in front of me. Any advice would be great. Thank you.
Row 8 may not be too bad, as I think some of the stands at MIS are raised up. But keep in mind that the higher you get, the better chance you have of seeing the whole track. Also, MIS is just like California in that there is a building with suites that runs almost the entire length of pit road that will obscure your view. - T.C.
11. From Savannah:
Do driver’s contracts have clauses that exclude their participation in other races? A few years ago, Dale Jr was participating in another race and he sustained injuries in the wreck. After that, he doesn’t seem to race in any other series except Sprint Cup & Nationwide. Then, you see other guys who will participate in charity races like Prelude to the Dream, Tony Stewart’s race at Eldora. Just curious to see if it is a contract issue or sponsor issue. Thanks for answering the question.
It is possible that they exist, but off the top of my head I can’t think of any drivers that have acknowledged having them. A lot of that comes down to what the individual driver wants to do. Ken Schrader for instance will race just about anything, anywhere. Dale Jr., not so much. Sponsors can have an affect on things too. A Chevrolet team driver is not likely going to be allowed to drive a Toyota or Ford in another series. Sorry for not having a more specific answer to this, but I just can’t think of anyone in particular. - Journo
12. From Fred:
Why, on some restarts, do cars start in front of the Lead car?
Those cars are “tail end of the lead lap” cars. They ended up behind the pace car but in front of the leader because they were a lap down at the time of caution, but they chose not to come to pit road and were able to get part of that lap back. But the new restart rule for the Cup Series eliminates these cars being in front of the leader. - T.C.
13. From Sharon:
Does anyone remember Bart Creasman that used to be the spotter for Suqare D Racing, Sterling Martin, and was also the Transport driver. Does he still work in Nascar?
I’m not sure on this one. Maybe a reader knows more? - T.C.
14. From Ric:
Would like to know how many workers (as in they have a job / reason they are there) are at the track on average for a given team. Could you please list some of the various positions / job duties?
That’s a tough one to answer, as every team is different. But most teams have probably somewhere around 20 or more people at the track each week. Jobs include crew chief, car chief, mechanics, shock specialist, tire specialist, pit crew guys, marketing and PR folks, engineers, team executives, truck drivers, a spotter, engine tuners, possibly cooks, etc. - T.C.
15. From Bobby#7Fan:
How is the person who sings the national anthem chosen? I know for the cup races it’s generally an established star or a military person. For the Nationwide and Truck races it seems it’s usually a local person. Do the tracks hold contests to choose the performer?
You know this is something I have never really thought about. I have heard of instances of advertised tryouts, but for the most part I believe they are actually local recording artists. In the case of the military people I would guess they participate in some sort of group within their respective branch and are selected from there. - Journo
16. From Newracefan:
What is the garage saying about the guitar smash at Nashville? The blogs have exploded in the negative but there is an awful lot of what appears to be positive PR spin going on too.
People within the sport are not different then those outside. You’ll find some who think it was cool, and others who think it was despicable (like myself). I don’t know if the garage as a whole swings one way or the other though. - T.C.
Just my two cents, but I happen to also think this was a pretty disrespectful act. Whether he meant it to be or not, it was of very poor taste on his part. - Journo
17. From Dan:
What is “short pitting”? What is it’s advantage and when is it most likely to be used? Is it any different then “gas and go”? Thanks for the great info.
When teams get into green flag stops, it is because they are in the pit window. Pit windows are created by how far a car can go on fuel and tires. Short pitting means a team chooses to come to pit road before their pit window. If a team’s car is handling poorly, they will come early to get fresh tires and adjustments before they lose too much time to the leader. Also, if a team has a problem, they may have to come early to address it. Teams can short pit and still have a gas & go stop, but they aren’t one and the same. - T.C.
18. From Dragonfly:
Is the pit crew allowed to go off the pit wall as soon as the nose of the car crosses their pit stall pit line?
We can jump off the wall once the car’s nose crosses the back line of the stall directly behind ours. - T.C.
19. From Ross & windowlicker:
What’s the octane required for Cup cars? There’s a gas station by my house that has 100+ “racing” fuel. Licker and I debated what it’s used for: Race cars? Karts? High-performance boats?
The Sunoco Race Fuel we use is 110 98 octane. You can actually put race gas in your car, but I doubt you want to pay for it. I would imagine people use it for lower levels of racing and drag racing. By the way, I didn’t realize you two were acquainted… - T.C.
20. From Jan:
I hear that the guys who pit the cars are specialists who only do the pit stops and don’t actually work at the shop building the cars. If so, who fixes the cars at the track when they are damaged in practice.
Some guys are specialists and some guys are actual mechanics and fabricators for the team. Between the pit crew and the team’s mechanics, there are plenty of folks who know how to fix a damaged race car at the track. - T.C.
21. From Don:
Do the Nascar teams use their respective brand name engines?
Yes they sure do. Ford teams run engines designed by Ford, Dodge teams run engines designed by Dodge etc. This is one of the major sticking points in both the entry into the sport by new manufacturers and the loss of manufacturer support. They help out a lot when it comes to designing, engineering and testing these motors. - Journo
22. From Michael:
Could you please discuss the in-field care centers? I’d like to know how they are equipped. Is there a doctor, does NASCAR or the track provide, x-ray, trauma etc.? Also, do the track workers that remove cars and debris travel from track to track?
This is going to sound like a really big cop out, but rather than go into it in this small space I am going to redirect you to an ESPN article that does a great job explaining the medical procedures in the sport. - Journo
23. From Neon:
Pit road question: typically 1st pick teams choose pit stalls towards the end of pit road. I would assume mainly for easier exit and not having to gauge speed on exit. Correct me if I am wrong here. I would also assume that this gives a team the ability to see, via a spotter, what other teams do (i.e. 2 vs 4 tires, etc) before your car even arrives toward the end of pit road. Assuming, and that is a BIG assumption, this occurs, how often TC have you left pit wall w/ the intention of a 4-tire stop, only to be called off to a 2-tire stop (and visa versa) based on what other teams have already done further up pit road?
Picking pit stalls is actually an art form that some crew chiefs are ridiculously good at. What you want, is either an opening before, or an opening after your stall. That means you are either clean getting in, or clean getting out. The #1 stall is beneficial because all that driver has to do is roll over the end line. Each crew chief has their own philosophy about where is best. The main reason for pit stall selection is not necessarily to see what other teams are doing. I have had 4 tire stops called off before while I was over the wall, but in some cases its because a caution came out, or something went really wrong with the pit stop. But it has happened as a last minute strategy change. There is no hard and fast rule. - T.C.
24. From Amanda:
Hi, love the website, and was just wondering if you have any tips for a girl wanting to get into NASCAR journalism.
My best tips for you are to learn as much as you can about news and sports writing, and then find a good Web site covering the sport and find out what it would take to join them. If you’re interested more on the broadcast side, both Speed and NASCAR Images have internships available (the easiest thing to do would be to call them). This would be a good way to make contacts. Unfortunately the newspaper business is quickly dying within the sport, so that avenue is probably not a good one to pursue. Those with online media though are taking up the role the newspapers are giving up (in fact some laid-off newspaper reporters have moved to the Internet; and NASCAR and the NMPA are giving them more respect). If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to email me. - 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!