Last weekend at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Richard Petty and RPM driver AJ Allmendinger had a short confrontation in the garage area after the race. During the race, Allmendinger was involved in a wreck with Kyle Busch that sent him spinning off the track and into the inside wall. AJ went on to finish the race, but 36th position, 30 laps down wasn’t the result he and his team were looking for. Once in the garage, Petty had words with Allmendinger as he climbed from his race car.
I apologize for not having the video of the incident, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t seem to find it anywhere online. In case you didn’t see it, Petty says something to Allmendinger as he climbs from the car that AJ doesn’t want to hear. ’Dinger attempts to walk away, and Petty grabs his arm. The two talk for a bit longer, with AJ attempting to escape again.
What exactly was said between the two I don’ t know. It does appear to me however, that Petty was attempting to teach or point something out to Allmendinger about the day, and AJ didn’t want to hear it. Either way, I don’t think anyone is to blame for the spat, and I don’t think it will have any lasting effect on their relationship.
Robbie Loomis, RPM’s VP of Competition, came out after the incident and tried to downplay the confrontation.
“I always say the car owner shouldn’t talk to the driver anytime after the race, especially after an accident,” Petty VP Robbie Loomis said. “I think Richard’s been here so many times, he’s been through this stuff and he was just trying to get him to loosen up and let the boys do their stuff on fixing the car and getting back out there. Anytime you talk to somebody at the wrong time, it always causes discussion that needs to be worked out. That’s all that happened.”
Richard Allen from RacingwithRich.com thinks that the confrontation may affect AJ’s future with RPM, but I disagree. Allmendinger was clearly upset about how the race played out, and you can’t blame the guy for being angry. And if anyone knows what it’s like to be disappointed by a race, it should be Richard Petty. Both are very passionate about racing, and that passion is going to boil over at certain times. In this case, Allmendinger let his temper get the better of him, and Petty just chose the wrong time to try and make his point to his young driver.
With it being Friday already, I’m sure Petty and Allmendinger have already sat down and worked out any issues they may have had. Both are passionate competitors, and I’m sure once calm, AJ will listen to anything Richard has to say. In the future, hopefully Petty will wait until their weekly meeting to offer any advice or thoughts to his drivers.
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A true American team, partially owned by a British guy. Confusing? I thought so.
Spend much time around this sport and you’ll see your fair share of bad ideas and failed teams. Remember Trail Motorsport? Well this weekend, like clockwork, we got one of the better (I say sarcastically) ideas I’ve seen.
Enter a couple of guys you’ve probably never heard of, and an idea they think no one else has thought of.
NASCAR fans all across the country will now have one team to pull for: their team, America’s Racing Team. After multiple large-scale quantitative and qualitative studies, the creation of America’s Racing Team (ART), a NASCAR Sprint Cup team formed primarily from “Team Partners,” was announced today live on NASCAR.com from “The World Center of Racing,” the Daytona International Speedway. ART will be the first team in the history of NASCAR to be largely bankrolled by the fans.
After weeks of trying to create buzz, this is what we get? The press conference and the team’s at-track attempt to present themselves were laughable. The NASCAR Examiner’s Greg Engle has a very amusing look at the team’s NASCAR introduction – and they’re confusing contradiction. And needless to say I haven’t seen a positive piece of press about this (except for maybe this) – come to think of it, I haven’t really seen any press about this (Jayski didn’t even put anything up).
If you’re unfamiliar with this team’s plan I’ll lay it out for you. Two guys, Micheal Wright, formally of talent agency IMG, and Daniel Webber, managing director of Supervision Media (and son of another former IMG exec), want to field a car beginning next season at Daytona. The catch is, they’re using a membership program (with prices ranging from $44.95 for children to $499.95 for families) targeted at fans to pay for most of the deal. Good luck.
In the name of full disclosure, the team claims this isn’t a fan sponsored car.
No, this is something completely different. We’ve all seen the fan concept done in the past, in various forms, with limited success. Rather, this is a team starting from scratch that will plan to align with only the best performers in the industry. Our team is not something just for one race, this to race full-time with the plan to be competing for the Chase within five years. This is something for fans to be a part of and to build in partnership with the ownership group.
But absent them coming up with other sponsorship, it is.
The fact is, as they themselves acknowledge, many before have tried the race fan sponsored racecar. Most times teams are able to defray some costs, but putting together enough money for a full race – let alone a full season – is very difficult.
Among the plethora of reasons why this doesn’t work is that NASCAR fans don’t support teams, they support drivers. This isn’t F1. So unless you’ve got a fan’s favorite driver driving for you, chances are they aren’t going to shell out their hard earned money to help that person get on track – even if you make them think they can contribute to team decisions.
Assuming they sell tens of thousands of memberships, they would still need to put together millions of dollars in sponsorship to run a remotely competitive team. Even with a slick ad campaign they plan to run on Speed and ESPN, something tells me they won’t come close to what they need.
At the end of the day I know I have a lot of questions, and even more concerns. For instance, if you read the fine print (and there’s a lot of it) you can see, among other things, if this doesn’t get off the ground you only get a partial refund.
I STRONGLY encourage anyone thinking of buying one of these ‘memberships’ to put their credit card away, and wait until there is more information – a lot more information.
Will they make it to Daytona next year? Who knows. But I can tell you I’m not holding my breath.
Friday night at Daytona, we finally got to see the culmination of a few years of development with the debut of the Nationwide Series’ new car. I’d say NNS COT, but I heard that NASCAR doesn’t want it referred to as the COT, so instead I’ll call it the “new car.” The race was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #3 Wrangler Impala, and all things considered, I believe we can call the race a success.
There was concern in the garage area after the testing and practice sessions that the race may have turned into the type of race we saw on Saturday night. Many drivers said the cars were unstable in the draft and were difficult to drive. Add to that the inexperience of many of those in the field, and it appeared we had the perfect recipe for disaster. Instead, what we saw was a solid race where drivers didn’t take crazy chances and wreck their race cars. We even got to see an exciting two lap shootout for the finish.
Getting to the point where the new car could finally be debuted was a long process. A ton of R&D work had to be done by the teams and by NASCAR. And implementation hasn’t been without it’s critics, as there are plenty of pros and cons.
For the crews, the car presents some new challenges, as the inspection process is now much more rigorous. The cars must be certified just like their Cup brethren and go through a very similar inspection process at the track. All of that adds up to more work for the teams.
I can tell you that pit stops aren’t much different then they were previously. The new cars may actually be a little easier to service then the old cars, partly because of the larger wheel openings. The new cars are very similar to the Cup COT, and the Cup crew guys who also work in the Nationwide Series will have no problems adjusting. For the NNS only crews, the right to left travel may be slightly different then the old car, but it should be a fairly easy transition.
The switchover has also been tough on some teams, especially the small operations. Many have been working long hours to both build the new cars and maintain their fleet of the older version. The cost to build a fleet of the new car will certainly be substantial, but moving forward, it should help save the teams money. The new design helps cut down the need for specialized cars for the different track types.
Nationwide teams will go back to the older version for the upcoming few races, but the new car will reappear at Michigan, Richmond, and Charlotte later in the season. Full implementation will happen for the 2011 season, and I personally think it’s a good move. The unique (and new) body styles will give the NNS some of it’s identity back, and should strengthen the fans’ perception of the series. Hopefully this move will also help NASCAR not only make the necessary changes to return the Nationwide Series to it’s proper form, but also serve as a test pad for improvements to the Cup COT.
So what were your thoughts of the race on Friday? Did you think it was a successful first outing? What is your opinion of how the new car looks? Is NASCAR moving in the right direction?
Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup, Scott Speed, NASCAR
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The Dayonta test for the new Nationwide Series COT is complete. Teams took to the 2.5 mile track on Tuesday and Wednesday to get familiar with the new car and to help NASCAR gather data ahead of it’s debut on July 2nd at the Subway Jalapeno 250. Most of the drivers who participated said the car must be driven differently then the old car, but that it would lead to more exciting racing. Those battles at the front of the NNS fields however, will probably feature more Cup drivers then ever before.
The redesigned car features many of the safety measures that were first implemented with the Cup Series COT. The Nationwide versions also have bodies that more closely resemble their stock brethren. The new Mustang, Challenger, Impala, and Camry bodies have been lauded by the drivers and the fans. With the exception of the sheet metal though, much is the same between the Cup and Nationwide cars now. The two COTs are so similar in fact, that they share the same chassis, wheelbase, and other components. And it’s those similarities that will widen the gap between the Nationwide only guys and the Cup “Busch-Whackers.” (I will never let it die!)
Think about it. While younger drivers have been coming up and learning on cars that are not too different then the current Nationwide car, Cup drivers have had the last few years to learn what it takes to drive and setup a COT car. They will now be able to use that COT knowledge on Saturdays as well. The younger, Nationwide only guys who don’t have that experience will suffer.
Having the cars be so markedly different at least gave some of the younger drivers a fighting chance. And by fighting chance, I mean Cup drivers who still dominate the series and win every race. Before, information couldn’t really be shared between the two series, and having to constantly be transitioning from car to car at least made things interesting. Now we don’t even have that.
Don’t get me wrong though, I certainly don’t think NASCAR should scrap the new COT. In fact, I’m a big proponent of the introduction. The safety innovations are certainly needed, and transitioning back to cars that appear more stock will do wonders with the fans. I just wish we could find a way to fairly limit participation among the Cup crowd.
It isn’t all bad news though.
Among my doom and gloom there is a silver lining. While these younger drivers might struggle now, their transition to Cup rides in the future will be much smoother and much shorter. The skill-set necessary to make an NNS COT go fast won’t be too different then what they will need on Sundays. And that will be good for the future of the sport and everyone involved.
Let’s just hope the Nationwide Series owners have enough patience to let these kids learn.
The Nationwide Series gets its first off week of the year, while the Truck and Cup Series head to Atlanta this weekend. It’s only midweek though, and that means another round of reader 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…
I missed a couple of questions last week, so we will kick this edition off with those first. Sorry for my screw up! – T.C.
1. From Gene:
Why is wind tunnel time so expensive? On TV it looks like a car on rollers in front of a big airplane propeller. Costwise,what am I missing here?
First off, the cost to build a wind tunnel has got to be pretty high. Besides a roller and some big propellers, it also takes some very sophisticated computers and machinery to control everything. On top of that, the energy bill alone needed to run everything is probably astronomical, not to mention the engineers needed to run the place. It all adds up very quickly. If they were cheap, everyone would have one. – T.C.
2. From Christopher:
After Daytona, I looked at the NASCAR rankings page, which lists winnings in dollars. I noticed that every driver listed- including those who did not qualify for Daytona- had some winnings. First of all, how do you win money if you don’t race at all? Secondly- why do the non-qualifying drivers have slightly different amounts? Derrike Cope has some $40,000 and Jeff Fuller some $21,000. Both didn’t race- what did Cope do earn that extra money? Finally, with the racers that did compete- how come some in 20th place made more than guys who finished well ahead of them?
I believe what you are seeing for drivers like Cope and Fuller, who didn’t run, is there winnings from the Bud Shootout and Gatorade Duels. NASCAR doesn’t pay prize money if you don’t make the race. Teams get owners points, but no money. And 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.
3. From Eddie:
How many people involved in NASCAR are still unemployed?
I can’t give you a specific number, but the answer is a lot. There were unfortunately far more positions lost than positions available and added. Contractions like this are bad for everyone involved. – Journo
4. From Ric:
Do teams use different pit boxes at different tracks? If teams only have one pit box do they have backup pit boxes in case something happens to it?
No, teams use the same pit box at each race. A backup pit box really isn’t necessary, because I don’t know what would happen to a box that would warrant a team needing to have it replaced. The only exception being if the box was destroyed in transit. – T.C.
5. From Mike:
I understand when the drivers choose the ball from the fish bowl, they are choosing there starting order for qualifying. Joey Logano not being 21, his crew chief will pick for him. Is this policy in effect because of driver age and being possible gambling?
I’m not aware of a rule that says one must be 21 to select the ball for the qualifying draw. I do know that it doesn’t need to be a driver who selects the ball, just a representative from the team. – T.C.
6. From Sue:
Was wondering whatever happened to Fatback McSwain?
Fatback is running an auto repair shop in Dallas, NC. – T.C.
7. From Michelle:
What is going on with Ryan Newman’s team and Tony Stewart being the successful team? Do you think that the #39 team will be able to rebound and battle for the championship?
The first two races were things beyond the team’s control. There isn’t much you can do about a wreck and an engine failure. I wouldn’t worry about it too much at this point. If you remember last year he wasn’t great through the first four races, and then made the Chase. Give it a few more races here. – Journo
8. From Marc:
Any ideas as to why the #26 has performed so poorly? I thought they got cars and engines and perhaps even some technical help in addition to the 2009 #26 points as part of the ?comprehensive services agreement with Roush Fenway. Based on their poor performance both qualifying and running, I really wonder if they got the worst from the Roush shop. Boris Said did a lot better with the old Mark Simo #60, which also had support from Roush.
It all comes down to funding. Yes, the team did buy old equipment from Roush, and they do get engines from Roush Yates Engines. But you only get what you pay for, and this team is severly underfunded. They have very little, if any sponsorship, and they have a bare bones crew and operation. If this team makes it past the first five races of the season, they will most likely be just a start and park entry. – T.C.
9. From Margaret:
I’ve noticed on Preliminary Entry Lists that there is a section that appears to list the vehicle manufacture date. Most list 10 as the year, but some list 09 and Brian Vickers car is listed as 08. Does this have anything to do with the date that the car itself was built or does it deal with what nose they run? What is the difference? Thanks!
I believe the model year designated refers to the body style being run, not the date the chassis was built. I’m not sure how an ‘08 model car could be run by Vickers though, as the rulebook specifies that only 2009 and 2010 models are eligible this season. – T.C.
10. From Measure:
Start N Park cars, causing a bit of concern to NASCAR. Why doesn’t NASCAR implement a rule that says if you don’t finish 80% of a race, your team is suspended for the next race? Exceptions could be made for cars involved in wrecks and for those in the ‘top 35′.
It’s not necessarily a bad idea, and I believe a similar rule has been talked about. In lieu of suspending teams, I think a more powerful tool is to cut the purse; that is, after all, why some of the teams are there. I think NASCAR doing further inspection of the last place car is a good first step and I foresee them trying to curtail this as much as they can as the season moves along. – Journo
11. From Tim:
I literally stopped watching NASCAR because of Jimmie Johnson. Now I know how people felt about Earnhardt Sr. and Gordon. Will the spoiler make any difference in the 48 team’s dominance?
It might. There has been a lot of discussion about the effect of the spoiler on the racing. Some think it’ll make a difference, others don’t. I know Jeff Burton thinks we’re going to have a pre-spoiler/post spoiler season. Carl Edwards disagrees. We’ll definitely have to wait and see. – Journo
12. From Kevin:
What is going on with AJ and the rest of RPM
I don’t know what to tell you. It would appear to be an issue throughout the RPM camp as none of their drivers have been running particularly stellar. Paul Menard’s been the most consistent and Kasey did finish 9th last week, but it’s hard to say. It’s still early in the season and with the changes at RPM it could take some time for everything to come together. – 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!
Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports
Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Nationwide Series
So get this, JR Motorsports has three drivers. I know, it’s almost hard to believe.
In all seriousness, this week has got to be the pits for Kelly Bires. He started the month hopeful he’d be making his JR Motorsports debut at Daytona with Dale Earnhardt Jr., only to find out he was being booted from the ride in favor of Danica Patrick.
Now Danica is obviously an easy target. It looks pretty bad for her that Kelly Bires is now out of a ride (for Daytona). In one breath she says she’s got to consider he’s running for a championship and in the next she says “I want more racing.” While it’s a safe bet to start the blame game here I would caution you to wait.
As for Jr.’s ride in Daytona, the sponsor obligations were in place long ago. No matter what happened with the #5/#7, he was going to be in the #88. Why doesn’t Jr. just pony up the money you might ask? Again, while it might be easy to go here, this is not the problem (Click here for a response to that question and others).
You might be asking, who then is to blame? The long and short of it is the front office, though not the part you might think. The part I’m talking about is the part responsible for selling the team to corporate America. Through a tough economy and an inability to close any big new prospects (other than Danica and GoDaddy), the team finds itself short on sponsors; and as we know sponsors make the world go round.
I say this not suggesting that selling multi-million dollar deals is an easy thing. It most definitely is not. I do struggle though to understand how they were never able to lock everything up for Bires, when others have been able to. They even lost a sponsor in Fastenal. Mind you, Roush is notorious for undercutting other teams’ offers (they then are notorious for driving sponsors out of the sport, or out their front door); but that still isn’t a great excuse.
Roush was able to re-sign Conway Freight with Colin Braun this season, and last season Penske brought on Verizon (without logos in the Cup Series) to sponsor David Stremme and Justin Allgaier. While these situations certainly vary, they all lack the fundamental strength of JR Motorsports – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
I can’t say why JR hasn’t been able to sign any big new sponsorships. They could be asking for too much money, or they might not be offering enough support, who knows. What I do know is, is a team that operates as a satellite of Hendrick Motorsports and is owned by the most popular driver in the sport shouldn’t be struggling on the sponsorship front like they are.
So don’t blame Danica. She brings with her money and star-power and an existing commitment to run races with a partner she brought.
As we say here so often, this is a business, and this situation is a great example of the reality of that.
As the Danica Patrick bandwagon steams toward the Daytona Nationwide Series race next weekend, don’t worry about saving me a seat just yet. Finishing sixth in her first ever stock car event is commendable, but I think it’s a bit early to crown her the next big thing.
In case you missed it, Patrick recovered from a late race spin through the tri-oval grass at Daytona to finish sixth in her debut race in the ARCA Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. She kept her nose clean, didn’t give up, and brought home a car with all the fenders still on it. Which in itself is quite an achievement in the ARCA Series. But lets try and remember what she was up against.
Stop by Jayski’s story links page for February 7th and you will find no less then 15 articles about Danica’s debut. Most of which contain quite a bit of praise for the 27 year old driver, some of which she deserves, and some she doesn’t.
Danica took on the ARCA Series at Daytona in an ARCA car powered by Hendrick and put together by JR Motorsports. She had a veteran crew chief on the box (Tony Eury Jr.) and had a combination of JR Motorsports Nationwide Series guys and Hendrick Motorsports Cup guys working on and pitting her race car. Not a bad way to start off a stock car career.
And not to knock the ARCA Series, as it’s a great place to gain valuable experience on bigger tracks, but this is the same series that David Stremme once won a race at Michigan by lapping the entire field once, and up to ninth place twice.
So before we crown her and heap a ton of ridiculous expectations on her, let’s allow her to run a few races and gain some experience against some tougher competition. I think it’s only fair.
And just as a side note, I know there is a certain motorsports writer (ahem Jeff Gluck) who, before the season started, posed an interesting question and bet to his readers and Twitter followers. He wanted to know who would outperform the other this season, John Wes Townley or Danica Patrick. Give round one to Townley, who followed up a fourth place run in last year’s ARCA opener with a third place run this year.