Look around and you’ll see a common headline: ‘Jimmie Johnson is back.’ For weeks many questioned whether the #48 team had lost its Midas touch. After all Johnson went (gasp!) 10 races in between wins. In that time he had two DNFs, and three finishes worse than 30th. Jimmie had hit rock bottom. Or had he?
I wrote here a little more than a month ago that the team was struggling, not because of the spoiler as many had suggested, but because of bad luck and mistakes. The truth is the team has run quite well despite a few hiccups here and there.
Since the implementation of the spoiler – and before his latest two wins – Johnson had six top-10s, three top-fives, one pole, and he led a total of 422 laps (in spite of those two DNFs, and three bad finishes). Since Charlotte, where Johnson finished 37th after a series of maladies, he has finished 5th, 6th, 1st, and 1st.
As we move forward through the season there are certainly still questions about Johnson and team #48. Can they shake the bad luck and mistakes for the remainder of the season? Will the new addition to the Johnson family make any difference? And could Jimmie be peaking too early?
Still this season is shaping up a lot like Johnson’s 2007 championship season. Some bad luck, and DNF’s through the mid-point of the season gave way to ten wins, and one of Johnson’s best seasons to date. Six of Johnson’s wins came after Daytona, and four of those wins came during the Chase (four in a row to be exact).
My point with all this is to say Jimmie may have had some bad luck, and certainly made a few mistakes during the first half of this season, but he has never faded from competitiveness. Perhaps an argument could be made that the field is catching up to Johnson – he’s not necessarily having the dominating performances he has had in past years. Competition is strong from a number of teams. Johnson and Denny Hamlin, for instance, will, at this moment, enter the Chase tied for first with their win totals. Certainly, I think this year he’ll face some stiffer competition going into and through the Chase, but don’t count out team #48.
Is Jimmie back? As far as I can tell he never left.
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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.
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: Kevin Harvick, NASCAR Fights, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano
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One of the biggest storylines of the 2010 season has been the conflict we’ve seen between high caliber teammates. First, it was Jeff Gordon taking exception to some moves that Jimmie Johnson made at Texas and Talladega. Both races resulted in destroyed race cars for the Dupont team, and Gordon didn’t hesitate to tell everyone who he thought was at fault. It appeared that even Gordon was starting to suffer from the JJ fatigue that some fans complained about regularly. The most recent example we’ve seen is the trouble brewing between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch following a run-in at the All Star race. Busch felt Hamlin blocked him on a late race pass attempt, and subsequent contact with the wall would later result in a cut tire for Busch. Since the incident, the feud appears to be an on-again, off-again affair, with each driver taking shots at the other via the media.
In both cases, some were calling for Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs to step in and fix the situation between their drivers. The fear was that conflict between the drivers would hurt the organization as a whole. While I don’t know the extent to which both got involved, I’m sure there was at least conversations that happened. I’m not so sure they were necessary though.
Unlike traditional sports, it’s not vital to the success of a race team for teammates to get along. If Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin never speak again, there is no reason to think they couldn’t still contend for championships. The people within a race team who’s collaboration is necessary to success are the crew chiefs, mechanics, and engineers. They need to share information and work together towards making the equipment better. That is where races and championships are won. Besides at maybe a restrictor plate track, drivers like Hamlin and Busch don’t work together on track anyway.
Where a problem between two teammates could become an issue, is if the conflict spreads from the drivers to the teams. There have been cases before where two teammates have tangled on track, and the incident spawned discontent between guys on the teams and in the shop. When the teams quit working together, the advantages of being a multi-car operation go away. I actually wrote a post about this exact topic a few years ago (see it here).
If I’m Mr. H. or Coach Gibbs in either of these situations, I’m monitoring my employees to ensure the conflict doesn’t spread. I may also step in to make sure that these “feuds” aren’t affecting my sponsors. And while I certainly don’t want my drivers to hate each other, I don’t mind if they don’t hang out when they leave the race track. Besides, a little rivalry between my guys might actually push them to be better.
What are your thoughts? If you are a fan of a driver that has tangled with a teammate, were you worried about how it would affect the team? What would you do if you were an owner and two of your drivers tangled?
Kyle Busch’s post-race expletive-ridden comments about team mate Denny Hamlin this past weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway was just another example of how NASCAR teams aren’t always the best of friends. Denny Hamlin refused to allow Busch (his brother Kurt eventually won the race) to pass him during the All Star Race on Saturday, which caused Busch to slam his Toyota M&M Pretzel car into the wall. Busch apparently went looking for Hamlin at his trailer after the race. Giants of the sport, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, have also been after each other recently. NASCAR.com did an excellent piece, featuring writers Bill Kimm and Mark Spoor, asking the question if teammates should race differently against one another. I see the point that the drivers are paid by team owners and therefore are expected to do what is best for the team, but no one can deny that people love NASCAR for the drivers. NASCAR drivers got to where they are, because of their inane desire to finish in first. If there’s too much of team mentality on the racetrack it’ll take away from the sure competitiveness of the sport. Besides, all this team-on-team controversy is endlessly entertaining. I hope there’s more to come.
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Darlington Raceway, Sprint Cup
2010 hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Joe Gibbs Racing teams of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin this weekend showed his recovery from ACL surgery is going to be tough if even just for his own stubbornness; and for the second week in a row Busch was denied a win because of a bad late race pit call.
After the race at Phoenix Kyle Busch was fuming mad. His anger at his situation kept him from doing any post-race interviews, and it was probably all for the best. Fox attempted to interview him, but he brushed them off in what, according to a producer, was TMZ-esque video. They elected not to show it. Had it not been for a late race pit call by Dave Rogers though the TV cameras may very well have been interviewing Kyle Busch in victory lane.
I’m not one to be a Monday morning crew chief (and I know it’s all to easy to do), but what a call? Dave Rogers brought Kyle Busch in for a four tire stop with what everyone knew would be a G-W-C finish. He admitted later he knew the #39 and #24 were taking two tires. And while he couldn’t have foreseen getting bottled up on pit road, he should have known two laps wasn’t going to be enough for four tires to matter. The track position, especially at a place like Phoenix, is what was important and with his call he ensured they lost theirs.
To make matters worse this is the second week in a row a pit call by Rogers has cost them the chance at a win. In Martinsville, Rogers elected to bring Busch in behind teammate Denny Hamlin with just six to go. Where Mike Ford was in a tough spot with Denny Hamlin, Dave Rogers was not with Kyle Busch. It was apparent by the time Kyle made the move to pit road that no one of significance was following them in. Ironically it was this pit call that ultimately put Kyle in a position to get wrecked and allowed Denny the chance to win – the first Gibbs Cup win of the season.
I wrote a few weeks ago asking if Kyle had any regrets letting Steve Addington go. The past two weeks have proved to me that my question was justified. Rogers is certainly putting the team in position to win, as is Kyle, but he’s snatching the opportunities back with bad calls. Kyle may not have ended up winning either of these past two weeks but he never had a chance to prove otherwise because of the pit calls.
With the way he has run you’ve got to wonder how long it will be before Dave Rogers gets sent down the river. We’re reaching a point where Kyle is going to be less trusting of Rogers’ pit calls and that’s a problem. We saw how quick they were to get rid of Steve Addington last season and he had four wins and led them to a 13th place finish in the points. All I have to say to Dave Rogers is, good luck.
I also had to question the call this weekend to let Denny Hamlin stay in the car the whole race. It was almost frustrating to watch him run like he did when he had a backup driver itching to get in the car. He had to be in pain and there was no reason for him to finish what was a long race. I can’t imagine driving 378 miles a week after major surgery on my knee.
It was almost like Hamlin felt he needed to prove something to somebody. I know it sucks to get out of the car, but if you’re in pain and running poorly why risk aggravating the injury? If I’m JD Gibbs I would have told him to bring the car in. There were plenty of opportunities for them to come in and make a switch without losing much ground. They just never took it.
The silly thing is the move could have helped them in their championship bid. Instead they finished the day in 30th, two laps down. He was outrun by underfunded Bobby Labonte and Scott Riggs and just barely outran the underfunded and underpowered Front Row cars. We’ll see if he thinks better of it next week.
I know we’re still early in the season and generally speaking Kyle Busch and Dave Rogers’ relationship is still young, but some of the things that have happened this season have me scratching my head. They’re both great teams and they’re more than capable of winning every week, but doing stuff like they’ve been doing is not going to help them down the stretch.