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I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for this weekend!  Both the Nationwide Series and Cup Series are headed to Darlington, and if you are like me, you can’t get enough of the “Track Too Tough To Tame.”  Don’t worry though, this week’s round of reader questions shouldn’t be too tough to tame.  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 Ella:

What has happened to Carl Edwards and his team this year? Seems he has been lagging behind his teammates as well as other top drivers. Will he stay with the same crew chief?

Jack Roush is a big fan of moving crew chiefs when things aren’t going right. I’m not saying I’ve heard anything, but if Bob Osborne doesn’t turn things around soon he may very well be out of a job. Roush as a whole had performance issues last season and Carl just hasn’t overcome his slump. It’s hard to say exactly what the issue/s is/are, but something is wrong. If their performance doesn’t improve soon, expect changes on that team. – Journo

2. From Kevin:

TC, regarding Woogeroo’s question about impound races, is Richmond (my favorite track – bit biased on that) an impound race too. If so, why? I guess I will find out in a couple of days.

I don’t know if you found out during the race broadcast or not, but Richmond is not an impound race.  I believe only the Talladega races and the July Daytona races are impound races. – T.C.

3. From Mike:

I’m wondering if you can tell me if Marcos Ambrose will be back in the #47 car next year, 2011?

I don’t see him going anywhere. JTG and Waltrip are certainly pleased with him and there aren’t really any open rides for him to go to, so I’d expect him back there next season. – Journo

4. From Brad:

Any discussion of the Dale Jr. story in the National Enquirer? I’m interested to know if you guys have any scoop….

We don’t know anything more than what was reported.  While it certainly could be classified as “inside” info, even if we did know something more, we wouldn’t share it.  Both myself and my partner leave that type of stuff alone when it comes to writing for the site.  Want rumors and info about the sport and the competition?  We are the right place to stop by.  Rumors and gossip about people’s personal lives is probably best left alone. – T.C.

5. From Allen:

Do you think the Camping World Truck Series is going to eventually become the IROC Series? (i.e disappear)

I don’t think NASCAR will abandon the series, but I do think they need to consider making changes to it. If you remember 10 years ago the stands would be packed at races (that was partly because they were racing at smaller venues in smaller markets), not the case today. The TV audience is good, but the series has its issues. It’ll be interesting to see if NASCAR is willing to try and breath new life into it. – Journo

6. From Marcus:

Is the Air National Guard really sponsoring the #26 Latitude 43 Motorsports car driven by David Stremme? I remember when they 1st ran it at Bristol they said it was for showing what the Air National Guard can do. But 5 races later the decals are still on the car and they have pit suits and everything. Also they are starting to run full races. Just wondering if you guys know because i’m curious. Thanks!

As far as I know, the Latitude 43 team is still not being sponsored by the ANG.  The “tribute” that was run at Bristol was officially extended to include Martinsville as well, but no further announcement has come out regarding their involvement.  You would think that if the ANG did in fact come on board as a sponsor that the team would put out some sort of release, and they haven’t done so.  Maybe they are hoping that by showing some good will towards the ANG that eventually they will help out. – T.C.

7. From BJ:

Watching the truck race on Sunday, with Johnny Benson & his glasses, got me wondering if any other drivers in the big 3 NASCAR divisions have less than 20/20 eyesight. Are there drivers there with contact lenses or laser-corrected vision? What about other kinds of everyday impairments that they have to deal with like diabetes, severe allergies, hearing loss? (I’m not asking you to ‘out’ anybody; just curious if things like that tend to winnow down the talent pool.)

The two examples that come immediately to mind in terms of any kind of impairments are John Wes Townley and Steve Wallace.  Townley used to wear glasses when he drove, but doesn’t anymore.  I believe he has had laser surgery.  And Wallace suffers from Tourrette’s Syndrome.  I’m sure there are many others, but as you might imagine, making that kind of info public would be a tough thing to do.  When it comes to these types of conditions, if it’s something that severely limited a driver’s ability to perform, or could potentially be life threatening, I doubt they would have made it to this level. - T.C.

8. From Michael:

Two questions for you guys: 1) Why do the COTs sometimes have white plastic pieces sticking up from the splitter at times, mostly during practice? What purpose do these plastic pieces serve? 2) Why does Darlington have two pit roads? Thanks TC & Journo!

Those white plastic pieces you see are wear indicators.  It helps the team figure out how low the nose of the car is getting in the corners.  Teams will also spray paint the bottoms of the splitters, so they can see if and where it’s rubbing through the turn.  And Darlington used to be like Bristol is today.  Some cars would pit on the frontstretch, and some on the back.  But in between the 1999 and 2000 seasons, the track extended the frontstretch pit road to include all 43 stalls.  When they did that, they just didn’t take out the old pit road. – T.C.

9. From windowlicker:

As we get close to our first Hall of Fame induction ceremony, I wonder about some of the inductees. In baseball there are tons of Hall of Famers who are considered to be jerks. What do people in racing think of Richard Petty? Is he a nice guy? Good to work for?

I’ll say this, there are people that love Richard Petty and there are people that don’t. I’ve never worked for the man, so I can’t say how that is. He’s certainly a fan favorite, and very good at glad handing. I think it’s important to point out though that Richard Petty isn’t getting into the Hall of Fame because he is universally liked; he’s there because of what he has done in the sport and done for the sport. I don’t think you’ll find anybody who’ll disagree with his inclusion in the first class. – Journo

10. From BJ:

Everyone at my workplace knows who my driver is. I am definitely not a neutral observer of NASCAR. My question is: Do the journalists who cover NASCAR have favorites? I don’t mean does a writer skew his/her pieces to favor a particular team. I mean that with 10 laps to go and a GWC looming do journalists turn into fans? What’s it like to walk that line between remaining an unbiased reporter & secretly needing to stand and cheer for your guy to take the checkers? Without blowing your cover, Journo, can you share any anecdotes of your experiences in balancing work vs. being a fan.

After you’ve been in this sport, or any sport for any length of time athletes lose their luster. In reality they’re pretty normal people. Personally I love NASCAR, and racing in general, so I like a good show and a good story. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think that’s pretty universal. Certainly there are teams and drivers that are more pleasant to work with, but as far as people rooting for someone in particular, that kind of goes out the window. As a result I can’t say I personally have any anecdotes. Sorry. – Journo

11. Neon:

How many more TNI followers were hatched after the Mike Joy plug?

You know, that’s a tough question to answer.  We definitely saw a traffic spike after the mention, and we’ve had several folks send emails and leave comments saying they came to the site because of the mention, but it would be difficult to put a number on it.  Even if it’s only one or two, we’re glad they are here! – 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!

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And then there were three.  Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead are the last remaining races on the 2009 schedule before we put it in the record books.  But before we start the home stretch, we’ve got more of your questions and our somewhat educated answers.  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…

Just a quick follow up from a few weeks back, we were asked what Michael “Fatback” McSwain was up to these days.  We have confirmed that he is running an auto repair shop in Dallas, NC. – T.C.

1. From Kenny:

Do you think some drivers might intentionally spin out just to get screen time for their advertisers? I’m thinking about Robby Gordon here, because he seems to bring out a yellow at least once during every race.

While I don’t think this is going on (if it is Robby is doing a very bad job of it because Jim Beam is leaving at the end of the season), anything is possible. One thing to remember though, is if you’re a company sponsoring a lesser team you go into it knowing that you’re not going to get a lot of TV time. These sponsorships are much larger marketing efforts (that can be said for any team). If they just wanted TV time it would be a lot cheaper to buy TV advertisements. – Journo

2. From Ross:

T.C.: It’s probable that someone on the blog has ripped your driver.  Does that make you cringe a bit when you read it?

Nope, everyone is entitled to their opinions.  I know how things really are with my driver, so outside talk doesn’t bother me.  Besides, maybe we’ve ripped my driver on here too… – T.C.

3. From Bobby#7Fan:

What is the deal with NASCAR giving AJ a breath test before practice Friday?  It seems to me it’s just a way to embarrass him.  Did they really think he was throwing back shots before getting into the car?  I saw Tony Stewart scratch his ass before practice once, did they check him for hemorrhoids?

I’ll be honest with you, I was in favor of NASCAR suspending him, but I thought the breathalyzer was over the top. I really don’t know what the purpose of it was. It was a little press for them, but it really only served to add to AJ’s embarrassment. – Journo

4. From AJ:

I don’t know how to ask this in a question but has a superstar from the Nationwide series ever gone on to win the Cup? Two sets of drivers come to mind for me, Matt Kenseth and Jr, and Truex Jr and Clint Bowyer. Both Jr’s were 2 time nationwide champs, but it was the runner ups Matt and Clint that have gone on to preform better on the Cup level. Same for JJ and Stewart, they never really got their barring in the lower level and it wasn’t until they came to Cup that they excelled in stock cars.

Are you asking if any former “Nationwide” champions (before they went to Cup) have gone on to great success in the Cup Series? Ned Jarrett was a Sportsman Division champion and Bobby Labonte, Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle were all Busch Series champions. It’s an interesting point and one I’ve never really thought about. As of now I guess it really isn’t a great indicator of success in the Cup Series. – Journo

5. From Mike:

Since this week was an impound race many cars and most go or go home cars were probably still on some kind of qualifying setup. Since you know it was probably going to be cancelled can you adjust them back to race trim or is there a stop work time? On a normal week can’t you work on it until right before it goes on the track?

Qualifying trim for an impound race is really only a taped up grill, pumped up air pressures, and some other small adjustments.  Once qualifying is cancelled, NASCAR allows the teams to make final adjustments, which includes taking the car out of qualifying “trim.”  On a normal, non-impound weekend, teams can work on the cars right up until they need to be in line for pre-race inspection on race morning. – T.C.

6. From Lost In Texas:

The firing of the #18 crew chief is bothering me.  Can either of you lend some insight into how something like that happens.  How much did Kyle have to say about it?  Sure would to be a fly on the all at JGR.

I would say the situation differs from team to team. Some drivers have more say about these situations than others. Look at Juan Pablo Montoya. He had three different crew chiefs last season, and I can tell you he wasn’t happy about any of the changes. I honestly can’t tell you internally what the conversation was at JGR, but I’d guess there were pretty lengthy discussions between Jimmy Makar and the Gibbs’. I’m a little skeptical of this move too, but they must think this situation will be better. – Journo

7. From Ric:

I have noticed that some over the wall people wear 1 piece suits, others wear two piece suits. Who decides what you wear? What is the pro / con of both of them? Is there another type?

Some teams decide which kind they want their guys to wear, but in many cases it’s just a preference thing.  Often times when Simpson, Impact, or whoever is making the firesuits does their fittings with the crew guys, they will ask what your preference is.  I’m not really sure of pros vs. cons, it’s really just what a guy thinks is most comfortable.  There is also a three piece, which is pants, a top, and then a vest that goes over the top. – T.C.

8. From Ric:

I noticed on the back bumper about middle to right of the car either a cover (guessing about 3?X3?), or something sticking out slightly from the car. What is this?

This is where they put the rear facing on board cameras.  If the car is carrying it, the camera is mounted there, and if it isn’t carrying one the hole is just covered. – 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!