Since 1994 the Brickyard 400 has stood apart as one of the premier events on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Winning on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a dream for most racecar drivers. And on Sunday the track delivered twice giving Paul Menard not just a Brickyard 400 victory, but his first ever Cup Series win (the first ever, first-time winner at the Brickyard).
The last 50 laps of the 400 were some of the more interesting I’ve seen at the track. There were two packs, two ideas and it was really anybody’s race. Eventually it was the kid who spent much of his life around the track watching a different kind of racing, crossing the bricks first. It was hard not to be excited for Menard.
The extraordinary thing about Sunday’s finish was that Menard became the 14th different winner and the fourth different first-time winner of the season. Those aren’t record breaking numbers just yet (19 in 1956 and 2001), but it is, I think, a testament to strength of competition in the sport right now. In addition to those 14, there is a long list of drivers with the means to win who haven’t.
Menard’s win also adds him to the list of drivers competing for the Chase’s two wild card slots. There are currently six different winners outside of the top-10 in points (Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne – who of course is not eligible for the Chase). Of those six, four are eligible and in the requisite top-20 in the points. Right now it’s Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard who make the cut.
So far, this season has been one to remember. With 16 races left and just six until the start of the Chase, I doubt we’ve seen the end to the 2011 surprises. Stay tuned.
Feel free to use this as your Brickyard and 2011 season sound off post. What did you think about Paul Menard’s first win? How about the parity we’ve seen so far this season? Do you think we can beat the record of 19 different winners? Talk amongst yourselves.
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The Indiana Business Journal reported this week that Crown Royal may be in negotiations with Indianapolis Motor Speedway to become the title sponsor of the Brickyard 400 weekend. According to their report the deal could be the richest title sponsorship in NASCAR at around $1.5 million annually. The multi-year deal could be announced in as soon as two weeks at the upcoming 400. If true, it would make the recent moves made by IMS make a lot more sense.
It was announced officially last week that the Nationwide Series would not return to Lucas Oil Raceway Park in 2012, and instead would shift over to IMS as part of the Brickyard 400 weekend. Also a part of the event, IMS has added a GRAND-AM Series race on the track’s road course. Both moves now appear to be an effort by IMS to sweeten the deal for Crown Royal. With waning attendance in recent years, the track had to do something to justify a price tag north of $1 million.
This report comes just two weeks after Crown Royal announced it would not return to Roush Fenway Racing next season as sponsor of Matt Kenseth’s #17 Ford. Along with their team sponsorship, Crown Royal had also been a title sponsor at Richmond with their “Your Name Here” 400 program. The announcement had some interesting phrasing regarding the future of this part of their NASCAR program:
The changes are made to allow Diageo to shift resources toward its annual “Your Name Here” program, in which Crown Royal awards naming rights to a Sprint Cup event to an adult fan, recently with a military background. “We look forward to elevating this program as well as continuing our presence in the sport through an experience that our fans have grown to love,” Briese said. Details about next year’s race sponsorship will be announced at a later date, she added. The “Your Name Here” event has traditionally been held at Richmond International Raceway, but there was no information immediately available Tuesday as to what track would host the race in 2012 and beyond.
The changes are made to allow Diageo to shift resources toward its annual “Your Name Here” program, in which Crown Royal awards naming rights to a Sprint Cup event to an adult fan, recently with a military background. “We look forward to elevating this program as well as continuing our presence in the sport through an experience that our fans have grown to love,” Briese said.
Details about next year’s race sponsorship will be announced at a later date, she added. The “Your Name Here” event has traditionally been held at Richmond International Raceway, but there was no information immediately available Tuesday as to what track would host the race in 2012 and beyond.
Knowing what we know now, it would appear that Crown Royal may be preparing to use the Brickyard sponsorship to escalate the “Your Name Here” program.
The loss of the NNS and Truck events from LORP has been an unpopular move (we wrote about it here and here). Initially, the move appeared to just be IMS attempting to boost fading ticket sales. But now, the changes make a lot more sense. While the track certainly hopes to see a boost at the gates, the added races make the sponsorship deal much more valuable for Crown Royal.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to one of the greatest traditions in all of motorsports. The prestige of the place and the events surrounding it made it a perfect fit for the up-and-coming NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1994. 200,000 spectators showed up that first year – in 2007 the number was 270,000.
17 years later NASCAR at Indy is struggling to find the magic it once had. The racing has never been that good, and attendance has been on the decline – down to 140,000 last year, still reeling from the tire debacle in 2008. With that in mind officials with IMS and NASCAR have been looking for ways to add value to the event.
In recent weeks that talk has centered around the addition of a Grand-Am Rolex Series event and potentially the Nationwide Series at the big track. The idea being, the more events, the bigger draw. Helping the case too is a guaranteed $700,000 payday for the Nationwide event.
Adding the Grand Am Series to Indy is, at least on the surface, a good fit – there is a great road course at IMS used for years by F1 and MotoGP. For the Nationwide cars though, the idea of a shift from Lucas Oil Raceway Park is a little cringe worthy.
The Nationwide cars have been at LROP every year since 1982. The short track always provides great races and great racing. While it would certainly be a novelty to see the cars at IMS, the racing is sure to be lacking.
With the Brickyard just a few weeks away, it’s interesting to think about not just whether or not the Nationwide cars should be there, but whether or not the Cup cars should be there. Certainly even in the worst year the Brickyard has produced attendance numbers any sport would envy. Still, with limited passing ability, the racing has always been lacking.
I think it important for a sanctioning body to occasionally evaluate the quality of its events. When those events reach a point that fan interest is clearly waning, perhaps it comes time to reconsider them. Perhaps, just perhaps, NASCAR is reaching that point with the Brickyard.
Sometimes it’s better to admit when things aren’t working and look for successful solutions than it is beat a dead horse – I’m not sure which they’re doing here.
Filed under: Tony Stewart, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IRL, Indianapolis 500
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Filed under: IRL, Indianapolis 500
It’s back to the Irish Hills this week as NASCAR rolls into Michigan International Speedway and inches closer to the start of the Chase. But before we head to Brooklyn (Michigan that is), it’s time to answer your questions! 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:
“Fortunately for Pattie and Montoya, Chip Ganassi isn’t Jack Roush.” …..What do you mean?
Jack Roush has an affinity for not letting driver/crew chief relationships run their course (though Bob Osborne has made it longer, his second time around, than some of his peers). Jack’s not a patient man – he wants fast results, and if things aren’t happening within his time frame he tends to quickly make changes (ask Jimmy Fennig, Drew Blickensderfer, Todd Parrott etc.). My point was to say driver/crew chief relationships take time to develop – if Montoya and Pattie were at Roush there is a chance they wouldn’t have made it. – Journo
2. From Rob:
What is the proper etiquette in the garage w/ hot passes?? Thanks guys love the site..
The most important thing is to make sure you’re wearing the proper attire. Long pants, closed-toe shoes, and sleeves (short ones are fine) are a must. Beyond that, just make sure you’re always paying attention to what’s going on around you, and try to stay out of the way of those at work. Oh and have fun! – Journo
3. From Franq:
What would it take to make the Brickyard race into a road race using the excellent F1 course. I think this would put some life into an ever increasing boring race?
An act of Congress maybe? Seriously though I don’t think NASCAR has any interest in turning the Brickyard into a road course race. I don’t think it’s a bad idea; certainly the folks at IMS need to do something to bring life back to the race. I think though making it a road race would diminish NASCAR’s role at IMS – that is to say it would put them on different footing than the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. It would send the message that NASCAR can’t cut it on the big track, so they’re experimenting. Just my two cents. – Journo
4. From Sam:
I may be in the minority, but I really enjoy the road course races. I’ve noticed many oval tracks with two races also have road courses which use most of the oval but add some infield twisties. Has nascar ever considered using the oval for the spring race and the road course for the fall race, or vice versa. It would be an interesting way of introducing “new” tracks without really changing the schedule at all.
I’m with you, I love the road course races. They provide such a nice change of pace. Remember though NASCAR is primarily an oval racing series. Changing that changes the spirit of the sport. It would be interesting, but as you said there are a good number of people who don’t like seeing NASCAR go left and right. I think they would risk alienating a large segment of fans. – Journo
5. From Dwiltone:
I know that the teams use road race cars at Watkins Glen and Infineon. That aside. In my feeble mind I think that in some ways , setting up a car for a road course would be easier than for an oval track. One situation where lefty righty tighty loosey would equal out. Any insight on my theory? Keep up the good work on the Web site. I read it every week.
I’m not really sure you can say setting up for one is easier then the other. Both styles of tracks have their challenges that must be overcome. For NASCAR teams, road courses may have a slight edge just for the simple fact that we only race on them a few times a year. – T.C.
6. From Doug in CA:
As I watched the Busch race from the Glen today, I noted that some cars are listed as being “out” of the race, while others are merely “off.” Are teams supposed to notify NASCAR when they have decided to pack it in for the day? P.S. LOVE that road racing!
Yes, when a team decides to retire from a race, they have to let a NASCAR official know. The official will then let race control know the team is out of the race. When a team is listed as “off” they are just in the garage working on the car. – T.C.
7. From Garry:
Is it my imagination, or are pit stops backwards at The Glen? It looks like they are coming in and going out the wrong direction. If this is true, how does that affect the way you guys operate..(if i am imagining this..then never mind; )… And could you please explain what the heck was the deal with Kyle Bush having to fix something at the start? Why wouldn’t this be something they had taken care of already? I tell ya…. following along at home by picking a fantasy team each week really makes it more personal … DANG IT!!
Yes, the teams pit the cars backwards at Watkins Glen. I wrote a post all about it in 2008 (click here). Kyle Busch’s team had an issue with their right side weights before the race at the Glen. They were not secured as they should have been, and the weights were sliding back and forth in the tube. Incidents like this can get guys fired. – T.C.
8. From Mark:
How does the pit crew line up stud holes on wheel and stud so quickly? What is the I.D. of hole compared to O.D. of stud?
The tire carriers use a piece of tape as a reference point that allows them to know exactly where the stud holes are on the wheel. Check out this classic TNI blog post for more info. And to be honest, I’m not sure what exactly the difference is between the stud and the stud hole. It’s not much, whatever it is. – T.C.
9. From Steve:
If a driver goes into the pits during the pre-race pace laps (like Kyle Busch at the Glen), does he lose laps if he doesn’t come out before the pace car completes each lap? Or does he simply start at the back on the same lap as everybody else?
Pace laps are not official race laps, so a team would not lose any laps. They will however have to start at the rear of the field. Also, teams are not allowed to add fuel during pace laps. – T.C.
10. From Eddie:
Wasn’t Mark Martin supposed to retire after the 2005 season? Will he finally retire after 2011? I like Mark Martin, but what motivated him to come back to race full time after making retirement announcements like Brett Farve?
Hahaha, Brett Favre. Well that’s a new one. There was an announcement (from Mark) though. I think he just realized there was still a lot of fight left in him, and he wouldn’t be content sitting on his couch watching races. Will he retire after 2011? That’s something you’d have to ask him. I honestly don’t know. At least he’s not waffling like Favre. When he got back in, he got back in. – Journo
11. From Marcus:
When GE Reveal, Philps Norelco, Suave, and AXE Twist sponsor Jamie McMurray are thay really sponsoring him or is it Target “showcasing” their different brands they offer? Jayski put it as “Philips Norelco sponsoring McMurray at Michigan”. Ganassi also does this in Indy Cars with Franchitti. Being he is sponsored by Target, I am asking this. I know it’s kind of a weird question but I am just curious.
Not a weird question at all – in fact I’m impressed you even noticed. Those deals are facilitated through Target, but those sponsors pay EGR to be on the car. It’s like Target provides Ganassi a marketplace of sponsors. Beyond those one-race deals though Target does have a very successful affiliate program with EGR and CGR (that’s why you’ll see Kimberly-Clark or Unilever products on JPM’s quarter panels when they’re running Target colors). Companies pay Target to get better placement in store and in advertisements and they also get the perk of Target’s motorsports program. It’s a win-win for all involved. And from what I’ve heard, Target’s affiliate program more or less pays for the sponsorship. – Journo
12. From Billy:
What are your thoughts on Bill Jenkins and Latitude 43 Motorsports?
I’m guessing you are referring to the recent revelations that Bill Jenkins doesn’t seem to be paying his drivers. This is a very small team, with extremely limited resources that is just trying to make it to the next week. You can’t really fault their efforts, as at least they aren’t start and parking. But when money starts running out, the first people to suffer are the drivers and employees. This is a very common tale in racing. The list of drivers and crew guys that have been screwed out of money by a team owner would probably circle the earth. If Jenkins can’t afford to pay his drivers however, it’s probably easy to assume the end is near for the team. - T.C.
13. From Rowan:
How good is Marcos Ambrose rated as a serious Cup racer by other teams and fans and what is the likelyhood of him having a Cup drive for next season? I think his Cup drive at Watkins Glenn was awesome and probably his best performance I have seen. Thanks and regards…. an aussie Marcos fan
Marcos is certainly regarded as a legitimate driver in the Cup Series. He showed flashes last season that he could get it done on ovals, but he’s just been the victim of a lot of bad luck this season. I think it is very likely he will land with another Cup team for the 2011 season and beyond, with the most likely candidate being Richard Petty Motorsports. - T.C.
14. From Tom Skaggs:
I read this article a few years ago. The question I have is that it appears that Jamie McMurray is paying team expenses (payroll) out of his own pocket. I can understand paying agents, handlers et cetera, but is it common for drivers to be paying for team expenses? I’d assume that team owners would be paying these expenses.
I’m not sure what you read in this article that makes you think McMurray is paying team expenses. This article is referring to some savings that McMurray had frozen for a time due to a bank fraud investigation. Drivers don’t cover any team expenses with their earnings. Many drivers have their own companies and organizations to help manage their careers, and they are obviously responsible for those expenses, but not for the teams they drive for. – 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!
Two weeks, two problems and frustrations again boiled over on the radio between Juan Pablo Montoya and his crew chief Brian Pattie.
With the four tire stop that cost them the race at the Brickyard still fresh in their minds, Montoya entered the pits for a late race stop at Pocono. As he pulled in his box he rolled just ever slightly forward screwing up the teams rhythm and costing them time and positions.
What resulted was a 17 second pit stop and a profanity laced tirade that included Pattie telling Montoya he needed to go to Charlotte and practice pit stops, and Montoya telling Pattie, “Screw you!” He further blamed Pattie for making a bad call.
On the surface this appears to be the beginning of the end for the Pattie, Montoya relationship. Tension is building and that is evident in these select interactions between the two. Still, despite all the trouble the two have had this season I don’t think things aren’t quite as bad as they seem.
Juan Pablo Montoya is known for his temper, and his spectacular (I say sarcastically) ability to express his opinion and frustration – normally it involves an ‘f’ and a ‘you’.
Brian Pattie on the other hand is about as cool, calm and collected as they come. The difference in their personalities is one of the reasons I believe they have had such a productive (though not as successful as they would have liked) relationship.
It can’t be denied this hasn’t been a great season for team #42. They’ve had just four top-fives and sit 21st in the points. Most damaging of all, Montoya has had seven DNFs. On top of that it doesn’t look very good that his teammate Jamie McMurray has already had two wins in his inaugural season with EGR.
This was Montoya’s season to shine. Now he’s being outshined. Add that to some missed opportunities because of what turned out to be wrong decisions and Montoya is not very happy with his racing – and that’s translating to frustration with Pattie.
That brings us to the million dollar question: what does that mean for Brian Pattie and JPM going down the road? Is this the beginning of the end?
I don’t think so. No doubt this is a rough patch in their relationship. But I think the progress that has been made and the relationship that has been built is too valuable to give up on.
Fortunately for Pattie and Montoya, Chip Ganassi isn’t Jack Roush. And through the rough spots there have been moments of near triumph. It’s a matter of consistency and good luck, and right now the #42 team is struggling.
Given the right circumstances this is a team and combination that can be successful – I think outside the fleeting moments of anger all parties involved know that.
Filed under: David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup, Michael Waltrip Racing, NASCAR
Filed under: David Reutimann, Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Lowes Motor Speedway, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Joey Logano, IRL, Indianapolis 500, NASCAR
Filed under: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IRL, Danica Patrick, Indianapolis 500
Danica Patrick Booed, Struggles in Qualifying at Indianapolis originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 22 May 2010 21:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.