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With road course racing in the rear view, both the Cup and NNS cars head north to Loudon this week. After what transpired at Infineon, the Magic Mile may play host to a little payback for some drivers. While they ponder their revenge, we’ve got more 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…
1. From Ric:
Do teams inform the NASCAR Pit Road Inspectors what they might be doing to the car so they are not in the way?
It’s certainly not a rule, but often times one of the pit crew guys will let the officials know what’s going on. There are a few that don’t pay attention sometimes, and it’s not uncommon for an official to either get hit, or come very close to getting hit. – T.C.
2. From Christopher:
Maybe this is a little off-topic, but I’ve been watching Inside NASCAR on Showtime this year. I noticed in the first bunch of episodes none of the track radio chatter was censored. Lots of swear words made it through, which I thought was kinda neat- gave you a little more reality than what you hear during the race. All of the sudden, they beep out anything offensive. Not a big deal, just wondering if anyone knows what gives?
You know I noticed that too. And I honestly don’t know why they all of sudden started censoring it. I think it’s probably the only show on Showtime that has any censorship. Perhaps people (within the garage) were complaining about being uncensored, but I don’t know. Sorry. – Journo
3. From Bob:
Here is a question that only Rick Hendrick and NASCAR can answer, but how can Hendrick have Kasey Kahne under contract for 2011 and not be considered his car owner? I can’t think of any scenario that would not somehow include arranging for a sponsor and/or paying the salary directly. Will NASCAR really go for this? Help me out here.
Oh yeah NASCAR will go for this. The issue isn’t Rick Hendrick employing people (he could employee every driver in the garage). It’s Rick Hendrick owning more than four cars. If Kasey is contracted out to someone else (even if Hendrick is still paying him), they are well within the rules. – Journo
4. From John:
Hey guys, love the site. Say a Nationwide Series team gets a sponsor last second during the weekend. Because the series has impound rules, do they have to get permission to wrap the car and when the car has to have the decals applied is there a NASCAR official supervising the process to make sure there’s nothing done to the car on the side?
If it happens that late in a game, all the team has to do is get permission from Joe Balash and the officials to put on decals. And if they are allowed to do it (which they would be), there will most certainly be at least one official there to supervise the team. – T.C.
5. From Floyd:
What was your take on the way Jeff Gordon was driving?? I think that some other drivers would of been penalized for rough driving.
I think the proper penalty would have been for stupid driving. But seriously rough driving isn’t really applicable in this situation. I don’t think he was being malicious, he was just making very poor decisions and unfortunately other teams paid the price. I’m sure Martin Truex Jr. won’t soon forget though. NASCAR wasn’t giving Jeff Gordon any special concessions. He certainly wasn’t alone in his stupid driving this weekend. I heard guys afterward comparing the amount of damage to the cars in the field to Martinsville and Bristol – something you don’t normally see at a place like Sonoma. – Journo
6. From Steve:
The last caution Sunday was (seemingly) due to Keselowski backing onto the racing lane instead of moving forward, a move that I viewed as his attempt to draw a caution which would keep him from losing as many positions than if the race stayed green. The caution likely cost Ambrose the win. I know Ambrose has no recourse but does NASCAR ever take action against drivers who game the system? On road courses, do you know why NASCAR doesn’t use yellow flags the same way the other road racing organizations do, where the yellow applies only to the specific area and not to the entire track? I like Jeff Gordon but to whine one week about somebody pushing him around and then to do the same to others. Am I wrong to think that the standard seems to be simply ‘if it’s done to me, it’s a crime, it I do it to someone else, sorry, but that’s racing’?
To your first question, NASCAR will (and have) penalize cars who they feel intentionally bring out cautions. I think though NASCAR made the right call with Brad K. To the caution question, it’s just the way it is. They do give quite a bit of leeway to cars straightening themselves out, but I agree it can be a bit daunting with larger courses (Road America for instance). The policy does make it safer for all safety crews involved however. And to the Jeff Gordon question, well, I’m not going there. – Journo
7. From MS:
What is NASCAR’s rationale behind using carbs instead of injection? Are teams in favor of going to injection?
This is one of those “we’ve always done it this way” situations. There is not a rational reason for why NASCAR hasn’t changed. And I think it doesn’t really matter to the teams whether they use carbs or injection. Injection will certainly cost the engine builders a little more money, because they need to re-tune engines, but it won’t be a huge deal. – T.C.
8. From Marcus:
Being this is sort-of an opinion based site I have a different type of question for you guys. After watching what unfolded during the last 7-8 laps at Infineon do believe that NASCAR gives wins to Jimmie Johnson? Let me explain. When Brad Keselowski spun they called a caution with 7 laps to go. Now all day cars had been spinning and they didnt call a caution. Even after Johnson got the lead 3 more cars spun. Then under caution Marcos Ambrose stopped on track when he was trying to save fuel. NASCAR then pulls out this rule that NASCAR fans had never heard of but the NASCAR community has heard of. They put Marcos Ambrose in 6th I believe and then wind down the laps to 5 to go. Thus ensuring that Jimmie wins. So that is why I asked you, Do you guys believe that NASCAR gives Jimmie Johnson wins? Because after a situation like that I certainly do. And I did before. For Instance “Jimmie Cautions”? Just wondering.
As we have said here before, NASCAR does not benefit from Jimmie Johnson winning every other race and the last four championships. If anything, it would have benefited them more to have Ambrose win. A foreign driver gettting his first ever Cup win would have been a big story. So all this talk about NASCAR favoring Johnson is crazy. The officials just made the call they needed to make in this particular situation, and Johnson happened to be the one who benefited. There is no underlying conspiracy at work here. - T.C.
I agree with T.C. – Journo
9. From Michael in SoCal:
Nascar.com lists the owner of the 24 & 88 as Rick Hendrick, the owner of the 48 is Jeff Gordon, and the owner of the 5 is Mary Hendrick. That said, obviously all of these cars are ‘owned’ by Hendrick Motor Sports. So does the listed owner come into play in any way with the 4 car per team limit?
No not at all. All of Jack Roush’s cars don’t have Jack Roush listed as the owner either. Same at Childress, Gibbs, Penske, EGR etc. What matters is what organization really owns and operates the cars. – Journo
Sad to see what happened to Ambrose and I am not here to necessarily to defend him, but maintaining the pace car speed rule and its enforcement leaves me a bit perplexed. Marcos obviously stopped when the engine would not turn over momentarily causing him to fall below the pace car speed. As no warning was given by NASCAR like “hey 47 you better get up here and keep your position,” how is that any different than others that have exceeded pace car speed and actually passed the pace car, only to be told to back and get back in line, or else. Or better yet during the caution when the leader on an oval slows near the pit entrance commitment cone, is passed on track by one or more cars that stayed out, only to void his pit, stay out and accelerate back up to the rear bumper of the pace car.
Ambrose was not allowed to pull back into his original position because he pretty much stopped on the track and had to restart the engine. I’m not sure you can really compare this situation to the others you mentioned. I’m not sure I remember seeing an instance where a car purposely passed the pace car trying to gain some sort of advantage, only to be told to go back behind. Usually the only cars that need to pass the pace car are the lucky dogs. Also, when a car is faking to pit road, they don’t usually come to a complete stop. Ambrose was attempting to save fuel under the caution, and he got bit. It’s really as simple as that. – 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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There was an interesting post by our friend John Daly today over at The Daly Planet regarding Showtime’s weekly NASCAR show, Inside NASCAR (see it here). Apparently since it’s inception, many fans have been angry that such a great NASCAR show is only available on a premium channel; especially since SPEED canceled their weekly show, This Week In NASCAR, in the off season. Fans have expressed their feelings about the show on a few different posts by Daly, and many have used Inside NASCAR’s Facebook page as a place to voice their displeasure.
We had some discussion with a few folks today on Twitter about the situation, and between that and reading all of the fan responses, I thought a post with my two cents was in order.
Inside NASCAR is one of the few racing related shows I do have the opportunity to watch on a regular basis. Since I have Showtime, I often check it out. The show is taped in the NASCAR Media Group’s studios, which are a part of the complex that will house the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. The show has much of that Media Group flair we’ve gushed about in the past. Inside NASCAR is hosted by Chris Myers, Brad Dougherty, Randy Pemberton, and Michael Waltrip, and features a race recap, interviews, analysis, and features. In my own opinion, it’s a solid show that has a lot to offer, even if it does have a few quirks and issues.
With the demise of SPEED’s TWIN, it appears much of the anger from fans revolves around the fact that the only way to see Inside NASCAR is to subscribe to Showtime. And that’s a problem because Showtime is a premium movie channel that often adds a significant charge to monthly cable or satellite bills.
My response to those folks who won’t subscribe to Showtime, but still demand to be able to see the show?
Tough.
Showtime is a television network that makes it’s revenue from subscriber fees. When you watch the channel, there is no advertising. And as such, it’s the job of Showtime’s management to create and bring content to the channel that is compelling and will make people want to pay extra for access to the channel. Besides movies, their own series, and other sports programming, Showtime, in conjunction with the NASCAR Media Group, developed Inside NASCAR to add to their inventory. The network also carries the similarly formatted “Inside The NFL” series.
The most common solution offered by angered fans is for NASCAR and Showtime to put episodes of Inside NASCAR online where they can be downloaded for free. But by doing so, Showtime relinquishes the value the show provides. If a viewer can just download the episodes for free, then they won’t need to subscribe to Showtime. And by not having to subscribe to Showtime, the network ends up engaging in a losing proposition by producing the show. So my question to these fans, is what does Showtime owe you, and why should they allow you to consume their content for free?
I understand that many of you miss having a weekly program dedicated to breaking down the previous weekend. But NASCAR, SPEED, Showtime, or any other network are under no obligation to offer you NASCAR programming for free just because you are a NASCAR fan. This whole thing is after all, a business. If having a weekly NASCAR show is a money making endeavor, then you’ll have what you want - if it isn’t, like in the case of SPEED and TWIN, then it goes away. Don’t forget too that both SPEED and ESPN are premium pay channels as well. They may not be as expensive as Showtime, but their business models are very similar.
Something else that bothers me about some of the fan comments, are those people that say this is just another way for NASCAR to squeeze more money out of the fans. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Many folks almost make it sound like there was some back door, shady meeting where SPEED, Showtime, and NASCAR all got together to move TWIN to Showtime, give it a new name, and charge a gazillion dollars for it. Unfortunately for them, this just isn’t true. Showtime does pay rights fees to NASCAR for the show, but so does ESPN/ABC, FOX, and SPEED for their respective programming. The difference is that Showtime is 100% supported by their subscriber revenue, while the other networks rely more on advertising. The reason NASCAR charges those rights fees, is because they own the racing. Just like Showtime, NASCAR creates content/entertainment (i.e. the racing), and they charge for the access to watch. You may not always have to pay a direct cost to consume that content, but an exchange is occurring.
I’m probably going to get blasted by some of you about the opinions I’ve shared here, but that’s fine. I understand the passion, and I understand that you want as much NASCAR as you can get. I don’t blame you for either, in fact I’m grateful to you for it because it keeps me and many others employed. Don’t forget though that the entertainment NASCAR provides is a product that has a cost, not a right that you are entitled to.