Two Chase races down, eight to go. While the Truck Series is off this weekend, the Cup and NNS cars head west to Kansas. While we work through another week, here is the 94th 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…
1. From Ric:
Was there any advantage to Tony coasting down the front stretch, versus turning into pit road?
Well, he still needed to cross the line to register on the scoring as having completed the last lap. And the turn in for the garage area is well before the start finish line at Loudon, so pulling down pit road wouldn’t have made sense. At the point he was at, there were definitely no advantages left to be had. – T.C.
2. From DMan:
At Loudon on the last lap, or rather I should say Stewart’s last lap, ESPN showed about a half second’s worth of Hamlin giving Stewart a little push. It was my understanding that it was against NASCAR rules to assist another car on the last lap. Why was there no penalty to Hamlin or Stewart? Or am I splitting hairs?
I think you are splitting hairs a bit. Hamlin had already crossed the line at that point, and Stewart wasn’t going to improve his position over another car by getting a little aid. So really, no harm, no foul. – T.C.
3. From Michael in SoCal:
How do spotters communicate with other spotters during the race? If they’re constantly watching out for and advising their driver, how do they find other spotters to talk to and get in a couple of words to pass along messages? Thanks! You’re a daily read.
The spotters stand isn’t exactly a large space, and you have to remember that for the most part, these guys spend weekend after weekend up there with the same 42 other guys. They get to know each other pretty well. So when there is a message to be conveyed, all they have to do is step over to the other spotter and make their point. Obviously if they are at Daytona or Talladega, or in a tight battle, the spotter probably won’t take the chance, but there are plenty of opportunities during a race to do so. – T.C.
4. From Joe:
I noticed one of the people on survivor called Chase is a jackman on a pro race team,do you know him? Since Bowyer’s car got caught why not check Harvick’s and Burton’s? I doubt there’s any difference between any of their cars. It may explain why Harvick is running way better this year than he was last year.
The guy on Survivor is Chase Rice. He was a linebacker for the University of North Carolina football team, and after he graduated, he joined Hendrick Motorsports. Before he went on the show, he was a developmental jackman who’d spent some time in ARCA and the Nationwide Series. And don’t worry, NASCAR is keeping a very watchful eye on all the RCR cars. Remember that RCR was warned following Richmond about some of the measurements, so NASCAR is well aware that they are trying to push the limits a bit. In any case though, it’s not fair to say that RCR’s performance gains have been made through cheating. I do believe they have made legitimate improvements to their program. – T.C.
5. From Lost in NASCAR:
Got to wonder about this penalty to the 33. i would like to know from NASCAR what the advantage was to the 33 car. I am not in favor of cheating, but there seems to be something wrong with this whole story. Do you think that someone “RATTED” out the 33 to NASCAR to start them looking in that direction? If not, how come they took the car to the research center? I have been around the sport as a fan long enough to have seen some real cheaters.
From what we know about the problem, it would appear that doing something like this would be to gain some sort of aerodynamic advantage. Don’t forget that NASCAR warned the #33 following the race at Richmond, that they were close on some of the measurements. This didn’t come out of nowhere. And Bowyer’s car wasn’t taken back to the R&D center out of the blue. NASCAR routinely takes the winning car back to Concord with them for a more in depth inspection. – T.C.
6. From BB:
Thanks for the great blog and frequent posts; still the best one for in depth information……..just wondering how things are going in terms of sponsors, stability, finances etc at MWR. They have come a long way in a couple of years, but still seem pretty low profile. Also, how likely is TRB to stick with Toyota?
Thanks BB! As far as I know things at MWR are pretty good. Raceworld USA (or I think they’re just calling it Michael Waltrip Racing these days) was an expensive venture that put the team in a bad position. With the involvement of Rob Kauffman and other business partners the financial stability of the team is much improved. They’ve got the sponsorship from NAPA (and they love Michael) and of course Aarons. They definitely have come a long way in the last several years – and lets be honest, look much better than their fellow inaugural Toyota team, Red Bull. I think TBR returning to Toyota next year is pretty good – I haven’t heard anything to the contrary. - Journo
7. From Christopher:
After hearing Bowyer’s “tow truck” excuse for being over the limit on size of part of his car by such a tiny amount, I got to thinking. After even minor bumping against other cars, which happens to everyone… I would imagine MOST cars are dented and banged up enough to technically be outside the rules, even though they started within the legal limits. I’d imagine, for example, after just a little bump drafting, you’d knock your car in or out 1/16 inch. How does NASCAR take this into account when testing cars post-race?
During the inspection process NASCAR takes into account on-track damage. Cars don’t have to fit templates in the post race inspection. They also have a ton of data that will help them in determining where things should be. In the situation of the tow-truck, NASCAR’s engineers actually looked at data from similar tow-truck damage incidents and determined it was unlikely the tow-truck could have caused this particular issue (this was actually addressed in the teleconference on Wednesday). - Journo
8. From Brent:
The 33 car did not pass the height stick measurement after the race. My question is, do the chassis adjustments made during the race affect this measurement, such as wedge (corner jacking), and tire pressure? Or do they somehow measure the body relative to the chassis instead of to the ground?
When did the #33 not pass height sticks? The penalty they were given was for a body measurement made at the R&D center, not for not passing height sticks. In any case, no, the teams must keep the height sticks in mind when making adjustments during the race. The measurement is taken from the ground to the car’s body. The car must pass both pre and post race. – T.C.
9. From old9fan
Hi guys, love your website! As a long time NASCAR fan, I noticed something recently. Most of the tracks have count down cones, 3-2-1, as a aid for drivers. Pocono has always had the number. But I haven’t recalled seeing them before this season. Is this a new practice for the tracks and are they adjusted for series that is currently running a race? If so, why? Thank you!
Thanks old9fan! You know I have noticed that too, but I’m not sure if it’s a new thing. The practice definitely helps drivers, and spotters – and it’s possible NASCAR has asked the tracks to start doing this. Sorry I can’t be of more help. – Journo
10. From Kev:
As a relative newcomer to studying NASCAR racing closely – I’ve had a casual interest for years – I need help understanding some of it. I thought the Lucky Dog and the run around were the same thing but in the Nationwide Dover 200 the commentators told who had the Lucky Dog and who had the run around. The difference is?
Okay, here we go. First, we will deal with the lucky dog. Instead of having cars race back to the yellow like in the old days, NASCAR instituted the lucky dog so that cars still had the chance to get laps back. When a caution comes out, the highest scored car that is a lap (or laps) down gets to pass the pace car and get a lap back, as long as they were not involved in the caution. They have to still pit with the lap down cars, and they must start at the tail end of the longest line. The wave around was brought in with the double file restarts. When a caution comes out, IF all the lead lap cars come to pit road, that leaves all the lap down cars behind the pace car, but in front of the lead lap cars after they exit pit road. If they choose, these lap down cars can not come to pit road, and with one lap to go under yellow, NASCAR will let them pass the pace car and get a lap back. So that is why you heard the TV guys talking about both the lucky dog and the wave around cars. – T.C.
11. From Michael:
“Now I won’t comment on the validity of Hamlin’s comments, but they got him into trouble.” Why won’t you? Failed communication is never good. By adding the “but they got him into trouble” would suggest that it was false. I see no reason you can not, or will not, comment on if the “everybody garage area knew what RCR was doing” remark. Maybe you are protecting RCR. I am not the “insider”. I want to know who was in the grassy knoll. When I read your newsletter, rarely am I left with more questions than answers. Monday’s issue left me scratching my head.
I knew this was going to bite me. Does it suggest that what Denny said was false? More than anything I didn’t want the discussion on the post to spiral into whether or not people believed what Denny had to say. I wanted to preface that I was not going to be talking about it. I promise you I’m not protecting RCR, my opinions on the matter were just irrelevant for the post. If it makes you feel better about the situation, just pretend like that section of that sentence isn’t there. - Journo
12. From Scott:
Hey Guys, As always, love the site and read all the posts. Fantastic job to both of you. My question is about Team Red Bull. Given Brian Vickers health issues this year and the questions about who will be the second driver or if a second car is even a possibility is Team Red Bull back to square one? Currently, both cars are locked into the points and probably will stay that way until the end of the year. This speaks volumes for the team behind the scenes however not having the presence of a veteran driver like Vickers race in and race out must have some kind of effect right? Will be the 2011 race season be a rebulding year or is there enough juice left to give that team wings?
The issue at Red Bull is not whether there will be two cars, it’s whether it will be three cars, and if it’s just two cars, who will be in them. Obviously Kasey Kahne will be in a car next year, but if Vickers’ health keeps him sidelined will Red Bull keep Scott Speed? Or if Vickers does return do they keep Speed and create a third team for Kahne? I personally think there are issues at Red Bull that start at the top. It sounds like the folks in Austria are starting to make changes there - whether that has a dramatic effect on the team’s performance remains to be seen. They certainly have the resources to be a good team, but there are issues that need to be remedied before that can happen. - 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!
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The Cup teams get their final off weekend of the season, but there won’t be a shortage of racing action this week. The Truck Series is off to Chicagoland Speedway, and the Nationwide teams head north of the border to tackle the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. 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 Justin:
Thanks for a great site. Have you heard anything about why Scott Wimmer cannot get a decent ride in the Nationwide series? He has a lot of success in the past. What is the knock against him if any?
Thanks Justin! I think Wimmer’s problem is not so unsimilar to a large number of racecar drivers. He’s getting older, his performance was never spectacular and he doesn’t have funding. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not bad, you certainly know what you’re getting with Wimmer, but he’s not necessarily the kind of driver big teams are going to be willing to take a risk on at this point. – Journo
2. From Dave:
Does the first start and park team still face the rigorous “just because” tear down process that some cars went through at the start of the season?
Yes, NASCAR continues to tear down start and park teams like they were doing earlier in the year. This week, the #55 of Michael McDowell was the first car out of the race and NASCAR took their engine back to the R&D center. – T.C.
3. From Jamie:
You guys tweeted free beer at RCR. So do one or both of you work for RCR?
You caught us… Just kidding. I’m not sure where you saw that tweet, but it wasn’t on our twitter feed. Because of the nature of the site we’ll never disclose where we work, and we certainly wouldn’t be that obvious. – Journo
4. From Dan:
Hey Guys, According to the results of the Saturday night Bristol race the #48 car was listed as running at the end of the race with 415 laps completed. Why would Johnson stay on track after he couldn’t gain any more points? Hamlin who finished one position ahead had 58 more laps completed. Johnson was well ahead of Conway, who finished behind him, with only 212 laps completed and no threat to Johnson losing a position. Seemed odd considering it was Bristol, since a lot of chaos can go on there nearing the end of the race.
Well first, you never retire from a race if you can help it, because you never know what may happen. Johnson was involved in the wreck around lap 260 or 265, which means there was still half the race in which something could go wrong for somebody else and he could gain more points. Second, even once you mathematically cannot gain any more spots, you keep running for pride (for lack of a better word). You don’t want that dreaded DNF on your record and you never give up, even when you know it’s over. And finally, sponsors are paying your team to get exposure for them, and that can’t be done with a car loaded on the hauler. I personally commend them for running until the finish. – T.C.
5. From brotherflounder:
What do you think of Kyle Busch winning the triple?
I thought it was a cool moment, certainly something historic. Is Kyle winning in the Nationwide and Truck Series much of a feat? Not really. But still, to be able to do all that in one weekend is nothing to sneeze at – which is why no one has done it before. – Journo
The last race of the season is upon us. Come Sunday night, the 2009 season will be over. But what won’t end, is Ask The Insiders Wednesday. We’ve got our 50th batch of questions and answers for you. 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…
1. From Nick:
The last time I was @ Hendrik Motorsports, Jeff Gordon’s “T-Rex” car wasn’t there. Do you know where they moved it?
I have absolutely no idea. Was it in the museum? I’m sure they try to rotate the cars in the museum to keep things fresh. Too, the museum was redone earlier this year, so they might have changed some things out. – Journo
2. From Big Mike:
I don’t understand how an experienced winner in all three series of ARCA, Trucks, and Nationwide, Rookie of the Year, 3 Cup Poles, can be overlooked for any job in any series. I’m speaking of Scott Riggs. Scott’s a great driver who doesn’t go around with a swelled head. He’s a clean driver 99% of the time and would do a great job for any team. Do you think the fact that he was man enough to stand up and admit on the air that Tommy Baldwin asked him to start and park has hurt his chances to secure another ride? Let’s face it the last 5-6 cars every week who squeeze in and have no chance of winning are there to rip off the gate. So what is your take on Scott’s future?
I haven’t heard a thing about Scott Riggs and as far as I know he isn’t really very visible around the garage. The problem is there are a glut of drivers and not enough rides. Unless you’re bringing with you money or proven talent (and money) it’s going to be hard to find a ride. I don’t think there were any hard feelings over the TBR deal. Tommy just realized he couldn’t afford to keep running the full races and starting and parking wasn’t something Scott wanted to do. As far as Scott goes though I haven’t heard anything about him for 2010. He may be working on something, he may not. – Journo
3. From Savannah:
Here is a what if question. Since Dale Jr has struggled this year, do you think that Rick Hendrick considered moving a successful crew chief, ala Chad Knaus, to the 88 team for next year? Even with the recent crew chief change, Dale Earnhardt has not improved as quickly as some fans hoped. Just curious if you think that this option was considered.
If it was considered I would think it was for only a fleeting moment. Rick Hendrick is not the type to kill a successful pairing like Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson. Was it thought about? I’m sure every scenario was considered, but I doubt this was a likely solution. – Journo
4. From Dave:
When NASCAR takes a team’s car to Concord for further inspection, how does it get there? Does NASCAR take it on one of their haulers or does the team? Once there how does the team get it back if NASCAR releases it? Y’all have done a great job all year and I hope this continues after the season ends.
NASCAR has transporters they use to take the cars from the track to Concord. After they’ve finished inspecting the car you get to come get it yourself (doesn’t seem fair right?). And thank you! – Journo
5. From Ric:
On the #48 team, what is the garage feelings about them. Do they mirror the fans? Is their dominance hurting NASCAR?
I’m not sure I can speak for everyone in the garage, but I don’t personally feel the way some of the fans do about Jimmie. Yeah, I wish the competition was closer, but I respect what amazing things they have been able to accomplish. I certainly don’t dislike Jimmie or the #48 guys because of their run. I wish that on some level, people could step back from their allegiances and see just how great this team has been. – T.C.
6. From Ric:
About how long does it take the winning driver / team to make it thru all the pictures and interviews after a race? What is the longest you have heard of?
The drivers take a lot longer then the rest of the team. After the main celebration and hat dance is over, the crew can take off to start loading the hauler and tearing down pit road. The driver has to stay longer for more pictures. Usually the bigger the race, the longer it takes. The Daytona 500 victory lane activities can go on for a while. I’m not sure I could tell you an exact time though, as I don’t normally hang around for the driver part. – T.C.
7. From Ric:
Who supplies (pays for) the champagne in the winners circle? What is on the bottles, looks like the Sprint Cup Logo? About how many bottles do they go thru after a race?
I’m not 100% sure who pays for it, but I would assume it’s supplied by the marketing company that handles Sprint’s NASCAR efforts (which I believe is Octagon). As far as how many bottles they go through, upwards of half a dozen maybe. – Journo
8. From Roger from Colorado:
Last week I was on a hunting trip traveling on I-20 towards Dallas from Colorado. It was Monday and I noticed quite a number of Cup and Nationwide haulers going west towards Phoenix for the weekend race there. I saw the 48 hauler and wondered what they had inside after the big wreck. I got to thinking about what all of them had on the trip to Phoenix. I assume that a different car is used at Phoenix (a smaller flat track vs the big, banked Texas track). Does another hauler meet them at Dallas and switch equipment and cars for the different style track? There were a bunch of busted up cars after the Texas race that were junk. Sure too far to return to NC and then come back out to Phoenix with more equipment.
Actually most teams have somebody meet them in Texas with the equipment they need for Phoenix. They’ll trade out everything that needs to be traded out and then head their separate ways. At Texas these guys were actually waiting in a lot outside the track ready to make the switch. – Journo
9. From Scott:
Hey Guys, after Johnson’s win this past weekend its going to be tough for Mark Martin to win the championship, but as we know anything can happen. I think we all know the fans are divided between frustration, hatred and awe of what the number 48 has done (again) this year. My question is how do your peers feel about in the garage? Do they feel the same as the fans? What about the drivers? And just to add some fuel to the black helicopters out there, is there any driver out there that could hold Johnson up or make his day difficult enough to give Mark Martin a run at this thing? Ok, I’m caught! I’m a big Martin fan and it saddens me to see him be a bridesmaid again. Not to take away what he’s accomplished this but jeez! Thanks again guys.
Like I said above, I can’t speak for everyone, but I do wish the competition was closer. You never want to see one driver or team dominate a sport. But there really isn’t the hate and discontent in the garage area for Jimmie that you will find among some fans. Unless it’s a freak deal, I think you will see most drivers steer clear of Jimmie during the race. Nobody wants to be that guy. – T.C.
10. From Ric:
Let’s say you have a car that just won a race, it stayed out of all the wrecks, the driver wants to race it later in the year. What needs to be done to the car to get it ready for that next race? What is (or not) changed / replaced / redone?
After a race, cars are completely torn down. Everything from the engine to the suspension is taken out and off. The cars are checked over and then placed back into rotation to be set up again for the next race in which it will be used. – T.C.
11. From Tommy:
I know NASCAR takes the top two cars and others for post race inspections. What do they look for in the engine? Is it just they meet certain specs like cylinder size? Do they put it on a dyno and determine how much horsepower it has? Rick Hendrick admitted his engines may vary from 5 – 15 horsepower. I wonder if Jimmie has more horsepower than the other 42 drivers?
I don’t believe that NASCAR puts engines on the dyno in the course of their normal post race inspections. What they usually check the engines for is that they meet all the specs in the rule book; compression, displacement, etc. And while Hendrick’s engines are certainly a part of their success, a few horsepower over other competitors isn’t why Jimmie has won three straight championships. – T.C.
12. From Tom Gulf Coast
If NASCAR chooses to go with a larger tire, what else would have to be changed with the car? Do you know if its a larger wheel or just a taller tire? I think the 15 inch wheel is about the only thing that has always been the same over the past 50+ years.
From what I understand, the tire is wider and would require a change to 17 inch wheels. A larger wheel and wider tire would require teams to make some big changes to the current cars. Bodies would need to be different, as the wheel openings would need to be larger. Also, I would imagine that both front and rear suspension geometry would change because of the larger combo. Also, fender wells and crush panels would need to be different. – T.C.
You’re not happy when he’s winning. You’re not happy when he’s finishing 38th, 129 laps down. What do you want out of Jimmie Johnson? We should hash this out though, because he’s not going anywhere for a while.
Over on twitter and on message boards across the Internet this week people have been angrily asking why Jimmie’s car didn’t get inspected and then they were accusing him of not maintaining minimum speed during the race.
As we all saw last weekend Jimmie wrecked in the opening laps of the race and spent the next hour in the garage as his team tried to fix the car. He came out, I believe, 113 laps down.
I’ve read during the race Chad Knaus came over the radio and told Jimmie that NASCAR told him, Jimmie was under minimum speed, which was 33.27 seconds, or 162ish MPH.
Of course everyone (well maybe not everyone) is calling foul.
The problem is, NASCAR generally warns a driver before throwing the black flag. Here was his warning. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not 100% sure how exactly they decide to throw the flag, but I don’t think this was a situation that called for it.
TC and I worked some calculations and found based on the number of laps he lost between when he came back out and the end of the race, he was losing a lap every 14 laps (give or take). If he’d been the five or so seconds off the pace that would have been necessary, he would have been losing a lap every six laps. That didn’t happen.
And then there are all those screaming about Jimmie’s car not getting inspected after the race. Why would NASCAR have inspected a car that finished 38th, 129 laps down? I suppose they’re also advocating for regularly sending Joe Nemechek’s, and Tommy Baldwin’s cars to be inspected too (you know to make sure it actually was a vibration that brought them into the garage). That makes sense.
At the track the top-five cars are typically taken in for an inspection. Here is a good explanation of both the pre and post race inspection process. In addition to that, the engines of the top two finishers are taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, NC to be inspected. The car of the winner and one randomly selected car are also brought to the R&D Center. Here is an explanation of what happens there.
So was it possible that Johnson’s car could have gotten selected? Sure. Did it? No. And let’s be honest, it wouldn’t have done anybody any good.
I’m not really sure where all the anger toward this team comes from, but I think it’s misguided. I understand you may not like Jimmie, and you may want to see him fail (that’s fine), but there is absolutely no reason to believe or suspect this team isn’t doing this honestly (at least as honestly as everyone else).
Likewise this idea that NASCAR wants Jimmie to win four straight championships couldn’t be farther from the truth. Jimmie’s dominance has not done any favors to their Chase format and continues to drive people off. If you think they want that you’re crazy.
I understand and respect the passion, but looking for trouble where there isn’t any is not a good use of time.