Superspeedway racing tends to bring out the worst in everyone and this weekend in Talladega was no different. We had accusations of team orders, then subsequent denials, crew chiefs telling drivers to wreck on purpose, blatant cheating and complaints from everyone on track about the driving. There has been shock and outrage from the NASCAR press corps and the sport’s fan base. After all, who knew any of this went on?!
We’re Shocked Someone May Have Been Cheating
SBNation’s Jeff Gluck posted a story yesterday with audio from #48 crew chief Chad Knaus. Knaus is heard telling Jimmie Johnson to “crack the back of the car” if they win. Presumably they were beyond the allowed tolerances for whatever reason.
Knaus admitted the intention saying he was, “ Just being proactive, I just told Jimmie, ‘Look, man – we’ve just got to make sure there’s a tire mark or some type of visible damage.’ Just because cars do move when you race them like that.”
This ended up being the story du jour on Wednesday. It was unbelievable that a team could be working in the gray area – no one does that! Of course we already knew Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were cheaters…
The Roush Team Orders
Jack Roush telling his drivers to stick with Ford teams!? Ridiculous.
This was the outrage of the weekend after word seeped out that Ford and Roush had, at the very least, made it clear that their teams should stick together at Talladega.
Ford and Roush both denied “orders” were issued, but it was pretty clear what the expectation was.
The way the talk was this weekend though you would have thought Roush was the only one that made this expectation clear. Of course anybody with two eyes and a basic understanding of the sport could see every other team on track had done the same, and why wouldn’t they? As I wrote on Monday, you draft with who brought you.
You Feel Double Crossed?
Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon were both beside themselves after the race Sunday. They had committed dancing partners who they felt abandoned, or sabotaged them in favor of teammates. It’s a cruel world.
Stewart told SB Nation:
“It’s a shame, because I’ve never seen more politics in a race go on in my life than what I saw this weekend…I think the car owners are to blame, the manufacturers are to blame and the fans don’t deserve that.“
Gordon echoed Stewart, saying after the race:
“I don’t think [Trevor Bayne] really ever had any intentions of pushing me, and if he did, the Ford folks told him to do something different. It’s politics, that’s part of it.”
As they say, it’s business, it’s not personal. And of all people I would expect Gordon and Stewart to know that. It’s true it’s unfortunate for the fans, it stinks for those who got the shaft, but the fact is it’s reality. Welcome to NASCAR boys.
Hey Trevor, Cool It With The Hyperbole
Speaking of distraught, Trevor Bayne. He’s young and apparently doesn’t know when to go light on the hyperbole. In an interview with SceneDaily he said:
“I was caught in the worst situation I could have ever been in.”
Devastating. I’ll bet there was some cringing at Roush after that interview.
He did go on to say that he wasn’t forced to switch drafting partners but felt it was his role as Kenseth’s teammate. Either way, nobody can fault him for making the decision he made – not even Jeff Gordon. He’s in a precarious position at Roush and needs to do what he has to do to keep the bosses happy and his butt in a ride.
A lesson though (not for our interests but his own) when you’re trying to make a good impression, toe the company line.
This whole week has left me shaking my head and rolling my eyes. While we don’t necessarily get to be witness to some of this stuff on a weekly basis, it happens that often. No one should be surprised about ANY of this. Consider this week a window into NASCAR reality.
Now on to Martinsville and a decidedly less controversial setting.
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Ford and Jack Roush made waves this weekend after word seeped out of the camp that the teams were directed to draft exclusively with their manufacturing counterparts. With two Roush Fords in serious contention for the championship it wasn’t a surprising edict – especially not from Jack Roush.
At the end of the race we saw what appeared to be the edict in action as Trevor Bayne gave up drafting with Jeff Gordon to draft with Matt Kenseth. The move was bad news for Gordon who ended up finishing way back in 27th. Bayne and Kenseth finished 15th and 18th.
The help kept Kenseth in contention, moving him to second in the points just 14 back from teammate Carl Edwards. And after everything, not doing damage is the most important thing at a place like Talladega.
The track serves as THE wild card race in the Chase where literally anything can happen. That uncertainty leads teams to do everything they can to control the things they can. This is why you see teams like Roush and manufacturers like Ford letting their drivers know where loyalties need to lie.
In this instance there seems to be some surprise that Bayne switched dancing partners choosing a teammate over a potentially better pairing. But it makes sense when considering what was at stake: a championship, a precarious future and a whole lot of money. Would you not have done the same?
Success in this sport involves reliance on those who are around you. That goes for the Ford teams, the Chevrolet teams, the Dodge teams and the Toyota teams. While the Roush and Ford team orders are the only ones that made the press this weekend there were no doubt similar understandings at organizations throughout the sport. Consider the other teams on track. Who was working with whom?
The Fords were with the Fords, the Chevrolets with the Chevrolets and on and on.
At superspeedways you draft with who brung ya – it’s true for EVERY manufacturer and EVERY team. While it’s unfortunate for those left out, it’s a cold hard fact.
As I watched Kurt Busch cross the finish line first last weekend, all I could think about was one thing, wouldn’t it be sweet payback if he won the championship?
Busch of course left Roush Racing at the end of 2005, just a year after winning the championship, under very bad circumstances. Remember that traffic citation out in Phoenix? Needless to say there is a lot of animosity between Jack Roush and Busch. And that has carried on through the years.
Periodically, Roush likes to needle the driver. This season Roush took the shot while praising crew chief Jimmy Fennig.
“Jimmy is a consummate stock-car racer. Heck, he even won a championship with Kurt Busch. He can do anything.”
Ouch!
Despite the critiques from his former owner Busch sits tied for third with Tony Stewart, right in the thick of Chase contention. It’s got to feel good for Busch to finally have his move to Penske paying off – even if it took a few years.
Steve Addington is the other piece to the payback puzzle. He joined forces with Busch at the beginning of last season after being released from Joe Gibbs Racing. He had been with the younger Kyle Busch for several seasons at Gibbs – but things soured.
At the time of his firing, Addington said he was surprised about getting let go.
“Do I agree with it? No… But it is what it is, and I felt like we had a good run.”
Busch said they were either feast or famine that year and all involved chalked up the release to performance issues. Who wouldn’t have been angry about a four win season? Kyle’s only been slightly more consistent since Dave Rogers took over, but that’s neither here nor there.
Addington and Busch are, in some ways, the ultimate castoffs. Both left or were forced out of organizations with which they were having a lot of success. And together they have the chance to show their immediate past employers what they missed out on.
While there is still a lot of season to go, this is definitely an interesting story to keep an eye on.
Among the milestones NASCAR is approaching this year is one that may not be on your radar – 26-year-old Kyle Busch is just one win away from matching his 32-year-old brother’s win record.
The two brothers had equally meteoric rises through the NASCAR ranks, beginning at Roush Racing. Kurt in 2000 and Kyle, at age 16, in 2001. When NASCAR started requiring drivers to be 18 or older, a direct result of Kyle’s six-race stretch in a Roush truck, he stepped away from NASCAR. He returned full-time in the Nationwide Series in 2004 with Hendrick Motorsports.
Kyle made his Cup debut in 2005 and won two races before the season was over. Meanwhile Kurt was already an 11-time Cup winner and the reigning champion. Kurt’s falling out with Jack Roush and his unceremonious exit from the team following a reckless driving charge in Maricopa County, Arizona was the talk of the end of 2005. He took over Rusty Wallace’s famous #2 Miller Light Dodge at Penske Racing the following season.
Kyle experienced a similar falling out with Rick Hendrick in 2007 – he took over the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota from J.J. Yeley the following season.
Even with the bumps in the road, the two Busch boys have racked up pretty impressive stats. Collectively, since 2000 in the Cup Series, they have 45 wins, 162 top-fives, 281 top-10s, 22 poles and one championship in 628 starts.
Statistically, Kyle has the edge on his brother. He has the better average start at 15.1 (Kurt’s is 15.7) and the better average finish at 15.5 (Kurt’s is 16.8). Kyle also averages wins more frequently than his brother – every 11 races compared to every 16.7 races for Kurt.
Interestingly though in the six full seasons the two have raced together, both average the same points finish of 11th and both brothers have missed the Chase just twice in their careers (Kurt in 2006 and 2008; Kyle in 2005 and 2009).
The two have had very similar paths up to this point and have undoubtedly found success on their own terms – both with two different organizations. In the coming weeks and months, with the Penske teams on the upswing, it’ll be interesting to see if Kurt is able to maintain his Cup Series win lead over Kyle. If history is any guide though, it’s only a matter of time before baby brother overtakes him.
David Ragan finally notched his first Cup Series win this past weekend at Daytona. It was a long road for the 25-year-old driver after four and half seasons in the sport’s top series.
Ragan’s meteoric rise at Roush Fenway started with the old “Gong Show” (then called Roush Racing: Driver X for Discovery Channel) in 2005, and included in 2006 a 19 race stopover in the Truck Series, and three Nationwide and two Cup starts before being moved to the Mark Martin’s old Cup ride in 2007.
With a lot of pressure behind him to perform in the iconic #6, the then 21-year-old driver notched two top-fives, three top-tens and finished 23rd in the points. The next season he knocked down six top-fives, 14 top-tens and just missed the Chase, finishing 13th in the points.
With all the hope and expectations of the 2008 season, 2009 was nothing short of a disappointment – just two top-tens and a 27th place points finish. Then 2010 saw just three top-tens and a 24th place points finish.
Coming into 2011, Ragan had a relatively new crew chief in Drew Blickensderfer and needed to make something happen.
And so we found ourselves last Sunday. Ragan has been much improved this season (two top-10s, four top-fives before the win) with his highest average finish since 2008. He sits 17th in the points and has a real shot at the Chase with that win.
Everything is looking good, except for the fact that UPS hasn’t re-signed for next season.
“I’m not worried about the program next year. I certainly think about it some. UPS has been a great partner of ours and will continue to be,” Ragan said. “They’ve got some decisions to make in the next couple of months. I think we’re on the right path to bring those guys back; we’re happy we got that win for them – that certainly helped. The Fords are the strongest they have been in a long time. Jack [Roush, owner] and I are on the same page and UPS is happy.“
In a very unusual move for a sponsor, UPS sent a statement out after the race congratulating Ragan on his win and reaffirming their commitment to the driver. Certainly a good signal – I’m still not sure though whether it was simply a congratulatory note or had some other meaning.
Ragan has a couple of years left on his deal with Roush, and though that does mean security, it doesn’t necessarily mean his ride is a guarantee. A lot is going to depend on that all important sponsorship question, and to a larger extent, whether or not that win and the improvement this season is enough to make Jack Roush think Ragan has hit a turning point.
Silly Season continues to intrigue and this is certainly one storyline to follow.
This season NASCAR forced drivers to select one series in which to compete for a championship. The general idea being it would limit the number of Cup regulars competing in and winning in lower series.
What’s the result been? Truck and Nationwide Series regulars lead the points in their respective series, but there have only been three non-Cup winners in 30 races across all three series. And guess what? Neither of our two points leaders is one of those winners.
Obviously, NASCAR’s efforts have, thus far, not been very successful. This weekend though, we saw the potential of the Nationwide Series.
To start off, Iowa is such a great facility with a great fan base. Did you see that crowd? Fantastic. Then came the racing.
Rain washed out qualifying, so starting on the front row were Drew Herring, a 23-year-old with just four Nationwide starts under his belt, and Michael McDowell. Young Austin Dillon started 3rd.
Through the early portion of the race it was McDowell and Herring putting on the show. We saw four different race leaders, including Reed Sorenson who led the most (and is great on short tracks). And in his 500th start Kenny Wallace finished sixth. While we did see Cup regulars and Nationwide Series champions Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski as competitors throughout, it was Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who fought down the stretch with Stenhouse as our eventual winner.
Stenhouse has really taken full advantage of this season. If you’ll remember just a year ago, he got yanked from his ride after a disastrous beginning pushed him outside the top-30 in owners points and he DNQed at Nashville. Now he’s a race winner and sits just 8 points out of the points lead. What a difference a year makes.
It was refreshing to sit and watch a Nationwide race where most of the competitors were series regulars. It was great to see some young talent showcased and some series veterans have a real chance. The fact is, Cup drivers are Cup drivers for a reason. And though the occasional start is certainly acceptable, having just 10% of your winners come from outside the Cup ranks is ridiculous. It totally defeats the nature of the lower series.
NASCAR is in a pretty good place at this moment, but this is definitely an area that still needs some work. That said, Sunday was great and truly an example of how things ought to be. Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – it was a well earned and deserved win.
Filed under: Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
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In recent years, layoffs at the end of the NASCAR season have become the norm. And this season hasn’t been any different (though the extent of the layoffs has been less severe than in recent years). Joining the rank-and-file employees on the unemployment line in 2010 are two drivers from prominent programs. I doubt either of them though were surprised.
Enter Scott Speed and Colin Braun.
During his three seasons at the various levels of NASCAR, Scott Speed found some success and quite a bit of struggle.
2008 was a banner year for the flamboyant former F1 driver. He scored four ARCA Series wins, one Truck Series win, and he nearly won the ARCA championship. He was a promising prospect for Red Bull Racing that, at the time, had Brian Vickers and a struggling AJ Allmendinger.
And so began the trouble for Speed, who was thrown into the Cup Series in 2009 with little stock car experience under his belt. Like so many before, Speed wasn’t given much time to develop and was never able to do much in a Cup car. Add on top of his lack of development time, the fact that Red Bull is, at best, a mid-tier team, Scott never really had much of a chance.
Braun got his first full NASCAR season in 2008, running for a Roush Truck team that had a lot of success behind it. In two seasons in the Truck Series though Braun scored one win, and didn’t do much else. It’s of note that in those two seasons (a total of 50 races) Braun had 10 DNFs as a result of wrecks.
Despite a less than successful run in the Truck Series, Roush moved Braun to the Nationwide Series this season with plans to run the full schedule. Eight races into the season though Braun was yanked from the ride after five wreck related DNFs and a severe drop in the points. He was allowed to run 16 more races this season – his highest finish was seventh.
For these two guys, their individual releases were a long time coming. Neither lived up to expectations. For Speed the lack of development time is likely what hurt him the most. With Red Bull’s questionable performance however, more development time may or may not have made a difference.
With Braun, development time wasn’t an issue. In fact, he was given far more opportunity to showcase his skills and talent than most drivers in similar situations. After 82 NASCAR starts, and little to show for it, Jack Roush probably made the right decision cutting him loose.
What stinks for both of these guys at this point is the lack of time they now have to find another ride. Something tells me neither will find much opportunity in NASCAR for 2011.
Two weeks ago New England Sports Ventures (NESV) agreed to purchase the Premier League Football club, Liverpool. The deal was facilitated through a vote by the team’s board which ousted the team’s current ownership in a forced sale. The soccer club, one of the most successful in league history, has been mired in recent years under crushing debt and abysmal performance. The fans, the banks, and the board had had enough.
So you’re probably asking what soccer, and more specifically Liverpool, have to do with NASCAR? Well, not a whole lot, except the two share past and present owners – George Gillett and John Henry.
NESV, if you’re unfamiliar, is a sports investment company principally owned by billionaire John Henry. Among the company’s assets are the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and half of Roush Fenway Racing.
The guys unceremoniously booted out of Anfield are Tom Hicks, the former owner of the Texas Rangers and current owner of the Dallas Stars, and George Gillett, the former owner of the Montreal Canadiens and current owner of Richard Petty Motorsports.
Hicks (who by the way has been in the news this year because of the bankruptcy and subsequent takeover and sale of his Texas Rangers) and Gillett sought an injunction in the sale of Liverpool. The High Court in London turned down the pair and a Texas judge, after briefly granting an injunction, allowed the sale to move forward. Hicks and Gillett have threatened a billion dollar lawsuit – they have backed off this some though.
What makes this particularly uncomfortable in NASCAR is the close partnership Gillett’s Richard Petty Motorsports has with Henry’s Roush Fenway Racing. The two share equipment, drivers, and a compound in Concord, NC. Now John Henry isn’t exactly a fixture in North Carolina, but you can imagine, with Gillett and Hicks likely to lose A LOT of money, where this might be less than ideal.
You can amp up the uncomfortableness should Gillett and Hicks decide to do file a lawsuit against those involved in the sale, including Henry’s NESV.
In all honesty, I don’t think the business relationship of RPM and RFR is any worse for the wear, but it’s still an interesting story. Just think, if you’re Foster Gillett, George Gillett’s son and the managing partner of RPM, what happens if you have to deal with the Fenway Sports Group, NESV or John Henry himself?
Filed under: Ford, Roush Fenway Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR