I fully understand the idea behind putting the best face on something. It’s in the best interest of companies, and in our case race teams, to make sure they’re portrayed in the best light possible. With the uptick of “funded drivers” in recent years though this desire to put the best light on things has taken a turn toward the laughable.
Consider the announcement this week that Nelson Piquet Jr. is joining Kevin Harvick Inc. to run the full truck schedule in 2011. In this case it wasn’t the team – their release was actually pretty moderated – but the driver himself that left me shaking my head.
Piquet said, talking about where he was at and where he wanted to be in the future:
“I want to get there because I deserve it and because of wins and because teams want me to be there, not because I’m going to bring a sponsor.”
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s great he wants to move through the ranks of NASCAR based on merit, not on money. That said, I have a hard time believing his hire at KHI is a purely charitable move on the team’s part.
Coincidentally, Piquet settled a libel suit with Renault just last week regarding comments they made about Piquet following his involvement in the now infamous “Crashgate”. No figure was announced, but it was said to be “substantial damages.” I honestly don’t think the two are directly connected – you don’t generally get a contract worked out in seven days. I digress.
This rosy picture people like to paint though gets to be a little much. Remember last season when Richard Childress said at a press conference John Wes Townley had a lot of “talent”? He then cut Townley after five races – like he didn’t know what he was getting into. Apparently by talent, he meant money.
Or how about Brian Scott? After signing the young driver to run for his family owned team in 2011, J.D. Gibbs said:
We’ve done this enough to know we’re never going to do a deal just to do a deal. We learned in the past the hard way. Unless you have a guy there that you think can win races, win championships and compete week in and week out, it’s not worth doing. So, our guys really kind of got together a while ago and figured, ‘Hey, Brian is one of those guys when you see what he’s done in just a really kind of a short career span,’ and I think that’s really going to bode well for us.
Overly optimistic and rosy? Perhaps. I think the truth is, he’s a pretty competent driver and he brings with him a lot of money. Did they sign him because he was the best candidate to bring Gibbs another Nationwide Series championship? I doubt it.
I write this not to bring any of these guys down. I really do hope for their sake, and the sake of the sport they’re successful in their endeavors. I just wish we could come to a point when we can call an orange an orange, and not try to make it the apple that it will never be.
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Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR Live Blogging, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
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7, 6, 5, 4, 3.
No, that isn’t a countdown of some type. Those are Joey Logano’s finishes over the last five races. At this rate, he’ll finish second at Homestead and win the 2011 Daytona 500. How cool would that be?
With all that has been going on over the last few weeks with the championship contenders, Logano’s great finishes have gone almost unnoticed. I say almost because we noticed, as did TNI reader Tim (thanks for the email). If he is able to bring home another top five or top ten finish at Homestead, it will cap off a very solid sophomore season for the young driver from Connecticut.
There seems to be a bit of stigma for young drivers and their sophomore season. Often times, after a good rookie year, the expectations can weigh on a driver and bring down the performances of the second season. But for the driver known as “Sliced Bread,” the second season has been anything but disappointing.
Outside of not having won a race this season like he did in 2009, Logano has improved in every statistical category in 2010. He has more top five and top ten finishes, and his average finish has improved by almost four positions to 16.1 over last year. Logano’s points position (at least as of Phoenix) has also improved by four positions.
I want to point out though that while Logano hasn’t been able to win heading into the 2010 finale, he was certainly more of a contender this season. Don’t forget that his lone win last season came in a rain shortened race at New Hampshire. I certainly don’t want to take anything away from that win, because a W is a W, but he’s shown this season that he has the ability to run up front and win.
Logano’s development from East Series champion to Cup Series contender has been fun to watch. And Joe Gibbs Racing’s decision to match him with a veteran crew chief in Greg Zipadelli and an experienced #20 crew may just lead him to the Chase and a shot at the Cup Series title very soon.
Until then however, we’ll be rooting for Logano at Homestead… To finish second.
Justin Allgaier has had a solid season. In his second year in the Nationwide Series he has one win, two poles, 11 top-fives, 19 top-10s, 221 laps led (including 88 laps led this weekend) and a solid lock on fourth place in the points. He’s the leading Nationwide-only driver in the points and one of only four in the top-10. And yet he’s looking for a ride (I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago).
On the flip side is Brian Scott. He’s an OK driver and an affable guy. He lost his ride this season after the sale of Braun Racing to Steve Turner, owner of Turner Motorsports – it turns out Steve Turner only likes funded drivers when he’s doing the funding. Anyway, Scott, who has been driving for RAB Racing as of late, has had a mediocre season in which he’s posted one top-five and five top-10s. He sits 14th in the points.
Now both of these guys have talked to Joe Gibbs Racing about next year. One has money to fund a ride, the other doesn’t.
Last month JD Gibbs spoke glowingly about Scott and their potential relationship.
“I have a lot of respect for Brian…I met him several years ago and have followed him since he’s been in the sport. I think he’s gifted. We’re just going to go to work and see if something works out…We would love to have someone that could run for the full driver’s championship. Right now we can run (for) the owners championship but we can’t run the full drivers (title). I’d love to have someone that could run for the full driver’s championship and he’d be a good fit for that.”
On the other hand Allgaier spoke to ESPN’s David Newton a couple of weeks ago about where he stands.
Richard Petty Motorsports would be an ideal place for this budding star. Joe Gibbs Racing has been rumored to show interest. Allgaier admits he’s had casual talks with both of them, but not to the point he would say there is strong interest unless he has a sponsor promising to come with him.
Talking about how and why drivers have their rides these days has been a bit of a taboo subject. Consider this little back and forth between Kenny Wallace and Brian Scott on Twitter. Wallace, while talking about Trevor Bayne, said: “MY THOUGHTS..Trevor Bayne is a good driver, He will get a ride Imediately (sic) !..Brian Scotts dad is wealthy he will BUY a ride Imediately (sic)…”
Despite the bluntness of the statement, what Wallace said was true. Joe Scott’s the chairman of the JA & Kathryn Albertson Foundation, an Idaho real estate developer and the grandson of the founder of the grocery chain Albertson’s. The Scotts have money and are very able to help their son’s career.
Justin Allgaier too comes from a family who has been able financially to help his dream. Funding an ARCA team though is a little different than a Nationwide team. And the fact is, Allgaier got his job at Penske on his merits – not his family’s money.
Unfortunately, what we have today is a very expensive sport where winning and being competitive isn’t always the most important thing. There was a time not too long ago that rent-a-rides only existed at small organizations. Today, just about everybody has somebody paying for a ride.
I worry often that this practice is leaving us with a talent vacuum. The drivers are certainly out there, but if the only ones getting a chance are the ones with money, what does this mean for the future of competition?
It’s a tough situation we’re in, but one I hope doesn’t stand the test of time. It’s unfortunate a driver with all the talent in the world and strong record is no longer guaranteed a ride, but a driver with a thin record and all the money in the world is.
Filed under: David Reutimann, Kyle Busch, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup
If what Kyle Busch told Bob Pockrass is true, it sounds like the answer is yes.
In an article Thursday on SceneDaily.com Busch said if sponsorship doesn’t materialize for his Truck Series team for the 2011 season, he would have to shut it down. It’s quite a turn around from the beginning of the season when KBM was supposed to run two full time teams, and possibly a third part time, out of a new state-of-the art shop in Mooresville.
When Busch started up his team, no expense was spared in putting together a top flight organization. He hired championship winning crew chief Rick Ren away from Kevin Harvick Inc. to lead his effort as Director of Competition, and brought in veteran crew chief Eric Phillips to call the shots from the pit box. Busch also opened up his wallet to build a modern 60,000 sq ft race shop to house his new operation. And then the problems began.
When it was announced that Miccosukee would not be sponsoring Busch’s team for the 2010 season like they initially thought, the countdown started. It was only a few short months later that KBM’s second team with Tayler Malsam was shut down due to lack of funding. And without Miccosukee, KBM has been left stringing together as many one off sponsorship deals as they can find to get the #18 team through the season.
It’s interesting to note that through all of this, the team has been able to have a great deal of success. Through 18 races this season, the team has amassed four poles, four wins, and sits only 82 points out of the lead in the owners points.
Knowing the little bit that I do about the situation, I’ve got to wonder how Busch’s business people allowed this team to be mismanaged as it appears it was. With all of the resources that were available to him (like boss Joe Gibbs) one would think that some better decisions would have been made along the way. I also have to think that the issues surrounding KBM probably helped lead to the demise of Busch and agent/spotter Jeff Dickerson’s relationship.
Besides JGR, if Kyle needed a good example of how to start and run a team the right way, he needed to look no further then fellow Cup and Truck driver Kevin Harvick and his operation. Harvick started small, running partial Truck schedules in 2002 and 2003 before going full time with Matt Crafton in 2004. When he started his NNS program, Harvick again started small, running only a few races in 2004 before having a full time team in 2005. And in most cases, Harvick was only putting out cars and trucks that were sponsored. Today, KHI not only has a successful CWTS and NNS program, but they also build chassis and hang bodies for other teams, which provides much needed revenue to keep the doors open and the lights on. There is no reason why KBM, if run properly, couldn’t have turned into the Toyota version of KHI.
Hopefully the combination of Busch’s star power and the continued success of his team will lead to a full time sponsor. It would certainly be a shame to lose another team, especially one so young in it’s existence.
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR
Were you booing or cheering Friday night?
There is nothing like a crowd at Bristol displaying their like, or in this case dislike, for a driver. Their opinion is deafening. And honestly, it was fantastic.
No matter your feelings toward Kyle Busch, chances are you aren’t indifferent about him. And he’s exactly what NASCAR needs right now – a polarizing figure who can win.
For all the improvements NASCAR has made to the sport in the last several months, there really isn’t anything they can do get moments like that – most especially, there is nothing they can do to cultivate drivers like that.
Ed Hinton wrote a great column last week about his search for what plagued NASCAR fans. His determination? NASCARmyalgia. You all have aches, but no one really knows for sure what the problem is. It’s funny, but it rings so completely true.
I think moments like Friday night are a good remedy, but we need more guys like Kyle Busch – that is more guys who are willing to express themselves and relish the position they have in the sport, and then back it up with wins – to do that on Sunday. Fans desperately want and need drivers they can cheer for, and against right now.
Thankfully for us NASCAR is allowing drivers to show a little personality on track, which is translating to personality off the track. While the action this weekend was unfortunately on Friday night (and Wednesday night too), the conflict was still apparent on Saturday night. Did you hear the driver intros? Awesome.
Right now Kyle is injecting a little bit of spice into a sport that desperately needs it. While I think it’s hard to disagree that the racing is some of the best its ever been, it’s hard to say, personality wise, things are as good as they could be.
Though things aren’t perfect right now, and they really never will be, these moments of dogged fight, and boiled over frustrations really make it all worth while.
Thank goodness we’ve got a guy like Kyle Busch to help bring some drama into our beloved sport. Now where is everybody else?
In the current climate of funded drivers and retreating sponsorship dollars, it’s very uncommon for a young driver without his own money to get a second chance. What we are seeing with Aric Almirola though, goes against all of that. JR Motorsports announced on Wednesday that Almirola had signed a multi-year agreement to drive the team’s #88 car in the Nationwide Series.
After getting high profile gigs at Joe Gibbs Racing, Ginn Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and finally Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, it appeared Almirola had washed out. Once at EGR, his #8 team was shut down only seven races into the 2009 season due to lack of funding. Through those seven races however, Almirola hadn’t exactly set the world on fire. His average finish was 32.8 and his best finish was a 21st at Atlanta. Before that, Almirola was best known for his Nationwide Series “win” at Milwaukee in which he started the race, but was pulled part way through and replaced by Denny Hamlin who went on to score the victory.
After leaving EGR in 2009, Almirola spent the rest of the season making sporadic starts for Phoenix Racing, Key Motorsports, Smith Ganassi Racing, and Billy Ballew Motorsports across all three major NASCAR series. He was one of a small group of drivers who turned to some of the lower seriesto advance his career and get more experience. And as it turned out, the 16 starts Almirola made for Billy Ballew in which he led 98 laps and had six top five finishes, would turn into a full time Truck Series ride for the 2010 season.
Fast forward to this season, Almirola has two Truck Series wins and sits second in the Truck Series points. His strong CWTS runs led to him being the backup driver for both Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon while they were on baby watch, plus he was given the chance to run JRM’s #88 at ORP. Almirola didn’t disappoint there either, finishing third behind Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. All of this led up to JRM signing Almirola for the 2011 season and beyond.
Before this deal came about, we’d heard (along with others) that Almirola was a candidate for some Cup organizations, including Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola even admitted to ESPN that he’d been offered Cup deals (see the link above). With that said, I think it’s interesting that he decided to take the Nationwide deal with JRM. It would seem that in a situation like Almirola’s, especially with his stock being high, that he would have wanted to capitalize fully and take a Cup deal. Instead, he will continue to have to prove himself and his ability in the NNS with JRM.
If Almirola continues to progress, and has continued success in the future, this should help serve as a lesson to owners about driver development. Instead of rushing these kids along, and giving them a season or two to prove themselves, why not keep them in lower series longer? Let them develop their skills, then bring them along slowly. Almirola is extremely lucky that he’s been given the chances to show that he can improve, and hopefully he will parlay those chances into more success on the track.
With all the discussion surrounding Kasey Kahne, and the 2011 Hendrick plan for him, I’ve begun to wonder whether this was Kasey’s best move. I say this not because Hendrick isn’t a great team – they most certainly are. And not because Kasey can’t succeed at Hendrick – I think he most certainly can. I say this because of the time he will inevitably lose as he makes the transition to the team’s #5 car.
Speculation has been rampant about where Kasey would end up next season since he and the team announced their partnership earlier this season. Hendrick Motorsports is currently at NASCAR’s four-car limit. The list of unsubstantiated candidates now includes Phoenix Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart-Haas, for it’s part, says it currently has no plans to expand to three cars for the 2011 season.
Whatever happens it can be assured that Kasey will have a ride next season – top-tier team or not.
Where does this leave Kasey though? He’s in the final year of his deal with Richard Petty Motorsports, and has already announced his intention to leave. I know it’s a little premature, but this year can probably be considered a loss for Kahne (see Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr.). Then what about next year?
Let’s say for example purposes Kahne ends up at Phoenix Racing (I’m not saying he will). He’ll of course have all of his equipment built at Hendrick, full sponsorship and all the backing of Rick Hendrick. What will his crew look like? Who knows who they’re looking at, or want for a crew chief, but it’s Hendrick so for all intents and purposes let’s say they promote from within. From there, the crew will likely be composed of Phoenix Racing guys.
So Kasey does this for 2011 (with Phoenix or someone else). At the end of the season what do they do with this team? Does Alan Gustafson become Kasey’s crew chief for 2012? Do they keep the one he’s got? Whatever they do, Kasey is likely going to have to make yet another transition into the 2012 season.
So in addition to this year, Kahne stands to lose the next two seasons trying to adapt to separate teams.
I know Rick Hendrick and team Hendrick Motorsports have nothing but the best of intentions for Kasey moving forward. And I would imagine they’re working very hard to make sure these transitions the driver is about to face are as painless as possible. The issue at hand though could be very bumpy.
I know it’s really easy to play Monday morning quarterback on this (and on anything), but do you think Kasey should have waited to see if he could put a deal together at Gibbs (team Gibbs was interested, but was unable to commit), or somewhere else that he could have immediately transitioned him into a permanent ride?
In a sport where chemistry and consistency are key, I’m kind of thinking he should have waited. For me, the end payoff (that is getting the #5 car) may not be worth the cost of the next couple of seasons. All that said, Hendrick of course hasn’t done anything and gets the benefit of the doubt here.
So what do you think of Kasey’s move? Was Hendrick the right place for him to go? Would you have liked to see him go somewhere else? Where do you think he’ll end up next season? Discuss away!