At the beginning of the last two years since we opened TNI, we’ve done a rumor scorecard for the previous season. (See the ’08 and ’09 scorecards here and here.) With 2010 now officially behind us, I figured it was time to grade ourselves and our reporting for the year. Before I do though, let me just point out that for 2008 and 2009, our record is 19-3-3 (19 correct, 3 wrong, 3 pushes). Here we go…
Marc Davis To Race At Vegas: Our first rumor of 2010 was that Marc Davis would run the NNS race at Las Vegas. The deal was 99% done we’d heard (he was even on the entry list), but ended up falling apart at the last minute. Davis didn’t end up racing. We’ll call it minus one for the Insiders.
Another New Crew Chief for Robby Gordon: We heard in March that after starting the season with Iain Watts as crew chief, newly hired “consultant” Larry Carter would be taking over as crew chief for RGM. We know for certain that he did call some races for the #7 team, but whether or not he was ever actually officially the crew chief is unclear. Carter was one of several to call a race for RGM in 2010. We’ll call this a push.
NASCAR Considering Eliminating Catch Can Man: With the Truck Series as a test bed, we told you early in April that NASCAR was considering eliminating the catch can position and having both the Cup and Nationwide Series use the new self-vented fuel can. Over the course of the year, NASCAR listened to feedback on the rule change from many in the sport, and in the end, the rule was implemented. The official announcement was made just a few short weeks ago. Plus one for the Insiders.
Front Row Penalized Over Bleeder Valves: After Pocono in June, we were the first to tell you about a possible penalty coming from NASCAR over Front Row Motorsports’ possible use of illegal bleeder valves. We heard a short time later that NASCAR was preparing to hand down their biggest penalty for cheating ever. In the end however, Front Row was penalized but it wasn’t a record sanction. Before the penalty was announced, one unsubstantiated rumor we’d heard was that FRM owner Bob Jenkins actually privately pleaded with NASCAR to levy a smaller fine and points penalty, as anything larger would have put him out of business completely. Obviously, there was no way of knowing if that was actually true or not. We’ll call this plus one, and minus one for the Insiders.
Billy Johnson To Drive for RFR at Watkins Glen: We were the first to tell you that GRAND-AM driver Billy Johnson would be making his NNS debut for Roush Fenway Racing at Watkins Glen. Johnson started ninth in RFR’s #6 Ford, but was caught up in a wreck and finished 36th. It was his only NNS race of 2010. Plus one for the Insiders.
TJ Bell Racing with “Green” Sponsor: In August, we reported that T.J. Bell would be racing at Darlington with a new sponsor, Liberty Tire Recycling. Bell went on to make two starts for MAKE Motorsports with Libery on board. Plus one for the Insiders.
Rumors After Watkins Glen: After the NNS race at the Glen, we reported via Twitter that we’d heard NASCAR had taken a box of lugnuts from Marcos Ambrose’s team that they suspected were illegal. The bit was confirmed later by Scene Daily’s Kenny Bruce, but NASCAR ultimately decided there was no issue. In the same post, we told you that Kevin Conway’s days at FRM were numbered. The team had grown tired of his poor performances, and they were looking to bring in another driver. Following denials by his sponsor Extenze (they emailed us specifically), it was announced five days later that Tony Raines would replace Conway for the race at Michigan. We also added that we’d heard Aric Almirola was a candidate for a Cup ride at RPM. Almirola didn’t end up at RPM, but it was reported by both Fox Sports and ESPN that he’d had discussions with the team. We’ll call that plus three for the Insiders.
Darnell & Kenseth To Run RFR NNS Cars: We told you late in August that Roush Fenway would add Erik Darnell and Matt Kenseth to the round robin of drivers getting starts in their NNS cars. Darnell got three starts (Richmond, Dover, Texas), and Kenseth ran at Atlanta to go with two NNS starts he made earlier in the year. Plus one for the Insiders.
RMM Shuts Down #81 Team: Following the Bristol Truck Series race, we told you that Randy Moss Motorsports was shutting down the #81 team of David Starr. RMM did indeed close down their second team, but Starr never missed a beat. After being let go from the #81, he moved over to SS-Green Light Racing and finished the season. RMM would later run a second truck for Tayler Malsam in four races. Plus one for the Insiders.
Turner Motorsports & Marc Davis: While we weren’t the first to report on the possible sale of Braun Racing to Steve Turner, we were the first to tell you it was a done deal and we gave you the first picture of what the new Turner Motorsports would look like. Todd Braun did end up selling his team, and the new Turner Motorsports will have three NCWTS teams and four NNS teams. They will also run Chevrolets. And after a failed attempt to race at Las Vegas earlier in the season, we told you that Marc Davis would be running for R3 Motorsports at Dover. Davis started 30th and finished 23rd. Plus two for the Insiders.
Johanna Long & Tayler Malsam to Trucks: In September, we reported that both Malsam and Long would be making attempts in the NCWTS race at Las Vegas. Both did race at Vegas, and they both ran more races towards the end of the season. Plus two for the Insiders.
Trevor Bayne To RFR: We were the first to report that Bayne to Roush Fenway was a done deal, and that his new team would run a fifth NNS car for him at Kansas in October. Bayne finished out the season with RFR, and is prepared to run a full NNS schedule in 2011, along with an unspecified number of Cup races. Plus one for the Insiders.
Josh Wise To Drive At Charlotte: Josh Wise spent 2010 driving for several different organizations, and we reported in October that he would race at Charlotte for a team backed by veteran tire changer D.J. Copp. Wise started 39th and finished 18th. Plus one for the Insiders.
KHI, Elliott Sadler, RFR Trucks: Later in October we heard that KHI was putting together the personnel for a second full time Nationwide Series team, and that Elliott Sadler may run some races for them. Both turned out to be true, as it was later announced that Sadler will run the full 2011 schedule for KHI with sponsorship from CitiFinancial. We also told you that there were rumors that Ron Hornaday was shopping for a new NCWTS ride. We’d heard he had conversations with several organizations, but he ended up re-signing with KHI. The last bit we gave you was that Roush Fenway was working on resurrecting their Truck Series program. This story has cooled way down since then, but there is still a small chance it could happen. I’ll give us plus one, a push, and leave the RFR bit as still pending.
Caitlin Shaw To Race At Phoenix: In November we told you about yet another female driver who would be racing in 2010. Caitlin Shaw, after making one start in 2009, returned to the Truck Series in a truck prepared by Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing at Phoenix. She started 33rd and finished 30th. Plus one for the Insiders.
Skinner Out? Kvapil In?: Our most recent rumor for you, we reported that Mike Skinner was likely out at Randy Moss Motorsports, and that the team would replace him with Travis Kvapil. Skinner won’t talk, and no official announcement has come from the team, so we’ll leave this one pending.
As you can see, we had a busy year reporting on the happenings in NASCAR. Our scorecard for the year looks like this: we had 17 correct, two wrong, two pushes, and still have two rumors pending. Adding up all three seasons worth of news and rumors, that makes us 36-5-5. We prove yet again that if you hear it from us, odds are pretty good that it’s true. Our solid track record doesn’t do much to prove that we are who we say we are, but at the very least we are very well connected janitors…
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When the Truck Series heads to Phoenix in another week, look for there to be yet another female racer on the entry list. Caitlin Shaw, a 21 year old driver from New Mexico, will attempt to make her second (yes second) career Truck Series start driving for Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing. She will join Jennifer Jo Cobb, Johanna Long, Angela and Amber Cope, and Michelle Theriault on the list of women drivers who’ve driven in the Truck Series this season.
If you might remember, Shaw made her Truck Series debut last season at O’Reilly Raceway Park driving for Red Horse Racing. She qualified 32nd and brought her truck home in one piece, finishing a respectable 24th. Besides the lone CWTS start, her racing resume also includes quarter midgets, mini sprints, and a stint in a USAC midget.
Outside of driving, Shaw has spent the 2010 season working in the marketing/PR department for Michael Waltrip Racing. Her responsibilities including doing PR for Ryan Truex during his championship run in the K&N Pro Series East. (See a great recent interview with her here).
Shaw’s DGM Racing truck is being backed by The Oil Medics, a truck services company based out of Texas.
The recent run of female drivers attempting to break into NASCAR, like Shaw and Johanna Long, shows there is no shortage of qualified women racers out there. And Danica Patrick’s super star popularity is evidence that race fans are very eager for a woman to finally make it into the Cup Series. If Patrick doesn’t break through though, our odds for finding a woman who is capable are certainly getting better.
Here’s to hoping Shaw has success at Phoenix, and to more women drivers getting involved.
When the Camping World Truck Series heads to Las Vegas this weekend, look for the entry list to be a little stronger. We are hearing that both rookie Johanna Long and Tayler Malsam will return to CWTS competition in the desert.
First, expect an announcement on Monday that Long will be driving a truck prepared by her family’s race team, Panhandle Motorsports. We’ve heard that her effort will be led by veteran crew chief Kevin “Cowboy” Starland, and that more races might be upcoming for Long and Panhandle for the 2010 season. If she qualifies, the Vegas race will mark Long’s fourth start of the season. In her previous three truck starts (for Billy Ballew Motorsports) coming at O’Reilly Raceway Park, Nashville Superspeedway, and Chicagoland Speedway, Long has scored two top 20 finishes. Besides racing trucks, Long has spent the season making various latemodel starts at tracks in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, and has two USAR ProCup starts.
Malsam, who has been racing in the Nationwide Series since being released by Kyle Busch Motorsports early in the season, will return to the Truck Series in an entry fielded by Randy Moss Motorsports. Malsam competed for RMM for the entire 2009 season before moving on to KBM for 2010. Expect veteran crew chief Doug Wolcott to call the shots for Malsam’s team at LVMS. Malsam ran the first seven truck races of the season for KBM before his team was shut down due to lack of funding. The young driver from Washington was then given an opportunity to run for Braun Racing in the Nationwide Series and has since made 11 starts with a best finish of 11th. No word on if any more truck races are planned for Malsam.
Moving forward, it’s always good to see new teams and young drivers getting a chance to make their mark in the sport. Both of these drivers have a ton of potential, and adding competitive teams to entry lists is always a good thing.
As always, keep it locked to TheNASCARInsiders.com for rumors, insight, and inside information from the world of NASCAR that you won’t find anywhere else.
I apologize for the delay in getting this post up. We had some Internet connectivity issues last night that prevented me from posting. Thanks!
There are some drivers out there, who no matter what they drive, always seem to not get enough racing. A name that comes to mind is a guy like Ken Schrader. He would race in the Cup Series on a Saturday night, fly somewhere and maybe race an ARCA race on Sunday, fly somewhere else and race a dirt latemodel race on Monday. It doesn’t matter what it is, Schrader just wants to race.
We saw a few more examples of drivers like Schrader this weekend. The 42nd Annual Snowball Derby took place at Five Flags Speedway down in Pensacola, FL. The Derby is a four day long event which concludes with a 300 lap super latemodel race on Sunday that draws drivers and cars from all over. This year’s entry list for the Sunday race was around 60 cars.
And if you watched any NASCAR coverage this year, you’ll recognize some of the entrants: Kyle Busch, Brian Ickler, David Stremme, Steve Wallace, Ryan Seig, Shane Sieg, Brian Scott, Cale Gale, and James Buescher.
The racing also featured some young up and comers like Johanna Long, Ross Kenseth, and Chase Elliott.
In the end, Kyle Busch triumphed for his first Snowball win, but from what I understand it wasn’t easy. The entire field was only separated by a few tenths in qualifying and some bigger names, like James Buescher, went home.
With the NASCAR schedule being so grueling, from February to November, you’d think most drivers would want a break from being at the race track. But not these guys. Less then two weeks have passed since the end of the season, and these guys have already found their way to a race track.
Regardless of what you think of a driver, you almost have to automatically have respect for guys like this. To them, it isn’t about the money, the big sponsors, or the TV time. All they want to do is get in a car and go door to door with the best in the country. It’s about the racing and being able to compete.
And I think, as long as there are always guys like this in the top tiers of NASCAR, the future will be very bright.
*For more coverage on the 42nd Snowball Derby, stop by Speed51.com