Before I really get into this post, I wanted to share a quote from Michael McDowell that he posted tonight on his Twitter page (@Mc_Driver). McDowell has been driving the #55 for Prism Motorsports this season, and is one of the start-and-park crowd’s usual suspects. There was some discussion about the reasons often given for why these teams fail to finish, which are usually bogus, and McDowell had a great response.
“They get mad at me when I tell them ‘I was going down the straight away and the funding fell off.’”
It was a bluntly honest comment from a good kid who is just trying to make it in racing, and I wanted to share. Keep fighting McD…
Over the last few seasons, starting and parking has become a regular part of the sport. Fewer teams and less available sponsorship dollars have contributed to the phenomenon. Lately though, it seems that the number of teams doing it has increased in the Nationwide and Truck Series. I believe it is a frightening trend, as most of these are victims of sponsorship losses.
Instead of trashing these teams though, I wanted to hopefully open up your eyes about the practice. While there are certainly those teams out there who are doing it for nothing but the profit, for many, this isn’t exactly the case.
Lets picture for a moment that you are a NASCAR car owner. Your team runs mid pack each week, but it’s a solid operation and it’s respectable. Then something unforeseen happens and you lose your sponsorship. Maybe you only had a partial deal, or maybe an agreement fell through. And now, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t find a replacement. What do you do? You really only have two choices: shut down completely because of lack of funding; or trim down your staff and begin starting and parking until something comes along.
This exact scenario is what many are now starting to face. Instead of putting entire shops of people out of work, owners are using the start-and-park startegy to weather the storm and keep the doors open until they can put money together. It buys the owners more time to find sponsorship, and it keeps the employees’ paychecks coming on time. Knowing that, it’s hard to really blame them for it.
Something else to consider is how this affects these owners and teams. Remember that people get involved in racing because they want to compete. They want to go out each weekend and try and be the best. Starting and parking though, goes against the very idea of competition. Pulling out of a race after only a few laps with a perfectly good race car is a very difficult thing to do. Add on top of that the fact that most fans and NASCAR itself severely disapprove of the practice, and you begin to see how demoralizing it can be.
In a perfect world, we’d have 43+ fully funded teams showing up to the track each weekend to race the full distance. But we don’t live in a perfect world. In reality, the world is a very tough place to try and race. I know for many of you, the simple mention of the phrase “start-and-park” gets your blood boiling. Trust me, I understand. It makes me sick to my stomach to watch these cars pull into the garage each weekend after a few laps.
Do me a favor though? Don’t forget that sometimes bad things happen to good people, and tough choices need to be made. Not all of the start and parkers are the enemy.
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Filed under: Carl Edwards, Sprint Cup
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Is the Chase not good enough for the Nationwide and Truck Series, or are the Nationwide and Truck Series not good enough for the Chase?
As NASCAR tries to fix what probably doesn’t need to be fixed, I’ve got wonder how long it’s going to take them to start applying the points changes (that is the six year old changes) to their two other series.
I know, for many of you, the Chase is a sore subject – and you would just as soon see them get rid of it than see it expanded. No matter your feelings though, doesn’t having two different systems to determine champions throughout the sport undermine the legitimacy of the most contested points system?
I won’t get into NASCAR making changes to the Chase (for the record I think it’s a bad idea – and feel free to discuss it), but I do believe there needs to be uniformity across the series in how a champion is crowned.
In one breath NASCAR is saying the Chase is a great way to determine a champion (though apparently not great enough), and then in the other (though not directly) acknowledging the strength of the old system by allowing it to continue in two of its three national series. Hence the undermining.
I get we’re supposed to have three distinct and unique series. Despite those differences though, and the individual strengths of each of the series, I firmly believe NASCAR needs to administer all three as similarly as possible. If one has a Chase, they should all have a Chase.
On top of that, I think it serves its purpose well enough. We get better fights at the end of the season – and more often than not the best driver does win. So why can’t this work in the Truck and Nationwide Series?
I know it’s not a big thing, but I want a sport that functions like a cohesive unit – not like three stand alone bodies. It may, or may not bother you that NASCAR doesn’t use a uniform system across all three of its series, but it kind of bothers me.
What do you think? Is uniformity in the points necessary across all three series? Would you like to see the Chase be the points system across the sport?
Friday night at Daytona, we finally got to see the culmination of a few years of development with the debut of the Nationwide Series’ new car. I’d say NNS COT, but I heard that NASCAR doesn’t want it referred to as the COT, so instead I’ll call it the “new car.” The race was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #3 Wrangler Impala, and all things considered, I believe we can call the race a success.
There was concern in the garage area after the testing and practice sessions that the race may have turned into the type of race we saw on Saturday night. Many drivers said the cars were unstable in the draft and were difficult to drive. Add to that the inexperience of many of those in the field, and it appeared we had the perfect recipe for disaster. Instead, what we saw was a solid race where drivers didn’t take crazy chances and wreck their race cars. We even got to see an exciting two lap shootout for the finish.
Getting to the point where the new car could finally be debuted was a long process. A ton of R&D work had to be done by the teams and by NASCAR. And implementation hasn’t been without it’s critics, as there are plenty of pros and cons.
For the crews, the car presents some new challenges, as the inspection process is now much more rigorous. The cars must be certified just like their Cup brethren and go through a very similar inspection process at the track. All of that adds up to more work for the teams.
I can tell you that pit stops aren’t much different then they were previously. The new cars may actually be a little easier to service then the old cars, partly because of the larger wheel openings. The new cars are very similar to the Cup COT, and the Cup crew guys who also work in the Nationwide Series will have no problems adjusting. For the NNS only crews, the right to left travel may be slightly different then the old car, but it should be a fairly easy transition.
The switchover has also been tough on some teams, especially the small operations. Many have been working long hours to both build the new cars and maintain their fleet of the older version. The cost to build a fleet of the new car will certainly be substantial, but moving forward, it should help save the teams money. The new design helps cut down the need for specialized cars for the different track types.
Nationwide teams will go back to the older version for the upcoming few races, but the new car will reappear at Michigan, Richmond, and Charlotte later in the season. Full implementation will happen for the 2011 season, and I personally think it’s a good move. The unique (and new) body styles will give the NNS some of it’s identity back, and should strengthen the fans’ perception of the series. Hopefully this move will also help NASCAR not only make the necessary changes to return the Nationwide Series to it’s proper form, but also serve as a test pad for improvements to the Cup COT.
So what were your thoughts of the race on Friday? Did you think it was a successful first outing? What is your opinion of how the new car looks? Is NASCAR moving in the right direction?
Danica Patrick is riding three IndyCar Top 10 finishes into her first Nationwide race in three months. The 28-year-old race car driver will compete in the NASCAR Nationwide New England 200 at New Hampshire Motorspeedway on Saturday. Patrick’s cross over to NASCAR has seen mixed results. Her first race on the ARCA circuit was a great success as Patrick finished in sixth place at the Daytona Motor Speedway. On the Nationwide, Patrick has wrecked twice in three races, so perhaps we shouldn’t expect the IndyCar star to threaten to win the race. Patrick told the media that she’d be happy with a Top 20 or T0p 15 finish in New Hampshire. Regardless of whatever place Danica finishes on Saturday, there will be a lot of extra eyes on New Hampshire cheering her on.
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!
And by “she,” I mean Danica Patrick.
This post serves as your official 10 day hype warning. You’d better enjoy the nice, quiet, normal Nationwide Series coverage this weekend on ESPN, because it will be the calm before the storm. Danica returns to the JR Motorsports #7 on June 26th at New Hampshire.
Through the first three Nationwide Series races of the season, you may not have even realized there were 42 other drivers in the field. Or really, you may have thought Danica was the only NASCAR driver there was. Danica Mania hit NASCAR hard, with constant coverage of her during the races, and plenty of stories about her to read about online. Since her last race at Las Vegas in February however, the hype has died down.
The hype is about to get shocked back to life.
While she’s been away from NASCAR, Danica has been busy working on a very mediocre Indy Car season. Through seven races this season she has one top five and three top ten finishes. She currently sits 11th in the points standings, and her average finish is the worst she’s had since her rookie year in 2005. Some have gone so far as to suggest that her foray into NASCAR has taken something away from her open wheel skills this year.
The Danica haters have been quieted a little in recent weeks, as she finished sixth at Indianapolis, and then followed that up with a second at Texas on June 5th. Jumping back into a Nationwide Series car right when it appears she has the open wheel ship righted might not bode well for her, however. Couple that with the fact that her summer NNS starts are coming at New Hampshire, Chicagoland, Michigan, and Dover, and it might be a tough summer for Ms. Patrick.
After her Loudon start, Hurricane Danica will reappear in NASCAR once a month through September, and then starting October 9th at Auto Club Speedway, Danica will run the final six NNS races.
So now that you’ve been warned, you have plenty of time to go buy canned goods, flashlights, batteries, and other necessities. Also, don’t forget to board up your windows and batten down the hatches. Looks like Hurricane Danica could be a CAT 5.
Joey Logano, at just 20 years old, has won twice at the Kentucky Speedway. Thing is, he’s only raced there twice. In June of 2008, Logano won his first Nationwide series race at Kentucky, despite teammate Kyle Busch doing his best to wreck him. The Joe Gibbs driver won again at the 2009 Meijer 300 on the Nationwide series. Although now a staple on the Sprint Cup Series, Logano has opted to try his luck at winning again at Kentucky. Logano has yet to win on the Nationwide Series this season, but finished in 3rd on May 29 in the Tech-Net Auto Service 300. Logano won his first Sprint Cup Series race last year at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in New Hampshire. NASCAR’s wunderkid will go for three in a row in Sparta, Kentucky this Saturday.
With the Nationwide Series and Truck Series moving to some non-companion events over the summer, it seems that I hear everyday about teams looking for quality crew members for upcoming races. It really makes me wonder if we aren’t almost facing a bit of a shortage of pit crew guys.
There are a good number of guys that have crew gigs all weekend. A crew guy may pit a Nationwide car on Saturday and a Cup car on Sunday. Some are even finding ways to not only double dip, but even add some Truck races! By freelancing themselves out, they can make some very good extra money, get more experience, and gain exposure. Some teams also use guys across the various series. Teams like Gibbs and Penske have guys that are on both their NNS and Cup teams.
When the series separate however, it creates holes for many teams. They are then left trying to put crews together last minute. With travel and license issues arising from these last minute hires, plus the uncertainty about a guy’s experience and abilities, it can make the whole situation very difficult.
With NASCAR imposing hard card limits on teams in the NNS and CWTS, I wonder if they have created an unintended effect. The rules were put in place to help the teams save money on salaries and travel, but they have limited the opportunities for younger guys trying to work their way up the ranks. Many of these kids that come through the various pit crew schools don’t often have the know-how to also be mechanics, so they miss out on opportunities. Teams are forced to find guys that not only work on the cars, but pit them too, so as to be compliant with the credential limits.
What then ends up happening, is that on weekends when holes are created by non-companion races, there just aren’t enough experienced guys available. There are plenty of kids available who “know” how to change tires, jack, and carry, but very few have a ton of experience. And crew chiefs don’t like bringing in some new guy who doesn’t have a ton of races under his belt. It takes time for a crew guy to understand what he needs to do to be successful at the track, and to be able to transfer his skills from practice to the race.
While the causes may be different, the problem is similar to that of many young drivers and the need for fresh talent. For example, the Nationwide Series has become Cup lite, and development drivers just don’t get the chances they used to. Crew guys are no different.
My advice to the young crew guys out there is this: network as much as you can and do as many races as you are able. That way, when a hole does open up somewhere, people will know who you are, and have faith that you can get the job done.
Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, NASCAR Testing, Nationwide Series