You saw it today.
Brad Keselowski pounded a concrete barrier earlier in the week during a test session at Road Atlanta, ended up with a painful avulsion fracture in his left ankle, and somehow went on to win at Pocono. And to think earlier in the week there was talk he may not race at all this weekend. Now, he’s in a very good position to make the Chase.
We’ve seen it many times with stick and ball sports. A guy gets hurt, and then somehow goes on to have the game of his life. Names like Kirk Gibson and Byron Leftwich immediately come to mind. Gibson hit a huge home run in the World Series and could barely run the bases because of sickness and injured legs. And we all remember Leftwich getting carried to the line of scrimmage by his teammates after he broke his shin during a game while at Marshall University. The really tough players know that when they aren’t at their best physically, they need to dig a little deeper. Often times guys rise to the challenge and discover a new level of focus. And that focus leads to unbelievable performances.
What we all witnessed on Sunday at Pocono was a tough competitor doing exactly that. Keselowski, who even spun his car during practice on Friday, was able to overcome the pain of a fractured ankle and beat a lot of really strong drivers for his second win of the season. And in the process, he put himself in position to race in his first Chase. Talk about coming up big in a very difficult situation.
I’ve seen it mentioned on Twitter that maybe Keselowski shouldn’t have raced because of the injury. I understand the argument that you want your fellow competitors to be in tip-top shape when they are racing around you at 200MPH. And I might even buy that argument, except that Brad K. was cleared by doctors. Yes he was injured, but it’s not like he was suffering from a head injury. If he’s up to it, and the doctors say it’s okay, then have at it.
We could be witnessing the creation of NASCAR’s next big name, and if Sunday’s performance didn’t earn Keselowski your respect, then nothing will.
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NASCAR Interviews From Pocono
Photo Courtesy of NASCAR Media
News and Notes From Pocono – Here are some of the questions asked to the drivers this afternoon after they practiced for the Sprint Cup race on Sunday at Pocono.
Jeff Gordon:
HOW WAS YOUR BIG BIRTHDAY?
“It was great! It was really sweet. My daughter came in in the morning, singing Happy Birthday to me. That was very special. And throughout the day, you start thinking wow, I’m 40. Every once in a while it kind of sinks in, but again it’s just another day and it’s been 40 great years. Especially after having that spectacular run at Indy; and the way we did it, it made for a great week.”
HOW WAS PRACTICE?
“We struggled today. We pretty much came back here with the same set-up that we had here the last time; very similar, we’re trying to make a few improvements in our qualifying runs because we’re afraid it might rain tomorrow. We’re pretty far off. We looked at our notes from the last time we were here and we pretty much have the exact same situation. We struggled in practice for qualifying runs but we qualified really well. So hopefully it doesn’t rain tomorrow and we can get that run in. If not, we’re going to be starting middle of the pack. And when we went in our race runs, I thought we were pretty competitive.”
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ‘SWEEPING’ BOTH RACES AT POCONO SO TOUGH?
“Well, the conditions; even though it’s a short period of time that goes by (between the two Pocono race dates), it just seems like the track conditions are quite a bit different when we come here the second time. The first time usually it’s a little cooler and I don’t know what it is, but the track just seems to have a little more grip. When we come the second time we just really struggle to get the grip in the car. We’ll find out. So far, it hasn’t been really super-hot here today or anything. So far, it seems like the conditions are fairly similar to what we had the last time.”
HOW DOES THE WILD CARD IMPACT THE SEASON?
“It’s making it very interesting. I think it creates a lot of story lines. It basically keeps everybody in it. In the past, when you were outside the top 12; let’s say you’re 16th or 18th, you pretty much feel like you’re out of it. Where now, especially somebody like (Brad) Keselowski, who has won a race, you know he wins one more race and his chances of being in there are very, very good. I like the fact that it pushes people to take a little extra risk to try to win races. I wish Paul Menard hadn’t taken quite as much of a risk as he did last weekend (winning at Indy), but I think that’s what it opens the door for is somebody who is capable of winning races to still be in the Chase. So, I like that.”
Tony Stewart:
HOW WAS YOUR CAR DURING PRACTICE? “I think we’re all right. I feel like we are better on both qualifying package and race package than we were last time we were here. We’ll wait and see but I am cautiously optimistic that we are better.”
HOW HAS THE WILD CARD IMPACTED THE SEASON? “I think it has definitely opened up opportunities for guys that may not make it in the top-10 but that one win is going to be a big deal. I think it has a lot of potential to add a spot for somebody that’s had a lot of bad luck in the year but was still able to put together that good day and put themselves in the Chase because of it.”
DO YOU GUYS LOOK AT IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU? “I don’t know. We are kind of in the that weird spot in the points where we are trying to make it in on what we’ve got and not have to not rely on that wild card spot. If you finish 11th in points and you didn’t get one of those wild card spots, you’d say it hurt you. Hopefully we’ll get in on our points and won’t have to worry about it.”
IS THERE ANY IMPACT PSYCHOLOGICALLY WHEN YOU ARE NINTH IN POINTS VERSUS BEING 11TH? “Not really because one day can still change all that. You still just have to take it a week at a time. You really don’t think about it during the race. I don’t think about it from the driver’s side, I don’t know if Darian (Grubb, crew chief) thinks about it. From our side every week, just trying to win the race and not really worry about the points side of it. There is nothing you can do, you just have to go out and get as many points as you can and that s the same thing you do to try to win the race each week so it just makes it easy.”
Clint Bowyer:
TALK ABOUT COMING HOW YOUR TEAM IS PERFORMING RIGHT NOW: “We ran well at Indy. We didn’t finish well. I felt like we had a shot at even winning the race there at the end before that last pit stop. We just played our cars wrong. It seems like that’s what these races are coming down to anymore is the pit strategy and making the right decision and then having a little bit of luck involved in that. That is the thing. At Kentucky, it bit everybody and what everybody thought. Obviously at Indy, it stayed green and Paul (Menard) won the race. That was probably the neatest thing about Indy was seeing my teammate who had never won a race win one of the biggest races of the year. I was really excited about him winning that race. Bummed out about where we finished because we had a lot better car than that. Biggest thing was the huge boost in confidence going into to Pocono that we have got things turned around. We had speed back in our car. We learned some things. I feel like we will have a good weekend here at Pocono.”
SINCE CARL HAD MADE HIS DECISION, WHERE DO YOU FIT IN? “We’re working on it. That is the biggest thing as far as contract stuff. I feel like we are getting close and we are working on it and hopefully we’ll have that done. But right now, I’m not worried about that at all. I’m worried about getting this thing back in the Chase and taking care of business on the race track. Those two DNFs in a row killed us. That took us from seventh-eighth in points to 12th, outside looking in. The wild cards are obviously taken it looks to me like and we’ve got to focus on gaining as many points as possible in the next six races and get ourselves back in. I think that is our best chance of making the Chase is consistency and running up front and racing our way back in the Chase. That is what we are made out of with our race team and the organization at RCR. That is what is going to be getting us back in the thing as we do.”
IS IT GOING TO BE TOUGH FIGHTING FOR A SPOT WITH YOUR OWN TEAMMATE? “No, because I’m not really fighting him. I’m not racing him. I’m racing Junior, Denny Hamlin…the guys in front of me…Stewart, Newman. Those are the guys you are going to have to race for ninth and 10th. Paul looks like he has a really good chance of being in the Chase using one of those wild cards. But I feel like I racing to be able to race my way in for ninth or 10th place.”
DO WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE WAVE AROUND RULE AND OPEN UP PIT ROAD ALL THE TIME, NO MORE CLOSING TO IMPROVE COMPETITION? “I’m not on-board with that. You are on your own with that. There are so many things they (NASCAR) has done good to get the product better on the race track. I feel like the wave around rule if you need it, it is very handy. But if you don’t need it, it costs you points. If you are points racing, if you are trying to catch up, it makes it difficult because somebody can have a bad day and at the end of the race how these cautions come out sometimes can put them right back on the lead lap and get a decent finish when they would have had a really bad finish and you could have gained a lot of points there. But, I’m telling you on a day when you need it, it makes it pretty handy. It just depends on what side of the fence you are on. As far as the fans, there are two ways of looking at it. Obviously it makes a difference on the points side of it if your favorite driver doesn’t. But if your favorite driver gets that wave around and gets back and in the race and is able to run up front, there is a lot of different ways of looking at that. I think that as far as that goes I am satisfied with what we have right now because even if you get it, you still have to race hard to get back up through the traffic even if you are on the lead lap. You are in a bad predicament right there in trying to dig yourself out still.”
Ryan Newman:
HOW IMPORTANT IS NUTRITION TO YOU AND WHAT IS YOUR DIET BEFORE YOU GET IN THE CAR?: “I just did the Goodyear boot camp and I made it in a minute three seconds on my first round and 42 seconds on my second round. I made some improvements and I’m up here sweating like a pig. I’m not the best guy to ask that question to. I know for me it’s really important, as you can see right now, I sweat a lot even when it’s this cool and humid, I do sweat a lot so inside the race car I sweat even more. Staying hydrated is a big part of staying fit because once you become dehydrated, your body locks up and therefore your mind locks up and then you get a little frustrated inside the race car. For me, I’m all about staying stretched, staying limber and staying hydrated. I have enough muscle mass, I just have to make sure I get to the end of the race.”
WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THE NEXT SIX WEEKS BEFORE THE CHASE?: “We’re by no means locked into the Chase because of our victory. We’re in a good position and we’re in a much better position after the last three weekends than we were before that. I don’t think we go out here and try anything. I don’t know if there’s anything that we try as far as a setup or anything like that. We have things that we always want to try with the testing policy and procedure the way it is, there are things that we have a list on that sometimes you don’t have the guts to try on a race weekend because in hindsight you say, ‘I wish I hadn’t of tried that,’ more often than not. Ultimately, we do what we think we need to win and sometimes when it calls for thinking out of the box or trying something because we’re struggling and we need to try something, that’s what you do. That’s usually up to the crew chief more than it is the driver to figure out what you’re struggling with and making those calls.”
WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN FROM DANICA PATRICK AND WHAT KIND OF SPRINT CUP TEAMMATE DO YOU THINK SHE WOULD BE?: “I see just like you guys do, the things that are written, the things that are speculated and at the same time, if you were to grade Danica’s (Patrick) NASCAR success’ and failures, what would that grade be? I think she’s done a good job. I’ve said before and I would say again, and I don’t mean this at all in a negative way, if she wasn’t a she, she wouldn’t have gotten as many chances as she has. I know she’s got plenty of talent. I’ve said from the very beginning that when I saw her save, I think it was in qualifying a few years back at Indy, she saved the race car when it got loose and most people can’t do that whether it’s a she or a he. She’s got a ton of ability and she’s been put in an extremely new situation and we’re in a roundabout way, a bunch of wolves as drivers. When she came to NASCAR, she took a big step and I don’t think she’s tripped or fallen. I think she’s had to lengthen her stride a few times, but she’s done a fair job in my opinion.”
Kevin Harvick:
WE’VE GOT SIX RACES LEFT BEFORE WE START THE CHASE, YOU’VE GOT THREE WINS, OBVIOUSLY YOU WANT MORE THAN THREE WINS, TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT AND TALK ABOUT YOUR TEAMMATE PAUL MENARD WINNING THE BRICKYARD. “The whole dynamic of the way that the wild card situation works I think has really made it exciting leading up into these last few weeks because you have a situation like Paul’s last week that leads you into not only your first career win and a great moment for him and his family and the team but it puts you in the championship contention of making the Chase with that win. It really revitalizes the enthusiasm in the team. A lot of the other guys are in the same situation and when you look at how many people have won this year I don’t think anybody would have thought as many people, different drivers have won races and its made it really interesting to see how it’s all going to play out. When it comes down to one win its going to come down to who is the highest in the points. For us it’s a little bit different. We’re trying to make our way through a lot of scenarios with our set ups and taking too many chances and sometimes they’ve worked out and sometimes they haven’t. Right now I still feel really good about where our team is. I think we have a good plan for the Chase and some good R&D projects that are coming up over the next couple of weeks and we’ll see how it all plays out. So far so good and we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and keep trying things.”
YOU AND CARL EDWARDS HAVE COME TO TERMS AND MADE PEACE, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THE DRAMA THAT’S PLAYED OUT OVER THE LAST MONTH OR SO WITH HIS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS; IT’S OBVIOUSLY BEEN A DISTRACTION TO HIM. “Being in that situation before it’s a tough situation to be in with your team just because all the guys look at you like man why are you leaving, things are going pretty good. Really the way he’s handled it has been very quiet and kind of his own way and it looks like it all worked out. So I think the guys that it effects the most, you know as a driver it really doesn’t affect you, it’s kind of just part of it and you kind of just do what you do but the guys on the team and the part that you affect the most if you’re in a situation where you don’t have sponsors, it’s impossible to get a sponsor, so I think that’s probably what it came down to more than anything, was when it’s time to resign your sponsors and you don’t have a driver you’re not going to sign a sponsor.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT R&D PROJECTS, THE NEXT SIX RACES ARE PRETTY UNIQUE TRACKS, WHAT CAN YOU LEARN THROUGH THAT THAT YOU CAN USE IN THE FINAL 10 RACES? “I think everything applies. No matter where you go. It may not be exactly the right bump stops or this or that, the little detail things that you do at every race track but overall you have the basic car and set ups and aerodynamics and all the things that come with that, they’re going to apply everywhere. You’re not going to have that fine tune, you’re not going to have the right travels with the front of the car and things like that but overall if it’s better at one place it’s going to be better at the next.”
Paul Menard:
A BIG VICTORY FOR YOU AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. TALK ABOUT WINNING THE BRICKYARD 400, ABOUT YOUR WEEK, AND COMING INTO POCONO. YOU’RE OUTLOOK HAS GOT TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT NOW THAN IT WAS BEFORE
“Yeah, I’ll try to talk up. I’ve been nursing a little bit of a sore throat here. I woke up Sunday morning with a little bit of a sore throat and this was not a good week to help that. It was just a really neat deal that the marketing team and everybody had set up. Obviously we won the race, but it was four hours after the race by the time w got back to the airport. I went home and had maybe two or three hours of sleep. Woke up at 5:30 Monday morning and got on a NASCAR plane to go to Bristol, Connecticut and ESPN and got to see how SportsCenter and all the different programs up there work, which was pretty cool as a lifelong sports fan. We got back at a decent hour and I finally had some time to sit by myself Monday night and have a drink and just enjoy the moment, I guess. And then Tuesday was a little bit slower. I actually worked out with my trainer Tuesday morning and got a little sweat going, so that was good. I did all the SPEED studio stuff on Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday, I took my guys out for lunch and spent the day up at the shop between RCR and KHI; and here we are at Pocono. I actually got about 11 hours of sleep last night trying to kick this cold and its helping.
YOU SAID YOU ARE SICK THIS WEEK. HOW IMPORTANT IS NUTRITION WHEN YOU’RE OUT THERE DRIVING? DO YOU HAVE A DIETICIAN OR A NUTRITIONIST? WHAT IS YOUR DIET LIKE? WHAT DID YOU EAT BEFORE THE RACE AT INDY LAST WEEK?
“Oh, I had pancakes for breakfast on Sunday. That was the first time all year I had pancakes. Normally I have cereal or oatmeal. So I think Jennifer is going to be cooking pancakes a lot this year! During the week I try to watch what I eat; low sodium stuff. If you go eat out, obviously sodium is your worst enemy. I just try to watch my sodium intake and if I have too much, then I definitely know it on Friday or Saturday when I’m sweating in the car. It’s nothing special. I don’t have a dietician or anything. Thirty years of living, you kind of know what works for you.”
WE’VE SEEN GUYS WHO GET A WIN AND SOMETIMES THEY RATTLE OFF TWO OR THREE MORE; AND SOMETIMES THEY GO YEARS BEFORE THEY WIN AGAIN IF THEY DO. WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES THE DIFFERENCE ON THAT?
“Yeah, I hear you. I’ve got a really strong race team. We won a fuel mileage race. I understand that, but we also had a really good car all day long and we’ve had good runs this year with three or four top-fives. If we just kept knocking on the door, I felt like we were going to get one (win) if things just kind of played our way. We’ve had fast cars. Some guys maybe had to stretch fuel mileage a little bit differently or just kind of lucked into one. I don’t feel like we lucked into one; and I feel like we can get a few more.”
HAVING HAD A WEEK NOW TO TAKE IT ALL IN (WINNING THE BRICKYARD 400), WHAT IS THE SENSE OF VALIDATION IS THAT DAY FOR YOU?
“It’s hard to say, but on my cell phone, and this is probably the coolest part, I have a picture of us in victory lane and that’s something that I’ll probably have on my cell phone for the rest of my life, do you know what I mean? It’s just something that I’ll always have with me. As far as myself personally regarding validation or anything like that, I’ve spoken to that before, they’ll still be detractors or whatever and I don’t really care about that. But we won the Brickyard 400 with Slugger Labbe and Richard Childress and all the guys that have put so much work into that car. It was a brand new race car. And I held off Jeff Gordon to do it and got my dad his first win. That’s validation enough for me.”
NASCAR Interviews From Pocono is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Awesome Race Fans - By Awesome Race Fans for Awesome Race Fans
Love it or hate it, fuel strategy is going to continue being the name of the game over the next few weeks. The last two Cup races and the most recent Nationwide Series race were all decided on late race fuel gambles, and the next three Cup races are all at tracks conducive to fuel mileage races.
Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and Justin Allgaier all picked up the most recent wins because they were able to stretch their mileage just a little bit more than everyone else. Their crews were able to squeeze every possible ounce of fuel into the cells during pit stops, and the crew chiefs and engineers burned up their calculators making sure they could make it to the end.
These races may not always be the most exciting to watch from the stands or on TV, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of drama anyway. Those responsible for making the decisions and figuring fuel mileage are always holding their breath as the laps click away. Adrenaline is flowing and there never seems to be enough Tums around.
The next three Cup races are at Pocono, Michigan, and Sonoma. Pocono and Michigan are both big tracks that aren’t known for a ton of cautions. The cars get spread out pretty quickly, and there is plenty of room to race. That means we’ll see a lot of long green flag runs and situations like we’ve had at Charlotte and Kansas will happen again. Teams running further back in the pack will gamble on track position and we could see more first time winners.
At Sonoma, everyone works their strategy from the finish of the race backwards. The teams will figure out what the earliest lap is they can come in to pit and still make it to the finish, and work their strategy from there. Track position is always a big key, and fuel mileage plays a big part. Marcos Ambrose lost a chance to win at Sonoma last season because he could not get his car re-fired under caution after he’d been riding around with the engine off to conserve fuel.
We haven’t seen a ton of fuel mileage hate from the fans up to this point because we’ve had some exciting finishes. But that doesn’t mean the hate won’t make an appearance over the coming days. Just remember that sometimes the driver wheels a strong race car to the win, and sometimes clever strategy from those on the pit box rules the day.
New Site Design It’s taken a little longer than it probably should have, but we finally gave TNI a much needed facelift! Take a look around and let us know what you think. And we are open for more suggestions if you have any tag line ideas…
The idea of multi-car qualifying is nothing new to motorsports. Our readers who follow Formula 1 racing (or other open wheel series) know what I’m talking about. It is however, a fairly new system for NASCAR. We’ve seen the Nationwide Series use the process for road course races over the last few years, and this season the Truck Series has used it at Pocono and will again use it at Kentucky this weekend. CBS Sports reported on Thursday that NASCAR may be considering implementing multi-car qualifying for both the NNS and Cup Series on a regular basis. Is anyone else wondering why?
It appears that the main reason this system would be adopted by all the NASCAR series is to speed up the qualifying process. That’s fine, but I didn’t realize there was a problem with how quickly qualifying happened. This appears to me as something that isn’t necessarily broken, but NASCAR wants to fix it anyway.
Personally, my biggest objection with the multi-car qualifying idea is how fair this would be for everyone involved. We’ve seen plenty of times in other forms of racing where one driver’s bonzai qualifying lap was ruined by another driver in the name of strategy. With so much at stake, and the measures that teams go to in terms of finding an advantage, it isn’t crazy to think that this could happen in NASCAR. Single car qualifying runs eliminate any possibility of tampering by another team.
On top of that, what if a driver blows an engine while qualifying, and the other driver on track drives into the oil left behind and wrecks their primary car? A team could potentially have their weekend ruined before the race even starts. How is that fair? Under the system we have now, this would never happen, because NASCAR has the ability to clean the track in between qualifying runs.
With the current state of the sport I realize that NASCAR is trying to find ways to improve the racing and get more people to not only attend races, but also to watch on TV. To me though, implementing multi-car qualifying will cause more problems then it actually fixes.
With big announcements flying this week, the teams are getting geared up to head for Bristol for a little short track Saturday night action. Don’t forget, the Truck Series races tonight at the ”World’s Fastest Half Mile.” 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 Michael in SoCal:
Following up on Franq’s question from last week about using the road course at Indy for the Cup Series race, what about using one of the road courses at Pocono? If the Cup Series is going there twice within a span of about seven weeks, it might be a nice change of pace, Your site is a daily read! Thanks.
Thanks Micheal! The Pocono road course is nowhere near ready to handle a NASCAR race – as we saw a couple of weeks ago the main track isn’t either. Even if Pocono were interested in upgrading their road course, I still don’t think NASCAR is all that interested in adding road courses to the schedule. I do agree though seven or eight weeks is a little ridiculous between races, and any change would be welcome. – Journo
2. From Dan:
Hey guys I know you all remain anonymous but what I wonder about is how you get info (outside the technical stuff) without raising suspicions. The answer you gave last week ( Ask the Insiders #87) about the Target sponsorship and the deal they have with EGR/ CGR I would think would be only privy to those associated with that team. Of course that’s not to say you all couldn’t find out. But couldn’t someone connect the dots after seeing an answer to a question? Like hey I was asked that last week by so and so. Hope what I’m saying makes sense. Anyway just curious.
Well we would never ask someone a question that appears on the site for the exact reason you suggest. If we ever don’t know an answer to a question or can’t easily find out through inconspicuous means we’ll tell you we don’t know. As far as last week’s question goes, Ganassi’s program is very well known to those who are familiar with sponsorship in the sport. On top of those at the team that are familiar with the program you’ve got to consider all the people connected with those individual sponsorship deals that are also familiar with it – literally hundreds of people currently and formerly associated with the team and sponsors. – Journo
3. From red8814:
I understand that Sadler’s helmet, seat & HANS were all scheduled to be scanned for fractures following his wreck at Pocono. If a driver is in a far less severe, “moderate” wreck that takes him to infield care b/c the car won’t start up, is there any automatic review of his safety equipment, including the belts/harness?
Not that I am aware of. All over the rule book in the section about safety gear, it is repeated that the drivers are responsible for their own safety equipment and it’s proper usage. NASCAR is in no way responsible for any of it. – T.C.
4. From Michael in SoCal:
Any thoughts on why Robby Gordon put PJ Jones in the # 7 and moved himself into the # 07 last week at Michigan? Thanks.
Robby put PJ in the #7 car because he knew they would be guaranteed to start the race (PJ qualified 41st) – he knew he would be much better positioned to get into the race on speed (he qualifed 35th). And then they both start-and-parked – the double start-and-park, always a classy move. – Journo
5. From Ryan:
T.C.-After reading that Casey Mears will take over the Germain #13 car starting at Atlanta and full-time next year, I’m wondering how well do you think he will do?
I wouldn’t expect much from this move. While Mears is certainly more experienced than Papis, his performances certainly haven’t been stellar over his career. Let’s remember that this is the same Mears who struggled at Ganassi, Hendrick, Childress, and Red Bull. He certainly won’t resurrect his career in an underfunded Cup car for Germain Racing. – T.C.
6. From Denny:
Have been reading a blog which mentions something about Reuti running a non-approved intake supplied by TRD on the engine which won at Chicago. Even one of the announcers stated Reuti showed-up with a different intake for this race. How could they possibly get away with this, with all of the inspections going on, both before and after the race in Chicago. Also, reading that NASCAR will be testing engines after MIS. Does anyone, other than NASCAR officials get to view the actual testing? Will these be a real dyno test…..on a stand-type engine dyno or just a chassis dyno? Thanks for the great info, as always!
Honestly, I don’t know anything about this. If it’s actually true, both MWR and TRD have done a remarkable job keeping it quiet. NASCAR’s inspection process is certainly extensive, and if any other team caught any wind of this, it would have been reported to NASCAR immediately. That fact alone makes me question the validity of what you’ve read. And after Michigan, NASCAR did take 16 engines from various teams. Since they only took the engines, the dyno tests will be done on a standard dyno, not a chassis dyno. Don’t expect NASCAR to make the results public unless a drastic rule change comes about because of the tests. – T.C.
7. From Allen:
Why doesn’t NASCAR consider doing the “side by side” coverage, commercials on the right and the race on the left? If IndyCar can pull it off we can.
It’s all got to do with the way the advertising is structured within NASCAR’s TV deals, and I’ll be honest I really don’t know all the specifics. It’s feasible, we’ve seen them do it with the Coke Zero 400 on TNT, but I don’t know that NASCAR and their broadcast partners are all that interested in doing it. Here is an article from 2006 that answers some of your questions. – Journo
8. From Justin:
I know questions about payouts have been asked before, but none of it really makes sense. Just a few examples from Michigan. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19th $86,050, David Gilliland 36th $86,148. Brad Keselowski 34th $98, 535, Sam Hornish Jr 32nd $79,950. Clint Bowyer 13th $89,975, Jeff Burton 24th $111,565. The payouts don’t make any sense. Why would one team apart of the same organization take part in different contingency programs? What contingency program could David Gilliland be a part of that Dale Jr isn’t?
It’s not all about what contingency programs a team is involved in. The reason some drivers make more then others depends on what contingency programs a team is involved in AND in what payout plan a team is in. I believe NASCAR has four different plans setup, and each team fits into one of those plans. I don’t know specific details, but the plans award prize money based on not only where you finish, but also past performance and longevity. – T.C.
9. From Newracefan:
I heard several times on Nascar Now about the HMS cars not having speed. I know when I listened to the 48 scanner Sunday on more than one occasion JJ was sayong the car was good but Chad was saying it he wasn’t fast enough. Is there something to this?
It is certainly possible for a car to have a good balance with the chassis setup, but just not be very fast. I’m just speculating, but maybe they were missing something aerodynamically, or they were possibly down on horsepower a bit. Let’s not forget that Johnson still finished 12th, so it must not have been that bad. – T.C.
10. From Lost in Texas:
With Kahne and Ambrose settled for next year, does this make Sadler the top free agent on the market for this year and who is the top ride that will be looking for a driver?
Well, unless a team does something drastic, or a team like Gibbs finally starts a fourth team, there aren’t really any open rides left. If Scott Speed and/or Brian Vickers don’t return to Red Bull, there might be an opening there, but that’s about it. Besides that, RPM is realistically the only team left with openings. Childress, Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, Stewart Haas, MWR, EGR, and Penske are all full up for 2011. So I guess you could make the argument that Sadler is the top free agent driver, but without any openings, I’m not sure that means much. – 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!
Two weeks, two problems and frustrations again boiled over on the radio between Juan Pablo Montoya and his crew chief Brian Pattie.
With the four tire stop that cost them the race at the Brickyard still fresh in their minds, Montoya entered the pits for a late race stop at Pocono. As he pulled in his box he rolled just ever slightly forward screwing up the teams rhythm and costing them time and positions.
What resulted was a 17 second pit stop and a profanity laced tirade that included Pattie telling Montoya he needed to go to Charlotte and practice pit stops, and Montoya telling Pattie, “Screw you!” He further blamed Pattie for making a bad call.
On the surface this appears to be the beginning of the end for the Pattie, Montoya relationship. Tension is building and that is evident in these select interactions between the two. Still, despite all the trouble the two have had this season I don’t think things aren’t quite as bad as they seem.
Juan Pablo Montoya is known for his temper, and his spectacular (I say sarcastically) ability to express his opinion and frustration – normally it involves an ‘f’ and a ‘you’.
Brian Pattie on the other hand is about as cool, calm and collected as they come. The difference in their personalities is one of the reasons I believe they have had such a productive (though not as successful as they would have liked) relationship.
It can’t be denied this hasn’t been a great season for team #42. They’ve had just four top-fives and sit 21st in the points. Most damaging of all, Montoya has had seven DNFs. On top of that it doesn’t look very good that his teammate Jamie McMurray has already had two wins in his inaugural season with EGR.
This was Montoya’s season to shine. Now he’s being outshined. Add that to some missed opportunities because of what turned out to be wrong decisions and Montoya is not very happy with his racing – and that’s translating to frustration with Pattie.
That brings us to the million dollar question: what does that mean for Brian Pattie and JPM going down the road? Is this the beginning of the end?
I don’t think so. No doubt this is a rough patch in their relationship. But I think the progress that has been made and the relationship that has been built is too valuable to give up on.
Fortunately for Pattie and Montoya, Chip Ganassi isn’t Jack Roush. And through the rough spots there have been moments of near triumph. It’s a matter of consistency and good luck, and right now the #42 team is struggling.
Given the right circumstances this is a team and combination that can be successful – I think outside the fleeting moments of anger all parties involved know that.
Road racing returns this weekend as the Cup and NNS cars head up to Watkins Glen. While they are turning left and right, and doing backwards pit stops, the truck series takes on the Nashville Superspeedway. As we work through another week, here are 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 Garry:
How often do you AND your driver practice the exact routine of the car pulling in and out of the pit stall? How many times does it take to be perfect? When you are working with a new driver or at a tougher track (like Bristol) do they allow you extra time to practice a lot? Is it true that “pit mates” (drivers in ajoining pit stalls) try to coordinate their stops, to stay out of each other’s way? It seems so many things can go wrong. Do you have any good stories about bad blood rivals who are battling and then winding up next to each other? ( e.g if Horse face and lil Brad wound up next to each other. It might make things interesting)
You won’t find most drivers at the shop driving the pit stop car for practice. Some teams will use their development drivers or just a shop guy to do the driving. Once most guys get to a certain point in their career, practicing getting into and out of the pit stall just isn’t necessary I guess. And the only real example of a track that sticks out where we might do some extra practice is for this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen because the pit stops are backwards. Other then that, the rest of the tracks get the same amount of prep usually. In terms of pit road neighbors, you try as much as you can to coordinate stops, but often it just isn’t possible. The hope is that the guys around you are either on a different lap or fall out early, so your driver has a clean path in and out. And there are plenty of times where teams end up pitting next to each other and things get ugly. There have been instances where crew members have thrown lugnuts and other objects at an opposing driver as they come by, pit boards have been hit by drivers, there have been plenty of shoving matches, and there is always going to be a ton of yelling when things go south. – T.C.
2. From Bill:
Why not let the cars that make the chase all race together and have another race for the other cars. Nascar asks the other cars to move over and not race the chase cars. This makes for poor racing and the other cars cannot win.
I’m not really sure what the question is here, but NASCAR doesn’t ask other cars to roll over for the Chasers. In fact Jamie McMurray, a non-chaser, won the race at Talladega during the Chase last season. – Journo
3. From Michael:
Regarding Tool sponsorship. Mac, Snap-On, Craftsman, etc. Are the tools given to the teams, discounted, or on loan? Or is each team contract different with each vendor?
The contracts can be different, but for the big teams, when the team itself needs tools, they are usually given or highly discounted. Remember though, the guys who work in the shop use their own tools and must pay for all of their own equipment. With the shop guys, they are usually given a discount, but nothing is free. – T.C.
4. From Marty:
After watching the wide array of tire strategies at Pocono I offer you this question… Has anyone ever taken 3 tires in a pit stop? How about just 1 tire?
Not that I’ve ever heard of. Getting one tire takes the same amount of time as it does to get two, as does the time for three versus four. So it wouldn’t really make sense. Plus, it would give the car really odd handling characteristics to have grip at one corner, but not the others. - T.C.
5. From Jackie:
On Sunday’s race, I noticed that start and park teams would come in and then go back out on the track – Why? Do they not want to be listed as last or are they trying to better their position? At what point in the race do the start and park teams say enough is enough and call it a race?
Most are trying to just be able to finish a little better. Remember most don’t have pit crews, so if they are going to run longer then a tire/fuel run, they’ve got to do something to change tires and add fuel. A few minutes in the garage can do the trick. And the agendas will vary by team. Some of the bare bones operations will just run a few laps because they are fine with last place money. Others might be attempting to make more money, and score more points, so they may stay out longer. – T.C.
6. From Debbie:
While watching the Pocono race a driver, I want to say Denny Hamlin, but don’t quote me on that, said his tires were over rotating. How can that be and what does that mean? Thanks!
I’ve never heard a driver say his tires were over-rotating. I have heard them say that about their car though. If a car is over rotating, it just means it’s loose in the corners. – T.C.
7. From Kevin:
First off, the 48 dumped the 2. Everybody who has ever watched a race with bump drafting knows you dont do it unless your wheels are straight. The 48 was turning left the entire time and clearly turned the 2. No question about it. Kurt should have gone and kicked some ass. I am sure he will in coming weeks. Secondly, how great was the racing at the end of the race? For about 20-40 laps there we saw some of the best racing of the season. All through the pack. I am so tired of the people complaining, if they didn’t like the racing right after the rain stoppage then they should just quit watching, b/c it won’t get much better. Finally, do you think the recent success of two tire stops is due to the flat nature of the last two tracks? I imagine someone taking two tires at say, Vegas, will suffer a lot more due to the speed all the way around the track. I do enjoy the mixing of strategies though.
To your first point, I don’t think Jimmie dumped him, I think Jimmie got sloppy and made a poor decision. To your second point, I couldn’t agree more. I think we have had stellar racing this season. And to your last point, the two tire strategy works when everything comes together right. Certainly tire wear is a factor, but how many laps are left, who took four versus two, and how many all play a role. It has played a role the last two weeks. – Journo
8. From steve:
Any idea what was going on with Brian Pattie and Montoya, especially Pattie’s barb that Montoya needs to come to Charlotte to practice pit stops? How redfaced do you think ESPN is that they had zero cameras on Sadler? But for his crash sneaking into the Busch coverage, they would have had nothing at all on one of the worst wrecks in NASCAR this year.
Montoya screwed something up, and they had a 17 second stop (I would imagine he messed up getting into the box), so Pattie called him out. Montoya was then upset that Pattie called him out, and he was upset about losing track position because they got four tires. JPM is notorious for his ability to express his feelings. To your second question, I think it’s the nature of the beast. This sort of thing is the nightmare of every sports television director – missing that key play (or in this case a wreck) because they didn’t have a camera – but it happens because you just can’t have cameras everywhere. I’d be willing to bet there have been some serious discussions this week about how to make sure this doesn’t happen again. – Journo
9. From Lost in Texas:
Anything new in the Jeremy Mayfield case?
I haven’t heard anything new. The last I heard was that Mayfield’s legal team had asked Judge Mullen to reconsider his ruling, a formal step before they can appeal to the 4th Circuit Court. – Journo
10. From Kipp:
T.C.- This is a great outlet and source of information and discussion. Thank you for you and Journo’s efforts. With the recent fine given to Denny Hamlin, have you worried any about potential fines or punishment coming from NASCAR for operating on this forum?
Thanks Kipp! Glad you are enjoying what we do. And no, neither myself nor Journo is worried in any way about being fined or punished by NASCAR. We operate a very fair website, and if they ever took exception to something we wrote, all it would take is a simple request, and they could post a rebuttal here. Also, I think it’s important to note that NASCAR didn’t fine somebody in the press, it was drivers. If they did ever try and penalize a media member, it would come to light pretty quickly. And, as our regular readers know, we’ve been very critical of NASCAR at times (see Tuesday’s blog post), and they have yet to even bother contacting us. – T.C.
11. From derek:
Why does a crew member use a propane torch to heat the tire up and then scrape it?
The crew guy is using the torch and the scraper to clean off any build up on the tires so the tire specialist can get an accurate reading of the tire’s tread depth after a run. When a car is running around the track, especially under caution and heading to pit road, the hot tires will pick up rubber and all sorts of other things. Cleaning them allows the teams to figure out how much rubber was actually worn off over the course of a run. – T.C.
12. From M. Sauter:
With the season winding down, and sponsors signing or leaving, when should Kahne fans begin to panic?Right now, he has no ride and no sponsor.
There isn’t a point you should start panicking. Kasey will be in a car next season. Where that’s at is still yet to be seen, but Kasey will absolutely be driving somewhere next season. Rick Hendrick didn’t sign Kasey to sideline him. Don’t worry! Everything will be worked out…eventually. – Journo
TC played the ‘NASCAR homer’ in his post yesterday, so I figured I’d balance out the week and criticize NASCAR today.
The Truck Series is making their Pocono debut this weekend and you can count me among those not excited. In fact I’m a little irritated the sanctioning body added this event to the schedule (though I’m excited for Darlington).
For a long time around here I’ve been making the argument that the Truck Series needs a purpose – desperately. It lies somewhere in between the Friday night show and the senior tour. It’s fun to watch, but in the grander scheme of the sport it doesn’t really have much value.
Personally I’d like to see the sport take up something resembling the role it had when it debuted back in 1995: tough trucks with tough drivers and rough racing on short tracks in areas that don’t normally get big time NASCAR racing. I digress.
Pocono is just not the right place for the series. How many have you have watched an ARCA race at Pocono? It’s a miserable experience. You spend a good portion of the race under caution because half the field has wrecked; when they finally do race, it’s follow the leader.
Guess what you can expect from the Trucks on Saturday? The same thing. With Denny Hamlin, and Kasey Kahne in the field, I think it’s probably a good bet that it’s not going to be a great race for the series regulars. On top of that, it’s Pocono.
Sure they’re changing the qualifying procedure, but really do many of you watch Truck Series qualifying? Do you care?
I don’t mean to be down on this, really. The Poconos are beautiful and there really is a great fan base up there. It’s just that the track doesn’t generally provide for much excitement.
Perhaps this thing will be successful. I hope for the sake of the series it is. But given the less than spectacular history of Pocono, and a field that includes two Cup Series regulars (and Pocono vets), I’m putting my money on it being a boring race, with a Cup driver winning.
Series Director Wayne Auton is very excited for this. I guess that’s a good thing – at least somebody is.
After yesterday’s story about Front Row’s possible infraction at Pocono, we are hearing today that the penalty from NASCAR could be the biggest ever handed down.
When NASCAR makes the announcement later today or tomorrow, expect the penalty to include a $250,000 fine and 300 driver and owner points for Travis Kvapil and owner Bob Jenkins. A suspension for crew chief Steven Lane will also be included.
This penalty tops the sanctions handed down last season to Carl Long’s team after his engine was discovered to be too large at Charlotte.
Like we’ve said here before, NASCAR will always be harshest about infractions dealing with engines, tires, and fuel, and they are obviously using this situation to reinforce that notion.
No word yet on how this will affect the team’s status moving forward. Expect the team to appeal the decision.