Just as I was about to complete and publish a post on Wednesday night about Kasey Kahne and his lame duck situation, the story broke that Kahne had been released from Richard Petty Motorsports. And just like that, my 600 word post was out the window. Oh well. I then spent the next 30 minutes or so watching the story develop on Twitter (follow us @nascarinsider - shameless plug over), along with all the reactions from fans, media, and the like. And what I’ve decided, after all that has transpired this season and over the last four days specifically, is that Kahne’s release needed to happen as soon as possible.
What I had written about in my other, now defunct, post for Thursday was that in a nutshell, Kahne brought this lame duck situation on himself. His days as the top driver at RPM were over the second he announced his intentions to leave. He was still going to get good stuff, but the full brunt of RPM’s resources would now be focused on their future. If that angered or frustrated him, he really had nobody to blame but himself.
With that said, I understand his frustration over part failures and bad performance. He wants to run well, and from his perspective, the cars were not letting him do that. I would have been mad too.
But, even with how the season has gone and knowing what transpired at Charlotte, I have to say this: you absolutely never quit on your team. His guys have been behind him all season, and to quit on them in a moment of anger is a complete slap in the face. I don’t care if he was sick or not. Kahne is a very talented driver and has a very bright future with Hendrick, but in this case he was wrong. And it was his refusal to get back into the car after it was wrecked that sealed his fate at RPM.
In the end, this move benefits all parties involved. RPM is rid of an unhappy driver who wanted out anyway, and Kahne gets to make his move to Red Bull early (which we all expect will happen at any second).
What will be interesting to see now is just how well Kahne is able to perform in the Red Bull equipment. They have struggled all season with their own performance woes, and now Kahne will have just a few races in 2010 before taking over for another lame duck season in 2011. Not exactly a positive combination of factors.
In the end, for me personally anyway, I will remember this situation more for Kahne’s antics at Charlotte than for RPM releasing him early. If a driver wants his guys to fight for him every week for 36 weeks, he must do the same for them. It’s this ability to fight through adversity that separates the good drivers from the great drivers.
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Two weeks ago New England Sports Ventures (NESV) agreed to purchase the Premier League Football club, Liverpool. The deal was facilitated through a vote by the team’s board which ousted the team’s current ownership in a forced sale. The soccer club, one of the most successful in league history, has been mired in recent years under crushing debt and abysmal performance. The fans, the banks, and the board had had enough.
So you’re probably asking what soccer, and more specifically Liverpool, have to do with NASCAR? Well, not a whole lot, except the two share past and present owners – George Gillett and John Henry.
NESV, if you’re unfamiliar, is a sports investment company principally owned by billionaire John Henry. Among the company’s assets are the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and half of Roush Fenway Racing.
The guys unceremoniously booted out of Anfield are Tom Hicks, the former owner of the Texas Rangers and current owner of the Dallas Stars, and George Gillett, the former owner of the Montreal Canadiens and current owner of Richard Petty Motorsports.
Hicks (who by the way has been in the news this year because of the bankruptcy and subsequent takeover and sale of his Texas Rangers) and Gillett sought an injunction in the sale of Liverpool. The High Court in London turned down the pair and a Texas judge, after briefly granting an injunction, allowed the sale to move forward. Hicks and Gillett have threatened a billion dollar lawsuit – they have backed off this some though.
What makes this particularly uncomfortable in NASCAR is the close partnership Gillett’s Richard Petty Motorsports has with Henry’s Roush Fenway Racing. The two share equipment, drivers, and a compound in Concord, NC. Now John Henry isn’t exactly a fixture in North Carolina, but you can imagine, with Gillett and Hicks likely to lose A LOT of money, where this might be less than ideal.
You can amp up the uncomfortableness should Gillett and Hicks decide to do file a lawsuit against those involved in the sale, including Henry’s NESV.
In all honesty, I don’t think the business relationship of RPM and RFR is any worse for the wear, but it’s still an interesting story. Just think, if you’re Foster Gillett, George Gillett’s son and the managing partner of RPM, what happens if you have to deal with the Fenway Sports Group, NESV or John Henry himself?
If you watched the Sprint Cup race at Dover two weeks ago, you caught a glimpse of what might be the future for AJ Allmendinger. And if he continues to run like he did, that future looks very bright.
It’s been an up and down ride for Allmendinger through his short career. From getting the opportunity to come to NASCAR with Red Bull Racing, to getting booted for another unproven open wheeler (Scott Speed), and then getting a rare second shot in the Cup Series with Richard Petty Motorsports. And now this season, Allmendinger appears that he has made strides and could be right on the edge of becoming a contender on a weekly basis.
Allmendinger, currently in his fourth year in the Cup Series, has had his best season to date. He’s improved in every statistical category including points position (19th), laps led (176), and average finish (17.8). He’s picked up one top five and seven top ten finishes this season, and earned his first career pole at the spring Phoenix race. And in his last four starts, Allmendinger has four top 12 finishes.
At Dover, Allmendinger qualified second, and led 143 laps before a cut tire killed his chances to win. Before the tire problem though, Allmendinger had built up a several second lead and appeared to be the class of the field. Even with having to pit under green, and losing a lap, ‘Dinger still fought back to finish 10th.
If the proverbial light has come on for Allmendinger, it couldn’t be coming at a better time. It was announced only a matter of weeks ago that he would be returning to RPM for the 2011 season as the driver of the famous #43. And with the departure of Kasey Kahne, ‘Dinger now becomes the main guy for Petty and the Gilletts. He will be tasked with helping to not only revive RPM, but also bring the #43 back to prominence.
Allmendinger has proven over the course of his career that he can win, and I believe it’s only a matter of time before he and his team break through. A strong run to the finish of the 2010 season could well give this team the momentum they need to propel them to contending for wins regularly in 2011. I wouldn’t even be surprised if this team was in the Chase discussion come next summer.
Is this week dragging by? Don’t worry, a holiday weekend is approaching, and with it comes Truck Series action at Kentucky, and NNS and Cup racing at Atlanta! While we wait for it to get here, we’ve got the 90th edition of ATIW for you. 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 Anonymous:
Training for pit crews, how is it done? Is UTI the only show in town? By the way great articles, very well written, has given me a much better understanding of NASCAR, and I haven’t watched my first race.
The UTI campus in Mooresville, also known as NTI, doesn’t actually specialize in pit crew training. They are more about teaching guys to be mechanics. They do offer a pit crew class as a part of their program, but it is very basic. Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) in Mooresville does offer a much more comprehensive program for teaching people to go over the wall, as do a few other smaller programs. Tire changer and TV analyst DJ Copp actually runs his own small program for teaching guys and providing pit crews for example. Outside of that, some teams will have developmental pit crews they work with, or they will hand pick guys to bring in and train. The opportunity also exists for some shop employees to come out and learn. There are really several avenues for learning the skills. – T.C.
2. From Brandon:
Love the site! With the start and park drivers would NASCAR ever consider paying the purse based on laps completed? It seems if a team was only going to get 10% of the purse for running 10% of the laps it may eliminate some of the start and parking going on…
It’s certainly a novel idea. I think the big thing for NASCAR is not penalizing a team who competes every week and has bad luck but discouraging the practice of starting and parking. While this would certainly discourage the practice, as these teams wouldn’t be making much money off of this, it could also hurt a team trying to make a go of things. It’s definitely tough to find a perfect solution for this.- Journo
3. From Peter:
Sorry if this is a repeat question. Why do the gas can carriers always shake the empty can while timing down the balance of the second can?
What you are seeing when the catch can man is shaking the can is him signaling to the jackman that the car is full of fuel. When the tank is full, fuel will run out of the vent tube on the back of the car and into the catch can. Once the jackman sees the signal from the catch can man, and knows that his tire changers are finished, he will drop the jack and send his driver back to the race. – T.C.
4. From Craig:
With the NFL determined to go to an 18 game schedule, possibly pushing the Super Bowl deeper into February, do you think it will force NASCAR to change to the Daytona Speed Weeks schedule? Possibly going back to the old days when they started the season at another track before speed weeks to avoid a conflict with football?
It’s certainly possible that NASCAR would consider pushing the race back, or trying to accommodate the NFL if they pushed the post-season further into February. From the way I understand it though the NFL is just talking about taking away two pre-season games and starting the season earlier. If that happens it shouldn’t affect NASCAR’s schedule. – Journo
5. From Joe:
Have you heard anything about all of the engines NASCAR took to check for differences in horse power?
I know there weren’t any penalties associated with the check. And since we haven’t seen any more about it, we can assume NASCAR decided everything was fine. If they had found one manufacturer had a significant advantage over another, they would have made a rule change to level the playing field. – T.C.
6. From Brian:
With Petty saying this week that there will only be two cars, what was all the “exciting news” Petty, AJ, and Marcos talked about coming at each of there press conferences? What else is in store at RPM? Or is there nothing left to announce?
I’m sure what they were talking about were sponsor announcements. As far as I know they’re just going to be a two car team next season. – Journo
7. From Allen:
I’ve noticed when I attend Cup races if there was a Nationwide or Truck race the day/night before the “official” haulers are still in the infield. You know the ones with the giant Series logo’s on them, is there a reason they don’t leave with the team haulers?
As far as I know the Series haulers don’t generally return to North Carolina after races, so they aren’t in a hurry to leave the track like the teams are. They have to be at the next track early in the week, so they go straight from wherever they’re at to wherever they’re going. – Journo
8. From Michael:
“There was passion (and one middle finger), and boy was there carnage.” Who flipped the bird?
Steven Wallace to Ron Fellows. Here is the video – fast forward to 7:30. - Journo
9. From Michael in SoCal:
During Villeneuve’s last pit stop on Sunday, why was the catchcan kept in the car after the fueling was complete as they finished the four tire change?
Once the car is completely full, sometimes excess fuel will spill out of the vent tube. Keeping the catch can in until the last minute means less of that fuel ends up on the ground. Remember that it only takes one spark from a lugnut to set fuel on fire, and the less there is on pit road, the better it is for everyone involved. Also, spilled fuel is very slippery, so by not allowing spillage, it also aids in keeping the crew members on their feet during the stop. - T.C.
10. From Marcus:
Do you guys know what the state of the new Cup car is? They were really talking about it alot and lately they haven’t said a thing about it. With only 12 races left this season you would think that if they really wanted to implement it they would be designing it and getting ready to test it but all I have heard is that they would like to make changes to the current car to make it look more like the new Nationwide car. Just wondering if you guys have any more info or if you have heard anything in the garage area lately. Thanks.
Changes to the COT have certainly been discussed, but we’ve heard probably not until the 2012 season. NASCAR and the teams need enough time to properly test any proposed changes, and the teams would need time to implement these changes to their fleets. – T.C.
11. From Red Neck:
What type of coolant is used in NASCAR? Is it plain old water, anti-freeze or a mix?
Teams just use water to cool the engines. Anti-freeze is not needed because the cars are never driven in conditions that would require it. – T.C.
12. From Mike:
At the near end of the Nationwide race in Montreal, Robby Gordon ran out of fuel. Nascar told him to pull over and park (I believe the grass area in turn 2). Was that a safe move? What if his car would have been hit? Or Robby!
Absolutely. Robby got out of the car. This is actually not at all uncommon in most road course racing series. This is why they have local cautions to alert drivers of an issue in a certain part of the course – this avoids unecessary full course cautions. While NASCAR doesn’t utilize the local caution, this was not a surprising move given there were only a couple of laps left. So to answer your question, Robby was safe and the drivers were all well aware of his car’s position on the track. – Journo
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!
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.
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We found out this last week that Kasey Kahne would be making a one year stop at Red Bull Racing before he takes over the #5 full time at Hendrick Motorsports for 2012. A lot of questions still remain about Kahne’s future, but one of the big ones is who will be his crew chief next year and beyond. His current crew chief, Kenny Francis, has been mentioned as an option, but Red Bull already has two crew chiefs in Ryan Pemberton and Jimmy Elledge, and Alan Gustafson is firmly entrenched at Hendrick. So if you are Francis, what do you do?
Rumors are flying about Francis’ future, and I’ve heard everything from he’s staying at RPM, to he’s leaving with Kahne. Whatever the case though, he may not have a ton of options.
Let’s say for the sake of argument, Francis will follow Kahne to Hendrick. The problem then becomes what does he do next season? Sit around in his office at HMS? Or maybe become some sort of competition consultant until Kahne arrives? With Kahne making the stop at Red Bull, there is no way Red Bull would allow Francis to come in and run Kahne’s team. Why you might ask? Because then Francis would have access to all of Red Bull’s testing, engineering, and setup data and however good that information might be, Red Bull would not be okay with him then taking all of that data to HMS.
If Francis hasn’t been offered the HMS job, does he stay at RPM or try and move on to greener pastures? Everyone is expecting RPM to announce they’ve signed Marcos Ambrose during tomorrow’s scheduled press conference, so that may certainly be an option for him. Other than staying though, it doesn’t really appear as though he would have many options for next season. Most of the crew chiefs for the marquee drivers are locked up long term, and I’m not sure Francis would take anything other than a high profile job with a team that had a shot to win championships. RCR will certainly need a fourth crew chief next season, but would he be interested in working with Paul Menard? There are certainly question marks for Matt Kenseth next season, but they may turn back to Robbie Reiser. There are always going to be rumors about Lance McGrew, but other then that, Hendrick’s bosses are solid. I also wouldn’t expect any changes at Penske, Gibbs, Stewart Haas, EGR, or MWR. So while anything can certainly happen over the final part of the season with driver/crew chief relationships, Francis’ opportunities may be severely limited.
So if you are Kenny Francis, what would you do?
Ever since this story first leaked out over the weekend, there has been a ton of discussion about Kasey Kahne’s move to Red Bull for the 2011 season. While the official announcement from the team answered a few questions for Kahne and Hendrick going forward, it created a bunch more for Red Bull. Looking over what we know about the deal, it appears to me that the only party who is benefiting from this move is Hendrick Motorsports.
Think about it. Hendrick found a way to bring Kahne in when the team was ready for him, supposedly not pay a dime for Kahne’s temporary seat, and keep Mark Martin in the #5 for the remainder of his deal. Put a nice big red bow on it, and you’ve got yourself a nice little package.
Here is why this deal doesn’t really help anyone else out.
First, what exactly is Red Bull getting out of having Kasey Kahne for one season? Red Bull’s GM Jay Frye attempted to compare this deal to when the Vikings brought in Brett Favre, saying the team will benefit from having a proven winner driving for them. That would be all well and good if Red Bull actually had the pieces in place to win. From what they’ve shown all season though, it appears as though that isn’t the case. The #83 team had a very solid 2009 season, winning a race with Brian Vickers and making the Chase, but that success from last year did not equate to continued performance this season. In the 11 races Vickers drove before the blood clots forced him out, his average start and average finish were down significantly from the previous year. He did have two top ten finishes, but he also had four finishes of 29th or worse, including two DNFs. And with Scott Speed’s struggles, and the driver merry-go-round in the #83, it will be very difficult to gain any momentum or make gains for 2011.
I also think it’s important to note what this means for Red Bull’s teams and drivers for the future. If Vickers cannot return and Kahne fills the seat in the #83, where does Red Bull go after 2011? If Speed is released, and Kahne takes his ride, who replaces Speed for 2012? In both cases, Red Bull loses a year of developing a driver and his chemistry with the team for the future. If Red Bull starts a third team specifically for Kahne, what happens to that bunch after Kahne leaves? Is it really worth opening a team for one year, just to shut it down?
For Kahne, the whole reason for him leaving Richard Petty Motorsports was to join a team that would make him a perennial contender. Obviously HMS is an upgrade from RPM; but Red Bull arguably is not. So what good does this deal do for him if he gets in a Red Bull Toyota next year and struggles worse then he did in RPM equipment? With the way the #83 and #82 have performed this season, it’s difficult to believe this team will make the quantum leap into real contention next season. And don’t expect Red Bull to get any support from HMS. While Kahne could certainly use the help, it would be a very bad deal for Hendrick to give Red Bull anything, seeing as how they are competitors and they don’t share a manufacturer. So what Kahne ends up with is a throw away season that is just serving as a place holder until he moves to HMS. Not good for a driver’s confidence or his brand.
It’s also not good that Kahne is essentially under contract with HMS, but is going to work for a team that has ties and partners that conflict badly with those at HMS. Most notably Red Bull vs. Pepsi and Toyota vs. Chevy.
So while I do give kudos to Mr. H. for finally finding a spot for Kahne, and doing it to his advantage, on the other side I think it’s a mistake. This deal just doesn’t make a ton of sense, and it appears it could be another in a long line of questionable calls made by Jay Frye and Red Bull’s management.
The Watkins Glen road course provided some great racing this weekend, but while the action on track was interesting, so were some of the rumors floating around the garage. We heard a few different bits this weekend that we wanted to share, and I figured I’d weigh in on them with some of my own thoughts.
First up, we reported on Twitter (follow us @nascarinsider) yesterday that we’d heard NASCAR took a box of lugnuts from Marcos Ambrose’s Nationwide Series team during the race. Word is that they were illegal in some way. Don’t be surprised if the team is penalized this week. I don’t expect NASCAR will take the win away however. Quick Update: Scenedaily.com’s Kenny Bruce reported via his Twitter page that NASCAR did indeed take lugnuts from the #47, but later decided there was no issue.
The most ridiculous rumor that we’ve heard on a few different occasions recently, is that Red Bull Racing is shutting down at the end of the season. I know the team’s performance has been abysmal this season, and question marks surround both of the team’s normal drivers, Brian Vickers and Scott Speed, but this is one I just don’t believe. There was even a report late this evening that Red Bull may be where Kasey Kahne ends up for the 2011 season. Some major changes are probably in order for this team internally, but don’t expect them to close down any time soon.
While Red Bull’s future is probably safe, we have heard that Kevin Conway’s days might be numbered at Front Row Motorsports. It sounds like the team has grown tired of Conway’s poor performance, and this group will struggle mightily to make races if the #34 falls out of the top 35 in owners points. They are currently 35th in the standings, only 182 points ahead of 36th. A few more bad finishes, and Conway will be on the outside looking in. To this point in the season, Conway has had a guaranteed starting position in every race, due to some fancy number wrangling by owner Bob Jenkins. With one team already outside the top 35 however, thanks to the tire debacle at Pocono earlier in the year, Jenkins can’t afford to have another team fall out. Word is that Extenze would continue sponsoring the team, but another yet-to-be-named driver would be brought in.
Richard Petty Motorsports officially announced on Friday that AJ Allmendinger had signed a multi-year agreement to remain the driver of the #43 Ford. With that settled, a number of other questions still plague this organization; namely sponsors and other drivers. With the rumblings that Paul Menard is taking his family sponsor to RCR, Kahne’s known departure for Hendrick, and Elliott Sadler’s apparent dissatisfaction, Allmendinger is short a few teammates for 2011. We are still hearing that Ambrose will probably end up in either the #9 or #19 next season, and a deal may be close between the two parties, pending sponsorship. Another name that has popped up as a potential replacement for RPM next season is Aric Almirola. Almirola has revived what appeared to be a fading career this season with a strong NCWTS campaign to this point that currently includes two wins. The young driver also impressed folks a few weeks ago with a third place finish at ORP driving for JR Motorsports #88 NNS team. If the team can find sponsorship, Almirola would be a decent addition.
Like I wrote on Friday, it’s certainly been a crazy Silly Season, and there are still plenty of dominoes left to fall. It will certainly be fun to see what plays out.