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Is Rusty Wallace Racing becoming the new Robby Gordon Motorsports?

RWR announced this week yet another management change. The team released #62 crew chief Brad Parrott, and named Larry Carter general manager and interim crew chief of the #62.

Team owner Rusty Wallace told Sirius Speedway yesterday that he is “tired of jacking around, running outside the Top-10.” He said the problem with the teams was a lack of chemistry.

Besides appreciation for the wonderful – and quote worthy – description, I can’t help but think this is wishful thinking on Rusty’s part.

Parrott joins a long and distinguished list of crew chiefs that have come and gone from RWR over the past few seasons. The list includes Bryan Berry, Tony Liberati, Harold Holly and Trip Bruce. The rate of turnover is reaching Robby Gordon levels (ask Larry Carter about that) – and to be frank every time I see a new crew chief named over there I wonder to myself how long it’s going to last.

It’s hard to believe in all the crew chiefs they’ve gone through (truly a diverse group of guys with personality types that run the gamut) they never found one who clicked with the driver and/or team.

Obviously performance hasn’t been stellar, but maybe the crew chiefs aren’t the problem. I hate to say this, but maybe it’s Rusty (unrealistic expectations), or maybe it’s the drivers.

Don’t get me wrong, Brendan Gaughan and Steve Wallace are both good guys (Brendan is probably the nicest guy in the garage), but both are at a point in their careers that consistent and/or great finishes are going to be sporadic.

Brendan has always been good for a decent run here and there, but the peak of his career has probably passed. He hasn’t won a national event since his almost-championship winning Truck Series season in 2003. He also hasn’t averaged a finish in a national series better than 16.5 since 2003.

And Steve is still a driver very much in development. Could he eventually win races. Absolutely. But is it possible that he won’t pan out? Sure. I think the expectations for Steve need to be realistic given his current abilities. He’ll run well some weeks and won’t others.

I think too often crew chiefs become the scapegoat of the organizations they work for. The best crew chief in the world can’t make a driver drive, or turn a driver into something he is not.

For the time being Steve’s crew chief Scott McDougall looks to be in an OK position, but it’s hard not to wonder how long that will last if Steve doesn’t start performing better. The million dollar question though is what happens to Larry Carter if/when Brendan doesn’t start performing better?

They might not quite be RGM at this point, but I can tell if I was a crew chief I’d think twice before heading over to RWR.

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The end of the NASCAR offseason draws ever closer, but to tide you over until Daytona arrives, 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:

How much accuracy do you have in tire pressure?

Most digital tire pressure gauges read pressures to the tenth of a pound.  From there, it is about how accurate your gauge is. - T.C.

2. From Marc:

Happy New Year!  Has there been any more talk about the disposition of the two “orphan” teams, the 26 from Roush and one of the Petty/Yates teams?  I realize that NASCAR has to approve of any sale and nixed DEI selling their fifth team after buying Ginn, but they did let Teresa Earnhardt use the #15 points to enter Front Row’s #34 last year.  Could another such deal be in the works for, say, the new Fords of #37 being “owned” by Max Jones, or will the two teams just disappear, allowing the 82 and 71 in the top 35 (and the 09 if the 07 disappears after Daytona)?

Good timing. Jayski’s reporting a Vermont businessman is buying the #26 equipment from Roush. I honestly haven’t heard anything about this deal, but it’s my understanding from the way NASCAR has done things in the past that they won’t be allowed to sell owner points. The problem arises because the past team owner would be listed as the owner. As Jack Roush already has four teams he can’t be listed as an owner on another car (this would be the same issue for RPM). This is very similar to the DEI-Ginn points situation (they would have exceeded the car limit). NASCAR allowed DEI to sell the points to RCR and Front Row last year because they didn’t exceed the car limit. You’ll notice Teresa Earnhardt is listed as the owner on the #34 and Bobby Ginn as owner of the #33. If NASCAR operates like they did in the past I would expect the points to disappear. Richard Childress though would be allowed to sell his points if he so chooses.- Journo

3. From Jeff:

My question is about car numbers.  Back in 1993, Petty Enterprises ran the 44 instead of the 43, but the next year, they went back to the 43.  If I remember correctly, this was because NASCAR  told them that if they did not use the 43, it could be assigned to another team.  Am I right or wrong about this, and if that is the case, why haven’t they done the same with the number 3?

NASCAR holds all the rights to the numbers. No one technically owns any number. So if NASCAR wanted to, they could giveaway the #3. Would they do that? No. This is a courtesy to both Richard Childress and the Earnhardt family. Should Richard Childress decide he wanted to use it, he would certainly be allowed to. There isn’t a shortage of numbers so there really is no reason why NASCAR would allow someone to use the #3. – Journo

4. From Lyn:

Hey, after reading the last column, it seems as if you still have some hope for Reed Sorenson to do well. Is this true?  Personally I think he has all the talent in the world, he was just thrust into Cup way to fast with a team that couldn’t provide quality equipment, even RPM couldn’t do that.

While I think Reed was pushed too fast into Cup, my confidence in his abilities are not great. Reed has had opportunities at decent teams, and just hasn’t done anything. His average finish actually got worse every year he was at Ganassi. At RPM he had even fewer excuses because AJ Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne all out-performed him. Kasey Kahne even won two races in 2009 and participated in the Chase. I think the Nationwide Series is a good place for Reed. He’s always been competitive there. Maybe he’ll be ready at some point to give the Cup Series another try, but I don’t think he’s got it right now. – Journo

5. From Dennis M:

When will NASCAR wake up and shorten the caution periods for minor incidents like debris? We see the debris, we watch them pick it up and then we watch five to seven more laps of yellow flag parade. It would be a lot more interesting if you had to take your chances with a pit stop instead of knowing you had a yellow flag for X number of laps. Pick up the debris and put the green out!

With the rules the way they are, caution periods last a little longer because of pit stops, the lucky dog, and the wave around rules.  I think NASCAR tries to use “quicky yellows” as often as they can, but sometimes cleanup crews need more time.  With that said, don’t expect to see any changes here any time soon.  NASCAR is always going to take as much time as they see fit to make sure the racing surface is as safe as possible. – T.C.

6. From Brian:

Here’s my question for Ask The Insiders:  Does NASCAR require that a Cup team have a pit crew when they show up at the track?  Can you qualify and start the race without a crew?   Can you keep racing without a crew?

NASCAR doesn’t require teams to have a crew. In fact next time you’re at a race look for the start and park teams on pit road; they usually have one or two guys in the pit. You could keep racing without a crew but you’re going to have trouble when you need fuel or tires. The point of a pit crew is to service the car and do it quickly. Without one you can neither service the car nor do it quickly. – Journo

7. From Jerry:

Guys I responded to your question a few weeks ago about changes NASCAR should make. One of the things I said was get rid of the wing. Lee Spencer is reporting today that it looks like that is a change coming by Bristol. What do you think?

I’m taking a wait and see attitude with this one.  I haven’t really talked to anybody about this one yet and I don’t know enough about aerodynamics to know how this will affect the COT.  I’m also not sure if this is the magic bullet that will fix the “bad” racing everyone has complained about.  What I do know, is that this change will cost teams thousands of dollars, because all of their old data will become useless when this change is made. - T.C.

8. From Anonymous:

Was reading an article that the rear wing will be replaced with the spoiler. Have you seen this change implemented yet? Now to get rid of the splitter and a more aesthetic nose!  Enough of the off season. Come on Speed Weeks 2010!!!

I have yet to see a car with a spoiler on it yet.  I’m sure it’s only a matter of time though.  The teams won’t make any major changes to their fleets until they know for sure the change is coming. – T.C.

9. From Kevin:

Hi Guys, I have a couple of questions about RWR.  Do Rusty’s long term plans include going to the Cup Series?  Also, do you guys expect they will see great improvement with the switch to Toyota/JGR? Also, how much longer/how many cars will little Rusty get to wreck?  That would be a good bet this year!!  I know some people hate Rusty, and he can be a jerk sometimes, but I hope he has success b/c the sport needs owners like him.

I honestly don’t know what their long term plans currently are. There has been talk over the years about them going to the Cup Series, but like all things that takes money. It’ll be interesting to see how the JGR program works this time. Remember Hall of Fame had a technical alliance with Gibbs a couple of seasons ago and that didn’t turn out well. I think some changes have been made from that initial program though, so it might be a good thing. I know Rusty would like to see Steve in the Cup Series, so they’re in this for the long haul. – 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!