As I watched Kurt Busch cross the finish line first last weekend, all I could think about was one thing, wouldn’t it be sweet payback if he won the championship?
Busch of course left Roush Racing at the end of 2005, just a year after winning the championship, under very bad circumstances. Remember that traffic citation out in Phoenix? Needless to say there is a lot of animosity between Jack Roush and Busch. And that has carried on through the years.
Periodically, Roush likes to needle the driver. This season Roush took the shot while praising crew chief Jimmy Fennig.
“Jimmy is a consummate stock-car racer. Heck, he even won a championship with Kurt Busch. He can do anything.”
Ouch!
Despite the critiques from his former owner Busch sits tied for third with Tony Stewart, right in the thick of Chase contention. It’s got to feel good for Busch to finally have his move to Penske paying off – even if it took a few years.
Steve Addington is the other piece to the payback puzzle. He joined forces with Busch at the beginning of last season after being released from Joe Gibbs Racing. He had been with the younger Kyle Busch for several seasons at Gibbs – but things soured.
At the time of his firing, Addington said he was surprised about getting let go.
“Do I agree with it? No… But it is what it is, and I felt like we had a good run.”
Busch said they were either feast or famine that year and all involved chalked up the release to performance issues. Who wouldn’t have been angry about a four win season? Kyle’s only been slightly more consistent since Dave Rogers took over, but that’s neither here nor there.
Addington and Busch are, in some ways, the ultimate castoffs. Both left or were forced out of organizations with which they were having a lot of success. And together they have the chance to show their immediate past employers what they missed out on.
While there is still a lot of season to go, this is definitely an interesting story to keep an eye on.
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2010 hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Joe Gibbs Racing teams of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin this weekend showed his recovery from ACL surgery is going to be tough if even just for his own stubbornness; and for the second week in a row Busch was denied a win because of a bad late race pit call.
After the race at Phoenix Kyle Busch was fuming mad. His anger at his situation kept him from doing any post-race interviews, and it was probably all for the best. Fox attempted to interview him, but he brushed them off in what, according to a producer, was TMZ-esque video. They elected not to show it. Had it not been for a late race pit call by Dave Rogers though the TV cameras may very well have been interviewing Kyle Busch in victory lane.
I’m not one to be a Monday morning crew chief (and I know it’s all to easy to do), but what a call? Dave Rogers brought Kyle Busch in for a four tire stop with what everyone knew would be a G-W-C finish. He admitted later he knew the #39 and #24 were taking two tires. And while he couldn’t have foreseen getting bottled up on pit road, he should have known two laps wasn’t going to be enough for four tires to matter. The track position, especially at a place like Phoenix, is what was important and with his call he ensured they lost theirs.
To make matters worse this is the second week in a row a pit call by Rogers has cost them the chance at a win. In Martinsville, Rogers elected to bring Busch in behind teammate Denny Hamlin with just six to go. Where Mike Ford was in a tough spot with Denny Hamlin, Dave Rogers was not with Kyle Busch. It was apparent by the time Kyle made the move to pit road that no one of significance was following them in. Ironically it was this pit call that ultimately put Kyle in a position to get wrecked and allowed Denny the chance to win – the first Gibbs Cup win of the season.
I wrote a few weeks ago asking if Kyle had any regrets letting Steve Addington go. The past two weeks have proved to me that my question was justified. Rogers is certainly putting the team in position to win, as is Kyle, but he’s snatching the opportunities back with bad calls. Kyle may not have ended up winning either of these past two weeks but he never had a chance to prove otherwise because of the pit calls.
With the way he has run you’ve got to wonder how long it will be before Dave Rogers gets sent down the river. We’re reaching a point where Kyle is going to be less trusting of Rogers’ pit calls and that’s a problem. We saw how quick they were to get rid of Steve Addington last season and he had four wins and led them to a 13th place finish in the points. All I have to say to Dave Rogers is, good luck.
I also had to question the call this weekend to let Denny Hamlin stay in the car the whole race. It was almost frustrating to watch him run like he did when he had a backup driver itching to get in the car. He had to be in pain and there was no reason for him to finish what was a long race. I can’t imagine driving 378 miles a week after major surgery on my knee.
It was almost like Hamlin felt he needed to prove something to somebody. I know it sucks to get out of the car, but if you’re in pain and running poorly why risk aggravating the injury? If I’m JD Gibbs I would have told him to bring the car in. There were plenty of opportunities for them to come in and make a switch without losing much ground. They just never took it.
The silly thing is the move could have helped them in their championship bid. Instead they finished the day in 30th, two laps down. He was outrun by underfunded Bobby Labonte and Scott Riggs and just barely outran the underfunded and underpowered Front Row cars. We’ll see if he thinks better of it next week.
I know we’re still early in the season and generally speaking Kyle Busch and Dave Rogers’ relationship is still young, but some of the things that have happened this season have me scratching my head. They’re both great teams and they’re more than capable of winning every week, but doing stuff like they’ve been doing is not going to help them down the stretch.
If a certain home improvement store sponsored Chevrolet hadn’t spoiled the show at Bristol, we might have seen a Penske clean sweep of the weekend. But even without the win on Sunday, Bristol showed that the Penske cars have come to play in 2010.
On Saturday at Thunder Valley, Penske’s newly expanded Nationwide Series program stole the show. Sophomore driver Justin Allgaier picked up his first ever NNS win, while teammate Brad Keselowski took the pole, led 72 laps, and finished second. Keselowski looked to be the one to beat, but Allgaier got by him on a late restart and never looked back. Following the race, Keselowski and Allgaier sit second and third in the NNS points, and both trail point leader Carl Edwards by less then 40 points.
After winning the last race at Atlanta, Kurt Busch dominated on Sunday at Bristol, leading 278 laps. A third place finish behind winner Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart was disappointing for the veteran driver, but it appears as though the transition period for Busch and new crew chief Steve Addington is all but over. The blue deuce currently sits sixth in the standings, and this team will certainly be a factor this season.
Besides his strong Nationwide Series runs this season, Keselowski has certainly elevated the performance of the #12 cup car at Penske. Brad K. finished 13th at Bristol after leading a few laps, and was poised for a top five run at Atlanta before the infamous “flip” took him out of the race. The team sits 30th in the standings, but has run better then the results show.
Roger Penske, Tim Cindric, and the management at Penske Racing have made some great moves lately to build a solid foundation with drivers like Keselowski and Allgaier along with Busch and Sam Hornish (if he ever figures stock car racing out). And adding veteran leadership in the likes of guys like Steve Addington, Jay Guy, Chad Walter, and Paul Wolfe have really helped the performance of all the Penske teams.
As the only company-backed team left for Dodge in NASCAR, Penske has done a great job so far this season of carrying the banner. The future certainly looks bright for this bunch, and a pair of championship trophies to add to Mr. Penske’s trophy case is a definite possibility in 2010.
It’s now been eight races, since Steve Addington gave up the reins of the #18 team to Dave Rogers. In that time, Kyle Busch has not done a whole lot. And while the season is still young, and Busch’s and Roger’s Cup partnership is still relatively new, I have to wonder if Kyle isn’t beginning to have regrets about letting Addington get away.
Dave Rogers took over last November in Texas. Since that time Busch has scored two top-ten finishes; a respectable eighth at Homestead and ninth yesterday at Bristol. His average 13.5 finish is better than last season as a whole, but looking at this time last year, Busch had already scored a win and two top-fives.
For his part, Steve Addington, who joined Kyle’s brother Kurt this season, guided Kyle to 12 wins, 26 top-fives, 33 top-tens and three poles in 2008 and 2009. So far, in his first five races with the #2 team, he has racked up one win, two top-fives, three top tens and one pole with Kurt Busch.
While the two brothers only sit three positions apart in the points, they seem to be worlds apart in the momentum they have started the season with. Kyle has consistently run in the middle of the pack and through the first five races of this season only led 66 of 1,566 laps completed. Compare that to Kurt Busch’s 441.
Certainly there are other things one could factor into the success of these two drivers, but the one thing that binds the two and that marks the major change in both organizations is Steve Addington.
While it’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback (or crew chief if you prefer) on these things, the fact of the matter is, he’s proven he is effective with more than one driver.
Stepping away for just a moment, it’s been well documented that Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were at odds at the end of the 2005 season. A come to Jesus meeting with Rick Hendrick helped work out their issues. Since then, they’ve become an unstoppable force in the sport.
I wonder if this sort of thing was tried at Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite the troubles they had last season, it’s hard, in my mind at least, to justify booting the guy who led your team to 12 wins, out the door. Perhaps a meeting would have helped smooth over some of the tensions at JGR. Unfortunately we’ll never know.
Hopefully though this will serve as a lesson to Kyle and to JGR to not be so quick to get rid of the one who ‘brung ya.’ It’ll be interesting to see how the #18 team reacts to their situation and whether they can keep Kyle a dominate force within the sport. Only time will tell.
After a short hiatus, “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” returns for the 51st version. We’ve got a big batch of questions, so lets get right to it. 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 Maytag:
Hey I got to thinking this morning while air-jump starting a ramcar off of a nitrogen bottle , pit crews use compressed gas in a bottle to power the air guns. How many bottles do you go through on any given weekend,race only? I know the guns are hopped up. Do you use special regulators/fittings for flow? Or may I dare ask what PSI and flow rate you use? How about just a range?
It really depends on how many stops a crew does during the race, but the Cup teams and Nationwide teams will usually change their bottles out after each race. Truck teams can get a couple races out of two nitrogen bottles. And I don’t believe the regulators are anything special. In terms of PSI and flow rate, I couldn’t tell you the flow rate, but changers will run PSI anywhere from 90 up to 150. Each changer has their own preference about what PSI to run. – T.C.
2. From Bob:
I just wondering what happened to Yates Racing? I know that they are supposed to “merge” with RPM next year. Is this just a case of changing manufacturers(Dodge to Ford) and picking up a sponsor (Menards)? Will all vestiges of Yates disappear? Seems like Doug Yates just didn’t have his heart in being an owner. Such a shame as Robert Yates Racing was one of the great teams.
Yates pretty much disappeared as an organization after Robert Yates stepped away from the team and Max Jones came in as a co-owner. The last bits of Yates for all intents and purposes became Roush. From what I understand RPM will function much in the way Yates did; as a satellite of Roush. Doug has always been far more involved with Roush-Yates Racing Engines. – Journo
3. From Steve:
What’s the pecking order in the garage? Obviously, the driver is the prima donna, I figure the crew chief comes next, who comes after that and so on? And while I’m asking, how about the pecking order on the pit crew? Where does a poor tire changer fit?
I’m not 100% clear about what you are asking, but the hierarchy for the team is the driver, then the crew chief, followed by the car chief. Everyone after that is pretty much equal. Each team will have their own hierarchies based on seniority, but after those three, it’s wide open. The same is true for pit crews. Outside of seniority, there really isn’t a pecking order. Nobody is more important then anyone else. – T.C.
4. From Ric:
Since there is some talk about going to Fuel Injection in 2011, what does the garage think? Will the production of Black Helicopters ramp up?
I personally haven’t heard a ton of talk about fuel injection. I believe it is being considered, but I don’t think there will be any more black helicopters then normal. There are quite a few other racing series that successfully use and police fuel injection, and I don’t think NASCAR will be any different. – T.C.
5. From Steve:
Perhaps the subject that no one dares talks about out loud… What options does NASCAR have if a championship contender or the leader in a race is deemed to have been intentionally taken out by a friend or teammate of the 2nd place driver? I know NASCAR can penalize the offending driver and I know it would likely end their career, but is there any chance NASCAR wouldn’t allow the beneficiary of such an incident from benefiting? Football has a provision where if a runner is interfered with by someone on the sidelines, they can be awarded the touchdown. Anything similar in NASCAR?
This has actually happened in recent history. In 2003 the truck series went into Homestead with Brendan Gaughan leading Ted Musgrave by 26 points. Jim Smith, Musgrave’s team owner, entered a third truck for Marty Houston, the brother of Jim Smith’s other driver Andy Houston. With 34 laps left Marty ‘got loose’ and wrecked Brendan. Depending on who you talk to, Marty was ordered to end Brendan’s day. Here’s the video. Brendan famously said “Jim Smith can kiss my ass” on live TV. Ultimately it didn’t matter because Kvapil won the championship. While NASCAR can do just about whatever they want, they aren’t going to give anyone a position they didn’t earn (there’s not presently any precedent for it). Potentially a driver could be fined or penalized, but it would be difficult to prove. – Journo
6. From Ric:
When the crew chiefs give info to the driver about who took how many tires (and other things), where do they get the info? NASCAR? Individual organizations? What info / stats do they have in front of them? Can us viewers get this info?
Information regarding pit stops for other drivers often comes from the spotter. They are the ones with the best view of pit road. Crew chiefs can see the teams directly around them, but not those up and down pit road. The only information about the race that NASCAR provides is timing and scoring. Crew chiefs will usually have notes from previous races in front of them, to go along with timing and scoring data. And there is no special system that viewers can plug into to get extra information. – T.C.
7. From Larry:
Given all of the vacillating, that Kyle Busch has done over the past two weeks, pertaining to his 2010 truck team, the picture is as clear as mud. Do you have any idea, as to what is fact and what is rumor? How many trucks and who might be driving them?
Despite the reluctance Kyle has expressed publicly we keep hearing it’s moving forward. We heard early on in the process Tayler Malsam was a candidate, but we’ve heard he’s likely done with NASCAR (by choice). Johnny Benson was another rumor, as was Brian Ickler. Nothing new though. As far as we know though it’s still moving forward. – Journo
8. From Ric:
When a car needs to change it’s paint scheme what is the process? Paint is removed / decal ( not sure what it’s called when the whole car is one big decal) peeled off or is the metal replaced and new metal / paint scheme is put on?
Unless the car’s body is damaged, the metal is not replaced. Most paint schemes are a combination of paint and vinyl wrap (decals). If there is a color change, the wrap is removed and the old paint is sanded off. Then the body guys can repaint and redecal the car. – T.C.
9. From Tim:
Have there been any surprise cuts from Hatchet Day? After wasting most of the year on a bad manufacturing decision, has Roush got it right or will they over-correct in the off-season? (It looks like RCR is on the upswing, it’s great to see The Mayor back up front.) When will someone rip off Jimmie Johnson’s face and expose him for the robot that he really is? I’m so tired of seeing him dominate, in the same way that the haters feel watching Kyle win NWS, but those two boys have some mad skills.
Other than normal spring (or winter?) cleaning that gets done, we haven’t heard of anything big. Most (if not all) of the Wyler and HT Harris shops have been laid off and we’ve heard about some layoffs at Roush. At other big teams though (other than RPM) we haven’t heard anything. The off-season is still very young though. – Journo
10. From Ric:
Crew chiefs get all the blame when something is wrong with the car. How much work does a crew chief actually do on a car? Does the crew chief or the car chief make the decisions on various aspects of things being done to the car? What are the job duties of both?
In most cases with big teams, you won’t see crew chiefs actually working on the race cars at the track. Back in the day they would, but now crew chiefs have become more like team managers. They work with the driver on the setup and then relay changes to the car chief and mechanics in the garage. Crew chiefs work on overall setup and race strategy. The car chief has now become the lead mechanic. Once a base setup is ready, the car chief and an assistant will set the car up in the shop. For many teams I’ve worked for, the crew chief doesn’t even come down off the hauler during practice. Any changes will be radioed back to the car chief, who will lead the other mechanics in making those adjustments. – T.C.
11. From Emanuel:
I apologize if this has been covered, but I was wondering what’s up with the black stripe on Kyle Petty’s #45 hat? Is this in protest of his Dad basically selling the company? P.S. it was great getting to know you guys through your page this season. You guys are awesome.
He wears that in remembrance of his son Adam. Adam was killed during a Busch Series practice at New Hampshire in 2000. Kyle also took over Adam’s #45 number after his death. – Journo
12. From Mr. Ed:
What did you all do for turkey day?
I relaxed at home with my family, watched a little football, and ate some great food! – T.C.
My thanksgiving looked about the same as TC’s. – Journo
13. From BJ:
I’ve read that Steve Addington, former crew chief for Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, has had several calls from interested organizations, but have you heard anything about where he may be in 2010?
This is speculation on my part, but I’ve got to believe he is the lead candidate to replace Pat Tryson as Kurt Busch’s crew chief at Penske. Addington is a proven winner, and he has experience in dealing with a cranky Busch brother. Plus, Penske has the money to throw at Addington. Do not expect him to take over as Dale Jr.’s crew chief at Hendrick. I’ve seen some fans float this idea, but Hendrick won’t go back on his decision to keep Lance McGrew, unless something really drastic happens. – T.C.
14. From Michael:
With Nascar mandating that the 26 Team be shut down (since Roush was unable to move the team anywhere), where do the owner points for the 26 stand? Can Roush sell them off? Do they just disappear into the vapor? Scott Speed fans want to know. Thanks.
I believe they will just go away. Since Roush cannot have five teams, I don’t believe NASCAR would allow a fifth car next year to have Roush as the listed owner (which is what happens when points are sold). This is similar to the DEI/Ginn situation a few years back. DEI was not able to sell the points from the remaining Ginn teams because that would have put them over the team limit. – 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!
Apparently everyone is in a question asking mood, because we have (I believe) the largest ATIW post ever. So we’ll just get right to it. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering 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 Patrick:
This popped up the other day when I was watching Happy Hour, the #38 team was having trouble with the placement of pedals, specifically the steering column rubbing against the brake. It got me to wondering, how closely – if at all – does NASCAR monitor seat placement? By moving the seat a few inches around it seems teams could change the cars balance. Is there a mandated location for the seat?
NASCAR mandates how the seats are built and also how they are mounted, but there really isn’t a whole lot in the rulebook about where the seat is mounted. It would be tough for NASCAR to do, because every driver is a different size and they all have certain preferences for seat placement due to comfort. – T.C.
2. From Steve:
As to the difference between the 48 and the 24, during an episode of NASCAR Now, one of the panelists said a difference between Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon is that Gordon steers (or maybe it was drives) with the steering wheel while Johnson prefers to use the gas pedal. First, please explain the difference. Second, why and when would there be an advantage to one style over the other? Is there something about the COT that makes it more amenable to Johnson’s style?
Often times guys that came up on asphalt will do more with the wheel, and guys that came up on dirt will do more with the throttle. On dirt, car control is based off throttle modulation because for so much of the track the car is in a slide. Drivers can’t do a whole lot with the wheel in a slide. These types of drivers who control the car with throttle are successful with the COT because the only way to be fast is to set the car up loose. This certainly isn’t a rule, but it is very common. – T.C.
3. From Tom:
Hey guys, I’m a relatively new NASCAR fan watching from the UK. I was wondering if you could answer a quick question. I watch a lot of F1 and while the casual observer might think that the cars all look the same, they are actually all different and with different engines etc. How does this work in NASCAR…obviously there are different manufacturers, but it also seems like different teams using the same manufacturer have different cars. Is this correct? And what does the Car of Tomorrow actually mean?
First, there are some small differences between the cars, but not many. The chassis for the COTs are all generally the same. The bodies have some minor differences, and the engines differ between manufacturers. Nobody uses different models within the same manufacturer. The Dodge is a Charger, the Chevrolet an Impala, the Ford a Fusion, and the Toyota a Camry. A few years back, Cup cars resembled what is currently used in the Nationwide Series. After a few driver deaths, in order to improve safety, NASCAR redesigned the Cup cars and this new version is referred to as the COT (or Car of Tomorrow). – T.C.
4. From Thomas:
I just read an interview with Jimmie Spencer & Kyle Petty & they both blame the COT and it being so sensitive that a 1/8″ change will mess it up. However, every week we hear Knaus talk about “we kept making changes till we got it better.” How can #48 make all these changes & the others cannot? I think it is because JJ wants a very loose car which gives them more leeway for changes. HHmmmmm!!!
They’re certainly a lot more sensitive, but there are a lot of different changes that can be made in different areas. Certainly Chad Knaus isn’t the only one playing with the car; everyone is doing it. He’s just having a little more success with it than other teams, so he and the #48 are the ones that get talked about.- Journo
5. From Barry:
Any news on where Bobby Labonte might end up next yr? And, any news on the state of Motorsports Authentics? Will they stave off bankruptcy?
Bobby’s been rumored to TRG and EGR. TRG has actually expressed interest in him, and I do know he was talked about for the #1 car. I don’t think the #1 car is as likely as TRG though. As far Motorsports Authentics goes, I haven’t heard anything more since their SEC filing a couple of weeks ago. They’re in trouble whatever the case. With NASCAR looking to combine licensing efforts, it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. – Journo
6. From Savannah:
Hey guys! How closely does NASCAR monitor the driving history & violations of drivers off the track? Can a driver face disciplinary action by NASCAR if they have too many speeding tickets? In the recent Michael Waltrip accident, the police reported alcohol was a contributing factor in the wreck, although Waltrip was barely under the legal limit. Would NASCAR force him into rehab since this does cause some embarrassment for the sport (and it is not his first accident- the telephone pole incident of 2007)? Driving drunk or buzzed is something that is totally avoidable and just plain stupid, especially when you are a high profile person. Kurt Busch was sidelined by Roush for just being issued a ticket. I can’t wait to hear what excuse Waltrip’s camp will issue after this latest incident. I hope that all drivers will take notice and be sure to have a sober driver behind the wheel after they have been partying/drinking/ carousing.
I can’t think off the top of my head of a situation where this has happened, but I would guess NASCAR would be inclined to dole out a penalty if a driver were legally drunk and driving. Remember Waltrip was within the law. In the situation of Kurt Busch the incident occurred at the end of the season, one in which Kurt was jumping ship and he was not well liked around Roush. It wasn’t a difficult decision for them to suspend him for the remainder of the season. Obviously I contradict myself because NASCAR didn’t do anything with Kurt Busch, but I would guess they could slap a driver with “actions detrimental” if they wanted. I agree with you though, this situation should be an eye-opener. – Journo
7. From Tom:
Why do the NNS cars look so jacked up on one side when looking at them from the rear?
It’s the way the bodies are hung on them. In order to take full advantage of the aerodynamics of the cars and the spoilers, the teams twist the bodies. That way, when the cars are in the corner, they are getting maximum downforce, and hopefully maximum grip. I’m not an aerodynamics expert, but the idea is to get the spoiler as far out into the air as possible when the car is in yaw. - T.C.
8. From Woogeroo:
Howdy folks. At each race weekend, is the same pace car used? Does each series have it’s own or is it a track by track deal the track operators have with whatever manufacturer?
It depends on the contract the track has. For instance Martinsville is a Toyota track while I believe Homestead is a Ford track. – Journo
9. From Marc:
With Silly Season in full swing, I am trying to get a handle on who controls the points in some of the top-35-points-related team “mergers” from this past year. I assume, for example, that Penske will keep control the points of the 77 team, having “acquired” the 2008 points from Bill Davis and his old 22 team. And, Childress will keep the points from the 33 (which got the 2008 points of the old 01 team). But, what about the 34 team? Will Front Row Motorsports keep the points for the team or do they go back to DEI/EGR? Will Yates keep the points from the 96 team or will they go wherever HOF racing partners next year? Does JTG Daugherty keep the 47’s points they got from the old 00 points through a “technical alliance” with MWR? I have not seen press about contractual situations surrounding these deals and was hoping you guys knew something more. Thanks for all of the great work here.
The points will remain with the organizations that purchased them. They’ll just roll over to next season. Remember they more or less bought a position in the top-35, but the points they have amassed over the season are theirs. In the case of HOF, I don’t believe Yates ever actually owned the points, so those will likely remain with HOF; that was just a technical alliance. – Journo
10. From Allen:
I’ve been to many races and always notice on the flag stand they hang a black, white, and orange box on the side of the flag stand before each race, any idea what that is for?
What I believe you are referring to is the display NASCAR hangs from the flag stand to be used when a car is black flagged. When this happens, NASCAR will wave the black flag at the car as it passes, announce it over their radio frequency, and post the car’s number on this display. You will sometimes hear this referred to as a team was “posted.” – T.C.
11. From Kim:
I heard something odd during the telecast from Martinsville. It looked like Johnson was speeding on pit road, as he came out of his box; I distinctly heard an announcer (DJ?) mention something about an “average” on pit road, that there are eight timing sections and that you can actually go OVER pit road speed as long as when you hit one of the speed lines, you are going the correct speed (I hope I’m describing it correctly). My friend heard it, too and we were aghast as we had never heard that pit road speeding penalties were based on an “average”. The same term was used again later in the race. Is this true or did I hallucinate/misunderstand he comment?
As I understand it (and I may be wrong) NASCAR uses the scoring loops on pit road to measure how long it takes a car to travel through that specific segment. It has nothing to do with a measured speed. With some simple math, NASCAR can figure out how long it will take a car to travel through the segment within the legal speed limits. What teams have started figuring out, is that they can pick certain pit boxes on pit road, depending on the placement of the loops, and actually speed. It allows the drivers to be able to speed into their pit boxes, and out of them; before they cross the next scoring loop. They can do this, because that measured time between loops will be much greater because of the time it takes to complete the pit stop. Hopefully that makes sense. – T.C.
12. From Robyn:
If the 4 car limit only for the Cup Series? If not, why does Roush keep saying that they will run 5 Nationwide cars in 2010? What does NASCAR (or those in the garage) think about teams (especially in NW), for all intents, selling thier owner points for a race?
There is no car limit in the Nationwide Series. So Roush (or any other organizations) could have as many teams as they want. As far as I know NASCAR doesn’t have any problems with the teams selling their points. In some situations, it means they’ll have fewer start and parks, so I would imagine they’re fine with it. – Journo
13. From Dan:
Wow! Are we seeing the birth of a new “Intimidator”? Sounds as if JPM has some people worried. Gordon’s comments after the race got my attention and Chad Knaus cautioned his driver of Montoya’s antics during the race. Maybe this just what NASCAR needs to fill all those empty seats on race day. Your thoughts.
I think JPM certainly has that killer spirit. Part of the mystique of Dale Earnhardt and part of his role as the intimidator though was his success, which Montoya hasn’t had. Drivers knew they were going to have a fight on their hands with him in the rear view mirror, I don’t think Montoya is there yet. Certainly he has a ton of potential and the other drivers are starting to take notice, but I think he has a ways to go before we can say we have a new intimidator. – Journo
14. From Amy:
Approximately how many helmets does a driver go through in a given season? What about the crew?
Unless a helmet is damaged in an incident, they don’t usually need to be replaced. Drivers will usually have multiple helmets because of different sponsor commitments and paint schemes. The same goes for pit crew guys. I’ve been using the same helmet(s) all season. – T.C.
15. From Ric:
How much notice does the crew need for various changes; Air Pressure, Wedge, Track Bar, Spring Rubber, etc.
Not much, unfortunately. Air pressure changes probably need the most warning, because the tire guy needs to run around and change the pressures before the tires can be taken over the wall. Wedge and track bar adjustments can be called pretty late before the car enters the stall, as long as the crew guys have enough time to grab wrenches. Spring rubbers can be called late, but usually there is plenty of warning because they take more time to get out. A spring rubber, because of the weight of the adjustment usually isn’t called last minute. – T.C.
16. From Ric:
When drivers help anther driver (debris on a radiator, lead a lap, push from behind, drafting, etc) is this $$$, kindness of their heart, instructions from the boss (same team), other?
Most of the time you’ll only see teammates letting each other lead laps or helping with debris. I guess in rare circumstances a driver who is friendly with another driver might be willing to help him out when it comes to debris (an if you scratch my back, i’ll scratch your’s situation). As far as drafting goes, that is something that just happens out on track. A driver might be more reluctant to draft with certain guys, but it’s not like letting a guy lead or helping him with debris. – Journo
17. From Jeff in SoCal:
What can we expect to see from the new Ford engine being ran by Roush Fenway at Talladega next week? Do you guys think it is going to be a major improvement?
I’m sure the new Ford engine probably makes better numbers, but don’t expect to see a huge improvement over the previous version. Doug Yates and his guys do a good job, but they aren’t going to magically find huge numbers. The rules haven’t changed for engines. – T.C.
18. From Carole:
Jr had 3 flat tires and brake problems this weekend. My husband says he probably unconsciously rides the brake with his left foot. What do you think was his problem?
From what I know about the situation, Jr. told Lance McGrew several times that he was not riding the brakes. He usually runs very good at Martinsville, and you don’t do that unless you know how to take care of your brakes. Plus, I don’t believe Jr. is a left foot braker, which can often lead to a driver riding the brakes because they rest their foot on the pedal. – T.C.
19. From Amy:
Wow…I am totally shocked about Steve Addington being relieved of his crew chief position for Kyle Busch. Yeah Kyle hasn’t had the best of seasons this year…but seems to me all drivers have the occasional crappy season. Why replace Addington? Any thoughts?
I can’t say I’m surprised they made this decision, but I also can’t say it’s something I would have done. It’s hard to reconcile removing the guy who led your driver to 12 wins over two seasons. That said I think the issue here comes down to consistency, something Kyle has struggled with, even while having a lot of success. Obviously the folks at Gibbs think Dave Rogers will do a better job of achieving that consistency than Addington. Time will tell. – Journo
20. From bb:
Hi Guys. Firstly, your website is a great combination of information, news and editorial content that has a lot more meaningful depth than most others, so please don’t change it too much…….Second, I was wondering what the feeling in the garage is about the future/stability of MWR. Will they be likely to get sponsorship to be able to run the 00 full time? It seems like they are pretty close to breaking through to being able to field contending cars on a consistent basis. Also, does a full time nationwide ride for Mikey look likely?
Well thank you. I think Waltrip is in just as good a shape as any other organization. Certainly sponsorship is difficult to come by, but RCR, EGR, Hendrick all have (or have had) sponsorship issues going into next season. As far as Reutimann goes, I don’t think you have to worry about him running a part time schedule next season. I’m sure they’ll fill the gaps, which I believe is somewhere around 12 races. I haven’t heard anything more about Michael in the Nationwide Series next season. Like anything I’m sure that’ll be determined on whether or not they can secure funding for a team. – Journo
21. From Robyn:
Looking at the other competition caution – the one called for before the race begins. This past week when it rained in Martinsville, I don’t recall a competition caution being called for the truck race. That series raced on a green track. I don’t recall hearing about rain on Saturday night, so there was rubber on the track. Why was there a planned competition caution in the Cup race (Waltrip negated it with his lap 40-something spin)? These teams are supposed to be the best of the best. They should know how their tires will wear without making a race run, which some teams did on Friday anyway.
The only thing I can think of here, is that NASCAR was concerned because the Cup cars hadn’t been on track since Friday. Other than that, I’m not really sure what to tell you. In any case though, it’s usually better to be safe then sorry. – T.C.
22. From Harold:
Are the tires used in NASCAR races provides free or do they have to pay for them?
Teams technically lease tires for competition, and they are not free. They cost about $1,500 a set. – T.C.
Filed under: Kyle Busch, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing
Steve Addington Out as Kyle Busch's Crew Chief originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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