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Yikes.
Do you want to know what happens when you don’t have any young drivers being developed? You end up with two straight Cup Series Rookie of the Year classes made up of start-and-park drivers and rolling chicanes.
Fox Sports’ Lee Spencer (and others) reported Thursday Roush and Wood Brothers driver Trevor Bayne won’t be eligible to compete for ROY honors this season despite a planned 17 race schedule because he isn’t running for the Cup Series championship. That means we currently have one driver competing for a now unsponsored Rookie of the Year award: Brian Keselowski.
Keselowski’s recent history has been marked by regular start-and-park runs. Out of 30 attempted races last season, Keselowski only finished nine (he failed to qualify for four).
This award is supposed to honor and celebrate the best and the brightest of the future. Past ROY winners include Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, David Pearson and Jeff Gordon. Now obviously there have been some guys who haven’t panned out, but it’s been a very long time since we’ve a seen such weak classes.
Now I write this not to bash Keselowski. I think given some decent equipment he could actually run OK – note several top-20 runs over the last couple of seasons in really sub-par equipment – but he’s very likely to win the ROY award this year after running what I assume will be a pretty full start-and-park schedule. This of course isn’t his fault. This situation though is a little ridiculous and speaks to some serious issues we have right now.
Hopefully with the move to limit Cup driver involvement in lower series (and an improving economy) we’ll see younger drivers once again having opportunities to advance through the sport. Expect to see a competitive young field with the likes of Trevor Bayne and Justin Allgaier this season. Maybe we’ll see them, and some of their up-and-coming peers competing for the Cup ROY award in the not too distant future.
In the meantime though, NASCAR needs to come up with some alternative for awarding this, or not award it at all. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see no one in the record books than someone not deserving of the award win it.
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At the beginning of the last two years since we opened TNI, we’ve done a rumor scorecard for the previous season. (See the ’08 and ’09 scorecards here and here.) With 2010 now officially behind us, I figured it was time to grade ourselves and our reporting for the year. Before I do though, let me just point out that for 2008 and 2009, our record is 19-3-3 (19 correct, 3 wrong, 3 pushes). Here we go…
Marc Davis To Race At Vegas: Our first rumor of 2010 was that Marc Davis would run the NNS race at Las Vegas. The deal was 99% done we’d heard (he was even on the entry list), but ended up falling apart at the last minute. Davis didn’t end up racing. We’ll call it minus one for the Insiders.
Another New Crew Chief for Robby Gordon: We heard in March that after starting the season with Iain Watts as crew chief, newly hired “consultant” Larry Carter would be taking over as crew chief for RGM. We know for certain that he did call some races for the #7 team, but whether or not he was ever actually officially the crew chief is unclear. Carter was one of several to call a race for RGM in 2010. We’ll call this a push.
NASCAR Considering Eliminating Catch Can Man: With the Truck Series as a test bed, we told you early in April that NASCAR was considering eliminating the catch can position and having both the Cup and Nationwide Series use the new self-vented fuel can. Over the course of the year, NASCAR listened to feedback on the rule change from many in the sport, and in the end, the rule was implemented. The official announcement was made just a few short weeks ago. Plus one for the Insiders.
Front Row Penalized Over Bleeder Valves: After Pocono in June, we were the first to tell you about a possible penalty coming from NASCAR over Front Row Motorsports’ possible use of illegal bleeder valves. We heard a short time later that NASCAR was preparing to hand down their biggest penalty for cheating ever. In the end however, Front Row was penalized but it wasn’t a record sanction. Before the penalty was announced, one unsubstantiated rumor we’d heard was that FRM owner Bob Jenkins actually privately pleaded with NASCAR to levy a smaller fine and points penalty, as anything larger would have put him out of business completely. Obviously, there was no way of knowing if that was actually true or not. We’ll call this plus one, and minus one for the Insiders.
Billy Johnson To Drive for RFR at Watkins Glen: We were the first to tell you that GRAND-AM driver Billy Johnson would be making his NNS debut for Roush Fenway Racing at Watkins Glen. Johnson started ninth in RFR’s #6 Ford, but was caught up in a wreck and finished 36th. It was his only NNS race of 2010. Plus one for the Insiders.
TJ Bell Racing with “Green” Sponsor: In August, we reported that T.J. Bell would be racing at Darlington with a new sponsor, Liberty Tire Recycling. Bell went on to make two starts for MAKE Motorsports with Libery on board. Plus one for the Insiders.
Rumors After Watkins Glen: After the NNS race at the Glen, we reported via Twitter that we’d heard NASCAR had taken a box of lugnuts from Marcos Ambrose’s team that they suspected were illegal. The bit was confirmed later by Scene Daily’s Kenny Bruce, but NASCAR ultimately decided there was no issue. In the same post, we told you that Kevin Conway’s days at FRM were numbered. The team had grown tired of his poor performances, and they were looking to bring in another driver. Following denials by his sponsor Extenze (they emailed us specifically), it was announced five days later that Tony Raines would replace Conway for the race at Michigan. We also added that we’d heard Aric Almirola was a candidate for a Cup ride at RPM. Almirola didn’t end up at RPM, but it was reported by both Fox Sports and ESPN that he’d had discussions with the team. We’ll call that plus three for the Insiders.
Darnell & Kenseth To Run RFR NNS Cars: We told you late in August that Roush Fenway would add Erik Darnell and Matt Kenseth to the round robin of drivers getting starts in their NNS cars. Darnell got three starts (Richmond, Dover, Texas), and Kenseth ran at Atlanta to go with two NNS starts he made earlier in the year. Plus one for the Insiders.
RMM Shuts Down #81 Team: Following the Bristol Truck Series race, we told you that Randy Moss Motorsports was shutting down the #81 team of David Starr. RMM did indeed close down their second team, but Starr never missed a beat. After being let go from the #81, he moved over to SS-Green Light Racing and finished the season. RMM would later run a second truck for Tayler Malsam in four races. Plus one for the Insiders.
Turner Motorsports & Marc Davis: While we weren’t the first to report on the possible sale of Braun Racing to Steve Turner, we were the first to tell you it was a done deal and we gave you the first picture of what the new Turner Motorsports would look like. Todd Braun did end up selling his team, and the new Turner Motorsports will have three NCWTS teams and four NNS teams. They will also run Chevrolets. And after a failed attempt to race at Las Vegas earlier in the season, we told you that Marc Davis would be running for R3 Motorsports at Dover. Davis started 30th and finished 23rd. Plus two for the Insiders.
Johanna Long & Tayler Malsam to Trucks: In September, we reported that both Malsam and Long would be making attempts in the NCWTS race at Las Vegas. Both did race at Vegas, and they both ran more races towards the end of the season. Plus two for the Insiders.
Trevor Bayne To RFR: We were the first to report that Bayne to Roush Fenway was a done deal, and that his new team would run a fifth NNS car for him at Kansas in October. Bayne finished out the season with RFR, and is prepared to run a full NNS schedule in 2011, along with an unspecified number of Cup races. Plus one for the Insiders.
Josh Wise To Drive At Charlotte: Josh Wise spent 2010 driving for several different organizations, and we reported in October that he would race at Charlotte for a team backed by veteran tire changer D.J. Copp. Wise started 39th and finished 18th. Plus one for the Insiders.
KHI, Elliott Sadler, RFR Trucks: Later in October we heard that KHI was putting together the personnel for a second full time Nationwide Series team, and that Elliott Sadler may run some races for them. Both turned out to be true, as it was later announced that Sadler will run the full 2011 schedule for KHI with sponsorship from CitiFinancial. We also told you that there were rumors that Ron Hornaday was shopping for a new NCWTS ride. We’d heard he had conversations with several organizations, but he ended up re-signing with KHI. The last bit we gave you was that Roush Fenway was working on resurrecting their Truck Series program. This story has cooled way down since then, but there is still a small chance it could happen. I’ll give us plus one, a push, and leave the RFR bit as still pending.
Caitlin Shaw To Race At Phoenix: In November we told you about yet another female driver who would be racing in 2010. Caitlin Shaw, after making one start in 2009, returned to the Truck Series in a truck prepared by Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing at Phoenix. She started 33rd and finished 30th. Plus one for the Insiders.
Skinner Out? Kvapil In?: Our most recent rumor for you, we reported that Mike Skinner was likely out at Randy Moss Motorsports, and that the team would replace him with Travis Kvapil. Skinner won’t talk, and no official announcement has come from the team, so we’ll leave this one pending.
As you can see, we had a busy year reporting on the happenings in NASCAR. Our scorecard for the year looks like this: we had 17 correct, two wrong, two pushes, and still have two rumors pending. Adding up all three seasons worth of news and rumors, that makes us 36-5-5. We prove yet again that if you hear it from us, odds are pretty good that it’s true. Our solid track record doesn’t do much to prove that we are who we say we are, but at the very least we are very well connected janitors…
While most of the talk this week centered around the Burton/Gordon scuffle, the 48 pit crew swap, and the championship battle, young Trevor Bayne’s Cup Series debut went almost unnoticed. Bayne was making his first ever Cup start driving the famous Wood Brothers #21, and he certainly did not disappoint.
Over the last few seasons, the Wood Brothers have only run a limited Cup schedule, choosing select races to compete in as they did in the past. Bill Elliott has gotten the bulk of those starts, and because of his status as a past champion, is often guaranteed in the race. For Bayne though, just making the field at Texas would be an accomplishment, as he would not have owners points to fall back on because of the 21′s limited schedule.
On Friday at Texas, Bayne passed his first test with flying colors, qualifying the #21 Fusion in the 28th position. His situation would be made difficult however, as the team was forced to start at the rear of the field because of a transmission swap following practice.
After starting at the back of the 43 car field, Bayne did everything you can ask a driver making his Cup debut to do; finish the race and bring the car home in one piece. The young driver from Tennessee hung around the top 25 all day and brought the 21 home in the 17th position, and on the lead lap no less. He was able to out run the likes of Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
On the Nationwide Series side, Bayne remains in the seventh spot in the points standings, and is the second highest NNS only driver. Since moving to Roush Fenway Racing a few weeks ago, Bayne has four top 20 finishes and appears to be getting more comfortable in his new home as the weeks progress.
RFR has yet to announce what Bayne’s 2011 schedule will look like, but most of the signs point to at least a part-time Cup Series schedule, along with a slate of more NNS races. Whatever the case however, the future appears to be very bright for Bayne.
We are hearing today that Nationwide Series driver Trevor Bayne, the former Michael Waltrip Racing prospect, has signed on to race for Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne’s new team will waste no time in getting him on the track, as RFR is expected to bring out a fifth NNS car for Bayne to race this weekend at Kansas. The rest of RFR’s NNS lineup will still include Carl Edwards, Paul Menard, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Colin Braun. Expect Bayne’s car to use the #17.
Details about Bayne’s deal and which car he may compete in for future races is not yet available. We will keep you posted as we hear more…
In what can only be described as a surprising move, Michael Waltrip Racing has released Trevor Bayne. The move was confirmed by Martin Truex Jr. today on Sirius Speedway. Truex himself will be in the #99 Diamond-Waltrip NNS car at Kansas this weekend. From what we’ve heard, there is a great deal of interest in Bayne from other teams, most notably Roush Fenway, so expect his future to be just fine. But this situation certainly begs the question, what the hell is Waltrip thinking?
At the end of 2009, Bayne signed a three year deal with Waltrip that was supposed to include a full NNS ride for 2010 and 2011, along with a partial Cup schedule for 2011. The aim of the deal was to get Bayne ready for a full time Cup ride for the 2012 season. According to reports though, MWR had a contract option due for Bayne that came up on September 15, but that date came and went without any action. Speculation began then on what Bayne’s future held, and was fueled further by rumors that Truex would be driving the #99 at some point. Bayne then began seeking out other teams, and we heard that he was recently seen touring the Roush Fenway Racing complex in Concord.
The most obvious explanation for MWR releasing Bayne is their sponsorship situation. No team can afford to run without backing, and if Waltrip was unable to put together a sponsorship package for Bayne, keeping him around maybe wasn’t an option. But it’s curious that they would let him go before the season was even complete. If they were as high on Bayne as it would seem, you’d think they would wait until the very last minute before releasing the driver, so as to give their business people ample time to track down a deal. The young driver has run very well over the last few months of the season and appears to only be getting better. He currently sits seventh in the Nationwide Series standings.
Another explanation is one that also involves money, but is on Bayne’s side. Kenny Wallace floated on his Twitter that Bayne lost his ride because he didn’t bring the money to the deal that he was supposed to. We can’t confirm this little bit of information, but it certainly brings up an interesting situation. If it’s true, MWR is letting a talented driver go because he was supposed to help pay for his own ride, but for whatever reason didn’t come up with the cash. It would also seem that if this is indeed the case, Bayne isn’t valuable enough to MWR to keep around if there is no money behind him.
All signs now point to MWR putting Ryan Truex (Martin’s younger brother) in their #99 NNS car for some of the remaining 2010 schedule, and for 2011. Truex has been a Waltrip development driver for a few seasons now, and has racked up two K&N Pro Series East championships. Truex obviously has talent, but the Bayne situation makes me wonder what it’s costing the Truex family to put Ryan in MWR equipment. It also spawns the question, who is a better prospect, Truex or Bayne?
Like I said before, Bayne’s availability has sparked interest from other teams, so don’t be surprised to hear an announcement about his future over the next few weeks. He is obviously a very talented driver, and he’s proven that he can race with not only the best in the Nationwide Series, but also the best in the Cup Series (who drop by the NNS periodically). Waltrip may soon regret ever letting Bayne get away.
We are off to the Circle City this week. Friday and Saturday night shows at ORP for the Trucks and NNS cars lead up to Sunday’s Brickyard 400. While we work through another hump day, here’s the 84th version of Ask The Insiders. 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 Zach:
During practice sessions, why are some cars allowed to skip past the line of cars that are waiting on pit road to get onto the track? While at Chicagoland I noticed several cars bypass the line and head straight to the track from the garage.
The higher a driver is in the points, the earlier they get to go out in practice. So I’m guessing that what you probably saw was these drivers getting to blow past those who are lower in the points. – T.C.
2. From Dan:
Do you know what’s going on with Ray Evernham? Is he attached to RPM and if so in what capacity? What happened to the connection with Dodge? Just haven’t heard much about him lately. Seems to me with the talent he had shown as a crew chief years ago he would still be at the forefront of the sport or maybe he just wanted out. I do remember him doing some work for one of the networks at one time.
The last I heard he and RPM were working with lawyers to end his relationship with the team. He hadn’t had any real role with the team for quite some time. Not sure if that’s been resolved. Other than that he is working as an analyst for ESPN, he owns East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley, N.C., and he’s working with wife Erin on her Sprint car career. There has been some rumbling that he may be interested in getting back involved in NASCAR in some capacity, but I think otherwise he’s pretty happy where he’s at. – Journo
3. From Cinde:
During qualifying, why do the drivers go down on the apron and then back up on the track as they come across the start/ finish line? Thanks for your writing! Facebook, twitter, email!! You keep me informed.
Remember that the fastest way around a track is the inside line. Some drivers think that by dropping down on the apron, they are actually cutting down the distance to the start finish line, which will result in a faster lap time. Does it actually work? Maybe a little. – T.C.
4. From Garry:
Sorry if this is a dupe question, but during the Chicago race ( I actually wrote several question that night but did not want to flood you) …..anyway.. I noticed on some cars on later pit stops that THE FREEKIN BRAKE PAD WAS ON FIRE!!! (I think it was the brake pad ) …anyway…something was on fire..and la-de-da…the badass tireman changed the wheel as if nothing was happening except… THE FREEKIN THING WAS ON FIRE!!! ….HOLYCOW TireMan!!!… Do you ever fire extinguish that thing? It seems the new tire rubber could catch if they dont haulass out of there… looked scary, but not even the commentators mentioned it.. WHAT IS THE DEAL?
A little flame from the brakes is certainly not uncommon. During race conditions, brake pads, calipers, and rotors can reach 1,200 degrees or more. And all it takes is a little rubber build up over the course of a run to give all that heat something to burn. Unless there is actually brake fluid coming out that is causing the fire, you won’t see the flame extinguished. Once the car is rolling again, and the rubber is burned off, the flame will go away. That’s why tire changers wear gloves… - T.C.
5. From Marcus:
What is your guy’s opinion on the Carl Edwards vs. Brad Keselowski deal? As an Edwards fan I am definitely with him but I am just wondering what you guys think. You don’t need to pick a side I am just wondering what you guy’s think about it. Thanks!
Honestly, I see both sides of the argument. Carl probably didn’t need to right-rear BK down the straightaway, but BK started it. If he would have raced Edwards clean, he probably wouldn’t have gotten wrecked coming to the checkered. Keselowski has shown that he isn’t against laying the bumper to somebody, and sooner or later it was going to catch up to him. Does Carl deserve some sort of penalty? Who knows? I’d be really surprised if we saw something significant however, with NASCAR’s new stance. A meeting with John Darby and Mike Helton is probably inevitable for both drivers though. – T.C.
6. From Steve:
In the Nationwide race, Ryan Truex, a MWR driver, ended up in a Gibbs car. It looked like Truex’s 99 car could have gotten back on track after his brush with the wall Did Gibbs borrow/buy/rent Truex from Waltrip, presumably to turn in laps and score some points? Has this been done before, where a driver has left a drivable car and started driving another owner’s car?
The #00 was not driveable (Trevor Bayne was in the #99). Even if it could have been repaired there was no point in putting him back out there – they aren’t running for points, just seat time. I can’t say with 100% certainty he didn’t get paid, but he didn’t get paid. He was available, and I’m sure very willing to jump in a car for Joe Gibbs. Dale Jr. did this a couple of years ago. Kyle Busch wrecked a car while he was still at Hendrick and was so angry he got out of his car and left the track. The team got the car repaired and Dale Jr. (who was also out of the race) jumped in it and finished the race. – Journo
7. From Kevin:
How much longer do you think NASCAR will continue to stick their head in the sand with ol’ Horse Face? Need I remind everyone that Kevin Harvick was once parked in a Cup race for actions in a lower series. But I would bet a pretty penny NASCAR’s golden boy from Missouri wont face the same punishment. But it has nothing to do with Jack Roush’s boy handing out the punishment, nothing to see here, move along…. Really it doesn’t matter anyway though b/c the 99 car is so far from being a championship contender he could miss 4 races and we wouldn’t notice him being one, other than Brad actually being able to finish a race and all.
I’m assuming by ‘ol’ Horse Face’ you mean Carl Edwards. Remember NASCAR instituted this new ‘boys, have at it’ policy this season that has loosened up their enforcement of things like on-track retaliation. It has nothing to do with the driver in question – it isn’t just Carl that’s gotten away with stuff this season. Remember Clint Bowyer during the Nationwide race at Dover, leaving pit road and wrecking Denny Hamlin under caution? He was only placed on probation. NASCAR has a different doctrine in place (I think for the better), then it did back when. Now whether Carl gets penalized because he is a repeat offender is yet to be seen. Expect news on that tomorrow. – Journo
8. From Denny:
I noticed on the Cup-Lite pre-race, last Saturday evening, right before the starting of the engines, they showed a close-up of the #99 and there was one guy with a Triad Racing pit suit, standing right behind, maybe the car-chief, who was giving Trevor instructions before the car moved down pit road. I think the 99 runs a Prism engine. Is this an engine tuner? BTW, I attended an ARCA race in Springfield IL, last season, and I also saw a couple of Triad Racing pit-suits around the Eddie Sharp Racing cars, as they pitted directly across the track from where I was sitting.
Triad Racing Technologies is the main engine supplier for Toyota. So, except for the Gibbs cars, whenever you see a team with Toyota power, a Triad employee is not far away. Part of the engine program for most builders includes the builder sending a tuner to the race track. So you will see guys in Triad firesuits in every series from ARCA to Cup supporting the Toyota teams. And Prism doesn’t build engines, they actually use Triad power as well. – T.C.
9. From Dave:
I think Carl Long just ran the truck race at Gateway. Does that mean that he paid that huge fine to NASCAR?
You saw correctly. He was suspended, but he wasn’t fined. The fine was imposed against his crew chief Charles Swing – I believe if he wasn’t able to pay it, it then it fell to Long’s wife as she was the car owner (it was never Carl’s responsibility). As far as I know the fine was never paid. – Journo
10. From riterchick:
How do crew members view rivalries? Do they want their driver to go for blood, or is it more a “don’t wreck the car, nitwit!” feeling. I should think it’s hard to see all your work destroyed just because of a testosterone surge on the race track.
Well that depends. If your car is already wrecked anyway, a little revenge certainly wouldn’t make it worse. I am personally of the mind that confrontations should stay on the race track and crew guys don’t need to get involved unless absolutely necessary. Fixing a ton of wrecked race cars will definitely wear on the guys at the shop though. - 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!
Now that Danica is taking a NASCAR hiatus for a few months, can we please get back to talking about the actual competition in the Nationwide Series?
Three races into the season, the top ten in NNS points could be mistaken for the top ten in the Cup Series. Seven of the top ten are Cup drivers, with only Justin Allgaier, Steve Wallace, and Scott Riggs representing the NNS only crowd.
Of the three, Allgaier looks to be strongest challenger to unseat a likely Cup-driving champion. In three starts this season, he has one top five and three top ten finishes. At Las Vegas, Allgaier looked to be a contender for the win before fading late and finishing seventh. He certainly has the backing and the team to get it done, and the knowledge and experience from a solid rookie campaign could push him over the top.
There are also several intriguing new-comers to the series who could surprise and break through for wins. James Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, Colin Braun, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all could have a say before the season is over. They all have the necessary talent and are all driving in equipment that has won in the recent past. Three races in, Buescher, Bayne, and Scott are all inside the top 20 in points, while Braun and Stenhouse have struggled and will have to dig themselves out of a hole.
Of the three Nationwide only drivers in the top ten, I think the most interesting story is that of Scott Riggs. He was tabbed to pilot the #09 Ford for RAB Racing only a few short weeks before Daytona. Riggs filled the seat that was vacated when John Wes Townley left the team and took his family sponsor to Richard Childress Racing. The RAB team is running without a major sponsor, yet has still found a way to be competitive against fully funded, Cup backed teams. With a little help, this team could be a factor.
It seems unlikely that, with so many Cup drivers in every race, a young driver like Allgaier will be celebrating at Homestead. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard are all planning on running the full slate of Nationwide Series races. But like they say, that’s why we run the races.