Last weekend at New Hampshire was a big weekend for Ryan Newman. Not only did he pick up his first Cup Series win of the season, but he also took down his third straight Whelen Modified win at the track. Newman won in a car owned and prepared by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. Besides being their third straight NHMS win together, the win was also their fourth in four tries with that particular race car. Following the race however, Newman’s race car was impounded by NASCAR and taken back to the R&D Center in Concord, NC. On Wednesday last week, we learned why. The car was found to have an illegal intake manifold, and as a result NASCAR stripped Newman and the team of the win. This situation begs the question that if NASCAR will take lower series wins away, why will they not do the same for violations in the upper divisions?
We’ve seen plenty of examples over the last few years where drivers won a race, had race cars deemed illegal post race, received penalties, but were allowed to keep the wins. In most cases the points and monetary penalties issued pretty much erased the benefit of winning, but the wins were kept nonetheless. But apparently what’s okay for Cup, Nationwide, and Trucks isn’t good for the rest of NASCAR’s divisions.
I do applaud NASCAR in this case for one thing: making an example of Newman. If they’ll strip other drivers of wins, then Cup guys shouldn’t be subject to a different set of rules. Drivers like Newman are already full of talent, and they’ll come equipped with the best cars and crews, they shouldn’t think they can cheat too. My problem here is NASCAR’s different application of the rules for a lower series. They have the power to penalize as they see fit across all series, I just think they need to be consistent. I know many of you have begged for the same on countless occasions in the past, and this is just another example.
This situation really looks bad for all involved. NASCAR looks bad because they can’t seem to be consistent, and Newman and Bono look bad because they appear to be cheating to beat guys with a lot less resources. Hopefully this will be a lesson for all involved.
Now it’s your turn, should NASCAR have taken the win from Newman? Should they ever take any wins away? Are there certain instances where maybe that is too drastic of a penalty? The floor is yours…
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Burnouts, victory laps, doughnuts. Boring, seen it, yawn.
But have no fear race fans! There are a few select drivers that have the cure for the common victory celebration.
Think back to your early days as a race fan. What’s the first unique celebration you remember? For me it was Alan Kulwicki’s Polish Victory Lap. After a win (and his 1992 championship), Kulwicki would turn his car around and drive around the track backwards so he could salute the crowd. Since then, quite a few drivers have borrowed Kulwicki’s invention and it’s become common place.
Moving ahead to modern times, a couple of drivers have moved to the head of the class with their original celebrations.
Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch can flat drive a race car. He currently has 93 wins across the Truck, Nationwide, and Cup Series. And when you win that many times, you have plenty of opportunities to perfect your celebration technique. For KB, usually after a preliminary burnout, he’ll stand on the door and give the booing crowd a bow. Or sometimes two. A perfect way to salute (or patronize) the fans who love to hate him.
One of Busch’s biggest rivals, and a driver who he’s had a recent dustup with, is none other than Carl Edwards. Being the serious athlete that he is, Edwards is known for a unique victory celebration that not too many drivers would even attempt. I’m referring of course to the flip. After winning his first ever Truck Series race in 2003, Edwards did a backflip off the side of his truck on a whim. And it’s stuck ever since. But Edwards has added a twist to his celebrating of recent wins. Now, after the flip, he grabs the checkered flag and heads into the stands to greet the fans. Pretty cool if you ask me.
The last celebration I want to point out involves Smoke. Yep, I’m talking about Tony Stewart’s famous fence climbs. Nothing like jumping out of your car after a win and scaling a 20 foot tall chain link fence. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Stewart do this though, so lets hope a future big win will inspire him to do it again.
What’s your favorite victory celebration? If you were a driver and won a race, what crazy thing would you do?
If you thought before the season that Turner Motorsports was just a flash in the pan, or that they wouldn’t be contenders, the first three Nationwide Series races have been a rude awakening. Following Las Vegas, Turner’s full time drivers sit first, third, and fifth in the standings, and don’t appear to be going away any time soon. And the team’s fourth car, with Mark Martin behind the wheel, showed Turner can not only contend, but win.
When I wrote back in December about how I thought Turner could be on their way to being the next NASCAR powerhouse team, I knew it was certainly a possibility, I just didn’t realize it would manifest itself this quickly. They do have a solid nucleus of young and talented drivers, and a strong base of sponsors. Add to that the fact that they were able to bring Martin into the mix, and you’ve got a good recipe for success.
The team, which also includes two trucks, suffered a tough blow at Phoenix a week ago when James Buescher failed to qualify. Martin’s win however, will provide a serious boost to a team trying to establish themselves. It also shows that Buescher’s DNQ was probably closer to a freak incident, rather than what will be the norm.
While Turner does get equipment from some of the best in the business, the team definitely needs to be commended for the results they’ve been able to put up without the backing of a major Cup Series operation. They compete week in and week out with teams like those from Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway, and they’re showing they’ve got what it takes to win.
Moving forward, it will be important to the health and future of the organization that their full time drivers find a way to win. It’s great that an ace-in-the-hole driver like Martin can come in and win, because it shows the equipment is there, but the other drivers are the key to Turner’s long term viability.
If Saturday was any indication though, those W’s could be coming very soon.