Nascar Race News!

Ask The Insiders Wednesday #66

T.C. — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:05:42 +0000

With the first off weekend of the season in the rear view, we head to Thunder Valley this week. The Cup cars are getting some spoiler testing in before they leave for Bristol, and while they do we have more questions and answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all [...]

Burning issues: 3-16-2010

Monte Dutton — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:42:44 +0000

Kyle Busch won both races at Bristol last year, but so far this year he hasn't made a top-ten finish.

- Think maybe Carl Edwards enjoyed having an off week after the Atlanta debacle? Had Bristol fallen the next weekend, the feeding frenzy would've been intense. It isn't going to go away completely, but the scrutiny won't be quite so intense.

- Edwards was the first beneficiary of the "have it, boys" era in NASCAR. He got a three-race probation. In NASCAR, probation is a synonym for "nothing."

- Asked where NASCAR would "draw the line" on its hands-off policy, president Mike Helton said "we see it when we see it." Thanks, Mike.

- Edwards and Brad Keselowski are scheduled for what is often referred to as "a come-to-Jesus meeting" with Helton and others at Bristol. What does that mean? See "Days of Thunder."

- Kyle Busch won both Bristol races a year ago. He doesn't have a top-10 finish so far this year.

- One effect of Kurt Busch's Atlanta victory - with his brother's former crew chief, Steve Addington, calling the shots - is additional pressure on Kyle's new crew chief, Dave Rogers.

- Ninety-six races have passed since Juan Pablo Montoya's lone Sprint Cup victory. He was ninth and 25th in the two Bristol races last year.

- Paul Menard is ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings. Scott Speed is 12th. If only there weren't 32 more races, or 22 between now and the Chase.

- It's important to remember that leading the points doesn't really make much difference until the Chase begins. In the regular season, what matters is being 12th or higher.

- Stewart Haas Racing's relatively slow start shouldn't surprise anyone. Tony Stewart is up to eighth in points, but Ryan Newman is only 29th. Guess what? At this point a year ago, he was 32nd ... and he still made the Chase.

Another New Crew Chief For Robby Gordon?

Journo — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:39:53 +0000

Just less than a month after NASCAR veteran Larry Carter joined Robby Gordon Motorsports as a “consultant” we are hearing he has been named crew chief of the #7 team. Carter would take over the spot from Iain Watt who has been in the position since January. Gordon and his team have struggled this season, averaging [...]

VERSUS, DirectTV Reach Deal on Airing IndyCar Races

FanHouse Newswire — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:38:00 +0000

A day after the IZOD IndyCar Series' season-opener in Brazil, its primary broadcast partner, the VERSUS network, has reached an agreement with Comcast-owned DirectTV for the satellite network to resume carrying the sports channel.

Comcast dropped VERSUS last fall after the two sides couldn't agree on a proposed rate hike and it cost the series a significant audience share for the IndyCar races.

New IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard issued a statement today thanking the executives at both Comcast and DirectTV for "working diligently to get this deal done.''

"Everybody wins - DIRECTV, VERSUS and most importantly the fans of the Indy Racing League,'' Bernard said. The IndyCar series is currently in the second year of a 10-year deal with VERSUS.

VERSUS is re-airing the Sao Paulo 300 - won by Team Penske driver Will Power - at 10 p.m. EDT Monday and will broadcast 11 of the remaining 16 races. The series next moves to St. Petersburg, Fla. for the March 28 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which will be broadcast by ABC.

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Menard Rides Wave of Consistency to Top-10 Position

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:53:00 +0000

Filed under: Sprint Cup

Paul Menard never was much of a threat to win last Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but his 5th-place finish left the driver of the No. 98 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford as the most surprising entrant into the top 10 in the Sprint Cup point standings.

Thanks to a crafty call by Menard's crew chief, Richard "Slugger" Labbe, to go with a two-tire pit stop during the final stops of the Atlanta race, Menard lined up on the front row for the second-to-last restart. His two tires quickly showed to be a disadvantage to the drivers who had taken four, but a quick crash in turn four not only helped equalize the tire situation, but also eliminated some contenders who could have taken spots from Menard.

After the final restart, Menard held on to his fifth-place position -- the second best finish of his career -- and jumped from 17th to 9th in the Sprint Cup standings.

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Chargin’ Charlie set one of the longest-lasting records in NASCAR

Monte Dutton — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:09:05 +0000

Charlie Glotzbach with 1968 Dodge Charger.

One of NASCAR's records unlikely to be broken belongs to Charlie Glotzbach, who won the 1971 Volunteer 500 at what is now Bristol Motor Speedway. By today's standards, running a race at Bristol - or anywhere else for that matter - would be considered unimaginable. That's what happened at Bristol on July 11, 1971, when Glotzbach, in a Chevrolet, won by three laps over Bobby Allison, and averaged a record 101.074 mph, one of only two races (the other was won by Cale Yarborough in 1977) ever run at Bristol at an average speed of 100 mph or higher.

Not so much different but the style

Monte Dutton — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:54:33 +0000

The only significant shift in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is a noticeable difference in the parenting style displayed by NASCAR's officials.

Most of the patterns that defined the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season remain in place. Four races into a 36-race season, the competitive balance hasn't shifted notably.

The best driver is still Jimmie Johnson. The best crew chief is still Chad Knaus. The best team is still Hendrick Motorsports. The best manufacturer is still Chevrolet. The prevailing trends haven't changed.

Jamie McMurray's Daytona 500 victory seemed surprising, but, after all, Daytona is a "restrictor-plate" track, and who won the previous plate race, on Nov. 1, 2009 at Talladega? Why, it was McMurray.

Johnson won the next two races. 'Nuf said. Kurt Busch won the March race at Atlanta, where ... Kurt Busch had won the year before.

What's changed? The tone of this season. Imagine NASCAR as parents, and the Sprint Cup Series as children being nurtured. (NASCAR loves this characterization, at least secretly, I imagine.) Where previously NASCAR raised its children strictly, now, all of sudden, they get to run wild and free. Where once they only got to ride their bicycles around the yard, now they get to ride all over town ... and come home after dark. Last year they were taking piano lesions. This year they're starting a garage band.

NASCAR decided to treat the kids like adults. It hopes they will take responsibility. So far, the freedom is too much. They're running wild. Perhaps this is just a stage.

Here's another change. A race (Atlanta) went 16 extra laps. It's the new and improved "green, yellow, green, yellow, green, white, checkered finish." This playoff's death isn't too sudden. On April 10, a 350-mile night race is going to be held at Phoenix International Raceway. It may end on April 11 back east.

In a couple weeks, apparently (official announcement pending), all of the cars are going to get their wings clipped. Or, rather, spoiled. Spoilers are back. In other sports, the terms implies upsets. In NASCAR, it's just a flat plate on the back of the car.

Some think it will spoil the Hendrick edge. Keep dreaming.

Bristol Last Race For 2009 Locked In Drivers

T.C. — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:48:17 +0000

When the Cup Series heads to Bristol this weekend, it marks the fifth race on the 2010 schedule. It will be the final race that the top 35 in the owners standings from 2009 will have a guaranteed starting spot. The following weekend at Martinsville, the 2010 owners points will decide who is in and who is [...]

Will Power Wins IRL Season-Opener

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:40:00 +0000

Filed under: IRL

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Will Power made a late overtaking move to take the lead from Ryan Hunter-Reay to win the rain-shortened IndyCar season-opener on the streets of Sao Paulo.

The Australian passed the American with three laps to go, clinching the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 for his second career victory.

Power crossed the line 1.858 seconds ahead of Hunter-Reay when the race ended at the two-hour time-limit with only 61 of the 75 scheduled laps completed.

The race had to be red-flagged near its halfway point after heavy rains made track conditions unsafe, marking another setback for the track which was initially being hailed as one of the highlights of the season but faced problems throughout the weekend.

Home-crowd favorite Vitor Meira was third, followed by compatriot Raphael Matos at the 2.6-mile (4.2-kilometer), 11-turn Anhembi temporary circuit in South America's biggest city.

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Marco Andretti Uninjured After Scary Accident in Brazil

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:06:00 +0000

Filed under: IRL

SAO PAULO (AP) -- Marco Andretti escaped injury after being involved in a scary accident at the start of the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on Sunday.

The car of Brazil's Mario Moraes span and crashed on the back of Andretti's slowing car as they approached the first chicane after the start.

Moraes' car finished on top of Andretti's and they slid tangled for several yards. The bottom of Moraes' car appeared to be touching Andretti's helmet.

It took more than five minutes for officials to remove Moraes' car so the medical team could attend to Andretti, who eventually was able to walk away from the scene.

Andretti was briefly taken to the medical center and then released.

The American driver said he slowed down because he could not see in front of him as other drivers made contact approaching the first turn and threw a lot of dust into the air.

"It's obviously dusty," he said. "I think if you have any common sense, you're not going to stay flat out if you can't see the car ahead of you."

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