Some recent musings about the goings-on in NASCAR:
- Why is Carl Edwards not suspended? The man almost kills a driver not once, but twice in the course of a season, and makes no bones about the fact that it was 100% intentional, yet all he gets docked is a few points in a series he’s not even running full time, and a few thousand bucks? Are you kidding me NASCAR? Where is the line? Does someone have to die in order for someone to be properly disciplined? Ok, don’t get me wrong
. I love bumpin’ and rubbin’ as much as any guy. I grew up watching NASCAR in the 80s and 90s, I saw Dale Earnhardt at his best. Richmond in the 80s against Waltrip, Bristol in the 90s against Terry Labonte, I’ve seen him work. Those two examples are what I call rubbin’ and racin’. Neither driver was put in any true danger, and the result was nothing more than a few bruised egos and some harsh words. Flash forward to 2010, and you see Edwards taking out Keselowski at Atlanta, causing him to flip on his roof and land dangerously against the wall. Then flash forward to Gateway in the Nationwide Series, and here comes Edwards putting Keselowski in another precarious position, putting him perpendicular to the field (at speed no less), getting him broadsided by drivers who had no place else to go. That’s not rubbin’. That’s not racin’. That’s borderline attempted manslaughter, as Ryan Newman so eloquently put it. It’s one thing to bump a guy up a lane, or yes even spin him out harmlessly, in order to take the checkers. But to put a guy inches from death for no other reason than he rubbed you the wrong way the lap before, or in a race prior, that deserves a week or two off, and some stiff monetary penalties from NASCAR. Way to drop the ball again, France family.
- What ever happened to Bobby Labonte? I remember the late 90s when I was truly starting to get heavy into NASCAR after being a casual fan for the first part of my life, and the races always seemed to come down to Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte. Those four drivers always seemed to be right there at the end, no matter the circumstances.
It even culminated in a title for Big Bobby in 2000. But since then? Sure, Jeff Burton had a down period as well, where he went from constant title contender to also-ran. But the last couple years he’s picked things up back to where he’s a constant race contender. Mark Martin is the ageless wonder who just won’t go away no matter what. Jeff Gordon, well, he’s just Jeff Gordon, maybe not getting the W’s but he’s not having any shortage of top5s and 10s. But Bobby Labonte went from a top dawg, top driver in NASCAR to driving the #71 TaxSlayer.com Chevy part time, and just announced he’ll be taking over the #47 Toyota for JTG/Daugherty Racing from Marcos Ambrose. So what happened? I find it hard to believe he just suddenly lost his talent, or his drive to win. I always like to think once a driver loses one or both of those, he should just walk away (see: Kyle Petty 1995 and on….). I’m curious to see how he will do in the #47 as that has been proven by Ambrose on many occasion to be a decent, solid to 20 ride. Will Bobby show some promise and maybe get one last trip to victory lane, or will he fade into the sunlight as just another also-ran? I guess it’s just a wait and see.
- Kevin Conway is in line to win the Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year. Kevin. Conway. Just let that one settle in for a minute.
- Does anyone else find it hard to believe that a Ford has yet to reach victory lane this year? With a super-team like Roush out on the prowl, I find it hard to believe it myself. Chevy will always be top dawg in NASCAR for the fact that it always seems to be the most well represented manufacturer, regularly recording superior driver counts in the top 3 NASCAR series, therefore more wins and titles. However, up until the last decade, Ford has always been able to put out an equal product on the track, frequently winning just as many races as Chevy.
In fact, through the history of NASCAR, Chevy only beats Ford in number of wins by just a shade under 70 (As of this writing, 661 for Chevy, 595 for Ford). This is a mere drop in the bucket in the history of racing. So whats the deal? Is it the new FR9 engine they debuted last month? I doubt that, as no wins have been lost because the new engine blew, and no one has complained about lack of horsepower to my knowledge. It shouldn’t be the car, since at this point we are racing Spec cars anyway with negligible differences. Hopefully soon I can examine this a little more in depth and see if I can figure it out, because I’m totally stumped.
- Kevin. Conway. Just saying.
- I read recently that Richard Petty may be losing his presence in the garage in 2011, with sponsorship hard to come by. Losing Kasey Kahne to Hendrick is a mighty blow. That’s a guy I’d love to build a team around. But when you surround him with the likes of “Dinger” and Elliott Sadler, it’s hard not to blame him for walking. But next year, Dinger isn’t signed. Sadler expressed a desire to not have to sue his owner in order to get a ride, so he’s out. The only driver that’s rumored to be coming to the crew is Marcos Ambrose, who is a decent #2 but no way would I ever market him as my top driver. My priority if I was Petty would be to sign Dinger ASAP, as my #2 driver, because he’s shown a ton of promise this year and a few times has been right there at the end. He could get a W this year, and in my eyes he will
next year. Ambrose I would bring on as my #2a-#3 guy, because he’s got some good experience and can pull a good run out of his rear every now and again. But, who is out there to be the #1? Mark Martin is too old and still technically under contract with Hendrick, so don’t bother. Paul Menard is nothing more than sponsorship fluff since he’s just terrible. The only one that’s worth the while as a #1 would be Jamie McMurray. But with Jamie, DEI would be plain old stupid to let him go. Maybe someone will fall into their laps, but if a few deals don’t come to fruition, it is entirely possible that Richard Petty may not be in the garage area next season. And to that, I weap. The King is to NASCAR like John Madden is to the NFL. He’s almost as big a name as the sport itself, and to move on without him just doesn’t seem right. Good luck, Richard, I sure hope it all works out in the end and you have your team on the track next year!
- Ok. Seriously. Kevin Fucking Conway is the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. How is anyone OK with this?????
Until next time……
- Why is Carl Edwards not suspended? The man almost kills a driver not once, but twice in the course of a season, and makes no bones about the fact that it was 100% intentional, yet all he gets docked is a few points in a series he’s not even running full time, and a few thousand bucks? Are you kidding me NASCAR? Where is the line? Does someone have to die in order for someone to be properly disciplined? Ok, don’t get me wrong
. I love bumpin’ and rubbin’ as much as any guy. I grew up watching NASCAR in the 80s and 90s, I saw Dale Earnhardt at his best. Richmond in the 80s against Waltrip, Bristol in the 90s against Terry Labonte, I’ve seen him work. Those two examples are what I call rubbin’ and racin’. Neither driver was put in any true danger, and the result was nothing more than a few bruised egos and some harsh words. Flash forward to 2010, and you see Edwards taking out Keselowski at Atlanta, causing him to flip on his roof and land dangerously against the wall. Then flash forward to Gateway in the Nationwide Series, and here comes Edwards putting Keselowski in another precarious position, putting him perpendicular to the field (at speed no less), getting him broadsided by drivers who had no place else to go. That’s not rubbin’. That’s not racin’. That’s borderline attempted manslaughter, as Ryan Newman so eloquently put it. It’s one thing to bump a guy up a lane, or yes even spin him out harmlessly, in order to take the checkers. But to put a guy inches from death for no other reason than he rubbed you the wrong way the lap before, or in a race prior, that deserves a week or two off, and some stiff monetary penalties from NASCAR. Way to drop the ball again, France family.- What ever happened to Bobby Labonte? I remember the late 90s when I was truly starting to get heavy into NASCAR after being a casual fan for the first part of my life, and the races always seemed to come down to Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte. Those four drivers always seemed to be right there at the end, no matter the circumstances.
It even culminated in a title for Big Bobby in 2000. But since then? Sure, Jeff Burton had a down period as well, where he went from constant title contender to also-ran. But the last couple years he’s picked things up back to where he’s a constant race contender. Mark Martin is the ageless wonder who just won’t go away no matter what. Jeff Gordon, well, he’s just Jeff Gordon, maybe not getting the W’s but he’s not having any shortage of top5s and 10s. But Bobby Labonte went from a top dawg, top driver in NASCAR to driving the #71 TaxSlayer.com Chevy part time, and just announced he’ll be taking over the #47 Toyota for JTG/Daugherty Racing from Marcos Ambrose. So what happened? I find it hard to believe he just suddenly lost his talent, or his drive to win. I always like to think once a driver loses one or both of those, he should just walk away (see: Kyle Petty 1995 and on….). I’m curious to see how he will do in the #47 as that has been proven by Ambrose on many occasion to be a decent, solid to 20 ride. Will Bobby show some promise and maybe get one last trip to victory lane, or will he fade into the sunlight as just another also-ran? I guess it’s just a wait and see.- Kevin Conway is in line to win the Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year. Kevin. Conway. Just let that one settle in for a minute.
- Does anyone else find it hard to believe that a Ford has yet to reach victory lane this year? With a super-team like Roush out on the prowl, I find it hard to believe it myself. Chevy will always be top dawg in NASCAR for the fact that it always seems to be the most well represented manufacturer, regularly recording superior driver counts in the top 3 NASCAR series, therefore more wins and titles. However, up until the last decade, Ford has always been able to put out an equal product on the track, frequently winning just as many races as Chevy.
In fact, through the history of NASCAR, Chevy only beats Ford in number of wins by just a shade under 70 (As of this writing, 661 for Chevy, 595 for Ford). This is a mere drop in the bucket in the history of racing. So whats the deal? Is it the new FR9 engine they debuted last month? I doubt that, as no wins have been lost because the new engine blew, and no one has complained about lack of horsepower to my knowledge. It shouldn’t be the car, since at this point we are racing Spec cars anyway with negligible differences. Hopefully soon I can examine this a little more in depth and see if I can figure it out, because I’m totally stumped.- Kevin. Conway. Just saying.
- I read recently that Richard Petty may be losing his presence in the garage in 2011, with sponsorship hard to come by. Losing Kasey Kahne to Hendrick is a mighty blow. That’s a guy I’d love to build a team around. But when you surround him with the likes of “Dinger” and Elliott Sadler, it’s hard not to blame him for walking. But next year, Dinger isn’t signed. Sadler expressed a desire to not have to sue his owner in order to get a ride, so he’s out. The only driver that’s rumored to be coming to the crew is Marcos Ambrose, who is a decent #2 but no way would I ever market him as my top driver. My priority if I was Petty would be to sign Dinger ASAP, as my #2 driver, because he’s shown a ton of promise this year and a few times has been right there at the end. He could get a W this year, and in my eyes he will
next year. Ambrose I would bring on as my #2a-#3 guy, because he’s got some good experience and can pull a good run out of his rear every now and again. But, who is out there to be the #1? Mark Martin is too old and still technically under contract with Hendrick, so don’t bother. Paul Menard is nothing more than sponsorship fluff since he’s just terrible. The only one that’s worth the while as a #1 would be Jamie McMurray. But with Jamie, DEI would be plain old stupid to let him go. Maybe someone will fall into their laps, but if a few deals don’t come to fruition, it is entirely possible that Richard Petty may not be in the garage area next season. And to that, I weap. The King is to NASCAR like John Madden is to the NFL. He’s almost as big a name as the sport itself, and to move on without him just doesn’t seem right. Good luck, Richard, I sure hope it all works out in the end and you have your team on the track next year!- Ok. Seriously. Kevin Fucking Conway is the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. How is anyone OK with this?????
Until next time……
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