NASCAR: Car of Tomorrow Backfiring

NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow has become the Car of Today. It seems though that while NASCAR is embracing the Car by going with it full time this season. They just might be getting a negative effect that they didn't plan on.

The main purpose behind going to a car that the drivers pretty universally feel is more difficult to drive was competition. With the wide variety of tracks that NASCAR performs on, the smaller teams were starting to develop a disadvantage. Teams were getting to the point where they had three or four different style's of car. For the different style tracks. Then they would have backup cars for those styles. At 200,000 a car you can see how the price tag starts climbing and quickly. NASCAR's answer. The Car of Tomorrow. It is set up so that it can be used at every track. In theory it makes it a lot more realistic for the smaller team to compete. After this initial week-and-a-half I am not so sure it isn't backfiring.


Not only was Daytona won on team work. With winner, Ryan Newman, as well as teammate Kurt Busch acknowledging that it was definitely the two of them working together that brought about the win.


It was also lost on teamwork Tony Stewart tried to maintain his leaf when he dropped from top to bottom on the track to pick up Kyle Busch but Busch was no where to be found having already had to drop back a few spots in order to keep from being penalized for passing to far inside. With out the benefit of a teammate to work with Stewart didn't have a prayer of beating the two Penske teammates.

My overall strongest impression of the race was the effect of teamwork. While Earnhardt had been strong along with Johnson and Gordon in the early running. He was unable to amke any real headway when those two were out of the race. Stewart as well was in a position to win or assist teammate Kyle Busch in his win but they were unable to hook up in the end. While the winning tandem hadn't really been a big factor in the race, once they were able to hook up near the front they used that to win.


So how does all this tie in with the Car of Tomorrow. Once again the little guy is at a disadvantage. While a lot of the team work was a product of the fact that it was a restrictor plate race. I don't think anyone who was watchign didn't see how much more of a factor it has become with the new car. So once again the small team who is frequently a single car starts the race at a disadvantage.I can't wait to see what happens next week at Fontana.



What do you think of the Car of Tomorrow?

NASCAR: Daytona 500: Recap

The 50th Running of the Dayton 500 ended up a lot better than it seemed it was going to. After the offseason of anticipation. The build up of all the driver and team switches. Not to mention the influx of all the open wheel drivers. I couldn't wait to see how things would play out when they dropped the green flag. It turned out I would have to wait a little longer than that.

As they rolled off to start the race, I immediately found changes I liked and changes I didn't. Rather than introduce the drivers row by row, each driver was pictured stating their name and where they are from. Kind of a cool thing they picked up from their football broadcasts. Cool to see guys take pride in their home towns. Though I do not look forward to the drivers modifying it the way football players do. I definitely could pass on Fox's other new addition. They have the new Gopher Cam which is set down into the track. It is an annoying view that provides nothing to the race view.

One of the heavily covered aspects was the fact that it is the 5oth anniversary of the race. Michael Waltrip managed to improve drastically over last years race. Last year he was penalized for a fuel additive coasting him 100 points. This year will start he started a little by leading a lap to get 5 points. He also rolled gold wheels for the first run of the race that were pulled at the first pit stop, they will be auctioned for charity.

For the first half of the race it seemed that this might be shaping up to be a very dull repeat of last season. While the Gibbs and Hendrick racing teams were running one through four through much of the first half. About the only interesting aspect of that is the fact that the Gibbs team is now running Toyotas. As that was happening I couldn't help but wonder what NASCAR would think of a foreign nameplate winning the Anniversary edition of a sport that has always been American. Those thoughts only get stronger as Kyle Busch continued to be the strongest car in the field.

All of this started to get a lot more interesting with 40 laps to go. Around that time Hendricks flag ship man Jeff Gordon went out of the race with suspension issues. Dropping that team to Jimmie Johnson, newcomer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other(Casey Mears). Then Roush Fenway's team took a nice hit when David Ragan slid up the track, for no reason at all, at least that's how it appeared to me. On his way up he managed to take out Mr. Roboto, Matt Kenseth.

Once we got recovered from that caution we got rolling again... briefly. Just a few laps later last years Champion Jimmie Johnson got loose in the middle of the pack and took out himself and Martin Truex Jr. This ended up being a huge blow to teammate Earnhardt on two fronts. Not only had he know lost an ally in the ever important drafting game , that Daytona has become with restrictor plates. He also didn't pit, just as he hadn't on the previous caution. While the last move was strategy, this one came about because to many guys were chatting on the Radio, and Crew Chief Tony Eury, Jr. couldn't get on to tell Junior in time.

So then we got rolling again... briefly (Are you picking up a trend here). At this point we got to enjoy my least favorite aspect of NASCAR. The "Who is Juan Pablo Problem Montoya Going to Wreck This Week" game. This weeks lucky winner, Clint Boyer. Boyer, who happened to be leading at the time, ended up spinning off the track and into the infield. On the bright side he didn't end the race on his roof and on fire like he did last year.

Now with 14 laps to go we get things started for the final time... Almost final. As the green flag dropped everyone abandoned Juan Problem and he dropped like a stone. Then as they were coming through the turn Dave Blainey slid up track in front of Montoya and went into the wall. It is possible that Kevin Harvick made a brilliant move by slightly nudging Blainey, in a much more intelligent way than Montoya had done a few laps earlier(Disclosure, Harvick is my favorite driver and I can't stand Montoya) So to the caution we go.

Now to the Green-White-Checker. It turns out we will be going for the final time now for sure. In a bit of crafty driving Ryan Newman managed to work around Tony Stewart which put them about equal but then Newmans teammate Kurt Busch came in from behind and pushed both of them across the finish for a first time 1-2 finish for team owner Richard Penske.

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NASCAR: Gatorade Duel

The Gatorade Duel's are easily the most interesting play in format in sports. Basically it is two 50 lap heats(pre-races). The top two drivers, in each of the two duels, that weren't already in the Daytona 500 based on their finish last season, get a spot in the big race on Sunday. For those of you that don't follow NASCAR. Think of it as being given the football on the 40 with four downs to score. Except instead of winning the game, you win a spot in the Superbowl. It is about that intense and surely that important to the drivers.

In the first Duel Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race in what was relatively clean, wreck free racing. By virtue of the win he will start off the Daytona 500 in the second row. He'll be behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson, as well as Michael Waltrip. Those two earned their spots by posting the two fastest times in the qualifying sessions earlier this week.

Waltrip didn't end up winning the second Duel which he started from the pole position. He did however play a fairly large role. As it became clear throughout the course of the race that his teammate Dale Jarrett, who was racing to get into his final Daytona 500, was not getting any help from back in the pack. Waltrip and third team David Reutimann both dropped back to get Jarrett into one of the top two transfer spots. A position that would move him into the race on Sunday. With the qualifying times of Waltrip and Reutimann, along with Jarrett's finish in the Race. That puts all 3 into the fray for Sunday.

After the race as I watched film of Earnhardt jr, passing former teammate Martin Truex. i can't help by wonder what Theresa Earnhardt thinks of Jr. Now that he has left her and the company his father started. He is enjoying the fruits of Hendrick equipment, having won the Budweiser Shootout last weekend and winning the first Duel this week. While Theresa has never been very public, and even less so since trouble started flaring between Jr and herself. I can't wait to hear some reaction from her the next time someone pins her down for an interview.

This will be the first full season for the new Car of Tomorrow. After using it occasionally last season it is the standard all this year and for the forseable future. As he stood in the winners circle, Jr. was asked what he thought of the new car. While he tried to toe the NASCAR line, by saying "it must have looked good on TV" You could see him trying to fight it back before he let out "It's a handfull, it's like racing one of the older cars". From a guy who definately tries to say the right things. NASCAR has to feel like that was quite a criticism. Not that they care. But I would just love to hear what the Intimidator would have had to say about a car the took handling back 15-20 years.

The Second Duel was won by Denny Hamlin. He was pushed to the front by teammate Tony Stewart, who he had just left to get in front of Jeff Gordon. While it initially looked like Hamlin had hung Stewart out to dry by going with Gordon, when I looked back it seemed like if he didn't Gordon and the inside group would have blown by them. Apparently Stewart agreed based on the Valentines day lovey radio talk between Stewart and Hamlin moments after crossing the finish.

One of the interesting notes was that Brian Vickers who spun through the dirt and grass early on was able to recover and make it into one of the transfer spots in the first duel. I think even more than the driving talent, which was certainly on display. I was impressed by the growth of how he handled himself. He is a guy who previously would have let that early miscue ruin the race for him. Instead he has apparently gained the experience required to keep his composure, and focus on the task at hand enough to overcome a minor setback.

Quote of the Day has to go to Vickers teammate, AJ Allmendinger. When he was asked about the fact he missed out on qualifying for the race, he responded with "It's just one of thirty-six races" Yeah and the Superbowl is just one of nineteen games. I really think that everydriver who doesn't qualify for Daytona should be forced to say that just see if any of them can make it sound convincing. Allmendinger sure didn't.

NASCAR: What A Way To Start

The NASCAR season semi-officially started with the Budweiser Shootout. This is not actually an official race, there are not points handed out and it doesn't count for much really. Except for Bragging rights, which had the guys running and bumping all night long.

In a race that had 17 lead changes with 8 different leaders. The excitement was present from the backside of the 10 minute break that came after the first 20 laps. When the final 50 were run we finally got to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. get a win he has been chasing since his last trip to the winner circle almost a year and half ago.

Probably more satisfying than the win in terms of breaking that losing streak was the fact that this is his first race with Hendrick motorsports. He joined the Hendrick team after leaving DEI, the comapny that his father started, at the end of last season. While many members of Junior Nation were hesitant to accept the move to Hendrick, which has been "the enemy" for so long. The sudden move to the winners circle, along with the fact that he wouldn't have beaten out Tony Stewart to get there without the push from Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson. I imagine even the most hesitant fan to convert is out buying the green T-shirt of Junior's new sponsor, Amp'd energy drink, right about now.

Speaking of Stewart, I had in the past spouted off about how Joe Gibbs racing would see a year possibly two year lull in their success. With their move to Toyota at the end of last season. I just saw them having the same type of learning curve that the other Toyota teams experienced throughout 2007. I WAS WRONG. Tony Stewart, with out much push from teammates or even other Toyota drivers, managed to put up a strong second place finish.

Looks like it should be a great year. Can't wait for next weeks Daytona 500

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How NASCAR will win you over

As far as tradition goes you can't beat NASCAR. I mean we are talking about a sport that still supports a dirt track series as an acknowledgement of it's roots. You don't see the NFL going with a leather helmet development league. Not to mention the nicknames; Happy, Smoke, Buddy, The Intimidator, Buckshot, Ronda Road Runner, Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.

But it isn't the tradition that makes NASCAR. It isn't the tradition that makes it, it is the leadership of NASCAR being willing to change.
Everytime a tweak to improve baseball is proposed, we hear from the purists. I swear purist is becoming a foul word in my mind. Who cares if it isn't the way it has always done, let's find the best way to do it.

NASCAR was faced with the fact that often several of the last races were pointless, fue to the points lead of the number one driver. In respose what did they do. Instituted a playoff type system, the (insert cellular company fo the month here) chase for the cup.

Now NASCAR has announced that all drivers outside the top 35 will qualify in the same session in order to keep them as competitively equal as possible. Last year the problem arose that several times throughout the year the drivers outside of the top 35, who have to qualify on time in order to make the race, were spread throughout the day. This tends to give one team an advantage over the other due to track condition and temperature.

It's not that these changes really matter to the casual fan. Especially not to the non-fan. The thing that really matters is that the people in charge at NASCAR, listen. When the fans speak, when their competitors speak.

Meanwhile Roger Goodell can't wait to suspend another player. Baseball is mired in steroids and an initial 82 games that don't matter to any one. Basketball is a gem unto itself, I know for sure David Stern is going to have every player in ashirt and tie I just don't know how the ref's are affording Armani suits, Donaghy anyone.

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