In earlier posts I began following the money winnings in NASCAR as a basis for looking at success. I understand that some races generate higher winning amounts than others do and some look at these results with a wary eye for that reason, but in my mind this IS the bottom line…
Here are the teams and drivers that would be in the Chase if earnings were the determining factor:
1. Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing #18 Toyota - $4,145,588 – Points Rank – 1
2. Carl Edwards – Roush-Fenway Racing #60 Ford- $4,014,425 – Points Rank – 4
18. Clint Boyer - Richard Childress Racing#07 Chevrolet - $2,438,970 – Points Rank - 10
You’ve heard me say it before… This is where the rubber truly meets the road!
Isn’t it interesting who moved from second in the points ranking to “on the bubble” in the money earnings?
It's kinda like in baseball when your best hitter keeps getting hits when no one is on base and then looks like a deer in the headlights when a hit could score lots of runs (or make lots of money, as the case may be...).
Over the last few days I’ve read in various sources that Mark Martin will announce this weekend that he is leaving DEI at the end of the year and will become a full time driver once again taking over the number 5 car with Hendrick Motorsports. He will state in so many words that he has come to the conclusion that he wants to make one more run at the Cup Championship and that Hendrick offers him the best chance to do it in the number 5 car. I may have missed it, but I haven’t seen anyone fanning the flames of this rumor here in the Fox Sports community…
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Hendricks has announced that they will be holding a news conference tomorrow in Daytona, which just happens to be where Mark Martin lives.
If the Mark Martin move comes to pass, this changes what many fans thought was Tony Stewart 's destination. So where does Tony go, especially if he cherishes Chevrolet? The Haas deal may just take a big step closer to reality with their Chevrolet connection.
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It seems like a natural for Tony, plus it would put him in the driver’s seat in more ways than one. Tony’s reputation and seemingly successful business history in the racing industry would go a long way toward attracting and maintaining strong sponsorships and that’s half the battle.
Will tomorrow's announcement be the first in a set of dominos to fall causing a ripple effect throughout NASCAR? If Martin does move will people construe this as yet another blow to DEI's credibility?
The Cup race in Loudon New Hampshire was being run in an opening between the thunderstorms that had plagued the New England area over this final weekend in June. As the race progressed a wary eye was being kept on a weather front as it approached the race track from the west. The TNT race commentators were discussing the chances of rain as the race wound down to the final few laps. Kyle Petty jokingly refered to it as approaching humidity as he hoped out loud that the race would be completed.
Just as the race had run relatively caution free and it was beginning to become apparent that the lead cars were going to be forced to pit for fuel as the final 30 laps neared, the weather front could be seen not far from the track and it was readily apparent from the televised view that these weren't just clouds, it would be raining shortly. Finally the teams leading the race were faced with making a call. Then the hoped for caution occurred as Dale Earnhardt Jr. was evidently down on the apron to be the first into the pit and here came Jamie McMurray running on the apron and paying more attention to who he was running with than to anyone that might be in front of him. He plowed into Junior, David Ragan got spun as a result and debris went everywhere. Now, with the yellow out, the question became do you make a mad dash into the pits for fuel, or play the odds that you might be able to make it without additional fuel. If a caution or two came out before the checkered flag flew, it could mean all the difference. These are the normal strategy questions these people should have been mulling before pit lane was opened. But what about the nearing storm front? The TNT commentators were saying that the radio traffic between the pit bosses and the drivers was not only about such things as fuel and handling, but also of the possiblitiy of rain. What would be the right call?
Here's a look at the radar weather picture taken just before the rain started falling that would discontinue the LENOX Industrial Tools 301...
The white dot is where the Loudon Speedway is located. Notice the yellow and red areas of intense storm activity and remember the storms were moving west to east. You can't tell me the crew chiefs in this race didn't have access to information such as this...
Pit lane opened and here came all of the leaders with only a handful of cars staying out on the track. The Hendricks cars that had run strong at or near the front most of the day all came in for a quick gas n' go, as did most of those pitting. The race leader, Tony Stewart, made a right sides only tire change along with fuel. Between the eight cars that didn't pit and the gas n' go cars, Stewart found himself clear back in fourteenth place when the cars lined up for the restart. This would be a two row restart making Stewart as good as buried in the middle of the pack after having made a great run racking up over 130 laps as the race leader. The decision these folks made to pit for fuel is one thing, but why the tire change too?
By the time the restart took place, the Miller Lite number 2 Dodge driven by Kurt Busch was in first place on a wish and a prayer that there would be more cautions or that the skies would open up before the cars that had run up front all day could catch him as they gambled on their fuel situation.
The race no sooner restarted with Kurt having to deal with lapped cars than another wreck occurred bringing out yet another caution at the end of this race. Then Kurt's brother Kyle, who had been running in the middle of the pack all day, got intentionally spun by Juan Pablo Montoya while the race was under caution... Each driver blamed the other for the incident and thank goodness no one else became collateral damage. There will be more on this I'm sure.
Then the rains came... It wasn't long before NASCAR stopped the race, handing Kurt Busch his first Cup win of the 2008 season.
The winner Kurt Busch being interviewed after the LENOX 301 was discontinued...
Two races ago Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled a victory from the jaws of defeat by continuing his run while his fuel gauge screamed for more fuel, now the Miller Lite Number 2 Dodge team is able to also grab the golden ring under similar circumstances, only the rain made it an elementary decision in my opinion... Rolling the dice.
Congratulations to whoever made the call to stay on the track among the Kurt Busch crew... Maybe Klvalus can find out... This Miller's for you!
I’d hate to see this die for the lack of interest because I know that’s not the case… I’ll run my third Trifecta of the season this weekend, but I’d like to see it done on a rotational basis into the future if everyone is willing…
So here are the three races being run tomorrow and Sunday!
ALL
The Craftsman Truck Cool City Customs 200 at Michigan International Speedway!
The Track:
Distance / Track Type 2 Mile Oval 18-degree bank
The Best Reconds
Craftsman Truck Top Race Speed 154.044 by Brendan Gaughan on 7/26/2003
Craftsman Truck Top Qualifying Speed 181.612 by Kyle Busch on 6/18/2005
We're going to change the rules set up by William by popular demand (or whining if you want to call it that! lol).
Let's do away with the 5 point penalty for choosing someone else's driver at a later time. Let's just see who can pick the winners and in case of a tie, everyone give me who they think will come in second in the Sprint Cup race. Your second place drivers' actual finishing positions will be tallyed and that will yield the ultimate winner if need be. So I'll need one pick for both the Truck and Nationwide races and your first and second place drivers in the LifeLock 400 on Sunday...
Who wants to step up next week? HotfootLori, William and I are (as 3fan says) out...
Last night Ken Griffey Jr. knocked the 600th home run of his career, is this a harbinger of great things for the Juniors of this world? This coming Sunday is Father’s Day, are the stars lining up? What could be more fitting than to do something fantastic on Father’s Day when your name is followed by the term Junior? Ken Griffey Jr. has set the pace… Who are the other Juniors that could do their Dads proud this week?
There are many in baseball, but since Ken Griffey Jr. has already stepped up, we’ll concede baseball to him.
The NBA Finals are on the schedule, but neither the Celtics nor the Lakers have any Juniors on their rosters… Whats up with that?
The U.S. Open is on this week. I suppose many look at the game of golf as an uppity endeavor and based on the fact that I couldn’t find a single “Junior” in the field, this may be an indication. The fact that there are two with the “III” at the end of their names goes a long way toward reinforcing that uppity moniker… The two “high brows” are Davis Love III and Charles Howell III, well la-de-dah… Personally, I grew up with a guy who had the “III” behind his name and if he was any indication, then the uppity thing works… Remember the old MASH sitcom with Major Charles Winchester III? Now that’s uppity personified…
Davis Love III and Charles Howell III
So that boils the week’s sporting events on this Father’s Day week down to racing. No, the Formula cars and the Indy cars will be idle this week. NASCAR will be on the docket with the Trucks and Sprint Cup cars running Friday and Sunday at Michigan International Speedway (the Cool City Customs 200 and the LifeLock.com 400, respectively) and the Nationwide cars will be running Saturday at Kentucky Speedway in the Meijer 300.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
There will be two Juniors trying to qualify for the Truck race as Ron Hornaday Jr. and Scott Lagrasse Jr. are among the drivers there. There is only one Junior trying to qualify for the Nationwide field in Kentucky. Bobby Hamilton Jr. will be looking for a top finish there. That leaves us looking at the Sprint Cup LifeLock.com 400 on Sunday. There will potentially be three Juniors in this field as Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr. and finally, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be in the qualifying.
Ron Hornaday Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. and Bobby Hamilton Jr.
So which of these racing Juniors is the most likely to once again bring glory to the name he proudly wears?
After looking at their histories on the tracks being run and with careful consideration into who is due to win, I’ve got to believe that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most likely to win in their respective races this weekend…
To all you fathers out there, have a Happy Father’s Day, and may the best Junior win!
Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania presents a very different challenge to NASCAR's drivers and teams this weekend. The track is a tri-oval, with three different banking setups on the turns and three different length straightaways. The long straights turn into heavy braking as drivers must negotiate the turns.
The main straightaway is almost three quarters of a mile long at 3,740 feet leading to turn one with the greatest amount of banking at 14 degrees in 675 feet of track. The second straightaway, known as the "Long Pond" comes in at over a half mile, 3,055 feet. As the drivers enter turn two, the braking from speeds in excess of 200 MPH becomes critical as this turn only features 8 degrees of banking in a slightly longer distance than turn one at 725 feet. The final and shortest straightaway at 1,780 feet leads to the lowest banked turn three at 6 degrees in 800 feet of track. So the greatest banking is on the shortest turn and the lowest banking is on the longest turn. I've gotta think that with hot weather (around 90 degrees at race time) forecast for the Pocono 500, wear and tear on the brake pads due to high heat could become a determining factor in this race. We've all seen the red hot brakes glowing in the night races when temperatures are quite a bit lower, this could get interesting as some drivers lay on the brakes while trying to get as much speed as possible on these long, flat straightaways.
So who has done the best over the past few years at the Pocono 500 races?
Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon
Here is a list...
Driver Starts Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10 Laps Led
Denny Hamlin 4 2 2 3 4 283
Jeff Gordon 30 2 4 15 21 870
Jimmie Johnson 12 1 2 4 7 275
Mark Martin 42 3 0 19 29 379
Tony Stewart 18 1 1 5 13 100
Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Tony Stewart
So what type of drivers are these? From my limited experience, I'd say they are the patient ones, maybe with the exception of Tony Stewart. You long time NASCAR fans know better than I do...
Kurt Busch won here last year in the Pennsylvania 500
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It looks like Pocono might not be the track for the young guns that try to run to the front (Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards immediately comes to mind), so maybe we'll see a different face in victory lane this Sunday...
Here's hoping for a good, competitive race with no major problems or mishaps!
Where's the money coming from in the future? This is the standard question being asked as business people strive to increase profits and stay out in front of the competition. Sports has become a huge business over the last few decades and this same question must be being asked here as well. What drives sports revenues? Well, we as fans do.
San Francisco's old Kezar Stadium
In the early days we paid admission to stadiums and arenas so we could watch and cheer for our favorite teams. We bought publications that kept us abreast of the daily fortunes of our teams, we listened to radio broadcasts and occasionally we even got to see our favorites on live television. Man, that was a great treat!
So the ticket prices began to rise. In the professional sports we were told that the advent of free agency forced these prices up… Then there was inflation. If it wasn’t one thing it was another. Next, we had to more closely identify with our favorites so it became important for us to wear the team colors. Sports apparel has grown from the days of simply wearing a ball cap or a tee shirt emblazoned with our team’s logo to some now wearing complete outfits in their team's sanctioned authentic apparel lines. Have you priced a ball cap or tee shirt these days? Next, the stadiums and arenas were more than happy to supply the fan's needs for food and beverages. Today we have to pay ridiculous prices if we want something to eat or drink. On top of this we are normally banned from bringing our own snacks inside the stadiums. Couple this with the cost of getting to the various sporting venues. Parking fees, something unheard of in the old days, were begun and have steadily increased to the point that they exceed what a set of two tickets used to cost. Today the cost of fuel has skyrocketed. It seems that now, everywhere a sports fan turns, there is someone standing there with their hand out expecting you to cross it with silver just so you can attend a sporting event.
All of these things have changed the fan's faces in the stands, as many just can't afford to attend these events anymore. Today we are seeing some sports beginning to suffer as their fans have stopped attending their events. The major professional sports, the NFL, NASCAR, MLB, the NBA and the NHL are seeing the effects of their exorbitant costs to the fans as many of the smaller market teams are now struggling to make ends meet. They simply don’t have a fan base large enough to include several thousands of fans willing and able to afford these expenses more than once or twice a season. The same effect is beginning to be seen in the collegiate sports and smaller time sporting enterprises like your local race tracks and minor league baseball. So where is the money going to come from in the future?
Through all of this there has been one shining star that kept fan interest high. In the 1950’s our nation, having won a world war with our citizen’s courage and our technological prowess, our industries developed and brought us wonderful new conveniences. One of the most significant was that we got wired into television. We had entered into the communication age and by the end of that decade, darn near every home had a television. The world had shrunk considerably. The sixties brought us color television and in the seventies the major television networks that had sprung up started getting competition from independent stations. Most of the country could receive television transmissions over the airwaves by antennae. You had to have electricity, but the programming was paid by advertiser’s dollars. The nation’s space program brought us satellite technology that in turn made the first “super stations” available. These came to us by satellite transmission and satellite receiving dishes became a common feature around many homes. Then another communication age phenomenon took place as cable television began following the lead of our country’s electrification and telephone wiring procedure. Another network of wires began to grow based upon the satellite technology. Today all of the country’s metropolitan areas have cable television and for a relatively low price, our citizens can enjoy all sorts of entertainment on television. The country’s sports fans have benefited greatly as we are able to see all kinds of sporting events on a twenty-four hour a day basis. For around $40.00 a month I have 6 ESPN channels, 4 Fox Sports channels, 2 local sports channels, Speed, Golf, Fishing, and more… The channels still bring me advertising while I cough up the monthly fee, but what the heck. Compared to personally going to a live big time sporting event, it’s nothing.
With this basically free television coverage to satisfy our sports appetite, all has been well, but there appear to be dark clouds gathering on the horizon as these business types continue to search for the money. In November of 2003, the NFL owners voted unanimously to fund a new television venture by devoting $100 million towards it’s start up. In 2006 this venture came to life and we know it today as the NFL Network. The problem is we can’t all get this new offering. If you subscribe to the satellite network, Direct TV, you’re in. Most of the cable TV networks haven’t been able to reach a satisfactory agreement with the NFL and so most of the country’s NFL fans are being left out. Then in 2006 a college athletic conference, the Mountain West, started their own sports television network. This is a joint venture between the conference, the Columbia Broadcasting System’s Sports Network and Comcast Cable Television. Known as “The MTN”, it features 24 hour a day of exclusive Mountain West Conference athletic events. Next, in 2007, the Big Ten Conference launched its own sports network as well. In another joint venture, “The Big Ten Network” came into being with the Big Ten Conference owning 51% while Fox Cable Networks operates the network and owns the minority 49%. So a new idea has come to life in the revenue stream… Today I read where the Southeastern Conference is now considering a television network of their own. Considering the conference’s recent successes in football and basketball, it might turn into a very lucrative deal as Fox and CBS would most certainly line up to bid for a partnership similar to the previously mentioned conferences. The trend is clear and I expect to see the other major collegiate conferences join in or they will lose a potential revenue source.
So if all of these new ventures prove to be successful, can we expect to see the other major sports in our country join in? I think we all know the answer to that. What then is the next step in this ongoing need to siphon dollars from the sports fans of America? It’s been around for awhile, it’s called pay per view. At first only the biggest events will go that route, but eventually it will become commonplace. Can NASCAR, MLB and all the others be far behind?
It’s not enough that most of us can’t afford to attend the sporting events in person on a regular basis anymore. It’s not enough that we now pay for our cable television and still have to listen to the advertisements to boot. Will it be enough when we not only pay for the cable television monthly subscription costs, while forced to watch the commercials, and also have to cough up a fee to watch each event?
A couple of questions for all you knowledgeable NASCAR fans...
First, what is the NASCAR infraction penalty for entering a closed pit lane and running past emergency vehicles and work crews?
Second, what is the NASCAR infraction penalty for speeding on pit lane?
Did my eyes deceive me last night? Didn't Dale Earnhardt Jr. commit both of those infractions (He was over the pit lane speed limit twice)? His penalty was evidently being sent to the back of the lead lap cars after NASCAR officials reviewed the video. What video? Why wasn't this NASCAR video made public so that all of us could judge? Why didn't FOX Sports replay the sequence of events?
In my novice opinion, NASCAR played favorites here by allowing Jr. to remain on the lead lap after he committed multiple infractions that require stiffer penalties than the "Tire Violation" that was handed out.
I've kept an eye on the NASCAR blogs posted so far today and am not really surprised that nothing is being said about what appears to be an extreme case of preferential treatment directed toward NASCAR's most popular driver.
A few weeks ago there was a blood curdling scream of indignation when Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. mixed it up. The Earnhardt fans let loose with a long and as yet unending speil of venom directed at young Busch as he was characterized as being at fault and that penalties must be levied against him. Busch was reckless and a danger to NASCAR as a whole... People that understand NASCAR have stated over and over again that what happened between Jr. and Kyle was "just racing"...
Now if what young Earnhardt pulled during the Coca Cola 600 wasn't reckless and a danger to NASCAR as a whole, what exactly is?
Now I can understand the Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans having their vision of what happened blinded by their love for Jr., but come on NASCAR, what's right is right. If it had been anyone other than Dale Jr. your officials would have thrown the book at him.
Why the double standard?
It certainly appears that Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s fan base includes the officials that work for NASCAR...
This weekend marks a time when we need to bow our heads and say a prayer of thanks to all those who have served in our country's armed forces. They have made our way of life what it is and it's time to remember them for it, if only for a little while. My family has had members wearing the uniform in every major conflict our country has suffered through since the Civil War and I'm sure most of you can say the same. It is one of the greatest, most unselfish things a person can do. We shall never forget...
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This weekend is also the biggest one in auto racing as the Monaco Grand Prix will be run early Sunday at 8:00 AM EDT. The Indianapolis 500 will take the green flag at 1:10 PM EDT. At the end of a long day of racing the Coca Cola 600 will start about 5:45 PM EDT Sunday evening… If you want to play I'll need which drivers you think will win each race. If you select a driver that's already taken there will be a five point penalty so pay attention to who has been taken!
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Monaco Grand Prix!
Indianapolis Motor Speedway!
Coca Cola 600 - Night racing at Lowes!
So there are your three races. We’ll follow the same rules we’re all familiar with. I’ll need your picks in before 8:00 AM EDT Sunday…
Good luck!
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Note: I didn’t see William’s usual Trifecta last week so I went ahead on short notice last Friday afternoon and put one together. There wasn’t enough time to get a big field of competitors together, but I think we all had a good time… SpeedBeagle won going away with Big Brown setting the pace.
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for caution occurred as Dale Earnhardt Jr. was evidently down on the apron to be the first into the pit and here came Jamie McMurray running on the apron and paying more attention to who he was running with than to anyone that might be in front of him. He plowed into Junior, David Ragan got spun as a result and debris went everywhere. Now, with the yellow out, the question became do you make a mad dash into the pits for fuel, or play the odds that you might be able to make it without additional fuel. If a caution or two came out before the checkered flag flew, it could mean all the difference. These are the normal strategy questions these people should have been mulling before pit lane was opened. But what about the nearing storm front? The TNT commentators were saying that the radio traffic between the pit bosses and the drivers was not only about such things as fuel and handling, but also of the possiblitiy of rain. What would be the right call?
the brake pads due to high heat could become a determining factor in this race. We've all seen the red hot brakes glowing in the night races when temperatures are quite a bit lower, this could get interesting as some drivers lay on the brakes while trying to get as much speed as possible on these long, flat straightaways.
more closely identify with our favorites so it became important for us to wear the team colors. Sports apparel has grown from the days of simply wearing a ball cap or a tee shirt emblazoned with our team’s
logo to some now wearing complete outfits in their team's sanctioned authentic apparel lines. Have you priced a ball cap or tee shirt these days? Next, the stadiums and arenas were more than happy to supply the fan's needs for food and beverages. Today we have to pay ridiculous prices if we want something to eat or drink. On top of this we are normally banned from bringing 
our own snacks inside the stadiums. Couple this with the cost of getting to the various sporting venues. Parking fees, something unheard of in the old days, were begun and have steadily increased to the point that they exceed what a set of two tickets used to cost. Today the cost of fuel has skyrocketed. It seems that now, everywhere a sports fan turns, there is someone standing there with their hand out expecting you to cross it with silver just so you can attend a sporting event. 
venture between the conference, the Columbia Broadcasting System’s Sports Network and Comcast Cable Television. Known as “The MTN”, it features 24 hour a day of exclusive Mountain West Conference athletic events. Next, in 2007, the Big Ten Conference launched its own sports network as 
well. In another joint venture, “The Big Ten Network” came into being with the Big Ten Conference owning 51% while Fox Cable Networks operates the network and owns the minority 49%. So a new idea has come to life in the revenue stream… Today I read where the Southeastern Conference is now considering a television network of 
their own. Considering the conference’s recent successes in football and basketball, it might turn into a very lucrative deal as Fox and CBS would most certainly line up to bid for a partnership similar to the previously mentioned conferences. The trend is clear and I expect to see the other major collegiate conferences join in or they will lose a potential revenue source.
