Faced with rapidly rising costs and dwindling sponsorship dollars including looming cuts by the automakers, NASCAR has secretly began work on the COF. This exclusive photo was taken recently at a super secret location. The Car of the Future won’t require a team of degreed engineers to make it go, a high school drop out from the local lawnmower shop will do. Tire wear, a thing of the past. A set of these babies will last a season. Four car teams can load a primary and back up car for each team in one hauler and reduce their transportation cost by 75%. Pit crews and the usual equipment will no longer be needed as the driver and crew chief are all that is required should repairs be necessary. Get a flat no problem, the crew chief picks up one end the driver hops out throws on a tire and off he goes.

Race distances will have to be shortened in order to finish on the same day the race started but we’ve all been clamoring for that for years. Notice the car is equipped with lights for night racing. That will be vital for the 200 milers with a 1 pm start time. With the reduced speeds and NACARS love of useless caution flags races could run well into darkness. It may take some time before the COF is loved by everyone but it’s keeping in line with the downsizing of America. The environmentalists will be happy and the independents can compete as there will be no need for a top 35 rule, you could easily put a 100 of these hot rods on most NASCAR tracks.

Imagine in just a few short years we could see a 50 car pack of these COF’s drafting down the front straight at Daytona doing 50mph. I Can’t Wait

HH

Could Joe Gibbs Racing have the best cheaters in NASCAR or are they really that squeaky clean? I couldn’t recall the last time one of the Gibbs bunch ran afoul of NASCAR and for good reason.
It Doesn’t Happen. I looked over the penalties, fines and suspensions for the last 5 Sprint Cup and Nationwide seasons (Thanks Jayski) and saw all the top team owners with several violations from minor to those ending with long suspensions over that period. It seemed as every car owner or crew chief that carried a hard card made the list a few times. Except one, Joe Gibbs Racing, here’s all the dirty I could find.

2007

• Tony Stewart fined $25,000 25pts and owner 25pts
  Stewart said Bull #### on live TV
  

2005

• Stewart along with 10 other drivers was held out of the first10-15mins of practice at Richmond after appearing late to the inspection line the week before at Darlington

2004

• Daytona - $500 for Greg Zipadelli, #20-Tony Stewart's crew chief, for using adjustable fender braces.

• June - Tony Stewart has been fined $50,000, penalized 25 driver championship points and placed on probation until Aug. 18, resulting from a post-race altercation with fellow driver Brian Vickers last Sunday at Infineon Raceway

That rap sheet sure doesn’t look like a team that has been flying to close to the sun. Team president J.D. Gibbs acknowledged there was some funny business with the throttle pedal that could have produced a lower horsepower output on a chassis dyno. If the team was attempting to distort the data NASCAR was collecting, and it appears so, how far over the line did they go. Fans, owners even the officials all understand the grey area and assume and expect all teams to operate there. If NASCAR decides this shade of cheating was on the wrong side of jet black it could be a dark week around JGR.

I was amazed I was unable to find anymore penalties for any of JGR’s teams other than above. Was this a case of some nerdy honor students that got busted the first time they tried to shoplift a six- pack of beer or trained criminals that finally made a silly mistake?

If you decide to go check out the last 5 years of penalties, like I did, be careful or you will read this blurb until your eyes bleed.
…. violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing);
HH

He sure is hoping so. State Water Heaters is said to be considering going with Scott Riggs if he finds a new home. It makes more sense for them to be a bigger sponsor with a smaller organization than just another decal at Stewart-Haas. Even with a slumping housing market water heaters still need replacing. You’re not likely to do much comparison shopping when yours fails so brand awareness is important.

Where should Scott go? To a second car at Robby Gordon Racing? He desperately needs a second car and I think he wishes he could lure Paul Menard and his dad’s money away from DEI. Hunt Brothers Pizza seems to be happy with their brief involvement this season, also currently with Haas and combined with State Water Heaters could fund a second car for Riggs at RGR.

Robby was interviewed via teleconference today in preparation for the Centurion Boats at the Glen this weekend. Here is what he had to say about a second car and Riggs.

Q. Are you committed to running a second car next year? If yes, would you consider Scott Riggs? Looks like he’ll be out of a job.

ROBBY GORDON: Well, I think Scott Riggs is a very affordable good racecar driver. We’ll start there. Committed to running a second car? You know, we’d love to run a second car. I think our team and our facility and our systems and procedures and policies, all that stuff, is in place now to run a second car.

You know, we still haven’t won with one car, but this weekend’s race hasn’t happened yet either. It’s important to make one car run good first. And we’ve been able to stay inside of the top 35. But, you know, at the same time we’d like to position ourselves to win races.
I think, you know, a second car’s going to help in that, though, because you’re going to find solutions for our problems faster. I think Scott’s a good racecar driver. So that’s obviously something that I would look at. Obviously, the thing out there is who’s gonna pay for it, how are you gonna do it and what sponsors are going to be involved in it.

Q. What, if anything, did you expect to be difficult that really wasn’t? What was easy for you?

ROBBY GORDON: I think the easy part of it’s always been the driving part of it. Making our racecars fast, making our racecars light, making our race team efficient has probably been the most difficult thing.

But, you know, like I said, we’re four years into it now. So if an opportunity opened up for a second car, we do have a lot of our policies and procedures in place, and our systems where we’re kind of routine now. And we’re not racing the race of Wednesday or Thursday to get the car in the hauler. We’re actually racing the race on the racetrack, and that’s the most important thing.

Did you notice the last question made no mention of a second car yet Robby managed to remind us all that he is ready for it.

Here’s more regarding his sponsorship situation.

Q. I know you had maybe some times where you had no sponsors on the car. How are you looking for next year as far as sponsorship-wise? Do you think you’re going to be set to have something full-time all next year?

ROBBY GORDON: Well, I think, you know, right now, next year looks a lot like it did this year, you know, where we have sporadic events. So there is opportunity.

Obviously, you know, sponsors and everybody want to be involved with a team that can win races. I look at this weekend as an opportunity of putting our team in Victory Lane. There’s only been three teams this year that have been in Victory Lane. So if we could pull it off, that would be big.

Q. You said it looks sporadic for next year. How long can you keep going doing this? You can’t continue to pay for it out of your own pocket, can you?

ROBBY GORDON: Well, I don’t do it out of my own pocket. That’s the first thing there. I appreciate the interest on it. If I had to pay a driver, I’d probably be in trouble. But because I am the driver and the owner, we can do a little bit of give-and-take and get through like we’re doing now

Q. As far as not having a read on a sponsor, full-time sponsor, that doesn’t change anything about how you’re preparing next year?

ROBBY GORDON: Well, we know what it takes as sponsorship to go and do this thing. And I feel confident that we’ll get a sponsor for next year and we’ll able to continue on. I also have a lot of confidence that Jim Beam will return with us, as well.

Q. When you don’t maybe necessarily have a good read on what your budget and stuff is going to be like for the following year, how hard is it for you to maybe build and expand upon your team to make it better from what it is now?

ROBBY GORDON: Well, you know, one thing about budgets for next year, and trust me, we know exactly what it costs from year to year. The fuel cost is changing our travel just a little bit. In the big scheme of things, it’s not affecting it a lot. Shipping hasn’t seemed to affect us very much because a lot of our parts come out of Charlotte here where we’re based.

But as far as our budget, you know, this year’s been our first year of Car of Tomorrows. I’ll be honest with you. We’ve run the same five cars for the last three months, so we have inventory built up. We continue to build new inventory, build new cars, which are only better. And we do that throughout the season. So I can’t see for any reason why next year would be a lot more money than it was this year to operate one of our cars.

HERB BRANHAM: Robby Gordon, thank you very much for joining us today. Best of luck this weekend. In addition to racing Sunday in the Centurion Boats at the Glen, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race, you’re also racing Saturday in the Nationwide event, the Zippo 200. Good luck this weekend.

ROBBY GORDON: Thank you very much. Good talking to you guys.

HH

While doing some research (I don't make up everything I write) on the Stewart - Haas deal I found the following promo on Haas Automations website. Unless you have been living under a rock or a casual fan you would know Gene Haas is currently serving time in the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex for tax fraud. I'm sure there are a lot of business people as well as us average Joe's and Jane's who sees no harm in attempting to cheat the IRS.
I have my take on why they would choose this particular campaign on the home page of their website. What's yours?



Don't take my word, see it on their site HERE
(note-it is the second of 2 rotating banners)
HH

NASCAR has long believed the mantra “Win on Sunday Sell on Monday”. I’m thinking it was a slooow day at Goodyear Tire Centers nationwide today. Goodyear’s stock price closed the day after the” Mess in Marion County” down 2.82% at $18.94. That's up from its 52 week low of $15.56, but well short of its $31.36 high. A longer look at Goodyear’s slide in the eyes of investors shows the decline in value over the last decade. March 1998 saw the stock peak at $76.75 and it has been slowly sinking since. (76% in a decade) With close to $20 Billion in revenues and $600 Million in profits last year the company is actually in better shape than the market shows. Thomson Financial reports that despite the down automotive market the price should climb back up around $30.00 by years’ end.

On its website Goodyear claims to make 150,000 race tires annually for NASCAR. At $400 per that’s $60 million a year. Combine that with all the other racing tires Goodyear produces and the Racing Division may be generating close to $100 million. That said I have no doubt the division operates at a loss but that is still a lot of cash to make things happen.

There will not be another tire war in NASCAR anytime soon with Goodyear signed through 2012. When other manufacturers were allowed to compete they didn’t have much impact as every Cup Champion in NASCARS top series has won the title on Goodyear tires since 1968.

How ‘bout this Goodyear

Tire issues have cropped up many, many times and long before the COT was even a pipe dream. Is it time Goodyear invested in a full time test team? When there was talk of unlimited testing owners balked at the idea of having to spend $5-$6 million for a full time test team to compete. Goodyear should raise race tire prices 10% effective immediately and start a COT test team. While having a car that can run close to the leaders time is important it’s not like it has to be any better than the back markers. Finding a qualified driver not affiliated with a cup team could be a challenge but they’re out there and so are crew members. With the cars being so similar now the actual make of car shouldn’t be an issue and I’m sure teams would help with some set up info to at least help get the cars close. If NASCAR goes with a new car in the Nationwide Series next year Goodyear could test that too with very little added expense.

Is this ever gonna happen? No, but I was always taught that complaining about a problem never fixed anything. So I’m not going to #### and moan about what a horrible race it was, instead I offer this solution up to Goodyear and NASCAR.

Goodyear the blimp's in your court.
HH

Imagine buying your first car and your Dad won’t let you drive it. There is some insurance and legal stuff he says needs to be wrapped up first. In the mean time he says “You can drive my Hot Rod until we can get you cleared to drive your fixer upper.” That’s the position Tony finds himself in right now, I guess it could be worse. A writer suggested that should Smoke fail to make the chase Gibbs should release him so he could get a jump start on next year in his new cars. I don’t see either of them happening. Tony will make the chase so the latter won’t and he will finish the year in the Home Depot #20.

The idea of Tony getting in a Hass car this year made me wonder since it seems no one asked him yet.

Has he even taken one for a hot lap around the parking lot?

Would JGR let him drive the Hass cars in an un-sanctioned test?

He has already said he would be hanging around the “new shop” even more now that it’s official. It’s not like he hasn’t spent quite a bit of time there this year already. After all you don’t spend the kind of money it takes to get half a NASCAR team without checking it out top to bottom. Oh never mind; Tony only invested his Reputation and Legacy. Money can’t buy that, so don’t think for a second he got in on the cheap. The soft side of Tony has spoke about marriage and kids but felt it would be unfair with the demand on his time. I suppose this puts off Smoke JR’s debut in Sprint Cup until after 2030 or so.

Somebody that can give some good feedback that Tony understands will help decide who is in the #70 the rest of the year. While his choices are limited whoever is in the seat will be there because Tony thinks he is the best available choice to give him the best feedback not necessarily results. A lot has been said about Hass and the Hendrick association mostly why Hass doesn’t run better. The two dollar part failure has been breaking hearts and costing racers wins forever but having the best parts and pieces is no guarantee of success. It is going to take a little time to find all the people to make the pieces fit. Every owner knows where the top is and most know how close they are and Tony fully understands how far the team needs to climb. If I was currently employed at Hass racing I would make sure my resume was up to date.

I don’t expect the second driver to be announced at Indy this weekend along with Tony’s sponsor and car number so as not to dilute the media impact. It would be foolish to break all the news at once despite the temptation of the location. If Ryan Newman truly is the other driver all the more reason to make the Big Splash at Indy with the 2 hometown boys but the second team’s sponsors and driver deserve their own time in the limelight and most likely will wait and rightly so.

Best Brickyard Quote

Dale Sr. after winning the second year NASCAR visited Indy in 1995 – “now there's been two Brickyard races and I've won half of them."

HH

It appears Tony will be announcing his sponsor and car number this weekend as predicted. The combo of Office Depot and Stewart’s long time associate sponsor Old ####e should bring the team a couple million a month in new cash while leaving enough left over for Smoke to continue drawing a superstar’s salary. That is exactly why Hass gave Tony 50% of the team for no cash investment. Hass Automation could easily justify sponsorship of a full season on one car maybe even two when you consider the revenue the company generates. $880 million in 2007

With a niche market and no real need for a huge advertising campaign to grow his business Gene Hass decided to spend that budget on something he loved. As most everyone knows Mr. Hass is currently serving time for trying to sneak one by the I.R.S. inspectors. After doing some research I found lots of people fudge to the I.R.S. I had no idea; I thought everyone was 100% legit just like in the NASCAR garage every week.
The reasoning for the Stewart-Hass marriage is Genius!
In today’s climate and the direction the sport is going I believe Hass was teetering on liquidation after this season or next. That is a lot of assets to let go for 10 cents on the dollar. The addition of Tony will allow the current partners to stay solvent and should the team flourish everyone wins. If not there won't really be a loser here. At worst the team would be a merger candidate in 3 years or so. Ultimately I think the plan is for Tony to help build the value and he could buy the other 50% at a discount or find a more suitable partner allowing Hass to realize a better return than today. There is little risk for either side.

Update Joe Custer confirms my theory if you read between the lines of his interview with Joe Menzer on NASCAR.com when asked if it was too good of a deal to pass up.
Custer: I think it is. You'd have to ask him, but we're gonna do everything we told him we would do to make him a successful car owner. I don't know -- like Tony has said -- if that's ever been done before. Look at some of the guys who are icons in the sport -- the A.J. Foyts, the Richard Pettys. I want Tony Stewart to be, on the owner side, at their level. And hopefully through our relationship, we can help him get to that level, where he is (not we are?) one of the dominant owners in the sport 20 years from now. It used to be you could get it done on savvy. Now you've got to have the checkbook. You've got to have the financial resources behind you to be successful and give you that stability you need over the long haul. That's what we're about. We're manufacturers. We look at things over a long period of time. We feel like we can be a key to helping someone like Tony make his goals --and ours -- become a reality.

So it sounds like they may have different goals, Tony going forward and Hass and his investors salvaging a decent return on the remaining 50%.

The Biggest Winner - The Fans.

Don't think for a minute Smoke is ready to change colors. He may be using Hendricks cars, motors, etc. but don't look for Tony to mellow just yet. He may start starching his T-shirts, maybe even find some that have collars but don't expect a muzzle to appear soon. Unless your last name begins with FRANCE the future of the sport doesn't look that bleak anymore.

While we're here
Why doesn't Brian Vickers get more pub? I guess almost good enough to make the chase isn't as newsworthy as who is close to being out of the top 35 or out of business.

Two Kyle’s?
The young one K. Busch needs to keep driving while the other famous Kyle should stop. Richard will run a full time schedule before K.P. ever does again so look for a (brief?) farewell tour for Kyle in 2009 despite his assertion the car is more valuable with a Petty (him) in it.
HH

Jayski.com reported this morning Tony Stewart has made a deal with Office Depot to sponsor his ride he will be buying into at HassCNC Racing. The story goes on to say to expect the announcement at the Allstate 400 in Indianapolis July27th. I know it's the rumor everyone has been talking about and most expected it to happen but I think some people are starting to crack. If it's true Smoke has an announcement to make at Indy that gives 3 weeks for details to leak out be they fact or fiction. All the other major sports teams use the media to negotiate contracts all the time. Agents, players, general managers, owners, even players wives, they all do it. Why should Nascar be any different. We are going to hear a lot of rumor and speculation and a lot of it may be true but I won't get to excited about it until it's official.

If Tony is switching depots, from Home to Office, I wonder about the ca$h. The rumor was Roush wanted in the $24-$26 million range. Did they pony up for Tony, did he take less,will they be part of a smorgasbord of sponsors? The next couple of weeks should be fun for the fans. Drivers, owners, crew members and the like may get some extra exercise at the track while attempting to avoid reporters.
HH

Why pull the plug now you ask? Besides the lack of proper funding there is some other simple math that may have been part of the decision process. The odds of the #40 car climbing back into the top 35 in owners points this year are long, -- very long. This is what I estimate it would take.

• The 40 Team is 298 points behind the #00 driven by Michael McDowell
• To catch up Dario would need to finish 5.5 places higher than the #00 averages
  
• McDowell's average finish in 12 races 31.3
• Franchitti's average finish in 10 races 38.9
• Dario would need to improve his finishing average over 14 places
  

Whether its the 00 of McDowell or one of the others close to the top 35 in points now the fact remains painfully clear. The next 19 races would require at least an average finish of 25th. Unless of course 3 or 4 teams ahead of them were to fold or take a serious nose drive in performance. Should they miss a race or two along the way it would be impossible.
It's true sometimes in business you have to step back in order to grow but in this case you'd be opposite of the trend. Have we seen the last of the #40 for good and what about the #41 and #42? If you don't see 11 owners with 4 teams each in Nascar's near future then your in a state of denial.

While we're here
*How much help must Yates be getting from Roush and Robby from GEM to stay afloat.
*There are at least 7 cars listed on the entry list with none or what amounts to self sponsored.
#7- none #28 Yates Racing #70 Hass Automation #77 Penske Truck Rental
#78 Furniture Row #83, #84 Red Bull
*It's an impound race this week so look for some of the go or go-homers to qualify well. Expect a majority of the top 35 to qualify in something closer to race trim.

Update:
Dario was nominated for an ESPY for Best Driver along with Kyle Busch and Jimmy Johnson. Remember Dario won the Indy 500 last year and the IRL title that's how he made the list. I do find the timing of it ironic. The other nominees  are F1's Lewis Hamilton, 2008 Indy 500 Champion Scott Dixon and drag racer Tony Schumacher
HammerHands

It wasn't a surprise when Rick Hendrick officially announced the release of Casey Mears at seasons end. This move was surely sponsor driven based on performance. Sure he has had a merry go round career driving for a new team and crew for the last 5 seasons but other drivers switched teams and excelled right out of the box. Kyle and Jr. to name two from this season. The #5 driven last year by Kyle Busch finished 5th in the final standings and the expectations were high for 2008. Compared to the other 3 cars in the Hendrick line up the #5 is a disappointment.

Starts Wins Top Fives Top Tens Poles
 196    1       12         39         3

Other than a pile of wins he has all the tools that should keep him in the Sprint Cup Series. He finishes races and doesn't tear up his cars. Perhaps Casey is just a mere mortal among some elite drivers. There is a reason the same dozen or so names keep showing up on the winners list every weekend. Besides the equipment those guys are that talented. Even if Casey isn't a world class driver like his Uncle Rick was, there is no shame in being an above average Sprint Cup driver.
HammerHands

It appears everyone is waiting on Tony Stewart to share his plans. The only way I see him staying at JGR is renewing for several more years. A lame duck driver in 2009 benefits no one. Should Smoke decide there are greener pastures he will need to decide soon where he will be doing his plowing. Souvenir sales are a huge part of a team and drivers' income and that is the ticking clock. Design,artwork, tooling etc. needs to begin this summer in order for a good bit of the collectibles to arrive by Christmas. With a hefty portion coming from China on the proverbial slow boat the domino's should start falling soon.

I Would Pass on Hass
Tony hasn't called yet to ask my opinion so I will share it here.Tempting as ownership may be financially it may be a disappointment. As a driver his next contract could take him into retirement from the Sprint Cup Series with an extra $100 million+ in the wallet in just a few years. No matter who he gets as a sponsor he will never be able to make that kind of money as an owner driver. Perhaps he is looking at the future with a hope of cashing in on franchising should it happen. Then again his love for racing could make it strictly a decision from the heart. He has made more money than he ever dreamed or possibly spend so he could afford to "Go for it."

The biggest downside to wearing the owner/driver hat is the racer side. Once your past the thrill of just being able to race the urge to win consumes you. For now I don't see Smoke being content being a field filler when he knows he could be winning in several other cars, or could he. I looked at some numbers,they always look scarier on paper, and it doesn't bode well for 2 or even 3 car teams.

The Last 52 Races
TEAM Wins

• Hendrick 20
• Roush 10
• Gibbs 10
• Childress 5
• Penske 3
• GEM 2
• DEI 1
• Ganassi 1
  

Kurt Busch won twice last year in a Penske Dodge, Pocono and Michigan, while still a 2 car operation. You have to go back to Dale Jarrett's Talladega win in 2005 in a Yates Ford for the last winner from a 2 car team. If Tony insists on going it alone I still would love to see the hookup with him and Robby like I semi joked in a previous post. If only for the aggravation it would bring on an obviously over burdened and under qualified Nascar management team.
HammerHands

I read somewhere that Penske and Ganassi were considering joining forces. I just laughed out loud because that would never happen. But after I started thinking about it, I found it interesting. They win in everything else they do individually, except in Cup. Wouldn't it be interesting to think about what might be if they did join up? DW's Fox Blog June04,2008

It sounds like something Felix Sabates may have said to no one in particular on many occasions. "We should hook up with Roger and kick everybody's @#$$^^&@!*." Or something to that effect. My open wheel friends have been hearing that talk for a couple of years but no one took it very seriously. Keep one thing in mind, Roger and Chip started as drivers and developed into business icons. Both want to win and as a business decision in todays market it could make sense.

Smoke Update
Rumors from HDHQ in Atlanta have slowed and speculation is that a sit and wait approach may help reduce their sponsor investment. Consider Home Depot's options

• Keep the TS/HD brand together no matter where he drives
• Stay at Gibbs and latch onto Joey as the new face (not likely to me)
  
• Use this opportunity to scale back to associate status
• Invest more in regional series'

The last 2 options are what Wall Street is hoping for. In a nutshell Home Depot targets the get your fingernails dirty, small to medium contractor crowd. Lowe's leans more toward 'bring your wife and add to your honey do list' . Other than Nascar you don't see either company with a TV campaign.

I won't say where they came from but I have seen storyboards with an ORANGE box hardware logo all over some kind of racing that looked like pick up trucks. I can say I can't believe companies pay guys to come up with this stuff just in case. Wasteful? hell yeah, Impressive? you bet.

Tony and Robby BFF
Since we are on the rumor trail think about this quote from Tony after his win and Robby Gordon finishing second at Eldora.
"I told him for years I thought he would be great in a dirt car," Stewart said. "I think he's one of the most naturally talented drivers that races every week in the Sprint Cup series. I'm proud of it (Gordon's performance) because it makes me look like a genius."
Of course Tony was all giddy that he won the Prelude to the Dream and it didn't rain out but could there be more. Imagine this deal.

This is Uncle Bob's Prelude to the Dream. That would be Robert "Bob" Nardelli who loves racing just as much as all of us. He was the head main at Home Depot and now CEO of Chrysler and would love nothing more than to massage this line up.

1. #9, #19, #10
   
2. #2, #12, #77
3. #40, #41, #42
   
4. #43, #45
   
5. #7, #20??? aka Smoke What is that # worth
   

Nascar put the final nail in the Hass deal last week.by what amounts to saying go away. I wonder what a Seven Post Shaker will go for on EBAY? When you look at the situation from a business/ marketing perspective the Robby and Tony show could work very well under the umbrella of GEM and Dodge.

Rumors from the corporate world.
We all have heard the Smoke to Hass rumors in the garage and I never believed it and may still not, but I heard Tony and a couple JGR executives may have taken a side trip to Home Depot HQ's in Atlanta before heading to the track. The purpose of the meeting was supposedly to negotiate Tony's release from next seasons contract.

One fact appears certain Smoke is leaving JGR. For all parties involved some type of buyout/release from 2009 is the best option. Whether Tony buys into Hass or moves to another team the question of the day is where will Home Depot's investment go. Letting Smoke and a sponsor like Home Depot go is a hard pill to take but I think Chevy and HD will provide some "Green Relief" to ease their heartburn that will allow Tony to retire in Orange.

Long term Tony Stewart Racing is the big winner if he can get Hass Automations racing assets for a song. As a racer it won't be easy to go the Robby Gordon route and be a mid pack finisher but he will never retire and walk away from racing so why not dive in head first now.

If the garage doesn't leak some more rumors this weekend I will have more next week.

“It’s NASCAR’s responsibility to protect the confidence of the competitors that they are playing on a level playing field,’’ Helton said.

What about taking away wins Mike?
“That’s not necessarily a sacred cow,’’ Helton said . “We’ve held out removing finishing positions for very distinct incidents. Those occur when someone has very clearly ... worked on either a piece or a situation that is obvious they were intending to disrupt the parity of the field.

“I’m talking about an obvious big motor. I’m talking about having on board a device that is very clearly against the regulations — telemetry, devices that can raise and lower the car during an event. ” For the record these quotes are from March 2005 not this week. - The Virginian-Pilot   After reading this and its companion article it's clear not much has changed, just adjusted for inflation.

Is a hundred points and $100K a stiff punishment ? Maybe not if you look closer. Using Vegas stats.

1. Win - lead most laps $425k 195 points
2. 2nd - lead 1 lap $252K 175 points
   
3. 23rd - no laps led $108K 93 points
4. 42nd - no laps led $88K 37 points
5. Last - lead 1 lap $129K 39 points

It may take quite a bit of Tweaking to get a top 20 car to victory lane but the cash payout to win is big. Look at the payout for 42nd and 43rd. That is why keeping a win is so valuable. Tony Stewart finished last while Robby Gordon was one place ahead. The #20 team is on the Winners Circle Program. Those lucky teams divide somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.5 million in additional purse money a season. Nearly $400K per team. Sounds good, sign me up. Not so fast. That club is for the top ten in race wins from the previous year with two wild card spots open to the current seasons first two winners not already in. (top 10 ties decided by owner points)

That's a little extra incentive to win that is often overlooked by a lot of fans. The #99 was already in the program for 2008 and Ryan got in by winning Daytona so there is one spot open. Do you take the chance on getting caught and losing $100K if you are going to net $400-500K in the long term. What if you fudge and don't get caught, even better. Or maybe a junk car can get massaged to a top ten finish and nobody even bats an eye at your car.

Time Machine
I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I remember a story that I believe is true. Years ago Nascar was certain a crew chief had an oversize gas tank but couldn't figure it out. After one such display of suspect fuel economy and some measuring and yelling in the pits it was decided the tank would be taken for further inspection. The irate crew chief climbed in the car and drove off, sans gas tank or one would think gas, much to the dismay of Nascar officials.

Am I the only one confused? Robby here's your points back and your crew chief too but we're going to keep your money. Oh and one more thing, leave another $50,000 at the front desk on your way out. Of course Dodge will pay the fine and almost everyone, including yours truly is happy for Robby to get the points back. I can't stop thinking about the money. Could the real story have gone down something like this and if so how much and how soon did Robby know.

• Robby needed some help. Was smart to pass on aligning with Yates. Dodge and GEM called and no way he could say no.
• Former Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli is heading up Chrysler, he loves Nascar and winning.
• He offered a $1 million bonus for winning Daytona.
• Did I mention Uncle Bob LOVE$ to win!
• Maybe the suspect bumper gave a slight edge and Robby's first mission for the team was to see if it would sneak by. We all know the answer to that.
• Did Robby know or was he used? Plausible deniability is in Robby's favor either way.
• Was Nascar fooled? An extra $50k to The Nascar Foundation says NO.
• Is the Valvoline sponsorship at Atlanta a pay back or is there worry about the 10 getting into races?
• Will this story fade away. No way.