Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal from Race Day on Fox Sports Radio know there are two sides to every story.

Michele’s Take:

A great deal has been written and said about the influx of open-wheel drivers invading the world of NASCAR. The musings have ranged from outright Xenophobic reactionary ranting to the outcry that these drivers are unjustly reducing the number of seats available to rising young stars, thus putting on hold their dreams of grabbing the brass ring.

Let’s put this into perspective. The drivers in question, namely Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Jacques Villenueve, Sam Hornish Jr., AJ Allmendinger, Patrick Carpentier and Scott Speed, have all had very different deals put in front of them in order to survive, much less thrive, in the ultra-competitive environment that we call NASCAR. Their resumes are indisputable, but their results leave room for argument.

Jacques Villenueve felt the sponsorship crunch early and this alone should have been a harbinger of things to come for the Ganassi fiasco, but it did no good. Chip Ganassi apparently felt his success in Grand-Am and IndyCar would place the Sprint Cup racing universe in order. It hasn’t. Villenueve will be back. Hornish is learning, but has a long way to go.

Alternatively, the Red Bull squad has seemed to put the progression of bringing drivers up to speed in correct order. Scott Speed is proving to be a contender in the highest order by taking him through the ranks on multiple levels, driving full time in ARCA and competing in several Craftsman Truck races this year. They seemed to have taken lessons learned from throwing Allmendinger in the deep end and applied them to a progressive path for Speed. Not so Ganassi.

Through the looking glass no one can argue that Montoya has moved into his position with a vengeance. He’s been able to take what can only be considered a mediocre team and been able to push into the top twenty when most would sitting out in the under 35 standings crowd. So the question begs to be asked, what happened to Franchitti? Why did he not have a more ironclad contract with Chip Ganassi? Why was he not brought along more like Montoya rather than face the embarrassing prospect of going sponsor-less and losing his ride mere months after being crowned the Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion?

Ganassi stands out in this open-wheel movement because he believed that the star power of Franchitti would bring along bags of sponsorship money. Well that didn’t happen and wouldn’t have made on bit of difference if the money had shown up in a Brinks truck. If you don’t allocate resources in the appropriate manner, you aren’t going to have results. Montoya and his three crew chief musical chair fiasco by Ganassi hasn’t stopped the Colombian from dragging himself up through the field to deliver finishes that journeyman drivers shouldn’t have been able to accomplish. But that’s a testament to Montoya’s skill, tenacity and his aggressive nature.

Did Ganassi’s competition across the broad spectrum of racing with Roger Penske cloud his judgment? Perhaps. I firmly believe that Sam Hornish, Jr. will succeed because Roger Penske is a man who learns those lessons and applies them with military precision. Ganassi, on the other hand, seems disjointed and somewhat confused as to what to do. But Ganassi feels compelled to blame it on the economy; it’s a great excuse for failing a driver who obviously has the talent and motivation to succeed at this new challenge.

This story is a global one, not restricted to the parochialism that seems to permeate the pundits whose only experience in racing is NASCAR. Autosport, a definitive global publication on auto racing said this week that an unnamed source at Ganassi said to expect more “Wholesale” changes.

The naysayer’s will contend that these drivers just aren’t good enough and that NASCAR drivers are the best in the world. Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but if Kyle Busch washes out in his Toyota F1 test, then my point will be proven that they’re all great drivers. But it is easier for an F1 Driver to come to NASCAR than it is for a NASCAR driver to go to F1.

I only hope that Montoya’s lawyers had the foresight to give him an out clause. Franchitti deserved to be treated better than he was and should have had the chance to prove himself on performance rather than the ineptitude of an overzealous team owner.


Rob’s Take:

Does Rahal really believe that taking a 3500 lb car and driving it at the speeds that the Sprint Cup drivers do, takes less skill than that of an F1 Driver? I find that reasoning absurd, but that’s not what this debate is really about. Dario Franchitti walked into his deal with Ganassi’s team thinking he could match Montoya’s ability. Then there’s the question about Montoya’s ability. He’s not the most popular driver in the garage. Just ask Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick. Beyond that, Montoya hasn’t proven that he can make it as anything other than an average in Sprint Cup as the statistics will show.

Is there an inherent problem in the Ganassi camp? Obviously there is, but has Penske done much better, obviously not.

I will be the first to say that I am an Allmendinger and Scott Speed fan. But they are young and they are adaptable. That is what is key here, not their star power. Dietrich Mateschitz owed Scott Speed a make good after putting him in a Formula One team that was doomed to fail, take a look at the travails of four-time Champ Car titlist Sebastian Bourdais this season. The question that has to be answered isn’t about Ganassi as much as it is about the manufacturers. What are the manufacturers really willing to do to ensure the success of their teams? Dodge apparently hasn’t done much, Kasey Kahne can’t carry the Dodge torch forever, but Toyota has without question shared the wealth of information. Let’s not forget the horsepower that Toyota is producing right now, I know Dodge is close to releasing their new engine package, but until then can these driver afford that?

Franchitti started off the season in the top 35 in owner’s points and steadily declined those points to where he rests now, at 41st. why would a team owner continue subsidizing an effort that is with question going backwards? Despite the argument that these drivers have taken up seats that could feed the sport with new blood, most of them have shown promise and are driving with sponsors. Franchitti attracted no sponsors and that has to be a poor reflection on his ability not his star power. Sponsors want results. He did not deliver.

You need to stand out in this sport and there are a couple of ways of doing that. One is the Kyle Busch approach, winning races and the other is to be somewhat of a character. Well I guess Kyle has the best of both worlds. Let’s take Michael Waltrip (NAPA) and Kenny Wallace (Jegs) for example, these guys are both very outgoing and outspoken, keeping them and their sponsors in the spotlight.

When the name Montoya is invoked, it conjures up images of crashing, brash moves and an inability to play well with others. That is not how you get ahead in NASCAR. Whether or not he has an out clause in his contract is a moot point given that he really has no place to go. Certainly it can’t be Childress, who is eyeing other drivers who fit the General Mills sponsorship role better than he. Could it be Joe Gibbs racing? Why would they go for Montoya when they obviously have a superstar in Joey Logano? He wouldn’t make the move to Penske if Ryan Newman leaves at that would be almost a lateral move.

He has no place to land; therefore, the only option available for Montoya is for Ganassi to up his Cup game. Will he do it? He seems to be making every effort to do just that with moving around critical personnel who can create that magic we call chemistry. Montoya has openly said that his team can make it happen for Ganassi. Franchitti did not deliver the results, the sponsorship, or the leadership that is required of a team that has the potential of Ganassi.

Sprint Cup racing is a performance based business and is not a second rate series that can afford to support those who can’t make the grade. Formula One is fast, exciting and glamorous, but it can’t be said that the drivers in Sprint Cup today couldn’t get the job done. They would need a Ferrari or McLaren to do it though. In Sprint cup, at least there are multiple teams with a chance of winning.

The demise of Dario Franchitti is that he just didn’t want it bad enough, not that his team didn’t want him. But it will be a shame to not see Ashley Judd, Franchitti’s wife, in the pits, running through a rainstorm as if she were starring in one of her films we’ve all learned to enjoy. Not to mention the sundress, oh that sundress.

Mr. Judd, you will be missed.

Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal from Race Day on Fox Sports Radio DO NOT see eye to eye on the Juan Pablo Montoya vs Kyle Busch story and as we all know there are two sides to every story.

Michele's Take:

Yesterday at the Loudon, New Hampshire Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Sprint Cup race, Kyle Busch stared into the cameras once again after an on-track altercation on the last caution lap with Juan Pablo Montoya. This time, however, it was a very different Kyle. This Kyle took on the role of the innocent victim, the oppressed and downtrodden. The scene had an eerie Sybil-like look to it.

Juan Montoya had the nerve to spin him out on purpose.

So there Busch stood with that Alfred E. Newman look on his face as if the school principle were standing in front of him asking what role he had played in the schoolyard fight. Busch was spinning his side of the story like a whirling dervish about his role in the incident. “Let NASCAR take care of it” he proclaimed, he added, “I don’t know what his beef is”.

Well the beef appears to be one more example of how Kyle Busch races other competitors. Not the hard driving or brilliant skills that he uses, but rather the bullying tactics of rubbing and repeatedly bumping into people he feels should get out of his anointed way.

On Sunday he ran into the wrong person. Juan Pablo Montoya has bumped wheels with world champions at 200 mph, in an open wheel car and personalities like Kyle Busch don’t scare him. Kyle Busch finally met someone who simply said, “He (Busch) crossed the line”.

Depending on who you believe, Busch had repeatedly bumped and rubbed on Montoya leading up to the caution. When the caution came out, due to Clint Bowyer and Sam Hornish. Jr. colliding, Busch hit him again. Montoya gave him a gesture inferring Kyle’s IQ and Busch rubbed against him again. Then in front of God, America and all the television cameras, Montoya turned into the right rear quarter panel of Busch and took him out.

My bet is that everyone who ever hated Montoya has realized that he had finally slapped the school bully right in the mouth and they’re glad he did. I would be willing to bet that you couldn’t find anyone other than the Gibbs camp who had any sympathy for Busch. He had it coming and someone openly and unapologetically gave it to him.

What did NASCAR do about it? In terms of disciplinary actions of the past, they did virtually nothing. Montoya received a two-lap penalty. That’s it. Even NASCAR itself apparently thought that Busch had it coming, it was on a caution lap, no one in the way and no harm no foul. Not to mention it’s great press.

So what’s next? Will Busch retaliate? If he does he runs the risk of letting his competitors catch up to him in the chase. Trust me, Joe Gibbs has reminded him of that and the race at Daytona this weekend is no place to try and put yourself in the spotlight other than winning. Busch will do nothing at Daytona. The chances are actually good that he’ll leave Montoya alone from this point forward.

Chances are even better that Montoya has finally let everyone in the garage know that he won’t take any bullying from anyone. It’s about time.


Rob's Take:

In the beginning it was all about hard side-by-side racing at it finest. Two drivers with giant egos battling back and forth for position and there’s nothing wrong with that right?

Well until Juan Pablo Montoya decided to make a bone headed move and take Kyle and himself out of the race intentionally. Remember, this is all under a caution brought on when a collision between Sam Hornish, Jr. and Clint Bowyer brought out the yellow, but we'll get to that in another blog. Montoya's lucky that he didn't take another unexpected driver out of the race too.

Some people like Rahal believe that Kyle had it coming for his rough racing out on the track.

Isn't that what we are here to see? Two drivers, both with great talent, fighting for position out on the racetrack? Isn't that racing?

Yes, Kyle swerved his car towards Montoya and yes there was contact but at no point did Kyle take Montoya out of the race intentionally and under a yellow! Kyle just gave him a friendly reminder that if that is how you want to race then game on my friend.

We saw guys all day battle side-by-side, for example did you see pretty boy, ‘I don't do anything wrong’ Kasey Kahne take out Aric Almirola? But here is where it gets better. Almirola gets revenge the smart way. Later in the race he gave Kasey a taste of his own medicine and returned the favor spinning him with a little love tap. Now that's just ‘one of them racin' deals’!

Or did you happen to catch Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon doing the exact same thing that Kyle and Juan were doing. Racing side-by-side beating, ####ing and swerving back and forth at each other.

So what's the difference? Jimmie Johnson, nor Jeff Gordon took the other one out under caution. The two drivers chalked it up as ‘one of them racin' deals’.

Do I need to remind everyone why we freeze the field when a caution comes out? It was at this track a few years ago when Dale Jarrett crashed in the middle of the track and everyone was racing around him to get back to the yellow flag. This put Dale Jarrett every other driver, including safety workers in danger.

There is a time and place for everything and retaliation under a caution is not the place.

What I wanted to see was Juan Pablo Montoya get out of his car and go grab Kyle out of his ride. Now that’s punching the bully right in the mouth, at the right time and place!

Or how about putting your money where your mouth is and kicking Kyle’s rear-end on the racetrack by getting a win. Oh wait, that’s to hard!