By Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal from Race Day on Fox Sports Radio

True Champions have attributes that separate them from the rest of the world. Earnest Hemingway embellished a famous misquote between himself and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Hemingway said simply, “The rich aren’t like you and me”, to wit Fitzgerald replied, “They have more money”. Racing car drivers aren’t like you and me, they have more talent and if the stock car racing world wants to crown a true champion then one would do well to find what that true talent really means. NASCAR needs to add a road course to the Chase for the Championship.

Since NASCAR decided to use the new “chase” format, which is a 10-race shootout with the top twelve drivers in points resetting their points to 5000 each and additionally giving them 10 bonus points for each win during the first 26 races, a road course has not been a part of the equation for the championship. Why?



In all corners of the globe, in almost every form of racing a road or street course is part of the championship. NASCAR should be no different. In a sport that prides itself on history and tradition, road racing has been hand in hand with the boys from the South in every step of NASCAR’s ascension. If we are going to consider NASCAR’s drivers the best in the world then adding a road course to the Chase isn’t an option, it’s a requirement.

If you were to scan the garage and ask the question, should a road course be in the Chase for the Championship you would get many mixed results. “No, I don’t think one belongs in the Chase”, Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 Chevy said. “I think the Chase should have a fair representation of the race tracks we run the majority of the time. I’m a proponent of the fact that we have 36 races a year and two of them are road courses, which is a small percentage, so the Chase shouldn’t have a road course in it because it would be unfairly represented in what we currently know the Cup Series to be.”

Ask anyone outside the United States who the best racing car drivers in the world are and 9 out 10 won’t mention a NASCAR driver. Some say that it’s because NASCAR isn’t very popular outside the U.S. but the truth is, these detractors just don’t take ovals seriously. The rest of the world doesn’t believe that ovals require skill. On the other hand, now that the so-called open wheel invasion in NASCAR has slowed and the drivers who were part of that influx have seen how difficult it is to compete on a level with the stock car racers, that mindset may be beginning to change. A road race would be a significant step towards that change.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races on two road courses a year, Infineon, in California, and Watkins Glen, New York, but neither are included in the all important last ten races of the season. NASCAR has road raced from the day it was created from the beaches of Daytona to Riverside, California to the backwoods of North Carolina where the sport was born.

Ask Junior Johnson if when, in moments of youthful indiscretions, he could only turn left. The police would have merely had to stand there until he ran out of gas. He had to hone skills that all racers do; Up-shifting, downshifting, four wheel drifting, heel and toe braking techniques all the while doing it better than Johnny Law. It’s what made him a legend.

Next comes the question that, if you are going to add a road race to the Chase then which should it be? The answer is obvious. Watkins Glen, New York. “The Glen is just a great racetrack with a lot of history”, Kyle Petty, driver of the #45 Dodge said. “It’s one of the few places in the country where we get a chance to race where Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Emerson Fittipaldi competed. My 1992 win there is one of my favorites.”

No other tracks in America, other than Daytona and Indy, have more history and prestige than this magnificent piece of real estate in upstate New York.

It started as a somewhat selfish endeavor in 1948 when attorney Cameron Argetsinger, who is recently deceased, dreamt of bringing European style, street racing to his favorite vacation spot. The 6.6 miles course consisted of asphalt, cement and dirt roads that ran through the middle of this sleepy little town and around the state park, which is listed in the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Labeled “The Day They Stopped The Trains”, it was the first post-World War II road race in the U.S. and for the next five years brought the biggest names in American sports car racing to this small town, but after a car left the road in a 1952 race, killing one spectator and injuring several others, the race was moved to a new location on a wooded hilltop southwest of town.

By 1956 a 2.3 miles permanent circuit was built and the following year the NASCAR Grand National Stock Car Series made their first stop at the circuit where it was Buck Baker finding victory lane. It didn’t last long though for NASCAR as they only raced at The Glen in ’57, ’64 and ’65.

It was 1958 when the true international competition began with the Formula Libre’ race. In 1961 Formula One made it’s mark with the first Watkins Glen U.S. GP and for the next 20 years it would bring in the biggest names in the world such as Jimmie Clark, Graham Hill, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Mario Andretti, just to name a few.

As the seventies ushered in a greater variety of competition and an expansion to the circuit itself, Throughout this period The Glen added Can-Am, Trans-Am, Endurance races, Formula 5000, CART and the Indy Car Series. NASCAR, never to be left behind in an era of opportunistic expansion, would return to the “short” course in 1986 when Tim Richmond started from the pole and won the race for team owner Rick Hendrick.

The NASCAR Sprint cup drivers today have shown that they possess the skill, technique and passion to race left and right, and yes, even in the rain as evidenced by the recent, historic Montreal Nationwide event. Bill France, Sr. believed in road racing having participated in several himself with sports cars.

It should be evident to all how important road racing is to the international racing community and NASCAR is achieving a degree of success in reaching the Global market with its unique product. But in order for the drivers in NASCAR to be taken seriously abroad as truly world class, NASCAR must make that step forward by adding Watkins Glen and it would be sheer folly not to make a huge deal to the world that their champion got there by racing on a road course.

A true champion should be able to say ‘I can win on short tracks, intermediate tracks, superspeedways and road courses’. Precious few other drivers in the World could say that, could they? 2008 marks the 60th Anniversary of the first race held in the streets of Watkins Glen. Let’s make 2009 the year that the World sat up and truly took notice.

Listen to Race Day on Fox Sports Radio with Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal Sunday mornings from 6am-9am eastern on 216 Fox Affiliates, XM Radio Channel 142 and streaming LIVE 24/7 at www.FoxSports.com

IndyCar announced its 2009 schedule featuring 18 races including two new destinations and bookend dates for the state of Florida; boy does that sound familiar. NASCAR opens their season in Daytona and ends with the last race of the Chase at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

IndyCar season will now open its season running through the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida April 5th and will now end their championship run in Homestead-Miami on October 11th. As you can imagine the excitement that Homestead-Miami has, “That the IndyCar Series has chosen to move its Championship to Homestead-Miami Speedway says more about our facility and Miami as a Championship host city than anything I can put into words,” said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Curtis Gray.

“IndyCar is anchored by such a decorated open-wheel history, and now the series is poised for a phenomenal future driven by the momentum of this year’s reunification with Champ Car, as well as by last year’s stunning Championship finish.”

The season will now feature 10 ovals, three permanent road courses and five temporary circuits including a debut in Toronto on July 12. The Indy Toronto, which dates to 1986, will be the first of back-to-back temporary course events in Canada with Edmonton scheduled for July 26.

You will notice that New Hampshire Motor Speedway was dropped from the 2009 schedule and this has definitely upset the track and fans in this area. “I don’t understand the decision not to include our facility on next year's schedule,” said Executive Vice President and General Manager Jerry Gappens.

“I think it’s a slap in the face to Bruton Smith, our Chairman, and to our company who have both been very supportive of the Indy Racing League since its inception.”

The IndyCar Series will return to Kansas Speedway, The Milwaukee Mile, Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Infineon Raceway at approximately the same time on the calendar as 2008.

“We are thrilled with the schedule we have developed for 2009,” said Terry Angstadt, the president of the commercial division for the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights. “When unification was announced earlier this year, we talked about the opportunity of developing future schedules on a blank piece of paper, and with today’s announcement we have a solid foundation for developing a consistent, long-term schedule for the IndyCar Series.”

Next season’s schedule will feature four Saturday prime-time events, and unlike the previous two seasons the 2009 schedule affords a couple more in-season off-weekends for drivers and teams.

“Looking ahead to 2009, and with one season of unification under our belts, we know that the IndyCar Series continues to offer the most diverse schedule in all of motorsports,” said Brian Barnhart, president of the competition and operations division for the Indy Racing League. “As our schedule has evolved in the past few years, the race for the IndyCar Series championship has become one that demands the ability of both drivers and teams to master a variety of venues and the challenges each one brings with the end result being a true champion.

“We are also pleased to respond to our teams and offer a couple of more off-weekends during the core of the season.”

Date Location Venue

Sunday, April 5 Streets of St. Petersburg 1.8-mile street course

Sunday, April 19 Streets of Long Beach 1.968-mile street course

Sunday, April 26 Kansas Speedway 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, May 24 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval

Sunday, May 31 The Milwaukee Mile 1.0-mile oval

Saturday, June 6* Texas Motor Speedway 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, June 21 Iowa Speedway .875-mile oval

Saturday, June 27* Richmond International Raceway .75-mile oval

Sunday, July 5 Watkins Glen International 3.4-mile road course

Sunday, July 12 Streets of Toronto 1.721-mile street course

Sunday, July 26 Edmonton City Centre Airport 1.973-mile airport course

Saturday, August 1* Kentucky Speedway 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, August 9 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2.258-mile road course

Sunday, August 23 Infineon Raceway 2.245-mile road course

Saturday, August 29* Chicagoland Speedway 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, September 6 The Raceway at Belle Isle Park 2.906-mile street course

Saturday, September 19 Twin Ring Motegi 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, October 11 Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-mile oval

* Denotes Night race Schedule Subject to Change

Listen to Race Day on Fox Sports Radio with Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal Sunday mornings from 6am-9am eastern on 216 Fox Affiliates, XM Radio Channel 142 and streaming LIVE 24/7 at www.FoxSports.com

Internet reports have Ryan Newman verbally agreeing to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing next season. A network website is reporting that a NASCAR source close to the situation told them that the deal and announcement could be made official within the month.

Newman supposedly reached the agreement after Joe Gibbs Racing was unable to finalize a deal for sponsorship to start a fourth team.

JGR president J.D. Gibbs confirmed on Sunday at Indianapolis that it was every unlikely that they could get sponsorship for both Newman and a forth team, making Newman a non-factor. "Another time, another day, maybe. He's a great individual. You would love to have him on your team. It's just all those ducks aren't in a row."

Stewart will drive the #14 for the new company that bears his name, Stewart Haas Racing in 2009. The #14 means so much to Tony and can't wait to run it next year. “It's everything to me. We're going to have both the 4 and the 14. And 4 was my first-ever go kart number that I started with, and obviously unless you don't follow auto racing but about once a year, everybody knows that A.J. Foyt has always been my all time hero. And when this opportunity came about, it was about a five-minute tug of war between, ‘Do I want my first number back or do I want A.J.’s number?’ And it was pretty easy to decide that I wanted the number that my all-time hero had.

So who will drive the #4, well it could be Newman so look for the deal and sponsors to be announced in the near future. Newman has had his hands full with many different options since his announcement that he was leaving the #12 at Team Penske, he's rumored to have been pursued by Evernham Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Petty Enterprises who are are still looking for a driver.

Listen to Race Day on Fox Sports Radio with Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal Sunday mornings from 6am-9am eastern on 216 Fox Affiliates, XM Radio Channel 142 and streaming LIVE 24/7 at www.FoxSports.com

Kyle Busch is making his bid to a modern-era record of 13 wins in a season and collecting the most bonus points in the chase for the championship.

After getting win number seven at Chicagoland, Kyle Busch is living the dream “This is a dream season, man,” Busch said. With seven events remaining in the race to the chase drivers hoping to catch leader Kyle Busch should make their moves now because time is running out.

With seven victories in 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season, Kyle Busch is making his bid towards tying, or perhaps breaking the NASCAR modern-era record of 13 wins in a season, set by Richard Petty in 1975 and Jeff Gordon in 1998.

Busch’s series-high seven wins in ’08 also give him 70 bonus points, 10 points for each win toward chase seeding. That’s a 50-point lead over Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne who each have 20 bonus points.

Yes I know that Carl Edwards has three wins but with a post-race inspection violation at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March he'll have to forfeited 10 bonus points.

Following race No. 26 at Richmond International Speedway, chase-eligible drivers have their point totals reset to 5,000 and are seeded according to the number of wins the first 26 events. The chase is contested during the season’s final 10 races and coming to an end at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

If the chase began now and we all know it doesn't but Busch would grab the top seed, followed by Edwards (who claims the tiebreaker), Kahne, reigning and two-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.

Remember you still have drivers like Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth looking for their first win of the season. Last year all these drivers accounted for 13 trips to victory lane Gordon had 6, Biffle (1), Stewart (3), Harvick (1) and Kenseth (2).

Johnson, Earnhardt, Hamlin and Burton each have one win in '08 but in '07 Jimmie Johnson had walked away a two-time champ with 10 overall wins, three shy of the record.

Michele Rahal from Race Day on Fox Sports Radio

It sounds like the title from a Hollywood science fiction film that was written about a future event from the past. In some respects it is. The reference here is, of course, the dominant teams that we are seeing consolidate in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Hendricks, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush-Fenway and Richard Childress Racing. The rest are aspiring to reach these levels of power, though they will require deals with Venture Capitalists, Investment Bankers and, to a lesser degree, wealthy privateers.

Let’s state here and now that this movement is in no way a precedent. Without reverting this into a history lesson, this methodology began long before World War II with Auto Union, whom we now know as AUDI and after World War II became a global mission by the great manufacturers of the day to see who could dominate whom. During the Post War years the most notable of these legendary brands were Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari.

Fast forward to the 1960’s and you see the American racing scene, through NASCAR, begin to adopt the same practice, though with fewer multi-car teams such as Holman-Moody, the Woods Brothers, Junior Johnson and, of course, Petty Enterprises. The idea that a one or two car team could lay claim to the label of ‘Super Team’ was largely dependant on the manufacturer itself and whether that manufacturer, whether it be Ford, Chevrolet or Oldsmobile gave the team the “Factory” blessing.

My, how times have changed, or have they? The Daytona 500 broadcast on live television in 1979 jumpstarted the change that would ultimately bring NASCAR into the American lexicon. The demise of Open Wheeled racing (CART) and the numerous Baseball strikes combined with Bill France, Jr’s ingenious television deals convinced the corporations that they had discovered the great marketing vehicle of the modern era.

Though NASCAR has never looked back, it has had its challenges and faces one today. A weak economy, let the pundits argue whether it’s a recession or not, will inherently slow down the investment of corporations in their marketing budgets. It has never made sense to me that the first thing these companies cut is advertising and marketing, but that is the historical process in all businesses. “Cost-Efficiencies” actually appear as revenue on their books. However, not everyone in the NASCAR garage will suffer shut downs and layoffs from this plight. This leads us to the next level of the rise of the Super Teams.

The manufacturers are fighting hard against each other and if you look at the situation between them carefully you discover a method to the madness. Mark Martin un-retiring, again, to drive the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick and stating that it’s because he wanted to simply “Drive the #5”, Tony Stewart bailing on Toyota and heading for Chevrolet with the promise of ownership and Lord knows what else behind the scenes he’s been promised and Roush-Fenway still managing to prop up Yates Racing without sponsors. All of these moves could be sold to the public on the surface that Toyota is the Evil Empire.

What is actually happening is that the larger teams are grabbing the most marketable, salable and best drivers in order to get the best sponsors, more money, better equipment and some information sharing system that they can use across their platforms whether their drivers like it or not. The smaller teams, such as Waltrip Racing, Petty Enterprises and the Woods Brothers are now left scrambling to find investors that can bring them at least to a level where the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t an on-coming train. These are the second tier teams with no big brother.

Joe Gibbs Racing and Red Bull will lead the Toyota assault. Hendrick, without a doubt, and perhaps Stewart-Haas will lead the Chevrolet camp. It may be too late for DEI as the rumors have already begun to swirl that they are dressing up for the investor-mating dance. In Dodge’s case only Evernham can be considered a contender for the moment as the manufacturer is still reeling from what its new masters, Cerberus, a private equity firm, may be doing to their racing program internally. A new engine this year wont be enough to keep up with the other manufacturers as the driver pool shrinks.

What does this mean to the smaller teams that can still manage to compete in the Sprint Cup Series? It means they will be competing for scraps for the foreseeable future even if they are aligned with a manufacturer. If they aren’t a satellite team, they won’t get what they need. It doesn’t mean that the fans won’t tune in, after all their favorite drivers are still in the hunt, they may not travel to the events with the frequency they have in past years, but they will tune in. Television ratings are up as a result of a phenomenon that has been observable when economies are bad or are perceived to be in decline, entertainment such as television, movies and sports in general increase in interest.

How do all these movements relate to the sport in general? It is becoming a manufacturers series much like Formula One. It wasn’t intended to be that way, but in order for it to survive at the popularity level it presently enjoys, it is necessary. It never ceases to amaze me how history, even racing history, repeats itself.

So pick your Super Team, root for that driver in that team and watch NASCAR evolve once again.

Rob D'Amico and Michele Rahal - Race Day On Fox Sports Radio

Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart has announced he will be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of this season to start a new chapter in the book of Tony Stewart as an owner and driver with Stewart-Haas Racing.

Stewart-Haas Racing is the new partnership between Stewart and Haas CNC Racing, with the revamped entity slated to run two cars full-time in the Sprint Cup Series.

“This is an incredible opportunity that allows me to race competitively in NASCAR’s top division while carving out a place in this sport long after my driving career is over,” Stewart told the media at Chicagoland. “I’ve won races and I’ve won championships and I know I could’ve continued to do that at Joe Gibbs Racing, but to attempt to do those things as a car owner is something that really appeals to me. There’s a whole new sense of appreciation and satisfaction that comes with success when you’re both a driver and an owner.”

Joe Custer, Haas CNC Racing’s general manager, is obviously pleased with the coming addition of Stewart to the team’s fleet of race cars and to its front office.

“Tony Stewart is a proven champion, on the track and off,” Custer said. “He brings a track record of success to an organization owned by the world’s largest machine tool manufacturer. And while Haas Automation has enjoyed great success in the marketplace, our racing operation has yet to achieve the same kind of success. Tony Stewart is a racer with a keen business sense, and we’re proud and excited to have him as a key partner of our team.”

No drivers, numbers or sponsors were mentions but we do expect an announcement coming in the next few weeks.

If you missed the press conference here are the audio highlights.

Tony Stewart makes announcement to leave Joe Gibbs Racing for his own team called Stewart Haas Racing Click Here

Tony Stewart talks about which drivers will drive for his team in 2009 Click Here

Tony Stewart talks about what it'll take to get back in championship form Click Here

Tony Stewart talks about why he wants to own a team Click Here

Tony Stewart talks about how Joe Gibbs Racing is a family run business Click Here

Tony Stewart talks about when the deal was first offered to him Click Here

Haas CNC Racing GM Joe Custer talks about what this will mean to their company Click Here

News regarding sponsors of Stewart-Haas Racing, as well as the complete driver lineup and corresponding car numbers for the two-car team, will be announced at a later date.

Please post your comments below, is this the right decision for Tony Stewart's career?

Rob D'Amico from Race Day on Fox Sports Radio gives his opinion why he thinks Tony Stewart is have all this bad luck in 2008.

Tony Stewart couldn’t finish Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He became dehydrated and requested to be replaced. He actually had to relinquish his seat in the No. 20 Home Depot Joe Gibbs Toyota and seek IV fluid treatment in the infield care center. You could see it in his face, his eyes and the way he struggled to walk.

J.J. Yeley, who did not qualify for the race in his #96 Toyota, was summoned to be Stewart's relief driver and, after an unusually quick driver change, ended the night in the 20th position after being collected in a typical Daytona late race crash. The finish was enough to keep Stewart 12th in points. That is 541 points, to be exact, behind series leader, teammate and race winner Kyle Busch.

The last time Stewart gave up the wheel to another driver occurred at Dover International Speedway in June 2006 when he got relieved by Ricky Rudd after 25 circuits. The reason Stewart got out of the car on that day was that the the pain of a broken shoulder he received in a crash the week before at Lowe's Motor Speedway became too much to bear.

It’s no secret that stress can manifest itself in the form of physical distress. It had started a week before and Stewart didn’t feel well coming into the Daytona race. He was suffering from an upset stomach, headaches and weakness. That should sound familiar to all of us who have ever worked too hard, had too much on our minds or physically over extended ourselves. Adding fuel to this fire is the fact that he and his JGR team have seen some of the worst luck of their careers.

Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup series champion, has been in position to win multiple races this season leading 502 laps, which equates to 564 miles and to date still has nothing to show for it. Despite the pressure he has placed on himself, he still barely sits inside the top twelve with 2,145 points, a scant two ahead of Kevin Harvick.

This doesn't mean it's been all-bad for Tony Stewart, he has five top fives and seven top 10’s in 2008. He is usually a late bloomer with most of his career wins coming in the second part of the season, he just hopes that starts sooner than later.

"It could be a lot worse,” Stewart said at Daytona, “They’re guys that have had a lot worse seasons than we've had, but this is a terrible year for us and our team. I think that is a compliment to how good the success this team and this organization has had. I don't know how long it's going to last hopefully it's not much longer, I'm afraid I'm going to be bald by the time it's done."

During the red flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, after leading the most laps (132), Stewart was asked about all the hard times his team was going through and I thought the guy was going to breakdown and cry.

Some would look at this story and say no big deal, so he didn't feel well, this is not the first time we've seen a relief driver used during a race. Well you would be right. Tony Stewart is from sound, middle American Indiana stock, but even drivers with his fortitude and determination can falter. You see the problem is that Tony Stewart is spreading himself too thin.

Stewart is trying to decide whether he'll be driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2009 or begin to secure his future as an owner by buying into Hass CNC Racing, a Hendrick satellite team. He is also wrestling with another unpleasant possibility, that being his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, who has been with Stewart from the beginning of his Sprint Cup Career and together hold the longest driver/crew chief combo in the garage, may not be going with him if he starts his own team in 2009.

Think of it as the high school student heading off to college and leaving his high school sweetheart behind. It’s not easy, but life goes on. We’ll pick up the pieces and march forward.

Breaking up is hard to do no matter what the circumstances may be. One needs look no farther than to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt. This pair went their separate ways after ‘irreconcilable differences’ on who should own Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. No one ever thought that Dale Jr. would leave the company that is father built, but he did.

No one thought that Matt Kenseth and his long-time crew chief Robbie Reiser would have been separated, but they were.

All actions have a reaction. What happens to people during times of stress is, depending on who you are, you lose valuable communication, feelings get hurt and those who have a difficult time expressing themselves calmly, begin to fall silent. I believe that is what we are seeing take place on the No. 20 team.

So what is the best decision for Tony Stewart to make? Only Tony Stewart knows. But certainly the process is taking a terrible toll. The massive amount of stress from being pulled apart by corporate America, the thought of leaving behind people who helped to make him who he is and the prospect of falling further behind in this lackluster season is a recipe for disaster.

Stewart is one of the most talented drivers in the garage when he can focus on the task at hand but right now his eye is on another prize: Securing his future after his racing career.

The Cure

It looks like we are about to find out. Wednesday Two-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart is expected to announce his official release from Joe Gibbs Racing, according to a report by the Charlotte Observer and Thursday he is suppose to make it official by announcing that he'll become 50% owner in Haas CNC Racing renaming it Stewart Haas Racing in 2009.

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!

Michele Rahal - RACE DAY on FOX Sports Radio

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Glad To Be Gone!

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has probably never been happier to leave a track faster than he left Sonoma, despite a 12th-place finish, road races aren’t his cup of tea, or glass of wine if you will. He will definitely, however, be happy to see the oval at Louden, NW. The ovals are more to his liking and he has shown a consistency in the Hendrick cars that he hasn’t enjoyed in years. Lying third in the points he has a chance to reduce the gap between himself and the superstar formally known as Kyle Busch. Earnhardt is motivated but so are several of the Cup drivers coming off of strong finishes. Bowyer would love to repeat and Harvick would dearly love to break his winless streak. But then there’s a problem. Kyle Busch.

Look for the Gibbs cars to come off the trucks with an attitude that may not be all mental. Chances are that they have positioned the rear of the car with a small degree of yaw in order for them to turn more efficiently on the flat track. This deficiency in the COT may not be problematic for Kyle Busch if he can loosen up his car as his attitude is ‘loose is fast and I’m fast anyway’. Busch has done what all Formula One drivers aspire to do. Outperform their teammates.

Only Hamlin and Bowyer have fewer starts at New Hampshire, each with four, before collecting a win than Kyle Busch with six starts. Look for Busch to adjust his car as the race goes on to make it as loose as possible for the final run. Advantage Kyle Busch.

Kyle Busch Can Rule The World?

My having picked Kyle Busch to win this weekend isn’t a function of being psychic, though I do possess many talents. In fact, you couldn’t place a bet in Vegas and make money by choosing Busch to win in New Hampshire, or the Championship for that matter. What you could do is say that he’s one of a very rare breed of driver that occasionally comes along. That’s right, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Mario Andretti or Michael Schumacher. All are phenoms and all seemingly genius in their execution of the art form we call racing cars. He seems unchallenged at the moment.

He does, however face challenges and the one that is most ominous to Kyle Busch is Kyle Busch himself. There is no doubt in my mind that as his points lead began to dwindle prior to his brilliant drive in Sonoma, “The Coach”, in typical Joe Gibbs fashion, slammed the velvet hammer down upon the young stars head. It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine Gibbs reminding Busch that a Sprint Cup Championship is on the line and despite the fact that Busch loves to frolic around the racing world proving his prowess for all to see, he is under a contract that is worth millions of dollars to himself, the sponsors and the team. Game over, it’s time to get down to business. If the race is at the same track, go do it, but if you have to travel, forget it.

Kyle Busch has attracted worldwide attention to the point that Toyota, in private circles, is no longer calling his forthcoming test of their Formula One car a “demonstration”, but rather a full blown, full race mapped engine test.

This is no small feat for a tall, brash American to accomplish. A real Formula One test can cost a million dollars when done correctly and apparently Toyota is willing to take that risk.

Being American, it's even more apparent that the manufacturer has designs on using Busch in this event later in December as a reminder to all that Toyota is dedicated to America itself. Great Public Relations and even greater if the engineers give him a fair shake. No full-time NASCAR driver has ever made a switch to Formula One.

Could he really be that good?

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