Daytona 500 had it all, but not the greatest ever
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 12:30am CST
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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It’s OK. Throw me under the bus. The 50th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 was good. Actually, it was damn good. However, it wasn’t the best ever. It was worthy of being the 50th anniversary though.
The season opener had it all. Drama, strategy, surprises, and [gasp] racing.
The internet trolls will tell you it sucked. Consider the source of that opinion. To them, everything sucks. They long for “the good old days”, yet their memory is clouded with nostalgia. This very well was one of the most competitive 500’s in recent memory. Ignore the fact that the results will tell you that 6 of the top 10 spots were taken by a Dodge. Don’t ask where they came from, we don’t know either. Yet there they are, taking home 1st, 2nd, 5th-7th, and 9th. Round out 2 Toyota’s, a Chevy and a Ford, and call it your top 10.
The lone Chevy? Dale Jr. Ford? Greg Biffle. Add in Smoke and Shrub in 3rd and 4th, and there you have it.
I can only imagine the hearts of the Toyota boys as they came down the backstretch on the final lap. Up to that point, you would be hard pressed to convince a new fan that Toyota wasn’t worth the paper in the Mens Room last season. Kyle Busch was making a scene, as was Tony Stewart. If you take any lessons from this, it better be that Toyota is coming.
However, as with every tale there has to be some drama. As Tony Stewart moved down to pick up his teammate Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman made the charge with his teammate Kurt Busch stuck to his bumper with Gorilla Glue.
The dreams of The Captain, and we don’t mean Morgan, then came true. After all these years, all the trials and tribulations, Roger Penske finally ended up in Victory Lane for the Daytona 500.
It was a typical plate race, chess-like maneuvers and precision positioning for a while, but that’s just the nature of the game. You have to make it to the end to have a chance to win. But the closer you get, the riskier your moves, and if you play your cards right, you win.
Last season, Dodge wasn’t impressive. Pre-season Thunder, still no love. Reed Sorenson showed some promise in the Shootout and Duels, but for most of the 500 Dodge was relatively quiet. They were there at the end though, and Penske has a nice $1,000,000 bonus from Dodge to prove it.
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Filed Under: Chip Ganassi Racing #41, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Daytona, Drivers, Elliot Sadler, Evernham Motorsports #19, Evernham Motorsports #9, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports #88, Joe Gibbs Racing #18, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Nascar, Penske Racing #12, Penske Racing #2, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Robby Gordon Motorsports #7, Roush Racing #16, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks
Tagged As: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Daytona 500, Elliot Sadler, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart
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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday February 13, 2008
10:34am CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.
So penalties were handed out yesterday for Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart in regards to their little disagreement last Friday during (and after) final practice for the Bud Shootout.
The penalties themselves were surprising on two fronts.
First, it was honestly surprising that there really was a penalty at all. No, I’m not off my rocker. I’ve looked at the replays on the net a hundred times, maybe more, and I stick to my original thoughts that the bumps coming down the access road before they hit the pits was nothing more severe than a congratulatory doughnut. I’ve seen worse “congratulations” after a race. The difference here though is the intentions and premises those bumps were made under. However it still somewhat baffles me that they didn’t call it all square after the “rumors” of an altercation in the Oval Office after practice where Busch apparently took a little too close of a look at Stewart’s fist.
Second surprise in this announcement was the severity, or lack of, in the penalties. NASCAR handed down a 6 race probationary period for both Busch and Stewart. What the heck did Tony do? Ahhh, could those rumors be getting warm? More on that in a second, but I’ll leave the reasoning for penalties at coming down to the intent and not the actual severity of the contact.
Last night, On Pit Row had none other than Jim Hunter, NASCAR Vice President for Corporate Communications, on to kick off the show.
In regards to the “discussion” in the Oval Office last Friday night, Jim still towed the “Vegas” line with, “What happens in the trailer, stays in the trailer”, but he did say the following:
“It was a kind of meeting our fans would relate to. Really emotional. Something our fans fell in love with. It was a really emotional, no-holds-barred discussion.” — Jim Hunter
So we somewhat have an admission without having an admission. Whether that means a punch was actually thrown, you be the judge. Any Mary Kay or Avon reps in the area get an interesting ordr last Friday night or Saturday morning?
Moving along, I’m constantly reminded of Brian Frances new, improved, back to the roots, NASCAR. Previously, Brian would have been the Judge, jury and executioner as he ruled his NASCAR Kingdom with an iron fist.
This is what surprised me, honestly. I took the statements from NASCAR on Saturday to mean it was done and over with, and not just between Stewart and Busch. I had it in the back of my mind that if penalties were assessed that they would include a stiff hit to the wallet and a decent portion of the season under the watchful eyes of NASCAR. With the penalties only coming out with a mere 6 weeks of probation and nothing more is what surprised me here.
As I mulled over the penalties yesterday, it was tough to just not throw up a post about it and carry on about my day. I’m glad I took the time to reflect, something which isn’t always afforded to the mainstream media folks who need to get it out the door as soon as possible to get into the mix.
This being the case, in my reflections I keep coming back to something I mentioned on Charlie’s blog.
NASCAR needs to take a lesson from Texas (the state, not the speedway) and get a little more creative with their penalties, just as many Judges not only in Texas but across the Nation have done. Penalties are at NASCAR’s discretion, and therefore they have the leeway to think outside the box.
Before I lose you, here’s where I’m headed with this. Alternative penalties to get the message across, that not only fit the situation but the person or persons involved.
In this case you not only have Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch involved, but because of the torn up sheet metal you also have the unsung hero’s of both teams with an extra load on their schedule to fix it all.
He is my opinion of a more creative penalty that not only would get the message across but maybe, just maybe, make these guys think a little bit.
I would have forced Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart to pick a date within two weeks of the penalty being announced and take their crews to dinner. Not some fast-food type deal, I’m talking something really nice like Ruth’s Chris, where the attire is business casual, and the plate-per-person is at least $50, easily reaching $100 per-person with a few drinks and appetizers. Besides, I love that place.
The deal would be they all go together, no NASCAR chaperon, but it would be confirmed that they not only entered together, but also dined and left together. Kurt would foot the bill for Tony and his crew, and vice-versa.
This is not about money, although something along the lines of $1500 coming out of each pocket wouldn’t be out of the question. We’re talking about everyone involved here that has to fix that car.
What does this do? It forces them together, somewhere they can’t outright brawl, with the intentions of just maybe providing a little bit of comradery and insight into each others worlds. I’m not suggesting everyone would come out the best of friends, however the intention is to get both these drivers to think. Maybe next time they will remember the faces at the table, and who actually has to fix the results of their actions.
On top of this, a little probation (such as served this week) would also be imposed.
Oh, if you screw it up, you’re parked for a race. Not the driver, but the car. So there will be no substitutions. That puts the pressure on them to act accordingly and professional.
If NASCAR is serious about their getting back to their roots, they can’t balk every time someone gets upset. While I don’t feel they did here, they could have easily flirted with it a little bit. They didn’t, so that’s a step in the right direction.
I do not approve of a car being used as a weapon, like Cousin Carl’s little shenanigan, or last summer’s conflict with Stewart and Busch. This wasn’t near the scale of that, in terms of severity, but the intentions were the same and that’s what kicked Busch in the butt. Something obviously kicked Stewart in the butt, although what we don’t exactly know. Had to come from the trailer, as anything on the track which caused the accident wasn’t really justifiable. If the buzz is wrong, and there was no altercation in the hauler, than it may simply be a case to keep both in check at the same time and prevent possible antagonizing of the one under probation.
Who knows for sure, it is what it is. One thing can be sure though. At least thus far, NASCAR seems to be sticking to their call to get back to their roots on these issues, and to let the drivers be themselves.
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Filed Under: Daytona, Drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Kurt Busch, Nascar, Penske Racing #2, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks
Tagged As: Cousin Carl, Daytona, Fisticuffs, Kurt Busch, Penalties, Tony Stewart
Trackback URL for: Demons Be Gone!
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Sunday February 10, 2008
11:47pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.
Kurt Busch
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2007 Stats
- Organization: Penske Racing South
- Car Number: 2
- Crew Chief: Pat Tryson
- Sponsor: Miller Lite
- Points: 7th :: 6231 :: -491
- Starts: 36
- Poles: 1
- Wins: 2
- Top 5’s: 6
- Top 10’s: 14
- Winnings: $5,287,850
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2008 Preview
- Organization: Penske Racing South
- Car Number: 2
- Crew Chief: Pat Tryson
- Sponsor: Miller Lite
In 2007 Kurt saw 3 different crew chief. Starting with Roy McCauley, who understandably needed some time at home, Troy Raker took the reins until Pat Tryson took the helm at Michigan in June. Tryson stays atop the pit box for 2008, as they work to build on the success they found early on with the pairing.
Of course we’re talking about Kurt Busch here, so we can’t get out of it without some sort of controversy. Starting at Daytona when he and Tony Stewart tangled, it was all downhill from there. Words with Harvick would boil later that spring, culminating in a clash on pit road at Dover last summer with Tony Stewart. 100 points, $100,000, parking for the remainder of the event, and a probationary period later, things settled down a bit.
Welcome to 2008, where practice for the Bud Shootout took a turn for the worse. Tony gets into Kurt, Kurt hits wall, Kurt aggressively doughnuts Stewart on the access road coming to the pits. During practice. A trip to the Oval Office ensued, supposedly Kurt accidentally looked at Stewarts fist a little too close (while in the trailer, although NASCAR is pleading “Vegas” on it), another trip to the trailer the following morning, and all is just peachy now. It isn’t believed that much more will come of this, although if so a potential fine could be laid out this week. Personally, I think it’s over. It wasn’t as bad as some people would have you believe.
Looking past this weeks action, Kurt and Pat look to build on their early success last season and carry that momentum into 2008. Having to rely on his “past champion” provisional for the first 5 races, since Roger Penske transferred his 2007 points to the #77 so that rookie Sam Hornish could make the first 5 races, qualifying day will be interesting for the #2 team for a while. However, it doesn’t seem it will be too big of an issue.
Note: information is accurate as of date published. Check Thunder Lounge for additional updates and information.
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Filed Under: Daytona, Drivers, Kurt Busch, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Penske Racing #2, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tracks
Trackback URL for: Daytona 500: 7 Days and Counting
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday October 10, 2007
11:20pm CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.
Miller + Coors = Morrs?
Across the yahoo feed came this interesting tidbit. Apparently, in order to go head to head with The Busch Clan, the two manufacturers will be combining to produce their products, and streamline distribution. This little ditty will save an estimated $500 million a year, so they say. Coors already pulled their car sponsorship, moving it to an Official Nascar Partnership, so what could happen to the #2 sponsorship? Hmmm. WTF?
Where’s The Post-Race?
Like this needs little introduction. I just absolutely LOVE a 30 second Victory Lane interview with closing credits slipped in. THEN, to top it off, being cut to a #*$@!#^ informercial. A informercial.
If Dave Chappelle were here, you know what he would say. “Man, ESPN is %#*#$!’ up!”
Yep, that they are. If Nascar wants to know why the television ratings are slipping, they have no farther to look than their broadcast partners. It’s about time Nascar put out some minimum guidelines/requirements for covering its top series’.
So, ESPN, WTF?
One more time, in case they’re hiding out in the cheap seats… W.T.F?
Concord Fiasco
So, now that Mayor McCheese over in Concord knows the Bruton Smith isn’t joking, they’re petitioning the Zone and Planning folks to make sure that construction at the current facility can continue. Hmmmm. Guess McCheese realized his meal ticket was on its way out the door, and had a “change of heart”.
WTF? You either stand by your convictions, or you don’t. I guess hit particular eyes are filled with dollar signs. Imagine that. Wouldn’t look to good on a re-elect if you intentionally cause one of your biggest tax payers to hightail it out of town, now would it?
And there ya have it. The WTF’s for this week. Nope, no ‘Dega complaints here. The show went off without a hitch really, and honestly as well as could be expected. Yeah, it snoozed for a good while, but what can you expect? It’ll get better as the information and data on the car comes in. They learned a lot in the last 50 laps, especially about how much they can use that ol’ chrome horn. They know how much they used it, and what it did to the front end. They know better now what to expect with it in a pack with the draft. Patience, Daniel San. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
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Filed Under: Charlotte/Lowe's, Nascar, Penske Racing #2, Talladega, Teams, Tracks, WTF? Wednesday's
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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday August 22, 2007
10:41am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.
Yep. And that’s the facts Jack. No pun intended.
When the flags finally flew over the pavement at Michigan, a track where the Roushketeers have flat out put a whoopin on the field for the past several years, Roush didn’t go quietly into the wind as Kurt Busch walked away from the field to the checkers. Kenseth was strong all day, and Carl Edwards was backing up his run there in June.
However a couple other strong cars, Busch and Brian Vickers, also added some noise to the event with Busch ending up in Victory Lane after the smoke (and fog) cleared.
If Kurt Busch didn’t thank Jack Roush afterwards, he very well should have. The same holds true for Vickers as well. Why, you ask? You mean you haven’t connected the dots? I’ll connect them for you. Pat Tryson, and Doug Richert. Both formerly under the employment of Mr. Jack, and both have an intricate knowledge of Michigan. Having that knowledge couldn’t have done anything but help.
When Vickers has made the show, he’s ran pretty darn decent. If he had made every show, he would definitely be in the Top 25. At least there is a glimmer of hope in that camp.
And of course, the joining of Busch and Tryson is a no-brainer as we’ve discussed before. They immediately had common ground, as provided by their tenures at Roush, and being able to build from that has thus far proven to be a good thing.
In the end, Roush played a part of the story at Michigan, and probably more of a part than anyone will give him credit for.
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Filed Under: Brian Vickers, Drivers, Kurt Busch, Michigan, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Penske Racing #2, Teams, Tracks
Trackback URL for: When In Doubt, Thank Jack Roush
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Tuesday June 12, 2007
10:30am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.
Yes, it was.
I’ve put a lot of thought into this, and I think it was too much. I’ve reviewed the “footage” a couple dozen times, and this is my conclusion.
It wasn’t the right action for Kurt Busch to take. The pits aren’t the place to use cars as tools in a heated discussion. I’m not disputing that.
However, I do believe it’s being blown out of proportion just a tick too much and I think it’s because of the driver involved.
Kurt didn’t come screaming down pit road, nor did he at any time try to smash into one Mr. Flip Flop (aka: Tony Stewart for those of you new to the Lounge). He simply pulled up beside him to “express” his dissatisfaction. What the issue seems to be was Flippy’s crew member freaking out and hopping onto the hood of that orange machine. A little dramatic, considering when he jumped it was evident that Kurt wasn’t there to play bumper cars. All he had to do was simple stop from coming around the front and wait. Not necessarily his fault, it all happened so fast he did what he thought necessary.
In response, NASCAR came up to the #2 Crew while they were preparing to fix the damage and told them to load it up on the trailer and that their day was done. No problem there, it was appropriate and cost the team a lot of points. The most possible at the time.
In addition to this, last Friday Kurt was fined $100,000, docked 100 points, placed on probation until December 31st, and Roger lost 100 Owners points.
I’m kosher with all of that except Roger’s points. Why? Well, the Owners points affect the Owner and the team. Neither of which had a single thing to do with Kurt’s decision to pull up next to Stewie. Why should they be punished? They shouldn’t.
What a lot of folks were calling for was, in addition to the above, for Kurt to be parked for Pocono. Read as: Suspended Harvick style. I disagree. He already was effectively sat out right after the incident. They got their point across when Kurt knew he could be out there racing, yet wasn’t part of the remaining roar of some 33,000 HP waging battle against The Monster Mile.
NASCAR reviewed all the footage, and made the right call with the exception of the Owners points.
Now, on the horizon, we face an even bigger problem as a sport. This would be a recent revelation on Sirius. One such revelation that has to do with Indy, and one that poses a far bigger threat than pulling up next to someone in the pits.
More on this after bit.
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Filed Under: Dover, Drivers, Kurt Busch, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Penske Racing #2, Teams, Tracks
Trackback URL for: Busch Penalty Was Unjust
