Texas Sized WTF’s
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 8:53pm CST
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
Menard To Get New Crew Chief
So it looks like Paul Menard is going to get a new Crew Chief for 2008, as Dave Charpentier moves up to become the Technical Director at DEI. Well, if the rumors are to be believed.
The only question I have, is how long will it take for the #15 to fall out of the Top-35? Lest we forget that if it weren’t for the Ginn Fiasco, they wouldn’t be in the Top 35 as they were the beneficiary of Sterling Marlin and his effort in the #14.
You know, there’s a reason that a lot of drivers/teams in the garage make comments over the radio about Paul Menard. To be honest, if you thought Tony Stewart was off his rocker or out of line on his Sirius show a couple weeks back, you’re sadly mistaken. He is far from the only one out there with those feelings. Nothing against you personally Paul, you’re a great guy, but could you be over your head a little bit here?
So, WTF is going to save the #15 from the Top-35 cut-off in 2008?
New Hampshire Gets A Facelift?
DW seems to think that New Hampshire could be ripped up and the resulting reconstruction could end up the product of Richmond and Bristol gettin’ it on.
That’s right, a 3/4 mile, high banked short track. Maybe not 36 degrees, but far from 12 or 14 we would imagine.
On top of that, expanding the current 100,000 or so capacity as the stadium builds around it.
While that would be pretty darn cool, is it really something that could happen?
New Hampshire has sold out 26 consecutive dates. Not many tracks can boast consecutive numbers like that. Richmond can, and I’m pretty sure Bristol is in the ballpark as well, but the question at hand is how fast will that number continue to increase?
Here’s the deal.
The majority of speculation is that one of the New Hampshire dates will be petitioned to be moved to Las Vegas for the 2009 season. Most likely the one in September. You know, the date that has kicked off the Chase since its inception in 2004.
However, we have another problem here. The fall date at Texas also coincides with the opening weekend of deer season in Texas. What’s a good ol’ boy to do?
Further speculation is that if the date is moved from New Hampshire to Las Vegas, then in turn Las Vegas and Texas could swap dates. Which would run the schedule out like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Homestead, with a Texas sized party to kick the whole Chase off.
Then again, maybe New Hampshire keeps both dates? While Las Vegas is a great facility, Bristol makes more revenue. If New Hampshire did get a facelift, while it would take some time to build up the capacity, it could generate more revenue than Vegas. Interesting thoughts all around, that’s for sure.
So, WTF is going to happen with New Hampshire?
Speaking Of Racing, Where’s The Leader?
“I’m a hundred miles away, son.”
That’s exactly what the leaders were saying at Texas this weekend. It was almost a given that if you got the lead, you’d end up with a 20+ car length advantage.
Was it the surface? Is the “soon to be extinct” car just that bad in traffic these days? While we have much love for our home track at Texas, the show wasn’t as stellar as it could have been. We’ll leave judgment out of it, and just wonder… WTF happened to the show(s)?
And there you have it. Your WTF’s for this week.
With two weeks to go before the season winds down, we’re going to give a shout out to all those folks that have been working the grind with little downtime since Daytona last February. We, as fans, thank each and every one of you for the job you do to support our sport. From the hauler drivers, to the crew members, to the souvenir drivers/sales folks, to the drivers, and everyone in between we give you a hardy Thunder Lounge salute and thanks.
Filed Under: Las Vegas, Nascar, New Hampshire, Nextel Cup, Texas, Tracks, WTF? Wednesday's
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Ref NHMS, The Boston Herald is quotes SMI sotces as saying Smith will keep two dates at NHMS, add a drag strip and a dirt track for the WoO to use.
Opps, guess that should read “sources.”
NASCAR has not been known much for “pay to drive” deals such as those that are common in the open wheel and sports car series but this Paul Menard deal sure smells of it. He may have been good enough to get by a few years ago, but the influx of open wheel run-a-ways and genuine talents like Michael McDowell and Chad McCumbee don’t bode well for Paul to keep his seat - regardless his daddy’s dough.