The six race NASCAR honeymoon is over

By Charlie Turner, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

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NASCAR’s annual silly season is off to an early start.

Last week the story was of Richard Childress Racing capturing the General Mills flag from the Petty #43 and planting it on the hood of a fourth RCR Cup car. Where there’s a car there must eventually be a driver and the speculation began that Petty Enterprises’ Bobby Labonte might make the move to that ride in 2009. The last few days have seen the names of Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr emerge. Earlier, others had speculated that Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman were possibilities.

Next up came the news that Kyle Petty was pulling himself or being ranked - you decide - from the Petty #45 and being replaced by young Chad McCumbee - at least for the Texas race. The #45 is well out of the top thirty five in owner’s points now and it feels like Kyle may be on the way out of the picture as a full time driver for the venerable team.

Then yesterday came rumblings from Florida, where Chip Ganassi is watching over his Indy Car investment and stewing about the performance of his three Cup teams. Chip isn’t happy with either Dario Franchitti’s or Reed Sorenson’s seasons so far. Ganassi talks as if he feels the problems are more team than driver related. But that wouldn’t make me feel all that comfortable if I were Dario or Reed.

The top thirty five qualifying rule puts more focus and pressure on the tail-enders of Sprint Cup. We’ve only had one race since the automatic qualifiers started being based on this year’s owners’ points. The sixth race of the year is now opening day for NASCAR’s silly season.

4 comments. Add your 2 cents!.

Filed Under: Bobby Labonte, Carl Edwards, Charlie Turner, Chip Ganassi Racing #40, Dario Franchitti, Greg Biffle, Guest Authors, Kyle Petty, Petty Enterprises #45, Reed Sorenson, Ricky Rudd, Sprint Cup, Teams

Tagged As: Chad McCumbee, Chip Ganassi, Greg Biffle, Indy Car, Kyle Petty, Nascar, Petty Enterprises, Richard Childress Racing, silly season, Tony Stewart



Trackback URL for: The six race NASCAR honeymoon is over

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Sunday March 16, 2008
7:04pm CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

It ain’t over, ’til it’s over.

With 5 to go, Burton was running 5th. A Top-5 at Bristol is an accomplishment, but the race was far from over as they came to the green from a caution with 11 to go.

Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr stayed the course while the rest of the cars on the lead lap came in for tires. With the restart, Kevin Harvick started in 4th, followed by Burton and Clint Bowyer.

Stewart jumped out to a slight lead, which was quickly erased and removed entirely by Denny Hamlin. Along came Harvick to the inside of Stewart, Kevin lost it and slided up into Stewart who backed it into the fence bringing out the caution with 2 to go and setting up overtime. As this happened, Burton squeezed by Harvick who slid in behind Burton.

Hamlin lead the attack to the green, white, checker finish but had fuel pickup issues which let Burton, Harvick, and Bowyer slip by to the outside for an RCR 1, 2, 3 finish.

Wow.

Up until that point, it had been another episode of Joe Gibbs Show, with all three leads taking the credit. Kyle Busch was strong, and possibly the strongest car in the field. However, JGR had a power steering box failure for the second week in a row, but this time it bit Rowdy instead of Denny. He went into the corner, in the lead no less, and just lost it.

Denny and Tony were also very strong, with Stewart leading the most laps [again] yet failing to seal the deal. We know what happened to Hamlin, who ended up 6th. Stewart finished 14th.

For the 4th time in 5 races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. carried the banner for Hendrick Motorsports by finishing 5th. Next best from the stable was Jeff Gordon in 11th. Jimmie Johnson brought it home in 18th, while again Casey Mears found his luck payments still due and ended up in 42nd.

Roush wasn’t bad at Bristol either. Greg Biffle carried the flag with a 4th place run, Matt Kenseth was 10th, and Carl Edwards was 16th. David Ragan was the first car not in the Top-20, while Jamie McMurray brought up the rear of the field after an early accident where Dario Franchitti slipped and punted him to the fence.

It was Bristol, what else can you say?

I counted no less than 4 lines, and there were probably more. There were 3 lanes through the corner, although the middle and top were all but on top of each other. Naturally you had your bottom, and also the diamond approach.

It will be interesting watching this track surface age. After its debut last August, a little more wear on it should make it quite interesting. When you have a track where people leave their tickets in their will, you know it’s going to be good.

Bristol did not disappoint.

Next up is Martinsville in two weeks, as the Cup Series takes it’s first off-weekend for Easter. After that, it’s time to pound down them beers at the one and only, Thunder Lounge.

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Filed Under: Bristol, Craftsman Truck Series, Drivers, Jeff Burton, Nascar, Richard Childress Racing #31, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tracks

Tagged As: Bristol Motor Speedway, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, kyle busch, Rowdy Busch, Tony Stewart



Trackback URL for: RCR, then came the field as Jeff Burton blazes Bristol

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Saturday March 8, 2008
12:04pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Tony Stewart may as well have been using one of my favorite Dave Chappelle quotes.

Goodyear is f**kin’ up!

Tony just doesn’t understand it. Why does Goodyear overcompensate on the tires?

In an actual praise of the weather, being thankful that it’s cold enough at Atlanta today to compensate for Goodyear’s incompetence with their tire selection, Tony commented that the garage is just trying to get through the weekend.

Goodyear has changed up the overall composition and construction of the left side tires to provide more grip, but at the same time they’ve increased the hardness of the right side tire compound which removes grip.

It was also explained, and something I was unaware of, that Goodyear is bringing the same tires (at least for the right side) for both the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series to use. In doing so, they went with a compromise where the right side tire is good for the Nationwide side, and something the Cup side “can live with”.

Tony Stewart made the remark that when you stroke a check big enough to NASCAR, you can have free reign with your product selection, even when that selection is junk.

Atlanta hasn’t been recently paved. It’s been 10 years, actually, so what is the deal here?

Bobby Labonte tested for Goodyear at Atlanta back in December, so what’s going on with this?

Are the engineers at Goodyear not competent enough to remember that during such a test the racetrack will be green, and therefore wear the tires a little harder than on a competition weekend? I’d like to think that’s not the case.

Are they overly paranoid of right side tire failures on the intermediate tracks?

Are they being cheap, and trying to get by with using the same thing all weekend?

Then again could it be that Tony’s lacking something in his car and laying out a case just in case his run at Atlanta, which happens to be the HQ of his sponsor Home Depot, is less than spectacular? Could it be a little bit of both circumstances? I will note that Tony Stewart typically runs quite well at Atlanta, and one could expect that whatever the circumstances he will adapt and overcome.

Tony Stewart has typically been the first driver to speak out about tires during a given weekend. Does the rest of the garage feel similar about the tire selection by Goodyear?

What bothers me most about these comments is this. These types of tracks make up the bulk of the NASCAR schedule. I’m also concerned because the next track of this type on the schedule is Texas Motor Speedway.

It’s been on again, off again for racing at the 1.5mile oval. At times the show is good, but at other times the show has been less than spectacular.

If you combine the elements of the new car, this apparent tire issue, and past history you’re heading into a big unknown for Texas Motor Speedway. If one were in the shoes of Eddie Gossage it would have to be at least a small concern in the back of your mind. It’s an SMI track, and the facilities are absolutely top notch. However, being the home track of Thunder Lounge, we can’t help but to be on pins and needles a little bit in regards to the show.

Last fall was a battle between Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson late in the the goings, and highlighted the quality of racing capable at the track. On the other hand, they have been many a strung out parade as well.

With that all taken into consideration, flip a coin. Head it’ll be a show, tails it will be a parade. That’s about as close to a prediction as you’re going to get. With the new car, competition should be much closer. Thus you could conclude that the parade won’t necessarily be a factor. On the other hand, with the tire issue being complained about by Tony Stewart, it could turn into a conservative “make it through the weekend” type of race.

Whatever the case may be, we hope the issues being complained of this weekend won’t be an issue when NASCAR returns to The Great American Speedway, leaving the show in the competitors hands.

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Filed Under: Atlanta, Drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Nascar, Sprint Cup, Teams, Texas, Tony Stewart, Tracks

Tagged As: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Goodyear, Hotlanta, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Texas Motor Speedway, The Great American Speedway, Tire Issues, Tony Stewart



Trackback URL for: Tony Stewart Baffled With Goodyear

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Monday March 3, 2008
12:52am CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Well, it was almost like deja vu as Carl Edwards led the last lap for the second week in a row.

After much impending anticipation, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series made it to Las Vegas. After the fiasco in Fontana last week, it was definitely a welcomed weekend where weather wasn’t an issue, and the racing was anticipated to be really good.

It wasn’t bad, however as a colleague pointed out, I was left with a slight empty feeling. To me it felt like the guys we’re leaving something on the table, for lack of a better term. I reflect back to comments about the tires, a lack of overall grip, and the term cautiously aggressive comes to mind.

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Filed Under: Carl Edwards, Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #24, Jeff Gordon, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Las Vegas, Nascar, Roush Racing #99, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks

Tagged As: Carl Edwards, Cousin Carl, Jeff Gordon, Las Vegas, Post-Race Inspection, Tony Stewart



Trackback URL for: Deja Flippin Vu, Almost

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Tuesday February 19, 2008
12:30am CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

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.

Join the discussion.

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
Tuesday February 12, 2008
10:39pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Kyle Busch

• 2007 Stats

  • Organization: Hendrick Motorsports
  • Car Number: 5
  • Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
  • Sponsor: Kellogg’s
  • Points: 5th :: 6293 :: -430
  • Starts: 36
  • Poles: 0
  • Wins: 1
  • Top 5’s: 11
  • Top 10’s: 20
  • Winnings: $4,685,520

• 2008 Preview

  • Organization: Joe Gibbs Racing
  • Car Number: 18
  • Crew Chief: Steve Addington
  • Sponsor: M&M’s

Wow. Short end of the stick in 2007 or what? Hi, thanks for driving, but you’re getting the boot in favor of NASCAR’s most popular driver.

While many say it’s strictly attitude that cost Kyle Busch his ride at Hendrick, which I don’t deny had a factor in it, what still rolls though my mind with this young talent is whether or not he would still be in that seat this season had Dale Jr. not been on the market. In all honesty, and I may be wrong, I believe he would still be driving for Rick Hendrick.

That aside, when Kyle was good in 2007, he was damn good. What kicked him in the butt finally was that he is his own worst enemy and it starts right below his nose. It’s not really blatant mouth-butter, it stems more from still being young and in that “invinceable” mode. While some people his age are more mature/self aware, some are less. It’s just a part of being young and full of it. He still has some growing up to do, but he’ll get there, settle down, and learn along the way. Such is life when you finish growing up infront of the media.

Looking into 2008, Kyle Busch is rolling right along at his new home with the Gibbs Boys. Smoke leading the way, and an already good friend in Denny Hamlin, the youngest driver in JD’s camp also is the driver that fared best on the track overall in 2007. Kyle seems to be a better fit in that particular crowd than in past years, although the company his former teammates keep would be difficult for just about any driver out there to keep up and fit in with.

Note: information is accurate as of date published. Check Thunder Lounge for additional updates and information.

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Filed Under: Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #5, Joe Gibbs Racing #18, Kyle Busch, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Sprint Cup, Teams

Tagged As: Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart



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