NASCAR 2010: A Year of Change for Good?

REPOSTED IN ITS ENTIRETY FROM SportingNews.com website from Liberty76 ...

Mar 07, 2010 03:33 AM

Until now, I have held silent on the subject of the effect NASCAR changes are having on the product on the track ... well, only sort of in that regard. My Daytona 500 post struck a nerve I NEVER expected against some adamant fans who shared extremely contradictory opinions to my own. At that point, I began to wonder ... has my Fan Council membership just been revoked?

After all of this, I had to tell myself (in my head, anyway) ...
So, you want a *negative* opinion, huh?

I don't think I'm the only one who sees the product on the track actually getting better but the results in the stands getting worse, right?

I don't think that Brian France and company used to listen to my voice on the NASCAR Fan Council, but they seem to have lost my membership surveys recently, true?

The "Fan Council" seems to conveniently show up ONLY when opinions get especially negative ... get ready for some angst to reappear after Atlanta this weekend. The "Southern forces" are going to unite over the fact that this venerated location will be threatened to lose a track date after, yet again, due to the stands being half empty for another Cup date. You can only do *so much* before you throw in the towel and admit defeat. Bruton Smith is going to be the target of some SERIOUS hate mail very soon.

They like to say the "South is going to rise again" ... who would have guessed that NASCAR might be the boiling point for a lot of fans this time around? Until now, all indications were that this, too, would pass, but the Kentucky Speedway, near the border of the Union-Confederate States, will signal an initiator in the reignition of the "new" Civil War of sorts that NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY, will ever see coming from something as "simple" as NASCAR.

Don't be shocked that you heard it from me first.

Anyone notice an INTERESTING trend in something? The development of actual BEARDS in NASCAR? First, I see Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wearing a full beard, hearkening an era of his late, great father, the MAN who brought me into the fold of NASCAR itself. Then, I see the reigning champion himself, sitting on the SAME team, no less, sporting a FULL BEARD, too! What happened to Jimmie Johnson's status as the clean-cut, SHAVEN star of the sport. Does Jimmie want to start wearing the BLACK HAT this year? Is the challenge for MOST HATED DRIVER going to leave the clean-shaven crowd (Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, JEFF GORDON (!) ...) and jump over the Johnson himself?

For the first time in a VERY Long time, I have a feeling that the dynamic of the sport is ready to fracture. Pro-Johnson on one side and Pro-Earnhardt on the other. A genuine CIVIL WAR over fandom in NASCAR ... can this REALLY be happening?

If NASCAR wasn't so pro-Christian, pro-family, pro-Republican, etc. I wouldn't be as concerned as I am. For the first time in EVER, I see genuine Southeastern American disenchantment over the product on the track. We actually have a REAL split between the blue-collar south (lest we say the DixieCrats / Tea Party rising) and the white-collar north (anyone want to pull out my least favorite title EVER ... the Yankee nation?).

Anyone perpetually tired like me at the representation of states like my own (Ohio) which have been IGNORED too long for something as simple as a NASCAR race? SERIOUSLY???

Indianapolis, with its "sacred cow" race track venerated for ... why again? RACE AT ELDORA, you morons ... its that simple. THAT'S THE REAL NASCAR ... that's where this sport started. ON DIRT. LISTEN TO TONY STEWART AND TELL ME I'M WRONG.

If we actually went back to the ROOTS of the sport, we wouldn't have this elitist CLASSISM happening. IF we actually PAID ATTENTION to what FANS WANT, we would be racing the boys of Cup (Prelude to the Dream stuff, boys?) ... on the CLAY tracks of places like Eldora Speedway in little old Rossburg, Ohio. Lawrenceburg Speedway (border town of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, anyone?) ... Indy Raceway Park (forget the crappy name they call it now) ...

the TRULY venerated MILWAUKEE MILE ... NOW That's a race track. DID anyone see the story FLY UNDER THE RADAR that this track DOESN'T HAVE A DATE in 2010?!? HOW CAN THIS BE?

As the NaptownRef likes to say, "ref out" (clearly in reference to standup comedian Chris Rock) ... I will take it one better. I have been Liberty76 for a LONG time ... I am a fan of Richard Petty. I am a fan of David Pearson. I am a fan of Dale Earnhardt. And, against my better judgement, I became a fan of Jeff Gordon. I am a FAN of the GREATS of this sport. On the backs of legends goes I ... and from the view up here things are NOT looking so rosy any longer. Be prepared, NASCAR fans, for the fracture of NASCAR Cup racing into a NORTH AND a SOUTH division. It will happen, and it will be sooner rather than later.

Maybe 2010 isn't going to be the year, but 2011 will be the sign of new things to come. Bruton Smith, you ain't seen nothing yet ... oh, and Brian France, word the wise: the SMS / ISC battle is about to be REAL. The Kentucky Speedway lawsuit by Jerry Carroll and the KS folks was a precursor to the angst we "border states" are feeling these days. Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, etc. are FEELING THE PAIN of being a fan of your white-collar sport. WE SUPPORT YOUR PRODUCT without justification TOO OFTEN. My support comes with a pain threshhold ... and you may have finally found it in 2010.

And the Beat Goes On ... Knaus, Johnson Just Win

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news

Knaus outsmarts everyone – again

By Jay Hart, Yahoo! Sports Feb 28, 10:31 pm EST

LAS VEGAS – In searching for an excuse why Jimmie Johnson dominates, the haters are quick to scream that his crew chief Chad Knaus is a cheater.

It’s time to put that talk to bed.

Cheating is not what won the 48 team four championships in a row; it’s not what has had them competing for a title in each of Johnson’s eight going on nine Cup seasons; and it’s not what put them in victory lane Sunday for the second week in a row and the 49th time overall.

More From Jay Hart

• To worship or not to worship the 48 Mar 2, 2010
• Danica's first stint gets an 'Incomplete' Feb 27, 2010

When everyone else opted to take two tires on the final pit stop of Sunday’s Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knaus made the call to take four. It was a typical Knaus move and one that perfectly explains why Johnson perpetually is in a league of his own.

By not running with the pack, the 48 team gives themselves the chance to be ahead of it. Once that decision is made, it’s up to them to perform, and as we’ve seen, they usually do. Knaus made the call Sunday, the pit crew changed the four tires in less than 12 seconds to send their driver back on the track in fourth, and Johnson took care of the rest, passing Jeff Gordon with 18 laps to go.

Afterward, Johnson was asked the question that’s become as routine as him winning: How lucky can one guy get?

“If people are trying to find a way not to accept the quality of this race team, that’s cool,” Johnson said. “We’ll just come back this week and take the trophy again.”

Johnson acknowledged that his was a “smart-ass” remark, but who’s going to argue that he won’t?

For most of the day, Gordon dominated, leading 219 of the 267 laps. With a little more than 30 laps to go, a caution came out, setting up the leaders for one final stop. Originally, crew chief Steve Letarte ordered Gordon not to pit but changed his mind at the last second, calling for a two-tire stop. Behind him, Johnson was taking four.

On the restart, Johnson bolted from fourth to second almost immediately, setting up a two-car duel to the finish. Gordon held off his teammate for a stretch but couldn’t indefinitely.

“I knew we were a sitting duck,” Gordon said. “It was just a matter of time because two vs. four.

“When you’re leading, that’s the toughest position to be in – to make that call,” he explained. “If we won the race, we’d look like geniuses, Steve would have. The fact that we lost the race, now Chad looks like the genius.

“I talked to Steve briefly after the race. He’s pretty upset obviously. I think he just felt like more people were going to take two tires.”

Had they – had Johnson – Gordon is confident he would have won. So are Johnson and Knaus, which is why they made the decision they did. All afternoon they were stuck behind Gordon and Matt Kenseth, unable to make any gains because the cars were so equal. So when the opportunity to break from the pack arose, they took it.

Johnson sprays Knaus and team. AP

“If you’re prepared and a situation arises that you can take advantage of a top-five or a victory, I don’t think that’s luck,” Knaus said. “If we’d had been out there today and wrecked on Lap 5 because we were midway in the pack, that’s not luck; that’s because we qualified so poorly that we were somewhere where we shouldn’t have been.”

Knaus pointed to last year’s Chase race at Texas when Johnson qualified poorly, then got caught in a wreck on Lap 2.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of luck,” he said. “There’s opportunities that arise throughout the race. If you’re prepared to capitalize on them, then good for you.”

Undoubtedly some will view Knaus as being arrogant when really he’s more proud. He’s the one, after all, who has put in the work and dedicated his life to figuring out how to get his driver to the checkered flag before everyone else. So if you’re looking for an explanation of Johnson’s dominance, there it is, and there’s nothing unseemly about it.

Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

The "Luck" of Jimmie Johnson - A Response to Kevin Harvick and a "Horseshoe" in the posterior

Good gracious ... Kevin Harvick is the classic "happy" self he has always been. If he can't find something good about which to complain, he can't say anything good at all. Harvick, seriously, get over yourself when it comes to your "relationship" to Jimmie Johnson. Face facts - he's better than you are. You got lucky back in 2001, lest you forget, in winning in someone else's car (um, who could that be?!?) ... beating somebody in Atlanta named Jeff Gordon using a white 29 car ... but we fail to remember only 9 short years later that car belonged to Richard Childress and "the man" himself would have been driving it if you didn't get to take his place. Knock it off with the crap about being lucky ... you don't even know how lucky you were in 2001 to be the beneficiary of Dale Earnhardt's misfortune.

Nobody in NASCAR gets the chance to rest on their laurels forever, and nobody can be lucky for seven years in a row! Geesh, I am a Tony Stewart fan, I've been a NASCAR fan for the past two decades, I grew up loving Dale Earnhardt, and I love the racing I have seen so far in 2010. My god, 2009 was a snoozefest ... and, yes, seeing Jimmie Johnson win ad nauseum doesn't help. Do I begrudge his success? Are you crazy? Hendrick Motorsports is the product of team chemistry and exchange of ideas. Rick Hendrick himself saved the JJ-Chad Knaus dynasty only a few short years ago when it looked like it was going to fall apart.

The reality is this: luck is the result of good preparation. Chad Knaus is the best crew chief in NASCAR, period. Anybody who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. The uncanny resemblance of Johnson-Knaus to Gordon-Evernham is just as obvious to me now as it was in 2002. Johnson was given - yes, given - Jeff Gordon's equipment heading into the 2002 season the YEAR AFTER Gordon himself won his last championship. Why? Hendrick and Gordon wanted Johnson to have every chance to succeed for sponsor Lowe's ... and, guess what, he has more than exceeded anybody's expectations. The last non-Johnson championship, if any fan still remembers back that far, was Tony Stewart in 2005. Oh, by the way, the *least* legitimate champion of the Chase era is still the first one - Kurt Busch, 2004. Johnson could have won that year (if not his teammate Gordon, who perpetually is stuck on his now very unlucky four titles).

JJ has four titles, three to me for this man are undisputably his. Don't play the revisionist history game of "well, [fill-in-the-blank] should have won in [this year] if not for the [expletive] Chase" ... JJ earned what he did playing by the rules he was given. As they like to say ... Don't hate the driver, hate the game. Gag all over Brian France if you like, but the only two guys other than Johnson in the past few seasons who had any legitimate shot to win an outright title if not for the Chase were Jeff Gordon (who easily would have six or seven titles by now ... um, who got "hosed" by the Chase changes again?) and, possibly, Carl Edwards (which, in hindsight, seems debatable from two seasons ago). Even Tony's "regular season" win last year (2009) wasn't necessarily a given into the post-season final ten. JJ outraced him and won more times.

Who deserves last year's title - the guy with more wins or the guy who was better over the whole year (which was mathematically Johnson TOO)? We wouldn't have a Chase if Matt Kenseth hadn't cruised to the 2003 title on the merits of one lone win. Anybody remember far enough back to hearken a guy named Benny Parsons who did the same thing three decades earlier?


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The "New" NASCAR ... Back to the Future?

Thanks to the increasing value of NASCAR content for me from Twitter (http://twitter.com/ClubhouseSport), I stumbled across this instant gem of an article from late yesterday (2/1/2010) . I will provide a portion of the content unadulterated in its original form (using "quotes" as appropriate) followed by my own thoughts in italics.

"Setting the table for a new, more relevant NASCAR"
By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(source: http://www.autoextremist.com/fumes1/2010/2/1/fumes.html)

©2010 Autoextremist.com, Inc.

"(Posted 2/1, 12:45PM, Part III of a Series) Detroit. After a highly-confidential meeting that took place over the weekend before the Daytona 24 Hour race - and in subsequent meetings that will be played out in the early spring - it's clear that we are on the precipice of a dramatically different direction for NASCAR, one that not only marks a new era of NASCAR involvement and cooperation with the manufacturers, but a new willingness on NASCAR's part to move the needle in a positive direction, embrace change, and make genuine, substantive progress when it comes to creating more relevance between what the car companies are selling, and what NASCAR is racing."

Incredibly happy from my personal opinion to see a "confidential meeting" take place involving NASCAR executives. As many of the old faithful fans would say, it's about time...

"The harsh reality."

"It's no secret that this nation's near economic collapse and the following lengthy, deep recession, compounded by the added chaos of two of the Detroit Three going bankrupt - not to mention the fact that the visibly empty grandstands and declining TV rating numbers across the board at NASCAR races, and the ongoing difficulty of some teams to stay solvent - has weighed heavily on the powers that be at NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach. And after much hand-wringing and soul-searching, the situation has finally jarred Brian France and his team of key NASCAR leaders into facing a new and harsh reality. And that reality suggests - as outlined by newly-concerned and energized manufacturers - that they must fundamentally change what they're doing if they expect to survive as the major force in American racing."

Hard to ignore the economic woes of both GM and Chrysler, but the more interesting thing to me is that Ford figured out a way to be profitable again (through the government bailout boost, no doubt) despite the lack of recent on-track success with NASCAR. If NASCAR still drove the old "win on Sunday, buy on Monday" mantra, then Chevrolets should be flying out of the showroom (which, of course, they're not). The "best" news for the Big 3 honestly comes from the very recent (and very public) PR failure of Toyota, which opens a gaping-wide hole in the whole "superior quality" crap which foreign automakers have held for years now. Toyota and Honda got to where they are through the stressing of quality ... Honda still clings to the concept (if only barely) as the global automotive landscape starts to shift.

"In my previous columns I noted that two of the three domestic auto manufacturers have had new leadership teams come into place. And these leaders in question - in addition to their other duties - have a direct say as to not only what the scope of their companies' involvement in NASCAR will be, but more important, how much of their racing budgets will be directly allocated to their NASCAR racing programs. I also noted that with this transition in power has come a new emphasis on the word "relevance," as in just how willing will NASCAR be to alter its formula to accommodate the wishes of these manufacturers in terms of utilizing more advanced technologies, alternative fuels, and most important, establishing a direct visual connection between the cars sold in their showrooms and the cars that appear in NASCAR races, particularly in Sprint Cup."

This is truly the "enlightening" news ... that the leadership of the rebuilt GM and Chrysler will be really driving the show for a while. GM, no doubt, will need to be the far-more vocal partner, as Dodge's presence is dwindling out almost as fast as it reappeared not that many years ago within the past decade. I am 100% supportive of the return to a "stock car" concept, which has become increasingly "false advertising" in the acronym of NASCAR itself (lest we forget that it is the "National Association of STOCK CAR Auto Racing"). Realistically, though, the breadth of the NASCAR brand into the other touring series (second-tier "Nationwide" cars, Truck series, etc.) has diluted exactly what is meant by a "stock car" anymore anyway. The Cup series SHOULD be the most reflective of the actual cars made by automakers if they will continue to spend their biggest bucks there.

"Well, it appears that we will have our answers shortly."

"The end of the "Car of Tomorrow" as we know it."

"Over the course of the last decade, NASCAR's quest to field a starting grid of equally-spec'd cars has culminated with the disastrous adventure into the cookie-cutter shape of the "Car of Tomorrow." The "CoT" accomplished two important things for NASCAR: 1. It established a new level of safety as a direct result of the tragic accident that claimed NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt's life. 2. It removed almost every last vestige of manufacturer involvement in establishing distinctive car shapes - and bending the rules - by making all of the car bodies nearly identical, with only decals allowed to indicate headlights, taillights, etc., for the competing manufacturers. But the third thing the CoT accomplished was not, in hindsight, something NASCAR wanted to achieve at all and that was to drive a wedge between the hard-core NASCAR faithful and their traditional brand allegiances. Being "a Ford guy (or gal)" or a "Chevy guy (or gal)" or a "Dodge guy (or gal)" may not play in many places left in the U.S., but it most definitely still plays with NASCAR's loyalist fans, and in one fell swoop NASCAR took that notion away from them with the CoT. And of course that contributed two more things to NASCAR's current predicament: empty seats in the grandstands and manufacturers who were growing unhappier by the day as they realized the net effect of NASCAR's drive for "commonality" was almost a complete loss of their brand recognition."

This section says it all without any thoughts from me ... hard to be a "Ford guy" or a "Chevy guy" anymore. My favorite driver went from Pontiac (GM) to Chevy (GM) to Toyota back to Chevy in about a five- to six-year span [Tony Stewart]. He won seemlessly regardless of which car he was in, although his Toyota *year* was not particularly successful, moreso because of Tony planning his Joe Gibbs exodus (and Tony's ultimate loyalty to Chevrolet) being the bigger factor at play. The COT drove the ultimate wedge, making Cup series essentially an IROC-light version where only the strongest could survive (i.e. anybody attached to Hendrick Motorsports).

"So what will the next-gen NASCAR "stock car" look like? Take a long look at the production-based Camaro race car (below) that ran in the GT-class in the Daytona 24 Hour, add a spoiler instead of a wing, and you will have a real good idea as to what just might be coming to NASCAR by 2012. That's right, racing cars based on real stock dimension production bodies for the first time in a long, long time. Will it be an abrupt transition? No, this is NASCAR after all, but it will be much sooner than anyone expects too. And these won't be front-wheel-drive machines masquerading in rear-wheel-drive configuration, either. The production-based nature of the new NASCAR race car will demand that the race car mirrors the production car's drivetrain configuration, which means it must be available in rear-wheel-drive on the street if it's going to be eligible to run in Sprint Cup."

Easily exciting news ... especially if you are a true loyalist who has fallen from the fold. This honestly might bring back fans who had left and/or become disenchanted with the product on the race track. The beginning of the end of "follow the leader" racing, I hope.

Photo Courtesy: Rick Dole Photography

"The shape of things to come for NASCAR."

"And the way this new car may be transitioned into Sprint Cup could be very interesting, too, as NASCAR considers making the new machines - Camaro, Mustang, Challenger, a car from Toyota as yet to be determined, and any new entry from other manufacturers interested - the only cars eligible for its two road racing venues (Watkins Glen & Sears Point-Infineon). Although, with NASCAR running a Nationwide race at Elkhart Lake's Road America this summer, don't be surprised if a third road race is added to the Sprint Cup schedule by 2011 at Road America - without adding to the total number of races - with that additional road race to be run during the "Chase" for the Championship."

Honestly, about time a road course plays into the Chase format ... although adding only a Road Course isn't enough in my humble opinion. Make the Chase reflect the "best" of your tracks and reflective of the difficulty mastering every style. Why have 70% of the Chase run on cookie-cutter layouts (i.e. the 1.5-mile style of Charlotte, Texas, Kansas, yada yada yada)? I want to see this taken one step further to ensure that the 1/2-mile (ala Bristol), 3/4-mile (ala Richmond), 1-mile (ala Dover), "intermediate" (between 1- and 1.5-mile length, ala Darlington), and then the longer set (2-mile MIS / California-type venue and/or the 2.5-mile Daytona or 2.66-mile Talladega). The Chase should be tougher than it is ... why make it a "cake walk" for a Jimmie Johnson, who, no offense to him, hasn't mastered Bristol or a road course. Can you picture a Chase with Bristol and a road course included? Welcome back, Jeff Gordon, to relevance. In no particular order, the Chase could honestly build from Bristol to Richmond to Dover (which it sort of does, except Bristol's schedule timing is 100% irrelevant now and Richmond only matters because guys are trying to make the Chase itself). If the "purists" think the banking of Bristol and Dover is not as "pure" as, say, Martinsville and/or New Hampshire, I completely beg to differ. I would watch the prior two or the latter two *in a heartbeat* ... Bristol in a Chase would be 10x better than Bristol two races before the Chase is now. You might actually see drivers scared to actually have to RACE there again (instead of the follow-the-leader garbage in the past few seasons).

"A new era of technology."

"A new, production-based car is only just the beginning of NASCAR's fundamental transformation. Because along with these new cars will begin a new era of contemporary technology, as Brian France & Co. shores up its longstanding relationship with the manufacturers by not only adopting new technology, but by embracing the use of it enthusiastically and across the board. "

"What does this mean? Watch for a change in NASCAR's required fuel by 2012, with a bio fuel becoming the new standard. Also look for direct-injected engines, sequential-shift gear boxes, and a host of other new technical applications."

Completely relevant move, completely right for timing (if not overdue) ...

"The most important aspect of this development is that NASCAR will be working side-by-side with the interested manufacturers to make things better and more interesting for the fans, while at the same time making things better and more relevant for the manufacturers. How is this different than before? As I said, both parties - the manufacturers and NASCAR - are embarking on a new spirit of cooperation and willingness to embrace change."

"Bringing NASCAR into the Future."

"It doesn't matter how the parties in question arrived at this point in my estimation, the important thing is that the realization is finally there that business as usual no longer applies, and that a fundamental transformation must take place for the benefit of all concerned."

"I have been NASCAR's harshest critic by far for going on 11 years now. Do I believe that everything will be all better overnight and that there won't be any problems and missteps along the way? "

"In a word, no."

"But I am impressed and I do believe that Brian France and his chief lieutenants have finally gotten the message and have begun to see the light, and it will benefit all fans of racing if they - and the manufacturers - get it right."

To make direct reference to this author, I am more than impressed that Brian France has "seen the light" where (in all honesty) his own father had strayed a bit in the 30 years prior to his tenure. When Brian took over in 2004 (with the Chase intro), he knew things were not "right" about the sport anymore ... he alienated almost as many as he brought into the fold, though, by making standardized cars (same bodies, same templates) with only minor differences even under the hood that haven't produced "exciting" racing because a casual fan can't distinguish any car from any other car (other than the paint scheme of logos and decals). What NASCAR has lacked is really tapping into brand identification BEYOND the car sponsors themselves, back to the roots where the manufacturer DID draw the attention of the fans who watched and DROVE the product represented on the track. I couldn't buy any of these four manufacturers (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, or Toyota) now based on what I visually see in NASCAR ... it doesn't exist. I don't even drive one of these four brands (although my wife's car is one of them ... and not at all representative of the similar "in name only" track equivalent).

I used to drive a Pontiac Bonneville (a legendary name unto itself), about the same time period that my driver was still in one, too (albeit the "Grand Prix" model). Pontiac has disappeared from the sport (as GM focused on one offering only) in much the same way my former, former vehicle (a Mercury) disappeared from the landscape MUCH longer ago (before I was ever driving, much less even BORN). Can you picture a field of Chevys, Fords, Dodges, and Toyotas alongside the likes of Hondas, Nissans, BMWs, etc. that ALSO drive our highways? That's not to say that ANY of these manufacturers (notably Honda, which has focused only on open-wheel racing historically) would actually come into NASCAR ... but wouldn't it be interesting? I personally think so...

Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives:

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Daytona, FL, February 27,1966. The start of the Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway. Pole-sitter Richard Petty (No. 43 Petty Enterprises Plymouth) and Dick Hutcherson (No. 29 East Tennessee Motor Co. Holman-Moody Ford) lead the field into Turn One. Petty would go on to win that day with an average speed of 160.927 mph, while Hutcherson would DNF. Cale Yarborough (No. 27 Banjo Matthews Ford) finished second and David Pearson (No. 6 Cotton Owens Dodge) third in front of an announced crowd of 90,000.

NASCAR News and Notes (St. Patrick's Day Edition - March 17, 2009)

This is a quick post to let everyone know that your "track reporter" is heading to Bristol on Friday (probably arriving at the track by mid-afternoon), and I will file my report as soon as I return home on Monday, March 23rd.

While I typically try to make my NASCAR Report more "observational" and less "subjective", this entry will be very subjective in nature. I have found significant fault with the start of the 2009 season, mostly because it has been filled with boring racing, bad (preventable) accidents, and numerous mistakes on pit road that make me wonder if these guys are truly the best drivers in auto racing. I am impressed that a true professional like Jeff Gordon has reemerged to take the top spot in the standings ... and not at all surprised to see him rebound from a very disappointing 2008 season in doing so. Whether we still see him at the top at season's end remains to be seen. I am also VERY confident in the Chase prospects of guys like Matt Kenseth (who hasn't missed one yet) and Tony Stewart, who has shown a great ability in running strong even with a new team.

There are a few drivers who haven't exactly impressed so far. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would probably be number one on the short list. His Daytona accident was mind-numbing, his pit road mistakes have been inexcusable, and his on-track performance has been mediocre at best. While I think he can still make the Chase and rebound with some great races ahead (including this weekend at Bristol), he has dug himself an gaping hole to begin the season. The worst performance with the highest expectations is easily ... Mark Martin. Coming into a seat that so many claimed Casey Mears was ruining seems to be a slanderous remark at this stage of the game. Martin is the drivers' driver without a doubt, and most guys look up (figuratively, not literally) to the diminuitive driver from Arkansas. Mark will be the first to admit this "comeback" is looking worse and worse with every bad race so far. Wonder what might have been had he run the whole season two years ago ... I do. Speaking of Mears, he isn't exactly lighting the world on fire ... but expectations for him are pretty low anyway. Jeff Burton, on the other hand, is struggling out of the gate, but I truly see him rebounding before this is over. He is too good to be outside looking in by September ... but Bristol will be a test for the cagey veteran.

Bristol will rock the standings like no other race can. The "demolition derby" as many drivers view it will commence on Sunday afternoon, and a number of the aforementioned drivers get their last Top 35 exemption with this race. By Sunday night, I anticipate some positions will have changed ... and some will stay the same. Here are some "fearless predictions" for Sunday's race in the "bullring" of Bristol:

Jeff Gordon - statistically speaking, it's time to break the winless streak. I saw him do it in August 2002, and I think he just might do it again. The #24 team is cruising on all cylinders in the early going ... and this is one of his best.

Kurt Busch - Wow, is all I can say after his dominating Atlanta win. I guess we all forgot that the 2004 champion was still racing after younger brother Kyle decided to go crazy with victories in 2008. His switch from Roush Racing to Penske Motorsports took some "growing pains" to say the least ... but Bristol is like an "old friend" to the elder Busch brother. I've seen him win here twice before (in 2003), when he swept the Spring and Fall races ... don't be surprised to see him go back-to-back in 2009.

Matt Kenseth - The driver from Wisconsin started off so well (two straight victories) that most of us were shocked and awed. He hasn't really left our consciousness yet, but Atlanta (and Las Vegas' disaster before it) brought him back to Earth a bit. Kenseth is still dangerous, particularly at this track, where Roush Racing has been dominant in recent years.

Carl Edwards - The two-time defending champion of the August race, "Cousin Carl" still hasn't notched a win in the March Bristol clash. Could this be his first win of 2009? Odds are in his favor for a good finish, if not the victory itself.

Best of the rest ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. (loves Bristol ... needs a good showing), Jeff Burton (won here a year ago ... ditto the thought for Junior), Kevin Harvick (solid running in the early going if not spectacular), and Kyle Busch (he's the favorite a lot these days)

"Worst" of what's left ... Jimmie Johnson - let's be realistic ... this just isn't his track (yet, anyway); Joey Logano - Welcome to the big leagues, kid ... the learning curve is steeper than you probably expected; Ryan Newman - I hope the Indiana native has figured out how to drive his new ride ... or he'll be qualifying on time in Martinsville for sure.

It's Bristol, baby! Racin' the way it was meant to be ...

Early Season NASCAR Headlines

Matt Kenseth - (1) Back on top ... Reunion with spotter the key to return?
- (2) Is a championship in play? Is another Roush title imminent?

Jeff Gordon - (1) Is the winless streak destined to end? Possibly by today (Las Vegas)?
- (2) Has fatherhood mellowed the California "Kid" who has to reflect on an excellent career to date?

Jimmie Johnson - Remember "three-peat"? Where is he hanging out after two races? Probably right where he wants to be ... the "underdog" again ...

Tony Stewart - (1) This ownership thing isn't so difficult ... when you're the driver, too
- (2) Can Stewart-Haas fix the #39 team with Ryan Newman?

David Ragan - Growing pains? Accident in Nationwide race leaves some doubts for Sunday's Cup battle ...

The Brothers Busch (Kyle, Kurt) - Is the "hometown track" an advantage ... or disadvantage ... while driving in Las Vegas?

Joey Logano - Is he really "sliced bread" ... or are the expectations just unrealistically high (i.e. he's "toast" before he gets a legitimate shot)? [Casey Atwood anyone? Even Reed Sorenson fits in this camp to an extent ...]

Any other early headlines, folks? If you are reading the Rentz Racing Report for the first time (or a repeat visitor), we value your feedback and storyline input. Leave your comments and feedback following the links provided. Thanks!

2009 NASCAR Season Preview - Clubhouse Connection Videos

NASCAR Hall of Fame: First Ballot Nods

Over at Yahoo! Sports, writer Jay Busbee (whom I enjoy reading for multiple subject areas in the Blogs area) posed the following question:
"Who would you vote for to be included in NASCAR's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2010?"

Without a doubt from the list he provided, the five names I selected were (in alphabetical order):
- Dale Earnhardt
- Bill France Sr.
- Junior Johnson
- David Pearson
- Richard Petty

This collection includes the two top winningest drivers (Petty and Pearson), the most championships (Earnhardt and Petty, not to mention Pearson or Johnson not being slouches in their own right), car ownership (Johnson, Petty, and, to a lesser extent, Earnhardt), and the undeniable foundation of the sport (Big Bill France). Earnhardt's inclusion goes without saying ... a must for a first-ballot HOF induction. France is almost equally undeniable - the man spearheaded the creation of what is NASCAR. Johnson was (and in some ways, still is) a great driver, innovator, and creative force in making the Rick Hendrick's and Chad Knaus's of the world what they are today. Pearson was most likely the best driver without fanfare or spotlight you will EVER find in all of NASCAR. How David Pearson (the Silver Fox) could be overlooked on ANY ballot given his remarkable winning percentage (and second on the all-time wins list) is beyond me. Finally, Richard "The King" Petty is the epitome of what NASCAR was, what it is, and what it continue to be. The King is the ongoing face of the sport (sorry, not Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, or Dale Earnhardt, Jr., to name but a few) ... until someone surpasses the mark of seven titles (which Earnhardt nearly did), The King will still be THE KING.

I didn't read the long list of comments made by other readers, but the only other names I would consider in argument as "potential" inclusions are Bill France, Jr., Lee Petty, and Cale Yarborough with an outside shot for Darrel Waltrip or Rick Hendrick. Tim Flock and Fireball Roberts certainly seem merited for an extended first class but no later than a second class ... not to mention Curtis Turner, Bobby Allison, or the Wood Brothers.

So MANY good choices from Day One ... long overdue.

Election Day 2008: Decision Time ... in Many Ways

Happy Election Day, America!

For those who have already fulfilled their civic duty (either at the polling place earlier today or via absentee ballot prior to Election Day), I commend you for exercising your constitutional right to vote. I, myself, will be voting later this afternoon (waiting to go with my wife to our polling place), so I will get my "I Voted Today" sticker as well.

As my previous post alluded, I felt the concluding sports seasons and the timing of the year (heading into winter) would not compel to write about much of anything. Then, the last few days happened to change my mind just a little bit. Yes, baseball is definitely over ... that one I know for sure. I am curious to have some "hot stove league" talk about my Reds as possible trades / acquisitions might develop, but it's a little premature to talk that now. Also, yes, golf is about to be officially over for 2008 this week, but, realistically, I wasn't going to be watching intently until the Masters in the Spring. The one other season I mentioned - NASCAR - is the one that might actually not be over yet ... much to my surprise.

Heading into Texas last weekend, Jimmie Johnson looked like the odds-on favorite to win his third consecutive title, tying a record held only by Cale Yarborough in NASCAR history. A funny thing happened at Texas, though, as Carl Edwards, now Johnson's closest pursuer, nearly cut the pre-race lead in half by winning the race and leading the most laps (10 bonus points). Johnson, meanwhile, finished a relatively distant (by his standards) 15th place at a track where he had won once previously, finished top-5 five times, and notched eight top-10 finishes in only 10 previous attempts. His average finish was an 8.5, making Texas one of his better tracks. An interesting statistic that I saw the ABC crew flash during the race was that the previous fall Texas race winners had won at Atlanta the week before in each of the last three seasons (Edwards did it previously in 2005, Tony Stewart in 2006 and Johnson in 2007). History was certainly on Edwards' side. While the lead is still comfortably in Jimmie Johnson's hands, Carl Edwards has at least made the series worth watching for another week (and possibly two).

I said I had given up on the NFL ... generally speaking, that hasn't really changed. I do follow the games for fantasy purposes (where I am having pretty good seasons with the pair of teams I have over on Yahoo), but I actually saw my home team win a game for the first time this season. The now 1-8 Bengals unremarkably won a 21-19 game against the Jaguars, fortunately holding off a late rally by the visiting team which could have tied the game and sent it to overtime. Now, the only winless NFL team is the hapless squad in Detroit, where they have looked like potential victors the past couple of weeks only to snatch defeat from the hands of victory. The Bengals still don't have a season worth watching, particularly with Carson Palmer's injury (which I'm still surprised they haven't treated surgically at this stage if it makes him better for next season). I guess I'll check back on the NFL by the Playoffs, anyway.

How about Texas Tech, pulling off the upset on #1 Texas? Of course, having the home-field advantage looked to be a very good thing, but I'm not sure I understand, or believe, that Tech deserved to jump all the way to #2 ... OR that Texas is now ranked below USC in the USA Today / Coaches poll in 7th place? But, the BCS match-up would now feature two undefeated teams (Alabama and Tech) while leaving another (Penn State) out in the cold. Odds are that at least one of those three teams will get a loss by season's end, but what if they don't? Once again, the playoff concept will be discussed (and should be, in my opinion) where fairness goes out the window.

I don't typically write about the NBA, particularly in the early season, because I just don't find the early part of the pro season compelling. However, when news broke yesterday that the team I do follow - the Detroit Pistons - traded for Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets in return for Chauncey Billups (former Finals MVP), Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb. Do I believe Iverson, former league MVP, is worth three other players? Yes and no. No, because I believe Billups was a top-notch contributor and McDyess a key bench / rotational cog. Yes, because he is the "marquee" name player, who certainly still has the skills to play the game and will help be a floor leader along with rising star Richard Hamilton and established presence Rasheed Wallace. A bigger YES, if the bigger strategy of GM Joe Dumars (a former star in his own right) is to make the team "in play" for the King himself, LeBron James. Do I think James wants Detroit as his stage? Probably not ... BUT, if the team is a winner, and the New York market area teams (the Knicks and loosely the Nets) are his only other real target, would he pick the known versus the unknown? Only time will tell on this one ...

I'll close like I started ... Go out and VOTE if you haven't already.

NASCAR Chase Field Set; Who's Going to Win?

After Richmond's race ended Sunday afternoon (instead of late Saturday as originally scheduled), there were no surprises for entrants into the Chase field. Yes, the most-disappointing miss was Kasey Kahne (with 2 wins, the only multiple-race winner not in), but his fate was almost set before he ever got to Richmond with multiple poor showings leading up to and including the Race to the Chase races. David Ragan came up short with a damaged race car, but his effort is commendable regardless of not making the field.

The simple rundown of who's in (with new point totals):
1. Kyle Busch - 5080
2. Carl Edwards - 5050 (minus 10 points for Las Vegas infraction)
3. Jimmie Johnson - 5040 (10 nice additional points for Richmond win)
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 5010
5. Clint Bowyer - 5010
6. Denny Hamlin - 5010
7. Jeff Burton - 5010
8. Tony Stewart - 5000
9. Greg Biffle - 5000
10. Jeff Gordon - 5000
11. Kevin Harvick - 5000
12. Matt Kenseth - 5000
The sort order for the multiple drivers at 5010 (with 1 win) and at 5000 (with no wins) is by number of runner-up finishes, third-place, etc. until ties are broken.

I was going to break down somewhat "statistically" whose chances are best, but I think, given an emphasis on "momentum" as a factor that the numbers won't necessarily bear out, Jimmie Johnson is poised for a three-peat. That statement comes with some consternation on my part, as Johnson is my wife's favorite but Tony Stewart (still winless on the season) is mine. Johnson is peaking at just the right time with favorable tracks (as evidenced the past few seasons) ahead on the schedule. Historically, Johnson can dominate the 1.5-milers that make up so much of the Chase, specifically Charlotte, Texas, Atlanta, Kansas, and Homestead. With a win at Richmond and previous win at Phoenix, the shorter tracks (including Phoenix again as well as Dover) will probably suit him, too. That's not to say Johnson is going to run away with this championship ... but things are certainly favorable for his cause.

The two most-publicized names, for good reason, have been Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards ... but are both limping into the Chase? OK, limping is a stretch, given that the two combined won over half of the first 26 races (with 8 to Busch and 6 to Edwards) and both won races preceding Johnson's mini-flourish (with Edwards pulling back-to-back wins at Michigan and Bristol immediately before and Busch winning Watkins Glen prior to that). Arguably, all three drivers - Johnson, Edwards, and Busch - have a degree of momentum on their sides.

If the three favorites are clearly known, what about everybody else? Well, using history as somewhat of a guide, let's base some prediction of what's to come on earlier season facts. Every Chase track excluding only Kansas and Homestead-Miami has hosted a race this season. Who were the respective winners in Chase-race order?
New Hampshire - Kurt Busch (although Tony Stewart was most dominant and weather determined the outcome)
Dover - Kyle Busch (Greg Biffle led the most laps, but Busch was nearly as dominant in lapping most of the field)
Talladega - Kyle Busch (Tony Stewart but was caught in a race-ending accident)
Lowe's (Charlotte) - Kasey Kahne (Junior led the most laps but had a blown tire ... Stewart was leading near the end but also blew a tire)
Martinsville - Denny Hamlin (Junior led the most laps ... more weather strategy)
Atlanta - Kyle Busch (dominant car, most laps led)
Texas - Carl Edwards (dominant car, most laps led)
Phoenix - Jimmie Johnson (fuel-strategy win ... but a win nonetheless)

On a "wins-basis" alone, Kyle Busch looks pretty favorable with the repeat-track factor (no suprise with his many wins), but the dark-horse candidates are Stewart (who was strong in most of those races but came up short) and even Dale Jr. The best statistical argument would be made on average finish in those 8 races, but even that could be skewed by accident-caused DNF's or other premature failures that changed the outcome for respective Chase drivers.

When all is said and done, the best driver entering the Chase is not guaranteed to win the Chase. The first year of the Chase, 2004, is the best example of this, as Jeff Gordon was best heading in but surprise driver Kurt Busch stole the crown. Arguably, 2005 and 2006 featured the best drivers winning - Stewart and Johnson, respectively - but Gordon was again probably slightly better than Johnson in 2007. What does ALL of this mean for 2008? Who knows!?!

I am going out on a limb here and saying that while the top three drivers are most deserving, a dark horse is going to win this season. Who is that driver going to be? My gut tells me that Jeff Gordon is going to lose the "four-time" moniker and become "five-time" (or, ala the Steelers, "one for the thumb"). I have no fancy statistics to back this up ... or even momentum on his side. Gordon deserves, in this author's not-so-humble opinion, the fifth championship that he should already have. No, he is not 2008's best driver by any measure, but I see a deja vu potential from 2004 for 2008. He is not "entitled" to a title ... but I think it would sum up his career better than going out with a fizzle.

BTW ... if Gordon doesn't win, I'll stick with my original Johnson "momentum / statistical" pick. If Gordon does win, then I'm a genius. ;-)

Friday the 13th: A Perfect Day for a Move

Ah, the superstitious day of Friday the 13th conjures up images of bad luck, movie horror, and countless potential for mayhem. As of this date, June 13, 2008, which happens to be a Friday, this blog (as well as its counterpart blogs) have moved from the former home of my website (ClubhouseConnection.net, which is now inactive) to Blogspot, which was where they were generated anyway. Hopefully, no bad luck will follow this move, but I hope any former readers are fortunate enough to find their way here. I figure some new content will at least get Google to redirect the old links to these new locations.

There isn't a whole lot new I want to say immediately, especially since I have written anything in eons. When over a year passes (give or take) between posts, you are doing a poor job as a blogger. Given that some bloggers write many times daily, that fact would make me a big slacker.

Since blogging doesn't pay the bills (yet ... or probably ever), look for something slightly more frequent (hopefully) in the future.

Later all...

NASCAR's Greatest Driver? Gordon Among Greats...

Determining NASCAR's Greatest Driver is not an easy task. As is true in other major sports as well, comparing the greats of any particular era is difficult when they are measured against the greats in other, different eras. The list of career NASCAR victories is an interesting one, considering how different the race schedule looked before and after the Winston Cup “modern” era began.

In all-time victories (1949-present (4/29/2007 race at Talladega)), the list looks like this:
1. Richard Petty – 200
2. David Pearson – 105
3. (tie) Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip – 84
5. Cale Yarborough – 83
6. Jeff Gordon – 77
7. Dale Earnhardt – 76 … and so on

When the list is *trimmed* to the modern era (1972 to present), the result is this:
1. Darrell Waltrip - 84
2. Jeff Gordon – 77
3. Dale Earnhardt – 76
4. Cale Yarborough – 69
5. Richard Petty – 60
The names stay generally the same, but the order looks very different.

Richard Petty’s career victories overlapped the Pre-Modern era (Grand National Series) and the Modern era (Cup series). However, 60 wins is not representative of the wins at “modern” tracks (such as Daytona, Charlotte, Richmond, Martinsville, et.al.) that Petty should be fairly credited with having. Petty began racing in 1959, and a number of tracks where he won between 1960 and 1971 remained on the reduced Cup schedule in 1972. Petty did collect seven total championships, but only four of those came in the modern era.

Equally overlooked, in my opinion, is David Pearson (second-most in all-time wins), who drops out of the top five on the modern era list only because most of his career was in the pre-modern era. Pearson did collect an impressive 45 wins from 1972 to 1980 and won at least one race each of these seasons. Another consideration for Pearson on the career championship list is that he ran a full schedule only four times in his career and won three titles (all pre-modern titles in the late 1960's).

In the case of both Petty and Pearson, I want to dig a level deeper and further analyze the wins of their pre-1972 career to determine which rightfully should count as “modern” wins and better compare both to the likes of Waltrip, Gordon, and Earnhardt.

Richard Petty (1960-1971):
1960 – 2 (Charlotte, Martinsville)
1961 – 2 (Richmond, Charlotte)
1962 – 3 (North Wilkesboro - 2, Martinsville)
1963 – 2 (Martinsville, North Wilkesboro)
1964 – 2 (Daytona, Nashville)
1965 – 1 (Nashville)
1966 – 4 (Daytona, Darlington, Nashville, Atlanta)
1967 – 10 (Martinsville - 2, Richmond - 2, Darlington - 2, Rockingham, Bristol, Nashville, North Wilkesboro)
1968 – 4 (Richmond, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, Rockingham)
1969 – 5 (Riverside, Martinsville - 2, Dover, Nashville)
1970 – 7 (Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, Riverside, Atlanta, Richmond, Dover, Martinsville)
1971 – 10 (Daytona, Richmond - 2, Rockingham - 2, North Wilkesboro, Martinsville, Nashville, Atlanta, Dover)
Cumulative Total Wins: 52
Revised “Modern” Total: 60 + 52 = 112
Arguably, other tracks where Petty had wins were of substantial length (greater than 1/2 mile) but didn’t survive the Cup cut. Texas World Speedway should probably count for at least one more win in 1971, but I did not count it. Non-paved races were also on the schedule until 1970 (Richmond was not paved until 1968 ), but I did not exclude wins at such tracks.

David Pearson (1961-1971):
1961 – 3 (Charlotte, Daytona, Atlanta)
1962 – 0
1963 – 0
1964 – 1 (Richmond)
1965 – 1 (Richmond)
1966 – 2 (Richmond - 2)
1967 – 1 (Bristol)
1968 – 6 (Bristol - 2, Richmond, North Wilkesboro, Darlington, Nashville)
1969 – 6 (Daytona, Rockingham, Richmond, Bristol, Michigan, North Wilkesboro)
1970 – 1 (Darlington)
1971 – 2 (Daytona, Bristol)
Cumulative Total Wins: 23
Revised “Modern” Total: 45 + 23 = 68
Any of the notes applied to Petty also apply to Pearson.

Now realizing that I should also be fair to Cale Yarborough on the modern wins list, I need to add wins at Atlanta (3 - 1967, 68, 69), Daytona (4 – 1967, 68 – 2, 70), Martinsville (1968 ), Darlington (1968 ), Michigan (2 – 1969 & 70), and Rockingham (1970). That would add 12 wins to the 69 total above for 81 wins (nearly his actual career total). In the same vein, Bobby Allison needs wins added for Rockingham (1967), Bristol (2 – 1969, 70), North Wilkesboro (1969), Richmond (1969), Atlanta (1970), Charlotte (2 – 1970, 71), Dover (1971), Michigan (2 – 1971 x 2), Riverside (1971), Talladega (1971), and Darlington (1971). Allison’s modern wins total (1972 and after) was 55, so 55 + 14 = 69.

Modern wins list (revised):
1. Richard Petty – 112*
2. Darrell Waltrip – 84
3. Cale Yarborough – 81*
4. Jeff Gordon – 77
5. Dale Earnhardt – 76
6. Bobby Allison – 69*
7. David Pearson – 68*

I’m not a big fan of “revisionist” history, but at least this revision helps to put the careers in better perspective for making comparisons.

So, can Jeff Gordon be considered the greatest driver in NASCAR history? I guess it depends on what makes a driver great. His wins total seems almost assuredly headed towards passing Darrell Waltrip over the next couple of seasons, but he doesn’t seem likely to ever pass Petty’s mark (definitely not the real number or the revised one).

If championships make the driver, then Petty or Earnhardt are in a virtual tie, but Petty wins a tiebreaker on wins (and winning frequency). Pearson wins hands-down on winning percentage (18.2%) while being so successful in multiple seasons of limited schedules. Waltrip is probably the modern-day best driver until Gordon surpasses his win total … then I think Gordon could rightfully inherit the crown.

There is no right or wrong answer in this one. I’m interested in what you all have to think on the subject. Feel free to chime in.

The Report Returns? Where We Are Going From Here ...

More than a month has passed since I last wrote to the Rentz Racing Report, and, admittedly, life has been happening while I have been making other plans. Marriage is first and foremost my concern, considering I wasn't married when the R-cubed began, but now I am a married man with a wife at home and a full-time job requiring greater responsibilities of me now than two months ago.

I could continue giving reasons (or excuses) why the Report isn't current or updated; however, I really don't see the point in giving the multitude of explanations. Plain and simple, weekly updates of this journal are not unrealistic, and I have been lax about keeping my information current. With additional summer "vacations" planned over the upcoming weeks, I owe my readers some firsthand information I can provide from my race track trips.

Some "past" and "upcoming" information that could have been posted already includes:
- Kasey Kahne's rise to the top of the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit
- Tony Stewart's injury(ies) sustained at Charlotte during the Busch and Cup races on Memorial Day Weekend
- The fall of Jeff Gordon as a dominant NASCAR Cup driver
- The reemergence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a Chase-contending driver
- Matt Kenseth / Roush Racing consistency
- Jimmie Johnson - King of NASCAR?!?
- The Coca-Cola 600 race (at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, which I attended with my wife and my parents)
- The upcoming Daytona race (Pepsi 400, fka the Firecracker 400) over Independence Day weekend (July 2nd)
- The Race to the Chase: Contenders and Pretenders
- And much, much more ...

I am also proud to (re-)announce that I am the Cincinnati, OH, Local Chapter President for the Official NASCAR Members Club (LC 452381), which began in mid-to-late April. The chapter website is located at:
http://onmcchapter.com/index.php?uname=452381&select_state=OH

Separately, I run my general sports website at:
http://clubhouseconnection.net
This site houses a variety of content, most exclusively the sole provider for the "Soul Patrol" CD (downloadable mp3 files by purchase) published by baseball rock artists Clubhouse for our website of Clubhouse Connection. The NASCAR special section co-links the ONMC Chapter site noted above with the NASCAR.com sign-up page that includes my special ID # for referral purposes and to be included as a potential member of my chapter (regardless if you live near Cincinnati, OH, or not).
http://clubhouseconnection.net/nascar/

This is a quick "hello again" and an equally quick "I must be off / goodbye" since time is of the essence. Please know that I haven't forgotten about my writing journals, and I hope to be back to twice-weekly publishing again very soon.

The Racing Report is On Hiatus ... [until weekend of May 14th]

I will make this post short and direct. I have a personal vacation planned between today (which is now Saturday, May 6th) until a week from today (Saturday, May 13th), when I will be returning home. I probably will not write anything new about the Richmond race on Saturday night or even the upcoming Darlington race, which will be happening the night I will be flying home with my new bride.

In any case, I hope you enjoy reading my previous entries, and I look forward to continuing to serve my readers with fresh content when I get back from this break.

Sincerely,

JD Rentz

The Talladega Shake-up: Updated NASCAR Points Standings (through 5/1)

Talladega did what Talladega usually does: shake things up.

The updated standings, reflecting yesterday's Aaron's 499 results, are below:
Rank (+/-) Name / Pts / Bhnd / Strt / Pole / W's / T5's / T10's / DNF / $
1 +1 Jimmie Johnson 1394 Leader 9 1 3 5 7 0 $3,233,114
2 -1 Matt Kenseth 1373 21 9 0 1 5 6 1 $2,088,154
3 +2 Tony Stewart 1316 78 9 1 1 6 6 1 $2,189,001
4 -1 Kasey Kahne 1213 181 9 2 2 4 6 2 $1,884,936
5 -1 Mark Martin 1210 184 9 0 0 1 5 0 $1,255,635
6 +1 Jeff Gordon 1173 221 9 0 0 3 4 0 $1,528,269
7 +1 Kevin Harvick 1138 256 9 0 1 3 4 0 $1,521,949
8 -2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1120 274 9 0 0 2 3 1 $1,509,299
9 - Kyle Busch 1077 317 9 1 0 2 4 0 $1,257,260
10 +1 Dale Jarrett 1066 328 9 0 0 0 2 0 $1,322,535
11 -1 Casey Mears 1056 338 9 0 0 1 3 0 $2,089,315
12 +1 Jeff Burton 1039 355 9 1 0 2 5 0 $1,347,338
(Current cut line for the CHASE ... within 400 points)
13 +1 Elliott Sadler 981 413 9 1 0 1 2 1 $1,639,917
14 +5 Brian Vickers 978 416 9 0 0 1 3 1 $1,163,957
15 +1 Carl Edwards 969 425 9 0 0 3 4 2 $1,241,644
16 +1 Kurt Busch 964 430 9 1 1 1 2 1 $1,297,500
17 +3 Jamie McMurray 956 438 9 0 0 1 3 1 $1,408,310
18 -6 Clint Bowyer 953 441 9 0 0 1 2 1 $1,183,043
19 -1 Denny Hamlin 910 484 9 0 0 1 2 1 $1,250,338
20 -5 Martin Truex Jr. 896 498 9 0 0 0 1 2 $1,129,014
21 +2 Jeff Green 877 517 9 0 0 0 0 0 $1,119,842
22 +4 J.J. Yeley 871 523 9 0 0 0 1 0 $1,230,608
23 -2 Greg Biffle 834 560 9 1 0 0 2 3 $1,119,198

The race from Monday was as notable for who faltered as who moved up. Jimmie Johnson did yet again was JJ seems to do regularly -- contend and win. If this team doesn't win a championship soon, they never will. The only "real" challengers at this point are Matt Kenseth (showing his 2003 winning style) and Tony Stewart (continuing his 2005 consistency). Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin both had awful days at the track, losing only a spot each but lots of points in the standings. Jeff Gordon has to be kicking himself for nearly having the day that "could have been" in running ahead of the field for the most laps led but only a 15th-place finish to show for it and only a small gain (one spot) in the standings. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was certainly the fan favorite (and sentimental choice for his "legacy" paint scheme to salute his late father), but a failed engine spelled the end of his day.

I hate to have to make this prediction, but, unless things change drastically, you can stick a fork in Greg Biffle (23rd) because he is done. The same goes for those below him in the standings (the likes of Ryan Newman (26th), Bobby Labonte (27th), Jeremy Mayfield (31st)). I am a big fan of Biffle, but this is just not his year. If things could go wrong, they have ... Murphy's Law is seeking revenge on him for his upsetting the balance of power in 2005, I suppose. Newman's struggles are a bit baffling, especially as Kurt Busch is inching his way back towards the Chase contention list. Labonte is doing the best he can, but the Petty equipment has been failing him (disappointingly).

Those who improved their chances on Monday include NASCAR's "darling" Carl Edwards, who looked to be on the brink of elimination only a few weeks ago. Edwards notched his second straight top-10 finish and is now in 15th place, only 425 behind. Two guys who had great days were Brian Vickers and Jamie McMurray, both with high expectations and inconsistent delivery. Vickers looked to be in position to win (yet again) but finished a strong third, gaining five spots in the standings into 14th position. McMurray led the race for multiple laps as well in finishing fifth, a season-best result, and looked like he had a race-winning car along with Jeff Gordon and Elliot Sadler.

The schedule now does a reversal to the short track with perennial favorite Richmond on the center stage next weekend. Richmond's unique 3/4-mile oval is among the most exciting a fan can find anywhere. I actually wish that the new venues that are built (Washington state, New York metro) model the Richmond facility versus the "cookie-cutter" tracks of Charlotte, Texas, Las Vegas, et.al. because the circuit needs another transitional track like Richmond and Dover (between the shortest 1/2-milers and the intermediate 1 1/2-milers).

Breaking News: Johnson Wins at Talladega, Stewart Second

I will do something in this entry that I don't often do ... provide a breaking news update.

In the closing moments of today's rescheduled running of the Aaron's 499 from Talladega Superspeedway, Jimmie Johnson came from behind to clinch victory away from multiple contending drivers. Tony Stewart was the hard-luck runner-up, finishing in second place yet again (second time this season and sixth time at Talladega). Jeff Gordon, despite leading the most laps in the race, finished a disappointing 15th place after being shuffled to the back at the finish.


Courtesy of NASCAR.com, here are the unofficial race results by position (lead lap cars only):
St Fin # Name Make Sponsor Points
1 16 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 185/5
2 2 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 175/5
3 33 #25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC 170/5
4 40 #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 160/0
5 8 #26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 160/5
6 12 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 155/5
7 5 #2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 151/5
8 3 #99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 147/5
9 32 #10 Scott Riggs Dodge Stanley FatMax/Valvoline 138/0
10 19 #7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Menards/Turtle Wax Ice 139/5
11 11 #18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet GSK AsthmaControl.com 135/5
12 4 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 132/5
13 36 #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 129/5
14 39 #66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Best Buy 126/5
15 14 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont/Pepsi 128/10
16 1 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's 120/5
17 29 #96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 112/0
18 28 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Schwan's Home Service 109/0
19 26 #32 Travis Kvapil Chevrolet Tide-Downy 106/0
20 25 #42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline 108/5
21 43 #4 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet AERO Exhaust 105/5

Cup Series Goes to "OT" with Sunday's Rainout; Talladega Race (Aaron's 499) Rescheduled for Noon Monday (5/1)

Mother Nature was the only winner on the Nextel Cup series on Sunday as the race that almost started (the warmup laps were happening) never happened at all. Not a single lap was run because the rain started coming down while the cars had just made their first full pace lap before the green flag would have fallen only one lap later. The green flag never came.

So, what should have been a report about a Cup race on Sunday will be delayed another day to become the story of a *Monday* race. I doubt that I will be able to see any of this race live (actually, given that I have work scheduled on Monday, that is quite certain), but I might get to see the re-airing later in the week (on Speed Channel). Hopefully, I will be able to catch some of the race during it's actual time on Monday afternoon via the live updates from a site like Yahoo! Sports or NASCAR.com (with the RaceDay Scanner that was going to be free on Sunday).

In any case, Sunday at Talladega became much ado about nothing. There was a national anthem (by Edwin McCain) and a starting of engines (Will Farrell, promoting the upcoming flick "Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby") but, really, nothing else happened.

Talladega Daze: The Story of a NASCAR Season (An Intro for Aaron's 499 Weekend)

Talladega can be a defining track in the course of a NASCAR season. It has seen more than it's share of catastrophic accidents over the years in what has come to be the definition of "the big one" in each race that takes place there. The fact that more drivers haven't been seriously injured at this venue over the years is a testament to the safety innovations within motorsports as well as driver ability to limit the damage to his car (and himself).

Some of the ugliest accidents at Talladega have involved some big names. The late Dale Earnhardt is Talladega's most celebrated winner with 10 Cup victories (not to mention the success his namesake, Dale Jr., has had there as well with five wins to his credit), but he was also involved in some horrific crashes at the track that looked like they could have ended his career. Drivers either thrive on the close bumper-to-bumper, high-speed action that Talladega provides or they fail miserably.

I was a first-hand witness in my only Talladega experience to this "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" in what may have been the most interesting tale of "two different races within a single race" experiences. The event was the 2003 Aaron's 499, held three years ago this month. The schedule was a bit different back then than it is now (Talladega was the first weekend in April, following the Texas race and preceding Martinsville on the Winston Cup schedule). As the eighth race on the calendar after venues like Daytona, Rockingham, Darlington, and Bristol (as well as the intermediates of Las Vegas, Atlanta, and the aforementioned Texas), some of the shakeup in points had happened by this point already. Matt Kenseth, the eventual 2003 Champion, was leading coming into the race and was leading after the race as well.

Here were the Top 20 in the standings before:
1 Matt Kenseth 1090
2 Kurt Busch 935 -155
3 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 924 -166
4 Michael Waltrip 898 -192
5 Jimmie Johnson 885 -205
6 Jeff Gordon 864 -226
7 Tony Stewart 849 -241
8 Ryan Newman 848 -242
9 Ricky Craven 840 -250
10 Kevin Harvick 802 -288
11 Bobby Labonte 784 -306
12 Ricky Rudd 780 -310
13 Mark Martin 773 -317
14 Rusty Wallace 771 -319
15 Dale Jarrett 752 -338
16 Johnny Benson, Jr. 748 -342
17 Joe Nemechek 741 -349
18 Jeff Burton 740 -350
19 Robby Gordon 737 -353
20 Elliott Sadler 725 -365

Here were the Top 20 in the standings after:
1 Matt Kenseth 1233
2 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1104 -129
3 Kurt Busch 1046 -187
4 Jimmie Johnson 1013 -220
5 Jeff Gordon 1011 -222
6 Ricky Craven 1000 -233
7 Michael Waltrip 994 -239
8 Kevin Harvick 977 -256
9 Tony Stewart 937 -296
10 Elliott Sadler 895 -338
11 Ryan Newman 894 -339
12 Dale Jarrett 884 -349
13 Robby Gordon 871 -362
14 Mark Martin 858 -375
15 Bobby Labonte 851 -382
16 Sterling Marlin 850 -383
17 Joe Nemechek 841 -392
18 Rusty Wallace 823 -410
19 Ricky Rudd 817 -416
20 Dave Blaney 801 -432

This 2003 Talladega race was a defining moment for one driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior was chasing history that day, looking to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win four consecutive races at the superspeedway. His father never accomplished that feat, despite having won a record 10 races at the Cup level. Junior was tied with Buddy Baker, a racing legend, after winning the 2002 fall race and capturing his third straight victory on the 2.66-mile tri-oval.

On a day that saw Jeremy Mayfield lead the field to the green from the pole position, things began innocently enough. By the time the cars reached full speed after one time by, the pack was still tightly bunched from nose to tail. As the field passed the line heading into the fourth lap and out of turn 1, chaos erupted.

Ryan Newman's #12 car veered upwards on the track towards the outside wall and into fellow driver Mark Martin, starting a massive multi-car pileup. Newman's tire, which had been cut and was going flat, flew off the car and outside of the track (smashing into a police car's windshield as we came to learn later). The carnage on the track was nothing short of catastrophic -- 27 cars in total sustained some form of damage (a NASCAR record) and five cars sustained inoperable damage (Newman, Casey Mears, Johnny Benson, Ricky Rudd, and Hermie Sadler). Other cars were significantly damaged as well, like Jimmy Spencer and Rusty Wallace among others. Mark Martin, who was directly involved in the incident, as well as fellow competitors Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, et.al. were able to do enough repairs to get back out on the track for running laps, but all finished well back in the pack (greater than the 25th position).

With the field decimated by attrition (cars that just couldn't run up to speed to stay in contention), a new (yet old) story unfolded. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fortunate to have been far enough back of the mess (the rear of the field, after a pre-race engine change) and avoided any major damage to his own potentially-contending vehicle.

The field had effectively been pared from 43 cars only a few laps earlier to only around 20 cars with a legitimate chance to still win. Among the names remaining were the top seven (Mayfield, Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, Robby Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson, respectively) who were all ahead of the Newman crash (as Newman was in 8th place at the time). Junior (42) was one of the "trailing" cars (starting spots noted) fortunate to survive along with Sterlin Marlin (11), Steve Park (12), Ricky Craven (15), Michael Waltrip (16), Dale Jarrett (18 ), Tony Stewart (19), Kyle Petty (21), Kenny Wallace (25), Kurt Busch (26) and Terry Labonte (28 ), among others. It probably didn't hurt that the surviving crop in total had a decent amount of driving experience under their collective belts as the race would again commence.

As the race remained on a running caution from laps four through 12, nothing changed in the running order. The racing would be caution-free for a large portion of the remainder of the race with the exception of "debris" cautions on laps 37, 64, and 133 (somewhat expected with banged-up cars leaving parts behind). Two contact collisions shook up what was left of the field around mid-race. Michael Waltrip got loose on lap 84, making contact with Mike Wallace, and spinning out into the wall. Sadler and Mayfield were also caught up slightly in this accident but managed to stay running. On lap 91, teammates Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle bumped each other (a potential sign of things to come?), and Busch hit Stewart, pushing his #20 car into the wall, effectively ending his day.

The long stretches of green-flag racing, which were very exciting, took place between that caution on Lap 91 (with the green flag waving on Lap 95) and the debris caution on Lap 133 followed by the restart on Lap 137 until the finish (Lap 188 ). Only 32 of the 188 laps were lost to cautions, with the biggest chunk of laps coming from the Lap 4 "big one". Those final 50+ laps were certainly some of the most exciting I have ever witnessed at any race I have attended to date.

The final pass of the race, a controversial one at that, occurred with only four laps to go. Dale Jr. was charging towards the lead, as race leader Matt Kenseth had taken command over the previous handful of laps. Junior dove to the inside, with his left-side tires below the yellow line as the pass took place in Turn 3. Arguably, this could have resulted in a penalty, which would have sent Earnhardt back to the end of the lead-lap cars (many (16) places back). Instead, NASCAR's officials ruled things were legal, and Junior cruised on from that point to victory, a record-setting fourth straight Talladega win.

With the win, Dale Earnhardt Jr was the eighth different race winner is as many races in the 2003 season. Sixteen (16) different drivers led at least one lap in this wild ride, and there were 48 lead changes in total.
The Final Results (finishing order) were:
Fin / St / Car# / Name / Make / Sponsor / Laps Run / Laps Led
1 (13) #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. / Chevrolet / Budweiser / 188 / 34
2 (2 ) #29 Kevin Harvick / Chevrolet / GM Goodwrench Service / 188 / 12
3 (3 ) #38 Elliott Sadler / Ford / M&M's / 188 / 1
4 (15) #32 Ricky Craven / Pontiac / Tide / 188 / 0
5 (28 ) #5 Terry Labonte / Chevrolet / Kellogg's (got milk?) / 188 / 1
6 (11) #40 Sterling Marlin / Dodge / Coors Light / 188 / 2
7 (24) #22 Ward Burton / Dodge / Caterpillar / 188 / 5
8 (4 ) #24 Jeff Gordon / Chevrolet / DuPont / 188 / 24
9 (27) #17 Matt Kenseth / Ford / DeWalt Power Tools / 188 / 9
10 (6 ) #31 Robby Gordon / Chevrolet / Cingular Wireless / 188 / 0
11 (21) #45 Kyle Petty / Dodge / Georgia Pacific / 188 / 0
12 (18 )#88 Dale Jarrett / Ford / UPS / 188 / 2
13 (5 ) #9 Bill Elliott / Dodge / Dodge Dealers / 188 / 1
14 (40) #43 John Andretti / Dodge / Cheerios / 188 / 1
15 (7 ) #48 Jimmie Johnson / Chevrolet / Lowe's / 188 / 65 (MOST)
16 (43) #74 Tony Raines* / Chevrolet / Staff America / 188 / 0
17 (25) #23 Kenny Wallace / Dodge / Stacker 2 / 188 / 0
18 (1 ) #19 Jeremy Mayfield / Dodge / Dodge Dealers / 187 / 19
19 (26) #97 Kurt Busch / Ford / Rubbermaid / 186 / 1
20 (12) #1 Steve Park / Chevrolet / Pennzoil / 184 / 1

Other notables: #15 - Michael Waltrip - 24th, 10 laps led, 11 laps down; #20 - Tony Stewart (2002 Champ) - 25th, 32 laps down; #12 - Ryan Newman - 39th, 3 laps completed, DNF [Ditto for Ricky Rudd, in 42nd]

The point standings saw Junior vault into the second position, after being third one week earlier and 38th place after the first two races at Daytona and Rockingham. Matt Kenseth maintained the lead, extending it over nearly everyone in the field, except for Junior, while some individuals [like Ryan Newman (97 points further back, three positions), Bobby Labonte (76 points, four spots), and Ricky Rudd (106 points, six spots)] took bigger tumbles than others. Elliot Sadler was the biggest gainer in the field, jumping 10 spots from 20th to 10th and trimming his deficit to 338 points from 365 earlier in the day.


Side notes from this event: While the racing was a clear winner at this event, I had additional "excitement" at Talladega from a personal standpoint. This was the first race I attended where I got multiple autographs (and nice close-up photos) from select drivers before the race had even begun. On that beautiful Sunday morning, I was fortunate enough to get a ticket for Matt Kenseth's line at the DeWalt display while (unfortunately) missing simultaneous ticket giveaways at the trailers for Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle, who were also signing. Separately, I noted that other drivers had boards posted for autographs, but I was more concerned (at that moment) with those three.

After negotiating a deal with a fellow fan (who had a Biffle ticket), I had my newly-purchased Roush Racing jacket signed by Biffle while I was having my NASCAR Media Guide / Stats Book (2003 Edition, Tony Stewart on the cover) signed by Kenseth. As luck would have it, I went back over to the Biffle trailer to discover another fan who was willing to have my book signed by Biffle so that I would have two signatures from him in the same day. I tried (in vain) to capture a spot in Busch's line at his trailer, but it was to no avail. However, fate apparently had something bigger for me that day, as the NASCAR Images folks were filming scenes for the NASCAR IMAX Movie that same day.

I was oblivious to the fact that a huge camera (which sat to my immediate left, near Busch's trailer) was recording all of us fans at that autograph session to be included in the movie. When the movie was released over a year later, I was shocked to see myself on the huge IMAX (Omnimax, in my case here in Cincinnati) screen front and center of that transition into the "fan interaction" segment of the film. Little did I know I will forever be a part of a "historical" reference documentary that NASCAR itself created.

To close out this saga, I also got one more autograph -- Robby Gordon, that day's 10th place finisher -- along with the Kenseth signature (which was sweet to have the eventual 2003 champion in the 2003 book) and the two Biffle signatures (in the book in which Biffle is the reigning Busch Series champion as well). I would eventually collect more signatures in this same book, including Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace (both after their Speed Channel show last year), while building up my NASCAR signature collection that "officially" began that day at that race.

Talladega is a track among tracks, where men will be men and boys will be boys. I am proud to have seen a race at this Alabama legend and would go back to a future race there in a heartbeat.

Harvick Breaks Through at Phoenix, Sweeps Both Weekend Races

Kevin Harvick is making the most of his last contractual season with Richard Childress Racing, made most successful by his predecessor, the late Dale Earnhardt. Harvick is accomplishing something this season which we haven't seen from him much over the past two years: consistency.

Although he started off the season somewhat slowly (with a best finish of 11th at Las Vegas), the race at Bristol in late March has seen Harvick cruising along ever since. Starting with a 2nd at BMS, he has reeled off four consecutive top-10 finishes, capped by Saturday night's Cup win at Phoenix. His standings rise in the points is equally impressive, now in a very solid eighth place only one point behind both Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon, who together have been quietly having "comeback" seasons themselves. Harvick is having a banner year in general, though, considering he is also first place in the Busch Series with back-to-back wins at Nashville and Phoenix the past two weeks.

While there is no doubt that the "haves" versus the "have nots" in Cup series racing start to separate themselves by this point in the season, Harvick has been an "outsider" in the past two seasons, failing to make the Chase both times. Of course, he is not alone as a talented driver not making the Championship contending cut, but this year just might be different.

The top five drivers in points are pretty safe bets to make the Chase cut in September. Matt Kenseth continued this season where he was the second half of 2005 by running well and leading the points. Jimmie Johnson, in second place, is a perpetual top 5 list driver who just seems to be a champion in waiting (hopefully not fated to be the Mark Martin of his generation). Speaking of Mark Martin, he slipped a spot thanks to poor pit strategy / gas management at Phoenix to lose a potential win and/or top 5 finish but sits quite solidly in fourth place in points. The other two top 5 drivers -- Kasey Kahne (third) and Tony Stewart (fifth) -- are proving this season to be consistency stalwarts as well. Stewart, as the defending series champion, is hardly a surprise to be where he is, but Kahne is having a "coming of age" season that may be a sign that his career is just getting started.

The drivers in the spots immediately after the top five are worth mentioning further. Junior, Gordon, and Harvick, in the sixth, seventh, and eighth spots, respectively, are exceeding expectations, even if the wins (for Earnhardt or Gordon) haven't come yet. Harvick is proof that good driving eventually yields the win, even when your car may not be the most dominant one in the race. Kyle Busch is sliding a bit, especially after failing to control his car (and his temper) in crashing at Phoenix. Kyle is at least faring better than older brother Kurt, who continues to sit on the outside looking in back in the 17th position and 405 points behind first place after Phoenix. Casey Mears looks like he is one race away from sliding right out of the top 10, after failing to crack the top 10 in any of the past five races, and his second place at Daytona remains his lone top 5 finish.

The list is plenty long with "contenders" who are not in the current top 10 and/or not within 400 points of first place. Most notably, Greg Biffle is going to earn the "Joe Nemechek Award" in 2006 if his bad luck continues. Biffle cannot buy a break despite running great races for 90% of the race until failure comes near the end. Carl Edwards has been in the same boat as Biffle, but a strong fourth place at Phoenix, following a crew chief shakeup between Jamie McMurray's team and his own, didn't seem to hurt him much this week. Edwards is moving upward, now in 16th spot, up six positions, and 396 points out of first. Ryan Newman is falling like a rock in the standings, now down to 22nd, after another awful finish (40th and 39th at Texas and Phoenix, respectively). His best finish, much like Casey Mears, was a third at Daytona, and he has only one top 10 (Bristol) since then.

Even though some guys continue to "underachieve" (like Biffle, Newman, et.al.), Bobby Labonte may continue to be the 2006 "feel good story" in Cup racing. After breaking through for a fifth place finish at Bristol, Labonte has cracked the top 10 in the last two races as well (10th at Texas and 8th at Phoenix). Petty Enterprises needed this kind of turnaround from a past champion like Labonte to know that the off-season shuffling was well worth the investment, and, no doubt, Kyle Petty (and father Richard) is a very happy man. Petty himself could benefit a bit from Labonte's performances, but he has had but one top 10 (an 8th at Atlanta) and only one other finish better than 20th (and 18th at Bristol the week after Atlanta). The last three weeks have seen Kyle slide back a bit, with 30th, 39th, and 31st place finishes across those races.

I need not close this writing with a truly negative thought, but I think the best years of Sterling Marlin and Michael Waltrip may officially be behind them. Both drivers left (or were let go) from their previous commitments in Ganassi Racing and DEI, respectively. Neither has seen success in 2006, with Marlin in 30th place and Waltrip in 35th. These were two "contending" drivers in the not so distant past, so to see slides like these is truly disheartening. Granted, both drivers probably don't have the equipment under them that they had before, but the movement out of the sport is probably inevitable at this pace. To give Marlin a bit more credit than Waltrip, he has notched some quite respectable finishes since a 17th at Bristol with a 14th at Texas and his season-best 12th at Phoenix.

Here are the top 10 standings through the Phoenix race:
Place Driver Pts Behind St/Poles/Wins/T5/T10/Earnings
1 +1 Matt Kenseth 1218 Leader 8 0 1 5 5 1 $1,928,313
2 -1 Jimmie Johnson 1209 9 8 1 2 4 6 0 $2,907,053
3 +1 Kasey Kahne 1167 51 8 2 2 4 6 1 $1,771,947
4 -1 Mark Martin 1152 66 8 0 0 1 5 0 $1,160,985
5 - Tony Stewart 1141 77 8 1 1 5 5 1 $1,928,865
6 -1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1045 173 8 0 0 2 3 0 $1,397,133
7 +2 Jeff Gordon 1045 173 8 0 0 3 4 0 $1,376,958
8 +1 Kevin Harvick 1044 174 8 0 1 3 4 0 $1,400,138
9 -2 Kyle Busch 1010 208 8 1 0 2 4 0 $1,162,235
10 - Casey Mears 948 270 8 0 0 1 3 0 $1,966,232

ONMC (Official NASCAR Members Club) -- Learn More Here!

I posted about the ONMC in my last post to the journal, but I would be remiss as an LCP (Local Chapter President) of a Chapter here in Cincinnati if I didn't direct you to how to join the club. You, too, as a NASCAR fan can get INSIDER access to things that most fans could only dream of doing or seeing.

Start your journey here:

http://onmcchapter.com/index.php?uname=452381

[This is the 452381 Chapter website of the ONMC (my personal chapter, which is certainly looking to add members if not boost membership in general). ]

Additionally, check out my other NASCAR efforts at:

http://clubhouseconnection.net/nascar/

[The ONMC tab has a sign-up sheet linked directly to NASCAR.com with my own ID number in the referral box.]

Sorry for the brevity of this posting, but a preview for this weekend's action in Phoenix should be forthcoming. I've been writing more about my surprising Cincinnati Reds in that blog.