Kyle Busch Screws Up Again

By Joe Dunn



When it comes to Kyle Busch, nobody can take away his incredible driving talents and his no fear style. But at the same time, he obviously has one of the worst reputations as a self centered brat, who is having too much fun with his Bad Boy image. So when he publicly apologized for his involvement in the wreck at Sunday’s Lennox 301, it shocked a lot of folks.

The big crash on a lap 174 restart ended the day for Martin Truex and David Ragan as well as ruining a possible good finish for Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton. The first replays showed Busch turning Truex and the finger pointing and blaming began. As the media pursued Kyle for the expected, ‘not my fault’, his response was quite different.

“I have to apologize to all those guys,” Busch said. “We got bottled up there in turn one – especially Martin and Jeff Burton and those guys. I meant nothing of that. The 88 (Earnhardt) spun his tires on the restart, I went to choose a lane, went to the middle, and the 42 (Montoya) and I got together a little bit. That pinched me with the 1 (Truex, Jr.) and I spun the 1 out and it was just mayhem from there.”

But after reviewing the incident, I have to throw the Black Flag at Kyle’s apology. No, not because I don’t believe it was sincere, if it weren’t, he would not have said it. I do, because he did not cause that wreck, and his apology let’s the other driver’s responsible off the hook. A look at the replay shows the sequence that happened and how it really unfolded. Nobody is denying that Dale Earnhardt Jr triggered the whole thing by spinning his tires on the restart, although Junior has not commented on that.

It is what followed the mistake by Earnhardt, that led to the wreck. Truex, who is obviously aware of the mistake that Junior is known for from his time as a teammate at DEI, backed off to avoid hitting the 88 car. Martin fully expected Junior to regain his composure and control of his car and he prepared for the second restart by Earnhardt. But the 88 car did not react quickly and Truex rammed his former teammate. Again, Truex had to back out of it in hopes that the 88 would finally get traction and move out of the way.

Leading up to all of this, Kyle Busch and Juan Montoya were side by side looking for a way to get around the mess created by the 88 car. During the maneuvering, Truex started moving down the track and Busch’s reaction was to go high in an attempt to pass the 1 car. At the same time Montoya was looking for room and started moving down, which blocked Kyle’s attempt to get around Truex. All would have been some normal ‘racin is rubbing’ had Truex not been forced to back off the second time. It appears that the fault of this one falls not on the guy who apologized and took responsibility, but rather on the two cars in front of him.

So, in the aftermath, it is Kyle Busch who once again takes the heat that he does not deserve apologized. “I hate it for all those guys because I know they’ve got ‘Chase’ contentions too. We were just battling for every spot out there today. Restarts are hectic, man. Everybody is fighting for every inch that’s out there because it’s so hard to pass with these cars.” And not a peep from the two guys that have zero chance of making the Chase, Earnhardt (19th) and Truex (24th) that really caused this wreck.

Kyle Busch is a spoiled brat, used to getting his way, and I have had my issues with Kyle in the past. It is frustrating covering races when you rush to the media center after a race to catch the Q and A’s with the second and third place drivers, only to learn that after finishing second, Kyle skips the appearance because he is having a tantrum. But this week, Kyle publicly fell on his sword for something that was not his fault. Perhaps by now he has finally seen the replays and understands that he did not owe the ‘sorry’, but it’s too late, he already assumed the blame. So another week goes by with another Kyle Busch Screw Up.

Garage Notes

Around the Sprint Cup garage this week


By Racin' Roger



Michael Waltrip Racing has announced a press conference for next Monday that has drawn lots of speculation. The strongest rumor of course is that Martin Truex will join MWR in 2010 as the driver of the 55 car. Other talk centered on the possibility of Truex moving over in time for Chicago, but experience tells me that EGR would not agree to the early release.

Jeremy Mayfield heads back to court on July 1 in his quest to force Nascar to reinstate him. Should he fail at this one, look for his team to be sold within days. There is at least one prospective buyer in the waiting, but the identity is being closely guarded.

Danica Patrick’s name is swirling around with connection to a deal with Hendrick Motor Sports and a possible deal with JR motorsports or Stewart Haas Racing. Rick Hendrick adamantly denies all the rumors.

Looking ahead to the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late July, lots of veteran drivers anticipate being greeting by Humpy Wheeler, who is expected to be announced soon as the new President of IMS.

Larry Gunselman Racing quietly withdrew from the Lennox 301 after rain cancelled qualifying. The rain out would have guaranteed the team of starting position based on 2009 attempts. The obvious start and park team made a deal with Furniture Row Racing that allowed Regan Smith to make the race in the 78 car. Smith finished 27th one lap down and marked his 50th race without a DNF.

From the Nationwide garage

Word is out that the double file restarts will begin at Daytona.

Still no confirmation from Nascar, but talk about the garage is that the NEW CAR for the nationwide series will debut at Daytona in February. Seems that Nascar will call for the new car at 5 races including Daytona and the two road courses for 2010, with the full schedule to follow in 2011. Lots of mixed reactions from the teams. Many of the smaller teams are very upset and some plan to bolt from the series.

Things look bad for the Milwaukee mile for 2010, as they have been unable to pay Nascar the required sanction fees for last weeks race. Rumor has it that the promoter still owes the IRL for the may race there. Beside the Memphis races being moved to Alabama, looks like the Mile’s dates may be moved also.

Bobby Hamilton took over the 81 car of McDonald motorsports at Dover and has been with then ever since, but as they head to Daytona this week, Hamilton is out and ARCA driver Patrick Shelta will be in.

Richard Petty Motorsports has a two race deal with McDonalds for Daytona with Kasey Kahne in the 10 car and Chicago with Reed Sorenson , in the 43 Cup car.
Michael McDowell, 11th overall and 8th among the Nationwide regulars looks ahead to Daytona as his last race of the season. The team has no sponsorship in place for the second half of the season with the exception of the two road courses with Marcus Ambrose behind the wheel. Ted Geschickter, co owner, says’ they are unsure if they have the ability to run any un-sponsored races.

With 10 to go, Jr looks to miss the chase

By Joe Dunn

The Race to the Chase begins this week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts the 10 race battle to make the top 12 to be IN the Chase. Sitting 277 points out of 12th, and 20th in points, the chances for Dale Earnhardt Jr. appear to be slim to none.

2007 was Earnhardt’s last year with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his father, where Jr was the star for most of his 11 years there. But he left there on a sour note among accusation by his fans of unfair treatment by his step mother Teresa Earnhardt. Since he lost Tony Eury Sr as his crew chief after the 2004 season, his success has waned. The early complaints centered on his crew chiefs, until Tony Jr joined the team. The problems after that were constantly blamed on poor equipment, most notably engine failures. That, despite the fact that he exploded far more engines than his DEI teammates running the same engines. Then the final year was just all around bad equipment as DEI prepared for his departure to Hendrick Motor Sports.

2008 was supposed to be Junior’ breakout year, finally a chance to show his skills driving for the best organization with the best equipment in Nascar. When the Race to the Chase began, he sat 3rd in points with 1 win, 7 top 5’s and 11 top 10’s. Junior finished 2008 a disappointing 12th, last place in the Chase. The fans rallied for Junior and chalked it up to a transition year, yet there were scattered calls to replace yet another crew chief.

Well, here we are, 2009 16 races in and 10 to go to the Chase, and what is Junior’s position? He did finally get a new crew chief as Tony Jr was not too quietly relegated to the farm system and Lance McGrew took over as the 88 crew chief. Rick Hendrick promised everything that HMS owned was to be concentrated on the 88 team as a priority. Making the Chase according to Hendrick was a MUST. The team’s standings, compared to 2008? 20th in points, 724 out of first (277 out of 12th), Zero wins, 1 top 5 and 3 top 10’s.

Was Tony Jr, the problem? Looking at the stats does not support that. After 12 races with Tony Jr, Dale sat 19th in points 497 out of first (203) out of 12th. Dale had an average finish of 21.3 under Tony. Under Lance they have only competed in 4 races so far, but Dale now sits 20th in points with an average finish of 19.75. Better finishes, Yes, but no real improvement. Certainly not the improvements needed to contend for the Chase, let alone the Championship.

So, in my opinion, the answer is NO, junior will not make the Chase. The 88 team is too far behind to make up the difference over the next 10 races. When you are driving the best equipment available with no expense spared sitting 20th in points after 16 races it’s time to face the facts. Dale Jr will not make the Chase, and his chances of ever winning a Championship seem to grow dimmer as each year passes.

Garage Notes

Around the NASCAR Garage this Week

By Racin’ Roger

Lot’s of news and hot rumors out of Sonoma over the weekend:

Savoring his win as an owner, Richard Petty let it be known that Richard Petty Motorsports relationship with Dodge may be ‘on the rocks’. despite the comments by Roger Penske about Dodge’s payments to his organization, Petty made it clear that RPM is lacking in support payments. Talk among the RPM folks is that the have only limited parts available for the new engine and that at least the 9 car of Kasey Kahne may be sporting the Toyota nameplate within a couple of weeks. Seems that only the 43 car is assured of remaining a Dodge for the rest of the season. RPM has filed a lawsuit for the late payments and the brand change may hang on a quick settlement.

Richard Childress has not been quite about his late payments from General Motors Chevrolet brand. With the current economic climate even RCR has sponsor concerns. As of now, only Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton’s teams are safe for 2010. Casey Mears may not be a highly sought after driver, but surely Kevin Harvick would be. With his current Camping World Truck and Nationwide series programs, the chance of Harvick following in Tony Stewarts steps is not a stretch.

Jack Roush is still ducking the questions about his plan to deal with Nascar’s 4 team limit for 2010, but Geoff Smith has stated that moving a team to Yates racing would be an easy fix. Look for Jamie McMurray to be making the move.

Sights and Sounds from Milwaukee:

Last week the rumblings in the Nationwide garage centered on GM’s announced cutbacks in support of the series. This week, word has leaked that Toyota is considering following the lead of Dodge, Ford and now GM and cut back on the TRD support for both the Truck and Nationwide series. This may not affect some of the smaller teams, but is sure to impact organizations such as Joe Gibbs Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Germain racing.

Again this week the Camping World truck series failed to attract a full field, if Toyota pulls the plug on the series it could be doomed soon. Time for Nascar to start brainstorming ways to fix them.

No word yet on the rumored meeting that Nascar was supposed to have last week with Nationwide team owners. In addition to the rumored body change, it appears there is now talk of a ‘Crate Motor” program for both Nationwide and the Truck Series. This has been a great idea at lower levels of racing and has proven to be a great cost cutting measure.

Garage Notes

Around the garage this week:

By Racin' Roger


Heard from a couple of Nationwide teams that there will be a meeting this week with series director Joe Balash regarding the change to a COT type car for the series. Team reactions varied, with some talking of moving to another Series if the new car is a go. Some others had more drastic ideas. Seems there is talk of an owner's boycott later in the season if Nascar pushes the new car.

Lots of talk after the nationwide race at Kentucky Speedway as Kyle Busch quickly exited his car and headed directly to the garage, skipping the mandatory post race interviews. Nascar told the press that he was ‘excused’ but failed to say why. A promised audio of a pit road interview was never made available.

GM’s cutoff of support for the Nationwide series seems to have little to no effect on the smaller teams in the series. Other than KHI, JR motorsports and RCR, teams have seen very little to no support from GM over the past few years.

Speaking of the cuts from GM, seems that Nascar is already approaching other foreign car manufacturers with US plants. Among those mentioned were Honda, Nissan, BMW and possibly Volkswagon. The face of Nascar as we have known it for years may be totally different in a few years.

Bruton Smith says no Cup date at Kentucky in 2010, but assures everyone, there will be a Cup date there ASAP. His plans call for adding 50,000 more seats and moving Pit Road closer to the grandstand as he did at LasVegas.

Kyle Busch offered to vacate the 51 truck for Jonny Benson, the reigning Camping World Truck Series Champion who lost his ride last week. Benson is scheduled to take over this week at Milwaukee, but Benson's wreck at the track he owns, Berlin Speedway in western Michigan, on Saturday night may sideline him for a few weeks. Last report I had was that he is still in the Spectrum hospital in Grand Rapids where his condition was upgraded to Fair.

Bruton Smith Says ………..

By Joe Dunn


Everybody knows that Bruton Smith wants a NASCAR Sprint Cup Race for Kentucky Speedway. And when he told reporters at the track Saturday that he would add 50,000 more seats and move pit road, it was no surprise. Still Smith remains mum on where he will take a race date from to put Kentucky on the Sprint Cup schedule.

But what was not addressed in his abbreviated press conference was some of the other ideas he has for the track. While answering questions from a reporter for the Owenton News Herald, a local paper, Smith posed his own question. One that revealed another look at his intentions. “Don’t you think this state needs gaming?” he went further to point out the close proximity to a Casino in Indiana and the benefit’s a casino would bring to the area. He began to say that the area needed another Hotel/Casino, but quickly caught himself, changing that to a Hotel only. Surely a spot on the Speedway property for a Casino would be easily found.

The area needs an airport according to Smith, one with at least a 6500’ runway and plenty of parking for planes. How many planes is he talking about? “We have one in Atlanta, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the most planes they can park is 272.” said Smith, “After that, they have to wave them off.” He hopes that the local government will keep that in mind and listen to and heed some of his advise for the area.

Bruton never does things small, and adding a Casino and Hotel to the Speedway site would mean a year round operation for the facility. The man who pioneered the Race Track Condominiums would certainly consider one at a track with an onsite casino. His obvious pitch to the locals, would be benefits that mirror what his projects have created elsewhere. Texas Motor Speedway is one of his proudest accomplishments, as he talks about that area before he built the track. Speaking of local officials in Kentucky Smith said, “They could go to Texas, and Texas Motor Speedway, and look around. I built that place and it was nothing but weeds, there was nothing. They could look around there and see what‘s happening as a result of the Speedway”

He didn’t mention it in this conversation, but SMI is emerging as ‘The’ promoter in Drag Racing. The addition of the Dragway at Lowes Motor Speedway was an instant success, and unlike Nascar, the fan base in Drag racing is growing. Surely it’s location would make Kentucky an ideal candidate for SMI’s next Dragway, joining the ranks of top facilities including Bristol, Texas and LasVegas.

When the subject changed to the NASCAR Sprint Cup banquet, to be held for the first time, this year in LasVegas, a wide smile brimmed across his face. It was a long time coming and it is no secret that Smith was pushing for it. “ I can’t take the credit for the change, but I did push for it.” Smith chimed in. On the idea of changing the last race of the Chase to LasVegas, to coincide with the banquet he was pretty subtle. “ I’m working on that, but NASCAR is not going to ‘give’ me a race.” He remains tight lipped on the source of that race date, but he does indicate that he has no intention of simply ‘moving’ the track’s lone date to accomplish it.

On Charlotte, Smith puts the city high on a pedestal in the racing world. “Charlotte is the Hub of racing, if your racing anything today, whether in this country or Europe, chances are you will have to touch Charlotte.” But Charlotte is not the only thing on his plate and the United States is not the border of his dealings. He’s been talking with folks halfway around the world about racing. Bruton let it slip that he’s meeting this week with some Arabs from Saudi Arabia. “We may build a couple of Speedways over in Saudi Arabia.” said Smith “ We’re meeting this week and if we get a contract we’ll be building some speedways over there.”

Could Knoxville's Trevor Bayne be NASCAR's next “Young Gun”?

©OnPitRoad

By Joe Dunn

With little fanfare, Knoxville, Tennessee’s Trevor Bayne slipped into the seat of the unsponsored Michael Waltrip Racing No. 99 NASCAR Nationwide Series car Friday at Nashville SuperSpeedway. A Friday afternoon press conference introduced Bayne, with few media members knowing much about him.
Living in East Tennessee, I was aware of Bayne having watched him compete at Bristol Motor Speedway in the USAR Pro Cup series. Trevor was also a bit of a legend around the local go kart tracks, where he won over 300 races, and earned 22 titles. Three times Bayne earned the World Karting Association, World Champion title.

Obviously that success would propel him to move, which he did by running the Allison Legacy Series. At 13 years old, he became the youngest race winner as well as the youngest Top Rookie. Over two years in the series, he had 41 starts, 14 wins and 30 top 5’s. In 2005 Bayne captured the series National Championship. From there he went on to two years in the Pro Cup Series.
In 2007 Trevor signed a Developmental Driver contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. the plan was to run one more year in Pro Cup and 2008 in the NASCAR Camping World East Series, as a teammate to Jeffrey Earnhardt. 2009 was supposed to bring a full time NNS ride, but the downturn in the Economy hurt DEI and forced them to cut the NNS program. DEI did manage to get Bayne a car for Bristol, which was run by the Jimmy Means team. The MWR ride at Nashville was his second race in the series.
Without all the hype and fanfare that followed Joey Logano to Nashville last year, Bayne posted a qualify speed that put him on the provisional pole. He held that spot, until the 29th qualifier, Kyle Bush edged him to the outside of the front row.
I talked to several crew members on the 99 car both Friday and Saturday at Nashville and they all seemed very excited about this little known kid. When another big wreck coming out of turn 4 on lap 123 happened, Bayne had no escape, taking a battering from the front and the rear. Though the 99 crew worked feverishly to get the car back out, they only garnered 3 more laps when it appeared beyond repair. Despite the early night, everyone on the team was optimistic that a better run is ahead for the team next week at Kentucky.
The 2007 sensation was Joey Logano as he set the NNS on it’s ear with his instant success. That fanfare was bumped in mid season when Tony Stewart announced his departure from JGR. That information forced a rush on the development plans for Logano, pushing him into the Home Depot Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, ahead of schedule. Logano is an extremely talented driver, but that push has shown it’s drawbacks as Joey has struggled in the top series.
I like Trevor Bayne and in my opinion, he could be the future of MWR or another top NASCAR team. But my hope is that they don’t push him too hard or advance him ahead of his time. Under the guidance of his father, Trevor, like Jeff Gordon has climbed a methodical trail to earn success.
I’ll look for a better run for Bayne at Kentucky. In the mean time he and his closets supporters are working on getting a release from his DEI contract, with an eye toward a possible full time deal with MWR. He now has 8 more races to prove his worth.

Nationwide drivers line up to raise money for the Red Cross

By Joe Dunn

This past Saturday (June 6) 18 NASCAR Nationwide Drivers lined up to help raise funds to help the Tennessee victims of a tornado that struck during the series last visit to the area.
During the April race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, a tornado struck just a few miles south of the track in the Murfreesboro area. The local Red Cross jumped into action to help folks stranded by the damage. While at the track that weekend, I was there when a track security worker got the call that her house was GONE. That struck close to teams and media members that were on hand.
Nationwide Insurance along with NASCAR and the Nashville Superspeedway teamed up to support the local American Red Cross Nashville Chapter. They conducted a pre race driver autograph session with 18 NNS drivers just outside the front gates to the grandstand.
This was a chance for fans to get up close and personal with a large number of drivers all at one time and one place. The scene was reminiscent of days long ago when Nascar drivers would willingly mingle with the fans. Those were the days that made Nascar the success it enjoys today.
Those days are long gone as drivers run and duck to avoid fans. The personal side of the sport that Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr advanced on a regular basis seems to be nothing but a faded memory of old time racing folks like myself. The scene Saturday at Nashville brought back old memories of the King sitting at a table and staying there until the last fan got his autograph. The days when drivers could be seen on race weekend in parking lots with show cars, signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans.
Last year and more so this year, Nascar is struggling with a dwindling fan base. Long sold out venues are scrapping the bottom to sell tickets. The once impossible happens as we speak. This morning I got an email from Bristol Motor Speedway, alerting me that they had tickets available for the ‘Night Race’, something I have not seen in more than 10 years.
Perhaps a lesson could be learned from this small effort put together last weekend. Could such sessions on a weekly basis be a driving force to increase fans? Imagine the fans at a Cup race having this opportunity. No, the fans were not ‘required’ to buy souvenirs, nor were they ’required’ to sign up in advance for the limited number of autographs. This was ‘old time racing’ back in front of the fans, and it was welcome with open arms.
In all the worry about the future of the sport, maybe it’s time for Nascar, the Tracks, the Sponsors and the Drivers to humble themselves just a wee bit and make this a weekly event at the races.
There were 18 drivers in line at Nashville, that’s about half of the regulars in the series. If just 10 drivers in a series would give up an hour of their time each weekend to do this, think about the extra fan draw for the races. Yes, if you build it they will come, but if you put the stars out there with the fans, even more will come. At that rate, it would mean each driver would have to appear roughly once every 5 races, or 7 times a season.
Even without a souvenir requirement, chances are those sales would jump too, especially for the drivers available each week.
How about it Brian France, Mike Helton, Bruton Smith, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and all the rest of the drivers? Would anybody be willing to go back to the old school for the sake of the fans and the sport? Today, unlike the old days, Owners, Crew Chiefs and even Crew Members like ‘Billy Bad Butt’ would be greeted with excitement and anticipation by the fans.
So what do you say Nascar? How about the fans, does anybody else out there think this needs to be part of Nascar’s future? Let Nascar know, let me know and I will pass it along.

Garage Notes

This week from the NASCAR Nationwide Series garage at Nashville :

by Racin' Roger

Reaction to Kyle Busch’s smashing of the Sam Bass/Gibson Guitar, the Nashville trophy, Saturday night ranged from outrage to biting of tongues. Carl Edward refused to comment on the situation, but he did say that wouldn’t do that to his Nashville trophies. Brad Keselowski said “ I don’t win enough of those things to smash any”. A lot of heads were shaking that night.

With word of Roger Penske agreeing to buy the Saturn brand from General Motors, many wondered if Penske Racing would complete the final three years of their contract with Dodge. Although Penske did state that he hoped to get Saturn involved in racing, he qualified it by saying he had no immediate plans to involve Saturn with NASCAR. There did not appear to be a lot of ‘believers’ in the garage.

Bobby Hamilton Jr is the fourth driver for 2009 in the Pat McDonald 81 car in the NNS.
After running both Dover and Nashville, there is no word yet how long he will drive the 81 car. DJ Kennington, who drove 26 races last year and 6 this year in the car, is back running the Canadian Tire Series.

After struggling early in the race at Nashville, Shelby Howard, in the No. 70 Foretravel Motorcoach Chevy, finished in 12th, the third top 15 in his five starts for ML Racing. Crew Chief Brian Ross and his crew worked both days to tweak the new car for Howard. Going from 35th to 12th, it seems the hard work paid off.

JGR is planning for both Kyle Busch and Joey Logano to double duty this weekend at Kentucky (NNS) and Michigan (NSCS). As a back up plan Brad Coleman and Jeremy Clements will be standing by for Busch and Logano at Kentucky.

Despite getting caught up in a wreck that ended the night early for rookie Trevor Bayne, the 99 crew of Michael Waltrip Racing remained upbeat as they look ahead to the 18 year old wheeling the No. 99 Toyota this week at Kentucky. Latest word is that a ninth race has been added to Bayne’s schedule in the 99 car.

Restart changes this weekend?

By Joe Dunn

The double file restart, with all the lead lap cars upfront, was hugely popular with Drivers, Fans and the Media at the All Star Race. They guys in the both ate it up like it was their first sight of sliced bread.
The following week, NASCAR held an unprecedented meeting with owners, drivers and crew chiefs to discuss various ideas to improve the sport. After the meeting, it was obvious that NASCAR gave their orders on comments regarding the drug policy, and they of course made sure that everyone knew that the discussed possible changes to the COT.
But what came out quietly at first following the meeting was the talk of the double file restarts. The TV media folks took center stage on it and slowly driver after driver spoke about it being considered. But NASCAR had little to say, until Sunday at Dover. NASCAR passed out an information sheet on the “double file restarts”. It states that all starts will be double file. The race leader will have his choice of which lane to use for the restart. The third-place car will always start in the inside lane. If that had come about before the big meeting, it might be something to discuss at the meeting. But coming out two weeks after the meeting, makes a statement in itself.
Commenting on the sheets, NASCAR Vice President Robin Pemberton’s comment says a lot. “Not today, but we’re working on some stuff and we’re real close, very close,”
Odds are that the change comes Sunday at Pocono. But what has not been mentioned is if this will happen in all three of the major touring series. Will the Truck series do it Friday night at Texas, or the Nationwide Series Saturday night at Nashville?
This new system will put the lap down cars at a disadvantage as far as getting a lap back the hard way, but they have come about with another twist to get a lap back besides the ’lucky dog’. Cars that are one lap down can choose not to pit, therefore regaining a lap during a caution. In the past they could do this and restart ahead of the leaders and then fight to keep from being put right back down. With this plan, those cars will start, double file behind the lead lap cars, but ahead of the lap down cars.
I like this idea, but I heard a lot of folks talk about this being like the Saturday Night short track restarts. It’s not the ‘Delaware’ restart that most short tracks utilize, but for NASCAR it would signal a huge improvement in the racing action. I hope they do this in all three of the major series and do it now. The NASCAR numbers have been dwindling over the past two seasons and are in dire need of a boost, this looks like a step in the right direction.
News about the garage this week:
Larry Gunselman, owner of the No. 64 entry in the Cup series announced this week that Mike Wallace will attempt to make the field at Pocono. Todd and Geoff Bodine parted with the team after the failed attempt for the Coca Cola 600. The teams entry a few weeks ago at Darlington was pulled at the last minute, but Todd showed up at the track to give Germaine Racing teammate Max Papis advise on qualifying.
I had a chance to speak with Todd, who explained that the entry was pulled because they felt that the car they had at the time, a former Bill Davis Racing Show Car, was just not capable of making the show. At that point, they were able to qualify for only 2 of the 9 races attempted. He said that they had purchased an old red Bull car and that he thought that car would have a better chance of making the show. I don’t know if the new car will be at Pocono, but hopefully Wallace will have a better attempt.
In the Nationwide series, Knoxville, Tennessee’s 18 yr old Trevor Bayne will start his first of an 8 race deal behind the wheel of the No. 99 Aarons dream Machine for Michael Waltrip Racing. Bayne was a pervious developmental driver for DEI, he ran the NASCAR Camping Word East series last year, finishing fourth in the points standings.
Mary Louise Miller, owner of ML Racing, the No. 70 Foretravel Motor Coach, Chevy has been so impressed with the efforts of their new driver Shelby Howard ( two top 15’s in his first four races) for the part time team that they acquired a new KHI car for this week’s race at Nashville.