Checkered Past

Job toll mounts as Petty merger with Yates advances

Parking spaces have gotten well beyond plentiful at Richard Petty Motorsports this week. There are also a lot more resumes being posted on <a href="http://www.DontCheckUp.com"><B>www.DontCheckUp.com</B></a>, says the site’s Don Gemmell.

The site’s name, of course, is from the racing term about braking, and the idea behind it is to try and help as the recession continues to wreak havoc on many racing careers and lives. The site is a place to post resumes and find support, even the occasional job.

“We do get them occasionally,” he said. “One came in yesterday from a team in California that’s looking for a crew chief.”

The Petty operation, as its merger with Yates Racing moves ahead, has sent dozens employees away this week at its Concord, N.C., engine shop and the car shop in Statesville. Still more are expected to leave when the season ends in a week and a half.

Gemmell, who was among many idled by the Dale Earnhardt Inc.-Chip Ganassi Racing merger nearly a year ago, estimates that 1,500 racing industry workers have been affected since late last season.

The rush of new inquiries and postings resulting from the Petty layoffs is only part of the rough news, Gemmell said Thursday. The site’s recent survey suggests many are giving up on the Charlotte area, the hub of North American racing and an area of growing influence in motorsports worldwide.

“A pretty good number have left,” Gemmell said. “A lot of them have hung on for a year. Some have taken what they can find, for less money, but the majority are still unemployed.”

<span style="font-size: 18px">Notes</span>

<B>One of the more public victims</B> of the Ganassi-DEI merger, driver Aric Almirola, this week asked a North Carolina court to send his contract dispute with the organization to arbitration. SceneDaily.com reported that Almirola, who was scheduled for a full season of Cup competition this year and is now running in the Truck series, beat a Thursday deadline for filing the breach-of-contract claim.

<B>What does Jimmie Johnson have to do</B> to clinch? Well, at Phoenix, where he arrives 73 points up, he’d have to gain 122 more in the race. The champagne would come out then and there, no matter how anyone else did.

Another way, if it’s not resolved this weekend, would be to score at least the equivalent of fourth-place finishes at both tracks, or average fifth and a lap led in each of the final two races. Or – does your head hurt yet? – he could average sixth and lead the most laps both places.

<B>The Cup championship remains</B>, rightfully enough, the focus heading into the final two race weekends, but what about that race for the top 35 and some assurance of spots in the first five races of 2010?

Owner/driver Robby Gordon’s No. 7 is 34th, 41 up on Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing’s No. 34, driven by John Andretti. The No. 83 of Red Bull Racing, driven by Scott Speed, is 117 points behind that in 36th. <p>
 
<B>Looking ahead to the finale</B> at Homestead-Miami Speedway …

Carl Edwards notched his series-high ninth Cup win at the 1.5-mile track in 2009. It was his first there and team owner Jack Roush’s sixth. Another Roush Fenway driver, Greg Biffle, tops the series chart with three wins at Homestead. Edwards is winless in Cup competition this season.

<B>Two drivers will go for three</B> this weekend at Phoenix. That would be Kyle Busch, who was two for three last week at Texas – and ran out of fuel while leading late – and Kevin Harvick. That hat trick remains undone in NASCAR’s top-three series.

<B>Asked about criticism</B> of NASCAR and its product this season from some fans and others in the media, here’s a little of what Juan Pablo Montoya had to say:

“To tell you the truth, I think people that complain about a NASCAR race, they haven't watched any other motor racing. … I've been in Formula One, I've been in IndyCars, I've been in CART. And the best racing is right here; nothing compares.”

Got a problem? Blame it on the media

Blaming it on the media is not exactly a groundbreaking strategy. It's been around at least since Gutenberg, probably longer. And, heck, it fools some of the people some of the time.

Too much violence? Blame it on the media.

According to studies (widely distributed by the media), an American child witnesses more than 200,000 acts of televised violence before turning 18. And even if the studies are a little dated and don't account for video games, blaming it on the media is probably a better bet than the Twinkie defense.

Too many of us don't like our bodies? Blame it on the media.

I thought that was all on Barbie, Twiggy and fashion models in general. Maybe on pro wrestlers or hulked-up baseball and football players, particularly if you were a skinny kid who actively considered buying the mail-order exercise equipment advertised in the back of comic books. But, no, it's the media putting all those images out there where we can see them.

Too many right-wing or left-leaning zealots running civil discourse right out of town? Blame it on the media.

No argument there.

And now the media are at fault for really fouling things up in stock car racing. Their rampant irresponsibility has even managed to irk NASCAR management and at least one of the independent contractors who participates in NASCAR events.

Restive fans? Too few of them buying tickets? Too few of them tuning in? And too many of those who do tune in concluding that a NASCAR race was  – GASP! – boring? Blame it on the media.

It's apparently OK for TV analysts to get all analytical – just as long as the tone is positive and the subject matter sufficiently distant from headquarters. And writers? They're just around to help promote "the sport," publicize events and help sell stuff, right?

We're not talking "60 Minutes" here! So stop the hard questioning and analyzing and, for goodness sakes, saying that a NASCAR race was – GASP! – boring.

Because until you do, we're going to blame it all on the media.

That may or may not be what the NASCAR brass and a leading owner/driver believe deep down in their hearts. But I do believe blaming the media is the perfect strategy for them.

I've worked in a few branches of the media for three decades or so. And, they're right, some of us are downright despicable. Not all, certainly, but surely enough of us that NASCAR can make its case.

Some might have been inspired by "All the President's Men," but more of us got all fired up by "The Front Page." And some simply wanted to be like Les Nessman, the no-holds-barred newsman on "WKRP in Cincinnati," when we grew up. Like that was ever going to happen.

See how easy it is to blame it on the media?

Which Patrick persona will win?

What’s the bigger draw, Danica Patrick fans, what she does behind the wheel or in front of the lens?

Patrick, the IndyCar Series most popular driver and one-race winner, may be far more widely known through her two appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and as a spokesmodel for GoDaddy.com and Tissot watches, among other ventures. Such is her star power that she is joined by NASCAR’s runaway most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the bullpen for the Internet outfit.

And now, even her tattoo may be pulling away from Patrick’s driving in attention span land.

“Dude, SI is Lame!,” L.A. Snark proclaims on TheWeek.com. Quoting heavily from TheScore.com,  Sir Snark reports that Sports Illustrated’s photo editors digitally removed Patrick’s American Flag tattoo.

“What is the deal with that, they show nipples through shear bikini tops and painted-on bikinis, but NOT an American Flag tattoo? Plus here is the kicker, Danica was in last year’s swimsuit issue and the tat wasn’t airbrushed out.”

And, both sites say, SI offered little in the way of explanation.

Said TheScore.com:  “Officials for Sports Illustrated acknowledged digitally removing Patrick’s tattoo. Patrick’s handlers said she was aware of the touch-up before the photos were published and was fine with the adjustments.”

Also noted was a photo editor’s controversial and digital removal of a neck tattoo and earrings from a cover photo of NBA player Allen Iverson. Patriotism aside – if that’s also in play – such treatment of photographic images has prompted the writing of policies and even scarred the permanent records of practitioners in publishing houses both large and small.

But back to Patrick.

She’s won once in the IndyCar Series, the top American open-wheel racing outfit. And that was on a fuel-mileage gamble her team took during a race in Japan last season. NASCAR crew chief extraordinaire Chad Knaus has been hailed for his genius whenever that roll of the dice helps three-time champion Jimmie Johnson immediately pass “go” and proceed directly to victory lane, too. So, yes, a win is a win.

But now Patrick is being mentioned as a potential candidate by the Formula One start-up team to be based in Charlotte. U.S. involvement in the world’s biggest and richest auto racing series has diminished is recent decades, to put it charitably. There are only two men with U.S. citizenship listed among world driving champions, Phil Hill and Mario Andretti.

There is no U.S. Grand Prix on the current schedule and even Canada has lost its place on the F1 calendar. But the fact that Patrick would be the only woman on the grid has certainly not been lost on those in the elite paddock, on the yachts moored nearby or anyone involved with the fledgling U.S.-based team.

Only Patrick, her agent and the new team’s principals know if she has gotten the call – she hadn’t earlier this week, she said - even while her name is being bandied about with those of other drivers, none of who are models in their second jobs.

In scoring for this week’s open testing for IndyCar teams at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway, Patrick was listed 14th fastest at 209.333 mph.

That was somewhat off the pace set by Ryan Briscoe 212.156, but was faster than Milka Duno, Patrick’s sometimes rival. (But who isn’t?) Duno, who put up 208.984 mph, is the Venezuelan model-turned-driver with the distinction of having the best finish of any woman in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The IndyCar Series teams go to a road course near Birmingham, Ala., for more testing in late March. Then they’ll open their season with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg the first weekend of April.

It will remain until then to be seen if Patrick’s on-track persona or that of America’s fastest model will be The Story. Same for how any news about the driver and team that actually win the race will be played and remembered.

But to quote the great poet-philosopher Tony Soprano: “Whatta ya gonna do?”

Write the Caption - What a blast ...

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McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, sprays champagne to team boss Norbert Haug, left, after winning the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheim Formula One racetrack in Hockenheim, Germany, Sunday, July 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Write the Caption - So, boss man ...

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NASCAR driver Kyle Busch chats with NASCAR President Mike Helton before the start of practice laps for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on June 20. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/McClatchy-Tribune photo).

Write the caption - Oohhh, I'm so-o-o-o-o mad!

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Danica Patrick walks back to her pit stall after a collision with Ryan Briscoe knocked her out of the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Tom Strickland)

Write the Caption - How many ...?

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NASCAR crew chief Chad Knaus gives instructions to crewmen as they work on driver Jimmie Johnson's Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet Friday afternoon during a break in practice at Lowe's Motor Speedway. JEFF SINER -- jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

Write the Caption - What's that you say, Junior?

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Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) and team owner Rick Hendrick talk before Sunday's Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE)

A penny or two or three for more thoughts on NASCAR drug policy

Charlotte Observer colleague David Poole's wording on NASCAR's drug policy, in the "My 2 Cents" section of his column on ThatsRacin.com, is about as close to an indictment as I've seen on this touchy subject - so far at least.

Here's a little of what he said:

"It's clear NASCAR doesn't want the responsibility for establishing and enforcing a fair testing policy.

"It also is clear NASCAR officials really don't want to know some of the answers a real drug-testing policy might give them."

Here's that link again to more of it. And following is a modest sampling of what other writers are saying this week about the stock car racing and promotion company's drug policy, which currently relies on "reasonable suspicion," as opposed to random testing:

"... With over a 100,000 fans packed into the stands, and with many of those people sitting mere feet away from the racing surface, NASCAR officials just trust that none of these millionaire athletes have made bad decisions that day or the night before. And they base all that trust on the fact that not one of the drivers' employees - an employee who is relying on that driver to earn a living - has come forward.

"That's either the craziest thing I've ever heard or an unbelievable amount of respect for chain-link fencing."

- Josh Moon in the Montgomery Advertiser

Continue reading "A penny or two or three for more thoughts on NASCAR drug policy"

Write the Caption - Drug Test

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A NASCAR fan wears a shirt focusing on a recent drug story involving Aaron Fike (not pictured) during the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. (Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE)