Kathy's Pit Stop

Time to get ready for some racing

The off-season is winding down for the fans and the Bud Shootout is just around the corner.  While the Shootout is just for money and bragging rights, it kicks off the racing season for the fans.  Next Saturday night (Feb. 9th at 8 pm ET), twenty-three drivers will line up under the light at Daytona.

The favorite to win is, of course, Dale Earnhardt Jr.  He's always been good at the restrictor plate tracks and this will be his first race under the Hendrick Motorsports banner.  Will he win?  Maybe, but I think he's got some pretty good competition and I'm not just talking about his teammates.

Tony Stewart is usually strong, so is Kurt Busch, then there's always the sleeper Mark Martin and Greg Biffle could get into the mix too.  You also can't count out Martin Truex Jr. or Carl Edwards, so there are a few that could challenge for the win.

We won't know until next Saturday night as far as who will win, but it'll sure be nice to get back to racing and hopefully, it won't be a dominating season for anyone this time.

Who's your pick to win the Shootout?

Qualifying changes for 2008

Michael Waltrip complained last season about qualifying, saying that the guys who have to race their way in should qualify at the same time, not sprinkled throughout the whole field.  Well, it seems that NASCAR listened, starting this season, drivers who have to make it in on speed will qualify at the end of the qualifying session, meaning that the top 35 got first and then the other guys that have to make it on time.  This new rule change applies to all three series, not just the Cup series.

I'm not sure how much this will help, but I guess it can't hurt, although I think they need to do away with the top 35 guarantee and make everyone qualify on time, the way qualifying use to be.

Another change going into effect this season is that the fines collected from the drivers will go to the NASCAR Foundation instead of the points fund.  This is something that was complained about a lot in the past because a driver could basically get his money back at the end of the season unless he had a horrible season and/or was fined heavily.  This way the fines should mean more since they won't get it back.  Hopefully NASCAR puts the money to good use and I hope Victory Junction Gang gets a good chunk of it.

Your thoughts?

New age restrictions may be on the horizon for the Cup series

NASCAR is actually looking at raising the minimum age requirements for the Cup series, currently you have to be 18 years old or older to compete in any of the top three series.  NASCAR is looking at possibly raising the minimum age to compete in the Cup series to 21 years old.  Hmmm...I wonder why?  Well, the reason listed is that there are concerns about drivers being moved up too soon (heard that before) and that it would give them a chance to develop more as a driver before moving up.

I think it's NASCAR's attempt at helping the lower series without coming up with new rules for those series.  It's been said before that both of the lower series have been struggling, at least by the fans and I think this is their attempt at trying to fix it.  With the new age limitation, drivers will stay in the lower series longer before being moved up and we shouldn't see as many drivers drive one season and then move to Cup.

While this new rule change can help the lower series, I still thing NASCAR needs to address the Cup drivers in the lower series.  I'm not saying they can't race in it at all, but something needs to be done so the regular guys in the lower series can shine and where there isn't a Cup driver winning the race week after week.  How?  I'm not sure, maybe only allow so many races per year to a Cup, only allow so many spots for Cup drivers, etc.  Like I said, I don't know how they should do it, but something needs to be done, these series need their own identity and I don't think Cup Lite is a good one, which is how the Nationwide series is viewed as.

Your thoughts? 

Morgan-McClure closes shop - NASCAR's cost-effective plans not working

After 25 years, Morgan-McClure has to close its operations, why?  They can't get a sponsor.  Now, some people would say that's their fault, they should hire better drivers, etc., but I don't think that's the problem. 

We've seen this happen to the smaller teams over the years, they just can't get the sponsors, even large teams have struggled with getting sponsors, we've seen big, long-time sponsors go and that's because of cost.  It just doesn't benefit them like it use to with the amount of money they have to shell out for sponsorship of just one car and that I blame NASCAR for.  Even NASCAR has had changes to title sponsorship, that should tell them something, they want too much money.

NASCAR says they are doing all these new things, "rule changes, COT", etc. to help keep costs down for the teams, but that doesn't seem to be the case when you talk to team owners and their sponsors.  Let's face it, sponsors want a return on their large investment and unless you're running in the top five, or your name is Gordon, Johnson or Earnhardt, you're not going to get the coverage (TV time) that the sponsors want. 

It's obvious that NASCAR isn't going to help cut the costs to teams, but the televised coverage can help.  How?  Show the cars, mention the drivers and their sponsors, not just the ones that are in the top five.  We know the commentators love to talk on and on, so it shouldn't be too hard for them to do this, just show the teams and give us more race coverage period. 

Our sport is faltering in more ways that one and unless you're a fan of the mega-teams, I bet you've been disappointed more each season.  Something needs to be done, unfortunately NASCAR doesn't seem to care what the teams and fans think.  If they get called out about the cost of sponsorship or anything like that, they throw out the "independent contractor" thing, but they have no problem taking credit for anything that goes right in the sport and if something doesn't go right, well, they just throw a new rule change out there.

If NASCAR wants the sport to continue to prosper, not just their wallets, they need to take a good look at ways of cutting costs for everyone.  It's sad to see long-time sponsors leave and even worse to see teams that have been around for 25 years to leave because of cost, it's just not right.

Your thoughts?

Tire issues during Daytona testing

It seems that blistering tires could be an issue for this years Daytona 500.  Tires blistering seemed to be a concern during testing, it even could have led to a crash by Casey Mears, who blew a tire before flattening the side of his car.

It was just few having problems, lots of drivers had blistering tires , some are concerned and others think once more rubber gets put down on the track it'll be fine.  Some think it could be due to setups and others are taking a wait and see approach.

NASCAR doesn't think it's a concern and said not to expect any changes before Speedweeks 2008, so if they are having problems, the teams are going to have to find a way to solve it or it could be a messy race.  This tire is a little different than the tire they used on the COT at Dega, described at having "more stagger" to it and that it's something the teams are going to have to adjust to.

I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I hope the optimists are right and it changes once more rubber gets on the track or we could have a lot of wrecks and more than one "big one".

Your thoughts?

First day of testing a "waste of time" and "idiotic" according to Mark Martin

If you ask Mark Martin, he thinks the first day of testing at Daytona was a "waste of time".  Why?  They only let them do single car runs, no drafting, so while the first day of testing showed how fast a single car can run, it didn't tell the drivers or the teams how well they can perform under race conditions.  The drivers won't know until they start drafting how their cars will perform, so realistically, what Mark Martin said was right, it was a waste of time.

This is what Mark had to say....

"I feel that we're wasting our time with single-car runs," Martin said during the lunch break on Monday. "We should be drafting already, but it is what it is. We do get to start drafting tomorrow afternoon, so that's half a day sooner than we might have.

"Once we start drafting, we're really working on racing. The rest of this stuff is idiotic, with the [questions between driver and team]: 'Does this help? Not help? Is that faster? Is it not faster? Can you tell anything?' That's what we're doing right now.

"I guess we would do it for 15 days straight if they'd let us, but I don't believe you learn very much doing that. You learn a lot when you start drafting in 20-car packs. You can tell the changes that you make, you can have feedback, you can have input, you can make changes on the car that really make a difference in the way it handles." (Scene Daily)

He's right though, they can't really learn anything about how the car will handle in the race by running them the way they did yesterday.  He was obviously frustrated, calling NASCAR idiotic, since that's not usually the way Martin is, but he said something a lot of fans have been thinking for a while, at least the idiotic part. 

By the sounds of it, the real testing with the draft will happen this afternoon and then we'll see who rises to the top, it may be the same drivers that were on top of the charts yesterday and maybe not, but then the drivers and crews can get down to business and work on the cars to get them to handle right.

Your thoughts?

Robby Gordon may test Daytona afterall - Dakar Rally cancelled

Brendan Gaughan was scheduled to sub for Robby Gordon for Daytona testing, but Gordon may go ahead and test himself since the famous Dakar Rally was canceled due to terror threats.

The cancellation came as a disappointment to many, but organizers felt they had no choice in the matter.

It was the first time in the 30-year history of the automobile, motorbike and truck race that it has been called off. In a statement, organizers blamed international tensions, the tourists' Dec. 24 murders and "threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organizations."

The race's central appeal -- its course through African deserts, scrubland and savannas -- is also its weak point, making it difficult to protect thousands of people as they traverse such remote regions.

"No other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken,'' organizers said.

Robby Gordon was set to compete in the event this year, as he has done in the past, but with the cancellation, it leaves the question of will he test in Daytona himself since he won't be racing or still have Gaughan do the testing? 

So far, no word from Gordon as to what he will do or his thoughts on the matter.

Your thoughts? 

Daytona Cup Testing Driver Schedule

NASCAR has come out with the drivers schedule for testing at Daytona.  These lists may change as more drivers are added.  Check to see which days your favorite is testing.

Jan 7 - 10	Jan 14 -17
Allmendinger	Andretti
Almirola	Blaney
Biffle	Burton
Bowyer	Carpentier
Kurt Busch	Earnhardt Jr.
Kyle Busch	Franchitti
Edwards	Gilliland
J. Gordon	Hamlin
Johnson	Harvick
Kenseth	Hornish
Kvapil	Kahne
Martin	Labonte
Mears	Mayfield
Montoya	McMurray
Petty	Menard
Reutimann	Newman
Riggs	Ragan
Sadler	Smith
Sorenson	Vickers
Truex	Waltrip
Villeneuve	Stewart
Yeley
R. Gordon (Gaughan to sub)