Kathy's Pit Stop

Burton wins final Busch Series race - Childress wins Owners Championship

Jeff Burton won the final Busch Series race at Homestead over Carl Edwards and Mark Martin.  Ironically, Richard Childress owns the winning car and he won the Owners Championship too.  Mark Martin put on quite a charge to challenge Burton and had me worried there for a few laps, but then Edwards got in the mix and it helped let Burton pull ahead.

Interestingly, the car that won the Owners Championship was driven by two drivers during the season, Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer, because they split time in the car, neither will be at the table at the Busch Series Banquet, but teammate Kevin Harvick will, finishing fourth in the standings even though he didn't run all the races.

Lots of cautions and most of the open wheel guys had trouble, another reason why I think they shouldn't be able to jump right up to the Cup Series.

Now it's the end of an era, the Busch Series is no more, next season it will be the Nationwide Series...Busch did the series proud and I'm sad to see them go.  Don't be surprised if I slip up from time to time next season and call it the Busch Series, that's all I've ever known it to be called.

Congrats to Burton and Richard Childress and all of RCR.

Your thoughts?

Harvick wins Texas Busch race - moves to second in all-time wins

Kevin Harvick won his sixth race this season at Texas Motor Speedway.  It put him up to 32 wins in the Busch Series, moving him into second all-time behind Mark Martin who has 47 all-time wins.  Congrats Harvick!

Looks like Kyle Busch's crew is still messing up this week, being very slow over the wall with the right front tire and putting it on, seemed a bit weird to me.  The reason was the tires weren't "set" because the crew chief Gustafson was still working on the Cup car.  He ended up bouncing back and finishing second, but he was disappointed and it showed and although I'm not a fan, I don't blame him one bit.  Wonder if there will be another mess up in the pits on Sunday?

Carl Edwards clinched the championship, giving Roush his second Busch Championship.

Your thoughts?

More on the NASCAR Nationwide Series

I received an email on behalf of Nationwide, wanting to share a Q & A session that was held after the announcement.

Q&A with Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, and Jim Lyski, Chief Marketing officer of Nationwide Insurance, about the recent announcement that Nationwide will become title sponsor of the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2008:

Q: Why did NASCAR select Nationwide Insurance to be title sponsor of the NASCAR Nationwide Series?

Brian France: Nationwide Insurance is an ideal partner for NASCAR, advocating safe driving, and already serves millions of NASCAR fans with its auto, health, and life insurance. Nationwide Insurance is a distinguished, blue-chip company that is passionate about the sport and has experience through existing partnerships with NASCAR tracks. We’re confident the company will make a seamless transition as a title sponsor and will help this Series continue to expand and grow.

Q. What was it that made the sponsorship attractive to Nationwide Insurance?

Jim Lyski: Nationwide has a history with NASCAR and sees this as a natural progression. When we began our sponsorship with Speedway Motorsports, Inc., eight years ago, we were the first insurance company to make a major commitment to NASCAR, and we’ve seen first-hand just how passionate NASCAR fans can be.

Nationwide recognizes that NASCAR has the most loyal and dedicated fan base of any sport. This is an opportunity to play a larger role in supporting NASCAR, while building stronger relationships with these great fans, as well as the drivers competing on the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The sponsorship will allow us to reach millions of fans including families, youth and diverse markets in a fun and friendly manner.

Q. What changes are in store for NASCAR Nationwide Series fans in 2008?

Brian France: It’s likely that the NASCAR Nationwide Series will grow in a number of very positive ways as a result of Nationwide’s involvement. We are looking at a number of options, including a new chassis, which will transfer a number of the positive safety, competition and cost management attributes from the Nextel Cup Series car to the NASCAR Nationwide Series car.

We’re also evaluating a number of options to continue to make the series more exciting for fans and competitors, and help increase competition among all teams.

Look for more details in coming months including the introduction of the NASCAR Nationwide Series logo.

Q. Brian, what about doing more to make the NASCAR Nationwide Series a place to develop drivers?

Brian France: The Series has been developing and will continue to develop up-and-coming drivers. Just take a look at Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex, Jr., and Clint Bowyer. In the last three years, each of these drivers, all currently in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, honed and developed their driving skills in what will be known as the NASCAR Nationwide Series. So it’s clearly serving that purpose while keeping the tradition of providing young drivers the opportunity to compete against the NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers.

Q. What will Nationwide Insurance bring to its sponsorship of the NASCAR Nationwide Series?

Jim Lyski: Nationwide looks forward to partnering with NASCAR and ESPN to take this already great racing experience to the next level. We’re committed to bringing the NASCAR Nationwide Series experience to life for the fans. The NASCAR Nationwide Series provides a unique environment for Nationwide to extend our On Your Side brand promise to race fans. At the end of they day, we want fans to feel like Nationwide somehow improved their race experience. We’ll be able to provide more details about how we’re going to do that soon.

We’re also excited to engage our network of over 8,000 Nationwide and Allied Insurance agents to promote and market the NASCAR Nationwide Series and get involved in races across the country. 

We’ll take very much the same approach we’ve taken with our sponsorship of the Nationwide Tour. Since becoming umbrella sponsor of the Nationwide Tour in 2003, which, like the NASCAR Nationwide Series, is a proving ground for the next generation of superstars who will one day compete at the highest level, we’ve put significant resources into elevating the tour’s profile in the golf world. Since we’ve been involved, the Nationwide Tour is sending more players than ever to the PGA Tour. Purses have increased, as has media coverage of the sport. We’ve got a great road map for local activation based on our experience with the Nationwide Tour.

So, changes will be coming, but we don't know what yet.  Hopefully Nationwide can help the series move in the right direction.

The only problem I have with the whole deal is the fact that GEICO, which has been in the series for seven years, is being given a sunset provision, that's two years left and then they're out.  I don't agree with that, I think they should have been grandfathered in, but that's just me.

The other issue I want to address is what France said about development drivers, that the series will continue to develop up and coming drivers.  How can these guys prove themselves with all the Cup drivers in the race?  How many non-Cup drivers won this year so far?  The Cup drivers keep winning all the races and the media coverage is always on the Cup drivers, so how can these developmental drivers really be seen?

They need to lower the cost to the teams and limit Cup drivers to so many races or something like that, something needs to be done, maybe Nationwide can have some influence and change the series in the right direction.

Your thoughts?

Hard hit sends Keselowski to the hospital -updated

The California Busch race was not as typical as normal, it was marred by a few cautions, the biggest one coming involving four cars and making NASCAR throw the red flag to clean up debris and fix the wall.

It just goes to show that just because you can do something, doesn't necessarily mean you should.  Going four wide didn't prove to be successful for any of the cars involved. 

McClure was riding high, up near the wall, trying to stay out of everyones way, only being on seven cylinders.  Keselowski was way down low, almost on the line and then Yeley and Allmendinger were racing for position and went to go around McClure, which made it four wide.  Allmendinger thought he was clear, supposedly was told he was clear and went to move up.  He wasn't clear, Allmendinger and Yeley touched and set off the wreck.  Yeley went up and hit McClure, Allmendinger went down and end up hitting Keselowski, which made him go head on into the wall, causing a fiery crash.  Not the kind of crash you expect at California, which is known for its follow the leader style racing and few cautions.

Keselowski was alert, but in obvious pain, he couldn't put any weight on his left leg/foot, they really didn't elaborate if it was his leg or foot.  They took him to the infield care center and then he was airlifted to the hospital for further evaluation and x-rays.  Still, no word on what the outcome was, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised, most of the media doesn't care much about the Busch series.

Allmendinger basically alluded to the fact it was Yeley's fault, by saying he could have backed down, but never really came out and said it, he definitely didn't take any blame and even mentioned the fact that he was glad Keselowski was OK and that he didn't cussed at him in the infield care center, he said all this with a smile on his face.

The incident can be viewed different ways and I'm sure many will see it differently.  Some will say it was just racing, which can be a plausible answer.  Some may say it was Allmendingers fault since he moved up and I'm sure some will blame Yeley.  I can accept two of the answers, but I don't think blaming Yeley is right since Allmendinger moved up because he thought he was clear.

The thing that bothered me the most was that he smiled about the whole thing in his interview, even about Keselowski.

I'll update when I hear about any updates on Keselowski.

Your thoughts?

Update-  From JR Motorsports PR - Brad Keselowski was examined and released from Loma Linda University Medical Center Saturday night after a crash in the Camping World 300 at California Speedway. Keselowski was airlifted to the hospital, where he underwent CT Scanning and x-rays on his left ankle and chest. As standard procedure, he will have further evaluation by Dr. Jerry Petty upon his return to North Carolina.

No word on exactly what his injury was, but I read in an article it may be a broken left foot.  Hopefully, more will come out later on this, although it may be a few days until after he sees Dr. Petty in NC.

NASCAR running into troubles with Busch sponsorship replacement

It seems that what they thought would be an easy deal, isn't so easy.  Talks seemed to have stalled with Subway, the front runner in the search for a new title sponsor of the now, Busch Series. 

In the beginning, NASCAR was talking a $30 million a year deal, but now, the price has dropped.  According to articles, they don't mention a specific amount, but say it's now nearly half of that asking price and that NASCAR is talking to brands that were considered not in the running anymore.  The other sticking point seems to be exclusivity.  Obviously, the lawsuit with AT&T over the sponsorship of the #31 of Jeff Burton in the Cup Series has had an impact and I think that's one of the reasons for the price drop.

Subway was in serious talks with NASCAR about series sponsorship, but exclusivity seems to be an issue here, they want exclusivity for spending all that money, but their brand and industry already has quite a few competitors as sponsors in the series now, Arby's, McDonald's, Jimmy John's and Domino's are already in the series.  If Subway was to make this deal, they would either have to grandfather (like they did in the Cup Series) or just say these teams need to find new sponsors.  No word on what actually happened in the breakdown of talks, but exclusivity was a major part of it and also the way money was spent, one-third of that money was suppose to be spent on ESPN and it's platforms.

Now NASCAR is talking to others that they had talked to earlier, but time is ticking.  The price has dropped, the required amount to spend on ESPN has changed.  NASCAR has currently been revisiting KFC, Dunkin' Donuts and Allstate for possible sponsorship deals and I'm sure has been in contact with others, but according to everything I've read, exclusivity is going to be a sticking point, how much depends on who they go with.

What NASCAR thought would be a fairly simple process has not been as easy as they thought and time is running out.  They still hope to be able to announce a sponsorship deal by the end of the Busch Series season in mid-November, which is not that far off, so these stalled talks did not help.

Your thoughts?   

Not a fan of road courses, but what a wild finish!

Things definitely got tense at the end of the Busch race, some came away happy and others came away fuming.

Robby Gordon seemed to have the lead, the caution came out and Marcos Ambrose plowed into the back of him spinning Gordon.  After reviewing the tapes, NASCAR said that Ambrose had the lead when the yellow apparently came out, not only that but they wanted Gordon back in 12th.  Gordon wasn't having any of that and he restarted right behind Ambrose and spun him on the restart and then kept going.  If you ask Robby Gordon, he won the race and he will appeal.  NASCAR apparently stopped scoring Gordon and he was listed in 18th in the finishing order, two laps down.

The "official" winner of the race, since Gordon wasn't being scored was Kevin Harvick, who started in the back of the field because of not being there to qualify. 

I understand Gordon being mad, but I highly doubt he'll win his appeal (has anyone ever won one against NASCAR?) and who knows what else NASCAR might do to him.

Your thoughts?

Rain tires ready for Busch race, just in case

Goodyear brought rain tires to Montreal, cars will also have windshield wipers, defrosters and rear lights, just in case it rains.  NASCAR seems determined not to get the race put off or delayed this time.  Same setup is also said to be the same for the Busch race at Watkins Glen.

We've heard this happen before in the past, but it never rained, so it hasn't been tested out in race conditions and from the weather reports, it doesn't appear they will need them this weekend either, but they are on hand if needed. 

Other series race in the rain, but with the ovals NASCAR drives on it hasn't been deemed safe to attempt rain tires, rain tires are only designated for road courses.  While it may be considered safe for them to race in the rain, as long as it's not a downpour, is it really safe for the over the wall crews?  If it's raining, pit road will be wet, the wall will be wet and there is always the chance of someone slipping and falling.  Then you have the factor of cars coming in on a wet pit road, I would think it ups the danger factor for the over the wall guys and for pit road accidents between cars.

Don't get me wrong, I hate rain delays and hate it when a race gets put off for another day because of the rain, but for the safety of all involved, maybe NASCAR is right in not using rain tires all these years.

Your thoughts?  Are rain tires a good idea, even if it is just for the road courses?

Experience and aggressiveness pay off on the track, inexperience hurts on pit road

Aric Almirola started on the pole and finished sixth, he just wasn't aggressive enough to compete with the likes of Biffle, Edwards and Leffler.  Jason Leffler, always aggressive, won the race, passing Biffle with just two laps to go.  Edwards, Biffle and Reutimann did not seem too happy with Leffler's driving style, but kept their cool during their interviews.  Reutimann was the least happy with him and I guess wasn't exactly nice on the radio about it, but composed himself in the interview and you could tell he was holding back from saying things.  Leffler's win gives Toyota their first victory in the Busch Series.

Inexperience seemed to rear its ugly head on pit road when the 25 ran through the pit stall of the 77 of Ron Hornaday, taking out Jake Lauder, the front-tire carrier.  He ended up cutting his nose and breaking his big toe, it could have been a lot worse if helmets weren't a requirement for over-the-wall guys.

Another incident on pit road, not sure which teams were involved (not a lot of coverage about it during the race) was when a car leaving their pit caught the air gun of another team and started pulling it down pit road.  The hose knocked down some crew members before the hose snapped.  Anyone with an update of the status of crew members from that team?

Funny, the articles on NASCAR.com, nor ESPN, even mention the pit road incidents, but they were sure to mention the impressive skill of Edwards coming from the back to finish fourth.  He's a darn Cup driver and that 60 car has been darn near perfect all year, of course he finished well!  It wasn't that impressive.

Your thoughts? 

Busch Young Guns had their chance to shine

In a stand alone event at Gateway, the Busch Series Young Guns had their chance to shine without a ton of Buschwhackers in the field.  This was their chance to show everyone that they had what it takes and that they will eventually be good enough for the next level, once they learn a little patience.

The first 100 laps only saw two cautions and one of them was for debris, but after that there were seven more cautions, most, not all, being caused by impatient drivers.  A lot of them found themselves out of the race or down quite a few laps, only two Busch Series youngsters actually finished on the lead lap, Tim McCreadie and Chase Miller.

The youngest soon to be star made himself an enemy in veteran Mike Bliss.  Asked about the incident he said he was hit by someone who looked "about 10".  Landon Cassill is young, but not that young, he turned 18 a few weeks ago and this was his first Busch Series race for Hendrick Motorsports.  He's young, so he still has time to learn some patience on the track, heck there are non-Rookies that have a hard time with patience too.  He'll either learn or make a lot of enemies along his way up, the choice will be his to make, hopefully he makes the right one.

Reed Sorenson won the race over Scott Wimmer, ending his drought in the Busch Series, now all he needs is a win in the Cup series.  Edwards, although having a bit of trouble, battled back to finish 6th.

We need to see more of these races with mostly just the young guns of the Busch Series in them.  I know NASCAR won't stop the Cup regulars from racing in the series, so it's a nice change when we don't see a lot of them in the race. 

Busch wins his first Daytona race

Kyle Busch held off Kevin Harvick to win his first Daytona race and his first Busch race this season.

Harvick came from the back many times to run in second, but could never get any help to get by Busch.  He has the chance on the last restart and I think if Blaney had gone with Harvick, they could have gotten by him, but Blaney didn't seem to want to help.

Harvick finished second, followed by Blaney, Stewart and Bowyer rounded out the top five.  Leffler was the highest finisher of the Busch regulars, coming in ninth.

The big one never happened thanks to spotters being on their toes, not that the opportunity wasn't there for the big one, it was just able to be avoided, hopefully the same thing will happen in the Cup race tonight.

Your thoughts?