The Infield

Smoke screen

By Dan Sipocz

Tony Stewart, aka Smoke, has set up a picture-perfect smoke screen. He's indicated that he desperately wants to drive for Chevrolet once again and as soon as he possibly can. Yes, that means, even if it he has to ask out or buy out the final year of his deal with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Stewart has also had discussions about the possibility of returning the IRL someday. Despite his recent declaration that he feels that door is pretty much closed, especially since he doesn't want to just invade the IRL for the month of May every season to try and win his much desired Indianapolis 500 trophy.

So what does the future hold for Stewart? Some say he's at Gibbs until he retires. Others say he'll be leaving Gibbs, possibly as early as the end of this season, while still others say he'll stay to fulfill his contract and leave at the end of next season.

Continue reading "Smoke screen"

Randy Moss? Seriously?

By Dan Sipocz

Add Randy Moss to the list of NFL players, of active and inactive status, of active or inactive team owners in NASCAR. Moss made the announcement this week but said that he didn’t have anyone in place yet.

First off, woop-di-do, Randy! I can announce that I’m going to start a NASCAR team to run a partial schedule in the second half of the season just like you did and absolutely no one will pay attention. The fact that you’re a well-known athlete is the reason your announcement, which in itself was to announce you’ll be making more announcements in the future (hopefully), was considered news.

Now, I don’t have anything against you, Randy. You’re one hell of a wide-out. You’ve been one hell of one for years. I even was happy to see you get away from the Raiders when you landed with New England, but forgive me if I don’t take your intentions of running a Truck series team too seriously.

Continue reading "Randy Moss? Seriously?"

Rekindling the Rockingham flame

Andy Cagle

On March 2, 1985 I was pressed up against the chain link fence that separated the spectators from the 30 stock cars that were circling the North Carolina Motor Speedway in the Komfort Koach 200.

I was six years old and from that day forward, I was a race fan. Sure, NASCAR has worked hard over the past several years to push the limits, but I am still a fan. The moment those cars came to the green flag on that first lap a few feet from where I was standing ranks up there in the seminal moments of my life – right just behind the birth of my daughter and the moment I fell in love with the most amazing woman in the world.

Continue reading "Rekindling the Rockingham flame"

Consistent? Not so much

By Dan Sipocz

Well, so much for consistency. Carl Edwards loses 100 points and his crew chief for six weeks after Vegas when his car was found to be missing the oil lid. Then Ryan Newman’s car fails post-race inspection and he loses 25 points and his crew chief is placed on probation until the end of the season.

Something’s not right here.

I don’t care that comparing these two penalties is like comparing apples to oranges because there isn’t any consistency here from NASCAR. Newman’s car was found to be too high in the right rear, indicating that the team made some sort of adjustments to the car to gain an illegal advantage.

For the record, typically when a car is found to be too high in the right rear, as in the case of Newman’s car after the race at Texas, it means the car had more down force. The extra down force really could have made a huge difference at a track like Texas where even the draft comes into play just the slightest bit (the trucks in the 90s used to have drafting packs to get around the track during races).

Continue reading "Consistent? Not so much"

Starting silly season

By Dan Sipocz

    Petty Enterprises will announce that Chad McCumbie is now out of the 45 and Cole Trickle is in.

    That’s the story I was going to run with April 1. I decided against that however. I figured that the story wouldn’t be very effective with everyone expecting it Tuesday. Besides, why waste space here in the Infield with a made-up story when we can talk racing?

Continue reading "Starting silly season"

Saluting Kyle

By Dan Sipocz

Instead of doing my typical thing this time here at the Infield, I’m going to take the time to share a story about one of the nicest guys in the entire garage area. Granted everyone knows what kind of person Kyle Petty is, but this story precedes much of his fan fare for being extremely fan friendly and the tragic loss of Adam.

It begins in the mid 1990s. I was roughly 10 years old at the time and a Dale Earnhardt fan. However, just before deciding on Earnhardt a couple years prior, I was a Richard and Kyle Petty fan. I assume I liked Kyle because of his black Mellow Yellow paint scheme. I still miss that paint scheme today, but that’s neither here nor there.

Kyle was campaigning for Felix Sabates (who would be later be nearly completely bought out by Chip Ganassi) in the Coors sponsored car.

In any event, Petty came to my hometown, to a Pontiac dealership to sign autographs one afternoon. So, being the race fans we were, my parents picked us up from school and we went down to the car dealership after a quick dinner.

Continue reading "Saluting Kyle"

Boxing Day

By Dan Sipocz

Michael Waltrip vs. Jack Roush, Robby Gordon vs. his sponsors, Roush vs. Toyota, and Johnny Benson’s Truck Series crew vs. Kyle Busch.

Yep, NASCAR must be at a short track once again and, boy, doesn’t this make things fun? There is passion again in NASCAR, although the Waltrip and Roush situation sounds fishy to me and blown way out of proportion.

Continue reading "Boxing Day"

Cup off, but racing still on

By Dan Sipocz

It may be an off weekend for the Cup guys, but that doesn’t mean the Cup guys won’t be in action. Several will, in fact, be spending their free time at Nashville doing what they love to do, racing.

While Nashville is a unique track for NASCAR, I find the racing, at times, unbearable to watch. I’ll give credit where credit is due, though. A superspeedway with a concrete surface is something special.

I don’t feel that the track configuration lends itself to the tremendous side-by-side action that every fan wants to see, but it does allow for the drivers to be in control.

Continue reading "Cup off, but racing still on"

All the rage?

By Dan Sipocz

Overboard? Tony Stewart go overboard on comments after a race? Nah! That could never happen, not after he’s mellowed out?

According to Jeff Gordon, Stewart did go overboard Sunday at Atlanta after finishing second. Stewart ripped Goodyear for the second time that weekend, talking about the tire company’s exit from the IRL, World of Outlaws and other forms of motorsports.

Yet here we are at Bristol with this still not a dead issue. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and now Dale Jarrett have spoken out about the tire compound used over the course of the weekend.

Continue reading "All the rage?"

Not staying in Vegas

By Dan Sipocz

What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas, just ask Carl Edwards. Edwards managed to win the wild 400-miler Sunday despite a pair of tires getting loose in his pit stall (one not the 99 teams fault). In the end, the win may not even matter though.

Edward’s car failed post-race inspection and the team will likely be penalized for the infraction. Sucks to be Edwards right about now. He will go from leading the championship standings to not leading them while heading into the track he got his first career win at, Atlanta.

Continue reading "Not staying in Vegas"