The Infield

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.

In any event, NASCAR should just put up a boxing ring and let all these guys settle their differences with boxing gloves as so many others before me have suggested. If they want to fight, lets make it relatively safe, and not on the race track or pit road where people can get hurt. It’d be great to have a full card of boxing matches ... it could NASCAR Boxing Day.

Heck, then you have the TV networks tape the fights and show them during rain delays. It’s instant rain-delay classic filler material.

I also want to commend Kyle Busch for his slightly more mature behavior at the conclusion of the Truck race Saturday at Martinsville. He didn’t do anything when confronted by the entire crew of Benson’s team.

That situation could have been a lot worse and Busch didn’t do anything to escalate the situation. Kudos to him for doing so.

That’s all folks, but check back soon as I have a longer post forth-coming. It’s a salute to Kyle Petty as I believe he may be winding down his career this year.

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.

Drivers can go from the back to the front. Drivers are able to make up or give up ground based on how they run around the track.

For that reason, the developers of Nashville should get their credit. No offense, but I don’t find the racing all that exciting at Nashville.

I’ll acknowledge that the track has had a few exciting finishes, but finishes are not indicative of the type of racing you get. The racing we get there is strung out, two-lane racing in which the car on the bottom gets sucked around by the car or truck on top.

The two best finishes at the track came about from misfortune. A multicar incident on the final lap, going into Turn 3 cleared the way for Michael Waltrip to come from something ridiculous like fifth to win just as they froze the field.

The other was either Todd Bodine or Mike Skinner losing a tire and Johnny Benson going on to take the win (if memory serves me correctly, which in this care, I very well may be wrong, so feel free to call me on it if I am wrong).

So while the Cup guys who are running this weekend for fun and the win, we’re sitting and watching less than enthusiastic racing. It’s not anyone’s fault, it’s just the nature of the beast at Nashville. I, for one, am happy there is racing this weekend, but forgive me for looking forward to Martinsville next week.

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.

That’s right, Dale Jarrett has spoken up.

In an era in which drivers aren’t allowed to criticize NASCAR openly, suddenly it’s all the rage. Prior to the tire episode, it was Robby Gordon fighting back against his Daytona penalty (and rightfully so in his case).

There was also Michael Waltrip last year wanting changes to qualifying and Rusty Wallace was on NASCAR about the point fund money being redistributed to charity instead of going back to the teams at the end of the season. There was also Gordon at Vegas about the hit he took.

All I can say is ITS ABOUT TIME. It’s about time people are finally feeling able to speak their mind and not fear being hit with fines by NASCAR.

Granted, Stewart has always spoken his mind, but in recent years it seemed to have been limited and less often than in the past.

So, did Stewart go overboard? No. Just about everyone after that race was frustrated and angry with the tire they had to run on. I’m sure I’d be upset, too, if the tire was so hard that after running 50 laps on it and the molding marks could still be seen. Tell me, does that even classify as wearing?

Sure, the speed and handling are gone, but you can still see the marks from when the tire was created!

Could Stewart have been more tactful in how he spoke his opinion? Most definitely, but come on, this is Stewart. Since when did he do anything at half-speed?

Moral of the story, drivers speaking out seems to be all the rage and I couldn’t be happier. I don’t recall a time this decade that more drivers have been able to speak out freely and not being punished or feeling like they’d be punished by NASCAR.

I don’t think this has happened since the pillow fight in the mid- and late '90s over who had the rules advantage and who should get a quarter inch kick out on the nose.

Congrats NASCAR, this is a step in the right direction.

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.

While the point loss would hurt, what could prove to be more costly is the loss of crew chief Bob Osborne if he is suspended. Edwards and Osborne have quite the chemistry together and losing him could derail Edwards’ hot start to the season.

Right now Edwards has to be the scariest driver on the circuit. He’s on a roll, he overcame pit road problems last week and still won, and has the backing from Roush Fenway, an organization that has been very strong in the early going. In fact, Roush Fenway has been strong enough out of the gate to draw comparisons to Hendrick Motorsports from a year ago.

The only way to find out for sure is to sit back and watch, but mark my words, what happened in Vegas with the 99 team won’t stay in Vegas. This could drag on for a while, if the Roush Fenway guys decide to appeal; see Robby Gordon’s case.

Further clouding the picture is the fact that the appeal from Rusty Wallace’s Nationwide team was heard and the Commission overturned it. Granted the lid was only loose on the Wallace entry while the lid was completely off in the 99’s case, but the infractions were similar.

In the end, this won’t stay in Vegas and could very well affect Edwards position in the Chase, if he makes the Chase.