Turn 3

Quality drivers: Where to look

By Shirley Buttacavoli

Last night’s “Speed News” focused on “quality drivers” to fill the seats in Cup in 2007, so I started thinking who could fill which seat. (Didn’t Tagliani and Tracy remind you of Gordon and Kenseth?)

Mike Harper’s recent blog mentioned ARCA has “developmental drivers” that could be the up and coming stars of the Cup series. There’s no doubt that Cale Gale (love that name!) and Steve Wallace are part of NASCAR’s future. (How many more years before Matt Martin drives the 6?)

However, I don’t consider them as “quality drivers” to perform in Nextel Cup in 2007.

There are three semi-retired drivers that I consider “quality.”

There have been many rumors that Ward Burton will take over the 88 for Robert Yates Racing. He might not be wearing UPS brown, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him taking the 88 into “The Chase” within a year or two.

What if Yates put Ricky Rudd in the 38? Not only could RYR be in Victory Lane with Ward AND Ricky, but M&Ms would probably sell more product than they can produce.

Red Bull needs to sign Bill Elliott so they can get into the Daytona 500. We all know what a provisional is worth, and we know Awesome Bill is a winner.

I know I was criticized previously when I thought Cup owners should look at drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series, and I’m sure I will again. (You can give me all the stats you want, I’m looking at “quality.”)

I like Clint Bowyer, but I bet if RCR had Ron Hornaday in the 7, that team would be in “The Chase” as well. He is Mr. Re-start. (I know that doesn’t fill an empty seat, but I like Hornaday and Childress together.)

I’d love to see Michael Waltrip take his buddy from “Inside Winston Cup,” Johnny Benson, and give him the third ride at MWR. Johnny knows the mechanics of a race car, and that is something MWR could use on and off the track. Who knows, he might bring another champagne/pop corn trophy into the Speed set.

Can you imagine Mike Skinner in Evernham’s 19? Look out Kahne and Riggs! After all, Skinner was a teammate of Dale Earnhardt’s and could also turn out to be “the voice.”

I’ve got more, but I’ve given everyone more ammo than you need for a day or two. (Okay, Diane probably has more.) You can think positive or negative, but I believe these “vets’ deserve another opportunity in the Cup series. Like it or not, they were instrumental in developing NASCAR in the 70s and/or 80s. Let them get some of the big bucks Corporate America is willing to offer. And we might actually see some respectful bumper-to-bumper, fender-to-fender racing.

Hey, it’s only my opinion, and I’m sure you’ll give me yours!

Hallelujah! “Danica Mania” over

By Mike Harper

It amazes me how some stories get top priority while some stay under the radar screen. For example, for a few short seconds the world’s problems came to a halt this week as the news broke about IRL’s driver Danica Patrick.

Patrick decided to remain in the IRL and not move to NASCAR. When the decision was announced it took center stage during news alerts on the Fox News Channel and CNN.

"Danica Mania" spilled over a few weeks ago when her father made comments about his wishes to have his daughter in NASCAR. Once his comments were made, an all out media frenzy began and NASCAR along with some of their drivers jumped on board the bandwagon.

"If she was to come, it would be awesome for us -- and for her," said NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne. Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford said, "I feel like it says a lot about NASCAR's popularity if folks like Danica are coming, I think it's awesome," and NASCAR veteran Mark Martin added, "I think it would be great, absolutely fantastic. She is definitely a major, major, major draw."

Other NASCAR insiders agree with me that Patrick should not venture over to NASCAR. Rusty Wallace said, "She knows she would make a lot of money, but the NASCAR cars are so hard to figure out. With her talent level right now and understanding of NASCAR, she could not just jump in and go right after it." Erin Crocker, a female development driver for Evernham Motorsports said, "To jump right into Nextel Cup would be a mistake. Even drivers like Adrian Fernandez and Paul Tracy who have come from other series have run Busch races and struggled."

Even Patrick’s competitors from the IRL jumped in with their comments. One notable comment came from IRL driver Ed Carpenter when he said, "I mean, you know especially if you catch her at the right time of the month, she might be trading plenty of paint out there."

Ouch Ed!

I surely can see the appeal of having Patrick in NASCAR, but the move, would have been a career killer if she failed in NASCAR.

Sarah Fisher, another female driver who won most popular honors in the IRL during the 2001-2003 seasons, had the same decision to make about NASCAR that Patrick was contemplating. In this case, Fisher made the move to NASCAR and now race fans want to know where she is?

Fisher signed on as a Richard Childress Racing development driver in 2005 and currently she’s without a ride. In a May 2006 statement Fisher said, "We are still trying to put something together for the 2006 season. Sponsorship pitching has been really tough this year in the South and there are still some hopes out there. The main goal is to get in a car asap. As soon as I know anything, I will surely pass it on. I know some of the fans are upset that there is a lack of information right now, but I too am in the same situation and it has been frustration for all involved. Please understand that we are working really hard to make something happen and will be very happy to let everyone know as soon as we have something to release."

Rumors had Fisher back in the IRL racing at the July 30^th Michigan International Speedway event, but according to reports a deal couldn’t be put together in time.

In my opinion, if Fisher couldn’t find success in NASCAR, I’d be hard press to see Patrick succeed either. Maybe it’s just me, but I found Fisher to be more talented behind the wheel of a race car, while Patrick seems to enjoy the attention and money that the sport provides. Don’t get me wrong, Patrick can wheel an IRL car, so could Fisher. But a move to NASCAR would’ve iced Patrick’s career far beyond what Fisher has experienced.

You want me to say it? Fine!

I think Fisher is the better driver. There, I feel better!

It would be in the IRL’s best interest to bring Sarah Fisher back into the fold and instead of always highlighting Patrick’s fourth place finishes, lets see the best two female IRL drivers go at it on the track.

The battle of development drivers

By Mike Harper

Friday night at Gateway International Raceway should prove to be one of ARCA’s best events of the season. If you’re a NASCAR fan, I would recommend tuning in to watch the battle of development drivers.

Over the years NASCAR team owners have used the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series to develop young drivers. But due to increased costs and the difficulty in retaining sponsorships, owners have opted to utilize the ARCA RE/MAX Series this season as their playground to spot and develop upcoming drivers.

Friday night’s event isn’t short of young talent. Headlining the field and quickest in Friday afternoon’s practice is Steve Wallace. Wallace is the son of NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace and is part of his father’s development team.

Eighteen-year-old Brad Coleman enters the field coming off his first ARCA RE/MAX Series victory at Kentucky. Coleman is a development driver for Brewco Motorsports, the Busch Series team that fields cars for David Green, Greg Biffle and Scott Wimmer.

Evernham Motorsports development driver Erin Crocker is also racing at Gateway, along with Dodge Motorsports’ Chase Miller. Miller won the ARCA June event at Pocono.

Kevin Harvick’s Busch Series driver Burney Lamar is racing for Richard Childress Racing’s development driver program and Roush Racing has entered the event with their driver project, Pete Sheppard.

In the mix of these development programs, young ARCA regulars that are hungry to get noticed include, Damon Lusk, Blake Bjorklund, Dexter Bean, Ryan Foster and Justin Allgaier.

Returning to the ARCA RE/MAX Series for the Gateway event is Mark Martin’s Craftsman Truck Series tag-team partner David Ragan. Ragan finished 2^nd in this event last season behind Darrell Waltrip Motorsports’ current driver Joey Miller and just ahead of NASCAR star Ken Schrader.

Veteran ARCA driver Frank Kimmel is on his way to capturing his eighth ARCA RE/MAX Series championship after taking over the points lead a few weeks ago. While his season started off in a slump, he has regained his championship form and should be able to ride off to championship la-la land with only rival Bobby Gerhart trailing close behind. Gerhart held the points lead for the majority of the season, however finds himself 35 points behind Kimmel. Damon Lusk is third in the standings, 375 points behind leader Kimmel.

Joining female driver Erin Crocker in the field at Gateway is Amber Cope. Cope, the niece of NASCAR driver Derrick Cope, will wheel the No. 1 FansCrew.com Ford owned by Andy Belmont.

Catch all the action from Gateway, live at 9pm on SPEED.

Who is your pick to win?

A Cup with Zero Wins? It's Possible.

By Mark Young

With a week off there hasn't been much news to really sink my teeth into but I saw a statistic on-line this morning that really caught my eye.  Jeff Burton sits third in the NEXTEL Cup points standings and hasn't visited victory lane.  If you look at his finishes this year you will see that he hasn't finished worse than 15th since the first week of April.  With consistency like that, and taking into consideration that the points get "adjusted" at the beginning of the Chase, it is very possible we could have a NASCAR champion that didn't win a race during the season.

Now I am of the opinion that Jeff Burton will in fact win at least one race this year, he has been too good all year to not do it.  But I also believe that if he doesn't win a race and is lucky enough to win the title that nothing should be taken away from him or his team because of it.  I know my blog brother Keith is on the other side of the fence than me on this one, and I am sure several of you out there feel the same, but I believe that if you can go an entire season running as consistent as a team like Burton's has the title is well earned.

Now arguments could be made that a champion should be a winner, and in many ways I agree, but I also think a guy who wins four, five, or six times in a season but also has six DNF's isn't worthy of a title either.  NASCAR's point system has always awarded consistency and I believe that a driver who goes 36 races and has 25+ top ten finishes with over half of them in the top five deserves to be on a pedestal.

What are the chances someone like Burton could pull off the Championship without winning?  IF you look at history the answer is slim to none but history also shows that it can be done with just one win so why can't the same hold true for no victories?  Let me hear what you guys think.

The 'Voice of God'

By Shirley Buttacavoli

I’m sure everyone has seen and/or read about the “incident” between Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards that occurred during lap 32 at the Pocono 500 Sunday afternoon. And I’m sure everyone has their opinion. I won’t get into that subject. However, Tony made a statement Monday stating he took “100% responsibility.” I applaud him for doing so.

But what got me thinking about the “Voice of God” was the statement Tony made Sunday that things would be different if the #3 was “policing the garage area.”

Should a driver – even Dale Earnhardt – be the individual to police the garage?

For those that watched Inside Nextel Cup last night, you probably heard the conversation between Carl Edwards and his crew chief after he spun Tony on pit road and received his one lap penalty. I’m paraphrasing, but basically Carl was adamant that what he did was no worse than what Tony did. That all changed when Jack Roush got on the radio and told Carl to settle down. I think Carl’s last words were: “yes sir.”

But back to my question: if a driver should police the garage area. . .

Not too long ago, I believe it was Darrell Waltrip who made the statement that maybe the “Voice of God” needs to call drivers to calm them down and bring them back to reason. The “Voice of God” DW was referring to was Mr. Bill France, Jr. – NOT Brian – Bill. Do you not think that even a seasoned veteran would not stop and THINK about who was talking directly to them? He’d certainly get my attention.

I also remember a story about a conversation Mr. France and Dale had off the track. I’m sure Mr. Higgins or David Green could enlighten even further. But Dale wasn’t happy about something, and Mr. France reminded him of his yacht, his jet, his ranch, etc., and that it was because Dale was involved in NASCAR that he had these luxuries. Once again, Mr. France got his point across.

I believe if the “Voice of God” could have one-on-one conversations with drivers getting “out of control” on the track, that you might see a different demeanor from most, if not all of the drivers.

I wonder if Tony received a call from Mr. France if he would have ended his conversation with: “yes sir.”

And now is the time for everyone to correct any errors I may have made, and I thank you for doing so. The “Voice of God” doesn’t have my phone number, so I’m safe - until next week anyway - when I’m standing on the sacred ground of Daytona International Speedway!

Enjoy the weekend off!

Split-screen or not to split-screen?

By Mike Harper

That is the question.

In March 2005 ESPN impressed me. On an off weekend for the Nextel Cup Series, I tuned into ESPN to watch an IRL event and much to my surprise ESPN was utilizing a concept where they split the screen with live race coverage and commercials.

That week I wrote a column about how the NASCAR broadcasters should follow ESPN in developing the split-screen concept. In my opinion, it’s a brilliant incentive to keep the fans in front of the tube during commercials.

Earlier this year I interviewed ESPN's VP of Programming, Scott Guglielmino. I asked him if the split-screen concept would be implemented for NASCAR and he said, "We do not anticipate doing so."

In a column published this week in the Long Island Press, the split-screen topic was raised and now we find out that ESPN wants to use the concept, however NASCAR wants to kill it. According to Ramsey Poston, NASCAR’s managing director of corporate communications, NASCAR fans don’t benefit from watching an entire race live. "We’ve looked at a lot of options to enhance the fan/viewer experience but feel that a split-screen presentation of ads and racing serves neither the fan nor advertiser," he said.

What? Live racing doesn’t serve the fan?

Poston continued, "Our TV partners do an excellent job of immediately returning to significant track action when it happens during commercials. With replays and other technology, the networks make sure NASCAR fans get the best, most comprehensive race coverage anywhere."

How many times have fans missed a green-flag restart? How many times have fans missed a pass on the track or a wreck because they’re watching a commercial? And how many times are fans stuck watching promo ads for network television shows instead of actual paid ads?

More than a fan should!

In my opinion, this is a slap in the face. Regarding this topic, NASCAR is telling their fan base that the IRL fan deserves the split-screen concept, but NASCAR fans don’t. And revenue from ads mean more than providing live uninterrupted racing even though a network is willing to implement the concept for their viewers.

"We are engaging focus groups and other research in an effort to quantify the positive feedback we’ve received from people who’ve enjoyed the viewing experience," says an ABC/ESPN executive about the split-screen concept.

Hopefully the NASCAR fan base will speak out and ABC/ESPN will have success in convincing NASCAR that this concept is the way to go. Maybe it’s me, but I see the split-screen concept adding value to the NASCAR partnership with their advertisers. In this TIVO technology era, when people can fast-forward through commercials, I’d think NASCAR would see this as an opportunity to increase revenue by providing more live race coverage while promoting advertisers. Am I wrong?

Until the time comes when the split-screen is utilized, I’ll continue to use my TIVO in the way it was meant to be used – record, pause and fast forward!

Something Isn't Right.

By Mark Young

Yesterday Elliott Sadler announced that he would be leaving his #38 Robert Yates Racing ride at the end of the year.  This follows Dale Jarrett's earlier announcement that he would be leaving RYR to drive a Toyota next year for Michael Waltrip in 2007.  To me this is one of the biggest travesties in the history of NASCAR outside of the drivers who have perished while driving a stock car.

Robert Yates has been a mainstay in NASCAR for around twenty years and has quite a history within the sport.  He has had great drivers behind the wheel of his race cars, Davie Allison, Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, and Elliott Sadler who have all won races at stock car racing's highest level.  Now in a matter of a month or two the future of his organization is in a hole so deep that they can't see the light.

Something must be terribly wrong within the organization for both drivers to leave in the same year.  Granted the performance coming out of the Yates stables is far from stellar but he has been working feverishly to regain the competitive edge he once had.  There was a time where every competitor feared the Yates cars as they had the most powerful engines in the series under their hood.  But Jack Roush weaseled his way into that situation and what advantage Yates' teams held over the field had been neutralized.  This "cooperative" was processed under the smiling faces of the Ford people in Detroit as they knew it would help get the blue ovals into victory lane but I don't think any of them had a single ounce of concern as to what this would do to Yates' teams.

He must have been doing something right to keep his primary sponsors as long as he has.  Granted the drivers who represent his team and those sponsors do a great job representing their products, but in today's economic climate of racing where some cars feature up to four different primary sponsors during the year Yates was able to do his deal with the three same companies on the hood.

I am deeply sickened by the turn of events Yates is facing as many teams align themselves for 2007.  Whether these events are directly or indirectly pointed at Robert something is terribly wrong with this picture.  Robert is in the back of the crowd on Halloween night holding an empty sack while everyone else has theirs filled with treats.  Can Robert manage to recover from this and sign at least one quality driver and primary sponsor for next year?  This is one NASCAR racing fan that hopes he does and can turn this thing around.

Green-white-checker rule is 'yellow'

By DAVID GREEN

Green-white-checker has me seeing red -- again. This ludicrous rule, instituted as a method of pandering to spoiled fans demanding to be "entertained," has shown its most ridiculous flaws in the past two races.

Races at Chicagoland last week and New Hampshire yesterday have caused an inordinate shakeup in the Nextel Cup driver points standings, much of the instability due to the dumb and wrong-headed rule designed to help ensure finishes under competitive circumstances.

David Poole correctly points out in his rear-view mirror piece that the rule penalizes all teams equally, and the ones that gamble on fuel mileage take that gamble knowingly. My complaint is not in defense of any specific victim of such a gamble, but in criticism of the policy that adds that wrinkle to the overall picture.

The rule was adopted after NASCAR had to scrutinize its scoring loop reports, or review video tapes, or make a hurried phone call to Miss Cleo or somebody, to decide whether Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr. happened to be ahead at the moment the caution flag flew near the end of a Talladega race a couple of years ago.

Gordon, it was decided, was the leader -- and, consequently, the winner as the race ended under yellow-flag conditions. That yielded a barrage of garbage on Gordon's car, a barrage of criticism against NASCAR for "cheating" its fans out of the excitement of a green-flag finish, and the cowardly decision to cave in to the criticism.

This decision did not emerge from a vacuum. NASCAR had pointed itself down this road as early as 1996, when it took the unprecedented step of throwing the red flag just a few laps before the end of a race at Richmond, Va., for no other reason than to try to avoid a finish under caution. Thereafter, the chance of recurrence of such a travesty became, as Poole would call it, "part of the game."

That NASCAR has taken some of the whimsy out of the rule by clarifying when and how it will either stop competition or add extra laps is akin to the notion of polishing a piece of excrement. A bad rule is a bad rule, whether it's vague or clear.

The fateful 1996 precedent surely altered the outcome of the race, but did not yield the desired result; a subsequent incident merely allowed the yellow and checkered flags to wave over a different driver. Use of the rule last week at Chicagoland and again yesterday at New Hampshire accomplished nothing except adding laps that were largely inconsequential with regard to deciding who won or even who deserved to win, but which had radical effects on the makeup of the championship standings.

Again, I'm not rallying to the defense of any driver who lost ground nor criticizing any who leapfrogged forward in the standings. I'm merely suggesting that such movements unfairly skew the points standings in an environment in which the importance of the points has been magnified.

The green-white-checkered rule does not add to the value of the entertainment provided to the race fan. Most finishes under green as much less dramatic (and, it would seem, more entertaining) than races such as Richard Petty's 1984 Firecracker 400 win over Cale Yarborough or other races in which the green flag was not out when the predetermined distance was completed.

Last week at Joliet and especially yesterday at New Hampshire, the stupid rule helped NASCAR stage a Keystone Kops-style finish to a race that was already bizarre enough.

Clean Air

By Jason Jarrett

I usually keep things on the lighter side and definitely on the "pc" side. Billy Venturini always called me, Mr. PC. I also know no one wants to hear the two words at the top of the page but I think that clean air on the front of these race cars is still having a huge impact. I try to think that I am pretty observant when I see what is happening on the track and the issue of clean air has caught my attention for the past couple of weeks. I have not heard many drivers complain about it lately but to me the "clean air" issues are still very important. Maybe everyone is just dealing with it because they no that the "car of tomorrow" is coming soon. The best answer I have is that the teams know the problem will always exist so they are just continuously working to make it better for their car and driver.

There have been some observations that I have made over the last few races. In the Busch race last week at Chicago I noticed that when Mears got out front, his car came to life. I was glad to see him make it to victory lane. His crew made a good call and they made the most of it. I was spotting for David Green and I noticed how hard it was in the "dirty air" or in traffic for him and several others to make passes. A lot of times he could run up to the car in front of him but to get by them he had to hunt some clean air by trying the top of the track or by running the opposite lane of the car in front of him. He had a tough day but they never gave up and raced as hard as they could all day long. Kurt Busch was strong all day in the Busch race as well but I think getting back in traffic hurt the handling of his car. Carl Edwards might have thrown my theory out the window in a few laps because he was able to work the traffic and almost made it back to Mears.

Sunday, during the Cup race at Chicago, dad was a good example of clean air helping a car and dirty air hurting a car. When he was in the back of the pack he could not make much progress but there was a time when he was one of the first laps down cars that was lined up on the inside. On one of the restarts he was able to fall in line around sixth or seventh. He was able to stay there for a while. Again, this is all just my opinion and observations, but I think the clean air on the front of the car helped him be able to stay up there and have a shot at being the "lucky dog." Unfortunately, he lost third gear and was never able to make up a lap.

This Sunday morning, as I sit waiting on race time, the clean air thoughts just keep popping into my mind. Yesterday, in the Busch Series race, I spotted for Green again. He went down a lap early but was in contention to get the "free pass" if the caution would fly at the right time. When he could line up towards the front and fall in line up there he could stay up around the top ten but when he would fall back into traffic the car looked totally different. He had another rough day at Loudon. The car lost power with about 20 laps to go and he lost several spots that he had fought hard all day to keep. To contradict my thinking a little bit, Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer were able to work traffic, and the clean air issue did not seem to affect them as bad.

I guess I will see if the same issues come into effect today in the Cup race here at Loudon. There will always be teams that can figure out the issues they are dealing with better than others but I still think that clean and dirty air are affecting many cars out there. Something else that helps resolve this issue is how well your team gets you off of pit road. There may be larger issues to worry about but this has been something I have been thinking about for a few weeks and thought I would see what your thoughts were on clean air.

These posts are just my thoughts and opinions. This is the Mr. PC coming out in me!

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Run Candyman, run!

By Mike Harper

Its being reported that Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 38 Ford for Robert Yates Racing has until Saturday to notify Yates of his 2007 plans. Jim Utter is reporting that Sadler is under no deadline to provide an answer.

Sadler could stay with Yates or decide to leave for another team. Unlike other silly seasons from the past, Sadler has many options in the Cup garage and my guess is he’ll leave RYR for a more competitive team.

If I were walking in Sadler’s shoes, I’d look at two separate issues that ultimately help me make the decision to leave RYR. First, Dale Jarrett’s departure to another race team is a red flag to me. In most cases, drivers leave a race team for one of two reasons - to chase a better opportunity or to leave a team that’s not competitive.

When Jarrett moved to RYR in 1995 from Joe Gibbs Racing, it was for a better opportunity. His decision to leave JGR paid off and Jarrett won a championship in 1999. Recently, Jarrett surprised the NASCAR community and announced that he was leaving RYR at the end of this season for Michael Waltrip Racing. I would suggest that Jarrett isn’t leaving RYR for a better opportunity, but because his current team isn’t competitive. In my opinion, Jarrett’s decision to leave will play a part in Sadler’s decision to leave, if he decides to go in that direction.

In addition to Jarrett leaving, RYR is now looking to their rival Roush Racing to help fix some of the issues. Last weekend at Chicagoland, Sadler drove a chassis prepared by Roush Racing. Hoping to realize success by using the Roush chassis, at the end of the day Sadler and the No. 38 team finished a disappointing 29^th.

It’s not looking good for the folks at RYR and the big question that’s bouncing in my head is does Sadler have the patience to stay at RYR? Basically if he stays, he’ll keep a friend in Yates and he’ll continue to drive in circles until RYR can put together a competitive program.

Normally for a racer, patience doesn’t win races. They drive to win the trophy. If your team isn’t giving you the opportunity to win races by keeping you up front, your patience will wear thin. Just ask Dale Jarrett.