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Jeff Gordon Is Still King

By Mark Young

The Hendrick Motorsports dominance continues after Jeff Gordon won his second consecutive race this weekend, and because of that I cannot deny him a second consecutive week on the throne.  Just as at Phoenix, his win was a monumental one but this time it puts him alone in 6th place with 77 career victories.  With a 202 point lead after just nine races Jeff and his team are dominating the series and even if he has a slump in the coming months I still say he is hands down the favorite to win the Cup.

Jeff is on a tear right now that reminds me of the year he won 13 races with Ray Evernham on the pit box, the difference then was that I was upset about it.  Now I respect him and everything his team is doing.  It is really too bad that some of these people who claim to be race fans have to tarnish the image of it all by once again pelting Gordon with beer cans.  I was happy to see however that several people were being ushered out of the track in handcuffs.

What are the odds that I could be writing about Jeff on next Monday?  I say they are pretty good considering he is so hot right now and seems to have a good handle on the COT.  Hate to say it gang, get used to reading about Jeff on Monday mornings because this dude is on a roll.  In fact I would not hesitate to say that he could win the next two races.

That's what I think, what say you?

Stewart retreats, but skepticism remains

By DAVID GREEN

Last night at Paducah International Raceway, the dirt track in western Kentucky in which three Nextel Cup drivers share ownership, there was a sequence of spins and crashes as drivers attempted to get one of the division features started. "Let's not have too many debris caution flags, now," the track announcer intoned.

The reference was obvious. Tony Stewart is one of the partners in the PIR ownership, and Stewart, earlier in the day, had been called on the carpet because of his criticism of NASCAR.

The summation of what Stewart said, how NASCAR responded to it, and Stewart's retreat from his strident remarks leaves one thing unchanged -- there is a healthy skepticism about NASCAR and its conduct of racing.

Basically, NASCAR's leadership believes there's no place in their sport anymore for subtleties. Everything has to be over-the-top. NASCAR is hardly alone in that attitude. It is pervasive in our society today. It may seem ironic that sanctioning body officials have stomped hard on their least-subtle, most over-the-top competitor, but of course they squashed him because he wasn't singing the company tune, not because he didn't sing loudly enough.

Recently, I wrote in a response to another blogger's post that sagging attendance and TV ratings for NASCAR events is due to rising costs of attending races and overexposure of the product. I think there's another factor, not that it has not been invisible to observers of the sport -- namely, that NASCAR's policies are turning off many long-time fans, who feel racing ought to be conducted with more consistency and common sense than we often see in stock car racing's major league.

It's fairly well accepted, if not officially acknowledged, that modifications such as the green-white-checker rule were adopted as a sop to the noisy segment of the fan population who screamed they had been cheated any time a race reached its conclusion under yellow-flag conditions.

This notion and NASCAR's pandering to it are unprecedented in legitimate sport. It is tantamount to adjusting the score in a football, baseball or basketball game in order to prevent a blowout and instead set the stage for a hail-Mary pass, walk-off home run, or buzzer-beating shot in every game.

And anyone is honestly surprised when the organization that conducts itself by such guiding policies is compared to professional wrestling?

If NASCAR believes this is the way it should go, I just wish it would stop being coy and half-hearted about it. Let's just take it to the "X-treme" -- call a halt to every race with 10 or so laps to go, allow everybody to pit and make any modifications they may wish to make to their cars. Let's make it a 30-minute intermission, to give the TV networks time to hammer viewers with commercials.

Then, let's line the field up in double-file order, based on the positions in which they were running when we reached the 10-to-go mark; give out five or six Lucky Dog awards to fan favorites who may have fallen from contention; and have a sprint to the finish.

To keep things interesting, we could do this at intervals throughout the race, setting up a sequence of adrenalin-stimulating "battles" that would be riveting even to attention-deficit-disorder-afflicted "fans" who find nothing entertaining in old-fashioned duels of opportunity and varied strategic approaches to a long-distance auto race, who cannot accept that one guy sometimes gets it just right and whips the field soundly. That, they will assure you in no uncertain terms, is NOT what they pay good money to see.

If you think we are all that far from just such a scenario right now, you're not paying attention very well.

If that is pleasing to the masses, it will be a rousing success. Few traditional race fans will know about it, and most of them won't care any more than NASCAR will miss them.

We'll find ourselves more and more immersed in local short-track action, where the officiating is more consistent and makes better sense, and where even the track announcer shuns political correctness.

Tony is right and wrong!

By Mike Harper

Where there’s "Smoke," there’s fire.

Two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion Tony Stewart is more than just your typical race car driver, he’s a track promoter, he’s a radio show host and he represents a major corporation.

Stewart gets paid very well to perform the duties of a NASCAR driver including being the face of NASCAR and the sponsors he represents. That’s a fact and it goes with the job.

On Stewart’s Tuesday radio show he said, "I guess NASCAR thinks 'Hey, wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it's going to work in racing, too,' " he said. "I can't understand how long the fans are going to let NASCAR treat them like they're stupid before the fans finally turn on NASCAR. I don't know that they've run a fair race all year."

To sum up his comments, Stewart thinks NASCAR is throwing caution flags to determine the outcome of races. While I have questioned NASCAR on this very topic in the past and I believe Stewart is correct and has the right to question it as well, in my opinion, Stewart was wrong to go on his radio show and make these kind of accusations.

Tony Stewart is a competitor racing in the very sport he’s accused of staging finishes. It’s the media’s responsibility to step up and report on whether or not the sport is staged, not Stewart’s. In my eyes, if Stewart had a problem with NASCAR because he believes the races are fixed due to bogus cautions, he should have called a meeting with Brian France and Mike Helton and shared his feelings with them, behind closed doors. Stewart going on the airwaves and criticizing NASCAR in this fashion was unprofessional and not well thought out. Why? Well, because his accusations could hurt the integrity of the sport.

You may disagree, but when an opinion columnist or radio show host goes out and writes positive or negative things about NASCAR, the readers or listeners can choose to agree or disagree with the opinion given. But when a driver, owner or team member criticizes the very sport they’re involved in such as Stewart did, people take it as truth.

For example, if a food critic goes into a restaurant and writes about a bad dish, people can choose to believe it or go try it out for themselves. But if a restaurant worker claims in public that the chef doesn’t wash his or her hands after going to the rest room before they cook the meals – folks will without a doubt stay away and not eat there.

This is why other professional sports penalize and fine players and coaches for criticizing the sport they play in or the officials and referees. There’s an internal process to follow when a player has an issue – and it should be followed.

Stewart can call out a fellow competitor, he can skip the media sessions and he can even take verbal jabs at Darrell Waltrip for all I care. But biting the hand that feeds you because of personal gain, frustration or just because, was the wrong way to handle the issue.

I like NASCAR’s response on this one, "There are thousands of talented race drivers out there who would consider it an honor to compete in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series."

This is true.

Just Shut Up With Earnhardt vs. Gordon

By Mark Young

Dale Earnhardt is my hero.  I loved his tenacity, his whatever it took to win attitude, and not until after he died did I learn to love his big heart.  I have embroidered his number on my shoulder forever, named a dog after him, and patterned my professional focus after him.  Hell subliminally I named my only daughter after his Taylor Nicole.  I didn't agree with everything he did, like wrecking LaBonte to win at Bristol, or some of the other things I have heard he did off the track that weren't "politically correct", but then again we are all human.  With that in mind I also loved to see Jeff Gordon do poorly, he was Dale's alter-ego with his "aw shucks" attitude and, at times, his perceived fake exuberance. But Jeff dealt with sub-par performances in the post-Evernham era to persevere and show he has what it takes to win in NASCAR.  I don't know a single person who claimed to be an Earnhardt fan to root for Gordon, it was considered blasphemy, BUT I am going to set things straight, to all of you people out there bitching and complaining about Jeff doing a tribute lap after winning and tying Dale for 76 wins with a #3 flag victory lap, I have one thing to say.....JUST SHUT UP!!!

U WANT SOME?  I DARE YOU!

Any person who can win 76 races in NASCAR's modern era where the level of competition, all be it massaged to some extents, that is much more an equal level of competition than it was in the days of Petty, Yarborough, Pearson, and Allison deserves every ounce of credit they have earned.  Any 3-time winner of the Daytona 500 and 4-time NASCAR Champion has deserved it, deal with it.

Last Saturday night Jeff Gordon won a race at a track he has never won at before, there are now only two yet to conquer.  He also tied Dale Earnhardt for 76 total wins, more than twice that of the next active driver (Mark Martin with 35).  Yet people were stupid enough to throw beer cans at him on his victory lap.  How many of these people claim to be racing fans?  Did people throw beer at Cal Ripken, Pete Rose, or Walter Payton when they broke prestigious records?  If they did they are just as ignorant as the ones who threw stuff at Jeff.

What people don't understand is that Dale never had a real beef with Jeff that I am aware of.  Did he ever say anything negative to the press about him?  I dare you to show me.  I sat on Monday morning at work listening to Sirius radio and TR.com's own David Poole's show listening to people complain that Jeff disrespected Dale by doing that lap and had to turn it off.  GROW UP!! You are not real racing fans.  Jeff knows his NASCAR history and what it means to tie Dale.  Did any of you see Junior in victory lane congratulating Jeff?  Did any of you hear Junior on his radio saying it was "cool"?  You were probably too busy being ignorant and childish.

This is the second time in my life I can honestly say I am embarrassed to admit that I am a fan of Dale Earnhardt.  The worst part about this instance is that this time Dale had nothing to do with it.  Thanks a lot for ruining a great piece of racing history.

King Of The Mountain; Jeff Gordon

By Mark Young

What a good race on Saturday.  Though there are many people who disagree with me, the COT did well on it's first large track race.  3-wide and 4-wide at Phoenix is a first in my memory bank.  Jeff Gordon won for the first time ever at PIR and in doing so tied Dale Earnhardt for 76 career victories.  As a tribute to Dale Jeff capped the night off with a victory lap holding a #3 flag, a classy act if you ask me.  With all of that in mind I must decree that Jeff Gordon is KOTM this week.

What do you think?

It's a privilege to blog about Kyle Busch...

By DAVID GREEN

Kyle Busch got a pretty good working-over in Mark Young's post this week, but that doesn't mean we can't pick on Shrub again today, does it? I'm referring, of course, to Kyle's sarcastic comment about feeling "privileged to be out there on the same track as Ryan Newman" after last night's tangle with Newman.

Wonder if Dale Jr. had similar feelings about six days earlier after the incident involving the No. 8 and No. 5 cars at Texas?

We all know Kyle is an outspoken young man. That shtick worked pretty darned well for a young charger named Waltrip about a quarter-century ago, and quite possibly Busch has driving talent that's in a class with what the Waltrip guy proved to have.

We also know that a good many of our blogging family are on record as favoring outspoken drivers, in comparison to bland, politically correct ones.

But is there not something to be said for just a little bit of restraint sometimes?

I mean, after all, Busch hung his right rear on Newman’s left front and then bought the wall. That was hardly the first time in racing history such a thing had happened.

Should Newman have slowed down and given Busch the spot? Well, in retrospect – heck yeah. The wreck ruined Newman’s car, too, remember. But neither driver had the benefit of retrospect. It happened in a split second. From this perspective, regardless of whether it turned out to be right or wrong, a misjudgment or a miscalculation, Newman was under no obligation to give Busch anything. And, therefore, he was not a legitimate target for a sarcastic remark.

Even if Newman did something stupid or reckless – well, doesn’t that just make him a little bit like Busch on Saturday at Texas?

It’s hard to avoid comparing what Junior said (and did) after the Texas incident. Sooner or later, chronological age notwithstanding, Busch is going to be labeled a jerk, rather than given a pass as someone who is showing his lack of maturity.

Make a NASCAR Commercial

By Keith Ott

  Okay, we put up with a lot during commercials.  Both, crappy ones and good ones played ad nauseum.  LOL, that’s kind of funny.  “Ad Nauseum,” means to the point of disgust…So, we have “AD's” nauseum, get it?  Never mind…LOL.  Since, they, the talented people who design these items, seem to be stuck in a creative funk.  I thought we might be able to give them a hand.  Keep it clean.  And, make it work for both the driver and his sponsor.

Here’s Mine…For Kurt Busch…

This is Phoenix………………………

Scene one: Kurt driving hard…Sheriff Arpaio on the backstretch radar gun extended.

-add radar sign with high numbers

-add three chase cars lights flashing

Scene two: Chase cars pursue, sirens blaring. Holding Deputy hats on heads going 180mph.  Weapons, bouncing in the cockpit.  They close and spot the Maricopa Deputy decal on the #2.

-add mike bouncing and finally grabbed as they inform the sheriff of the decal

Scene three:  Sheriff Joe gives them a big 10-4 and says, “Let him go boys.  That Miller-Lite #2 is on Official Police business.”

Final Scene:  Sheriff Joe and Kurt kicked back on a rustic porch watching an AZ sunset

-add frosty Lites and coyotes howl…

And how creative are you?

Junior Did What? Why?

By Mark Young

WOW what a weekend in Texas!!  Tornadoes, loud mouths, cry-babies, wrecks,thrilling victories, and a driver finishing the race in a different car made for a lot to talk about on Monday at the water cooler.  Jimmie Spencer was my leading candidate to Just Shut Up after hearing him rant about stuff that he should stay out of.  Then Tony Stewart showed us that it's all take and no give in his world, I reserve comment on that for a rainy day because this won't be his last rant.  Jeff Burton pulled off a great victory over Matt Kenseth and made all of us old-school racers smile because it was so cleanly done.  But the thing that has everyone talking is Junior finishing the race in the very car that knocked him out.

U WANT SOME?

By now we all know that Kyle Busch, whether he could see it or not, wrecked Dale Junior when Stewart spun.  I will not debate if he could have lifted or not because I don't drive cars at 180+ mph.  What I want to talk about, and hear from you is what you think about Junior getting into the #5 when Kyle was nowhere to be found.

I will start things off by giving you my two-cents-worth.  Junior said it was an old-school gentlemanly thing to do, OK I can go along with that.  He was also quoted as saying that he couldn't pass up a chance to drive a car other than a DEI car, again I can't deny that, but I think there was subliminal things behind it.

1. We all know about the contract talks between him and DEI.  Will he stay or will he go?  I think he got into that car to defy DEI and make a point that he can get into any owner's car at any time he wants.  Call it a job interview?  Call it NASCAR's version of Monster.com?

2. Kyle Busch wrecked by hitting Junior who was slowing down to avoid a wreck, and upon looking at the car either thought it was totaled or someone told him it was so he went home.  The team got it ready to run and upon not finding Kyle asked Junior.  Surely Junior (in my opinion) used this as a chance to get a shot at Kyle.  "You wrecked me and left the track?  I will gladly finish the race in your car."

Possibly I am way off base here but Junior created a stir, what do you think?

Random Race Thoughts

By Keith Ott

Chevy’s Z07 engine:  If it’s based on the Corvette Z06…watch out Ford etc.  The Z06 (LS7) engine has 505 horsepower / 475 lb.-ft. torque in a car you can buy in a showroom (the pacecar had one in it).  It is nothing like any 350ci engine ever built.  Now, beef it up and let the NASCAR experts tweak it and you have a monster.  I see complaints from the other makes coming.  But, that’s fine with me.  We haven’t had anything to argue about except the COT for a bit now. 

Harvick: “Where for art thou, Kevin?”  A terrific start has turned into a ho-hum season.  Burton is now carrying the RCR banner.  And, what a finish he engineered at Texas.  Pick it up, son.  Or, you’ll be outside looking in during “El Chase-o.”

The COT should have been the COT (Car of Today) on Sunday.  Because this is the track that NASCAR should have chosen for its debut.  This is where I want to see it prove itself. 

  Jr‘s bad luck continues.  In the end it was just a racin’ thing.  Stewart got a bit aggressive (there’s a news item, NOT!) and lost the car.  I was hoping for a “Days of Thunder” outcome.  But, alas, there was no stunning exit from the cloud Tony laid down saving his car.  Ironically, Jr took over the #5 car when Kyle left the track.  If, we’d been at Vegas, I would have been betting that the #5 hadn’t been cheered so loudly in a long time.  At least not since the great Terry Labonte hung up his shoes.

TV Stuff: The “Pointy thingy” is a wonderful tool when used properly and sparingly.  Sometimes cars are hard to pick out and it helps.  However, we’re not idiots.  Point the cars out and step away from the pointy thingy.  We can follow the action without the distraction of multiple “PT’s” crisscrossing the viewing area.  We’re watching a race, not evaluating your graphic designers.  And, never ever do the “PT” flashing on and off during a field summary again.  It looked like some angry alien was beaming lasers at the cars…Nip it…Nip it in the bud!  You can also can the Fox3D.  It still looks like a video game.  Keep your money and invest in more debris cams.  This brings me to my favorite TV quote, of the day, “Debris, if we see it, you’ll see it.”  Maybe they actually do listen to us once in a while.  Or, maybe they got tired of taking the hits for NASCAR’s infamous mystery cautions.

Finally: A word of advice to Mikey.  Phoenix is in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s territory.    If you hit anything off the track, you best let him know right away.  I don’t think he has a reputation for patience.

King Of The Mountain; Jeff Burton

By Mark Young

Wow what a race yesterday!!!  There are more story lines to talk about than that soap opera following the unfortunate passing of Anna Nicole Smith.  Smoke vs. Montoya and Junior driving the #5 are the two that are going to get the most attention.  However we have to give credit where credit is due and therefore I decree to all the blog-heads that Jeff Burton should be King Of The Mountain this week.

For all those fans who have been screaming about how Jeff Burton should have wrecked people to get a win this goes to show you that what comes around goes around.  Burton persevered, hung in there, and dug his way to the front late in the race and won in thrilling fashion.  HE raced smart and he raced clean and was rewarded with a victory.

Anyone who doesn't believe that the #31 car is a legitimate threat to win the NEXTEL Cup should think again, those guys are running strong and running smart.  In closing, who thought that paint scheme he drove yesterday was reminiscent of the Exide days?  That car was sharp!!

That's what I think, what say you?