Turn 3

Reasons to give thanks

By DAVID GREEN

Besides all the usual reasons all of us should remember this holiday, let's consider the people of Cabarrus County, N.C., and whether they should be thankful today for the confirmation that Bruton Smith will not abandon one of NASCAR's most historic tracks, as he had threatened to do.

The dispute was over power -- specifically, whether Smith has the clout to do as he pleases with the property on which Lowe's (formerly Charlotte) Motor Speedway is located.

More specifically, it was about whether Smith could build a drag strip. There isn't much question that, if he chose to do so, he could shut down the track he built in 1960, lost to bankruptcy, then regained and turned into the showplace of American automobile racing. He could build a replacement track somewhere else and leave LMS sitting idle, as he has done with two other tracks he owns in North Carolina, or he could raze it and parcel it out to anybody who might be interested in buying it.

When Smith started work on the drag strip, some in the surrounding area complained. Drag racing, they said, would add to the burden of noise pollution, traffic problems and other inconveniences they put up with each year.

Unless the deeds to their property were recorded prior to around 1959, I have very little sympathy for the complainers. It isn't as if the existing facility were ever comparable to a CIA operation; there was widespread knowledge of its existence and the specific nature of the activities conducted there.

Their complaints are about as justified as the guy who buys or builds a house at the end of a runway, and then gripes about airplane noise.

I have a personal prejudice in matters such as this one. The dirt track where I began both my motorsports journalism career and my hobby of driving race cars fell victim to complaints about noise, dust and traffic a long time ago. It isn't as if that track had been built in a subdivision; most of the residential dwellings came after the track was already there.

Now, houses sit on the spot where the track used to be.

As for the whiners in Cabarrus County, it would've served them right if Smith had shut down the track and cut off the tax revenue it generates. We could have seen how the homeowners reacted to a fat increase in their property taxes, in comparison to their aggravation with the noise from a racing facility that was there decades before they moved into the neighborhood.

But it would've been a shame for racing.

It's bad enough we don't get to call the track by its true name anymore. It would be worse if the track went away altogether.

Seasons End

By Keith Ott

And the winner is (insert drum roll) Jimmie Johnson.  Congratulations on your 10 win season, and your playoff championship.  Honorable mention goes to Jeff Gordon, for the regular season (races 1-26) point victory and admirable Chase effort.  Special recognition goes to Clint Bowyer for his first win in NASCAR, and for being among the few to show up for the last 10 races.  Special recognition is also due to Mr. Kenseth.  Who, not only knows how to race clean at a finish, but capped the last five races with five top fives and a win. 

After this racing season and this last race in particular, if I were Jr., I would run, not walk from DEI.  I definitely think the grass is greener on the Hendrick side of the fence.

Speaking of DEI, was Rusty trying to interview for a job at DEI?  For at least a 20 minute segment during the broadcast every word out of his mouth was pro DEI.  I thought he was going to adopt Truex and propose to Teressa.

Speaking of Martin Truex, if he’d driven any higher on the track he would have had to buy Harry Gant’s seats for the first row.

I still think the Chase is a baseless format for choosing a Champion.  It did nothing to enhance racing or the ratings (which was its primary purpose).  Although, to be fair to the Chase, I don’t think any format change, to the Chase, would have helped liven it up.  It was total domination by one stable of cars.  Sometimes, playoffs are like that.  It, also, placed winning higher than consistency.  The winners were #1 and #2.  The consistent cars finished 3-12.  Perhaps, if they reworked the regular points to reflect that, we could lose the Chase circus.

Dammit, I knew the rumors of Brian leaving were too good to be true.  But, take heart, he still promises to take care of the true, diehard, racing fans.  He’ll have to try harder.  His new market fans don’t seem to be all that interested.  BTW, the check, for that promise, is in the mail.

So, as the season comes to a close, I’d like to wish all my favorite people…Bob Henry and the TR staff writers, who put up with me; my fellow bloggers, Mark, David, Kurt, Shirley, Kathy, Andy, David Poole and Tom Higgins, who always make me look at things from different angles; and you guys, the TR family, without whom, I’d just be talking to myself, the happiest of holidays.  Be safe, be happy and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.  Ok, let’s just stick with safe and happy…LOL

BTW, I’ll be around, just taking a break, until I see something interesting.  And, this is an open post.  Comment, as you like, on anything.  Keep it decent.  Santa’s watching!!!

Gordon's turn to play second fiddle

By DAVID GREEN

Jeff Gordon has had, finally, a season that is near the level of performance we have come to expect of him, whether we like it or not. He has won six races and, until the Chase for the Cup reshuffled the deck and erased his advantage, appeared to be headed for his fifth Cup Series championship.

But protege and teammate Jimmie Johnson has upstaged Gordon, dominating the Chase by winning four of the first nine races and setting himself up to cruise to his second straight title in this weekend's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Now Gordon knows how Mark Martin felt in 1998. It was Martin who had the monstrous-but-not-quite-good-enough season nine years ago, and it was Gordon who upstaged him.

The year is perhaps best remembered for Dale Earnhardt's popular Daytona 500 victory in the kickoff of NASCAR's 50th season. But that would be all for the black No. 3, as the season quickly turned into a one-on-one duel not much different from this year's Johnson versus Gordon show.

By June 14, 14 races into the 33-race schedule, Martin had already won four times, just one shy of his winningest season ever (1993). But then, Gordon went on a tear, winning five of the next seven races and seven of the next 10 to give him a total of 10 victories. That tied his victory total from 1997, when he won his second Cup title in three years.

Neither driver was finished winning at that point.

Martin got his fifth win Aug. 22 at Bristol, interrupting a streak in which Gordon had won the last four and would win the next two events. Martin won at Dover in September and at Charlotte in October, giving him a career-best seven victories.

But Gordon won three of the last four races to ring up his own career chart-topper -- a lucky 13 victories. He rolled to the championship with a 355-point margin over Martin.

Of course, Gordon cannot completely empathize with Martin. Mark is the guy who has come so close to the Cup championship but never been able to grab hold of it. Gordon is merely coming up short once again in his bid to win a fifth crown.

But, despite the happy face he's been putting on, it has to hurt.

Are You Glad The Season Is Over?

By Mark Young

Well the end is here, the final race of another long NASCAR racing season.  Some people are probably glad it is done while others wish this season would keep going.  I have mixed emotions as race #36 nears.  There are reasons I am glad to see it over and then just as many more that have me a little bummed.  Here are a few thoughts about the season, share with me yours!!

U WANT SOME???

I am glad that the season is over because now there won't be anymore bitching about the COT every weekend that the other car is run.  2008 brings 36 races with the same type of car.....strap in and race it or go run Indy Cars, they need a few drivers.

I'm not ready for the season to end because now I have to watch Law & Order every night with my wife because there aren't any shows I DVR'd from the racing world........at least Charmed isn't on anymore.

I'm glad it's over because I'm tired of hearing "go or go home".  This top 35 rules is crap.  The fastest 43 race.....period.  Now I'm reading that NASCAR is thinking of making qualifying changes so that all of the teams out of the top 35 qualify together to give them an equal chance.  WHATEVER.

I'm not ready for it to be over because I love racing.  I will watch anything if it involves going fast.  Heck I like watching the school bus figure 8 races!!

I am already looking forward to testing at Daytona, a new season brings new teams, new colors, new sponsors, and new expectations.  This has been an interesting year, I hope next year brings just as much interesting things!!

Finally

By Keith Ott

Finally, the end is in sight.  And, as NASCAR’s Chase winds to a close…Some thoughts.

- How enamored can Jeff Gordon really be with the Chase format?  It’s cost the man two potential titles.  “Potential,” because technically, this one isn’t over, yet.  And, still, he toes the PC line and blames himself.   I mean this, “Drive for Five,” slogan is getting a bit long in the tooth.

- NASCAR’s, “Chase.”  It’s hard to imagine a playoff where no-one cares, but this could be it.  They will knee-jerk it again next year, with track changes, but it will end up being the same old story.  The Chase events will draw no more interest than a regular event.  How many times is NASCAR going to try to fix this boondoggle before they get a clue?  Revamp the old system to where winning carries more weight than going in a circle, and crown a Champion on merit.  A racing champion should be crowned on 36 races, and not on some made up playoff.

- Bruton Smith.  The man has too much dang money.  $350 million, here.  $340 million, there.  $60 million, here.  I hope he has no plans to dump a Loudon date, for an out west track.  I don’t like Loudon, personally, but it’s sold out all of its dates.  Too bad some of the other “big market” tracks can’t say the same.

- Jimmie Johnson.  He’s been the NE Patriots of this, cough, playoff.  They brought their “A” game to the Chase.  If you don’t like the Chase, you’ll say Gordon was robbed.  If you value winning over consistency, then 10 wins beats 6, hands down.  If you think the Chase is the best thing since the Buffalo Wing, then again Johnson is your man.  If you don’t like Gordon, Johnson, or the Chase, well, you’re just shit outta luck.  It is what it is.

- Chasers.  Quick, after the first 3 positions, can you name, without looking it up, the other 9 Chase-ees, and their positions?  My answer was, “Who cares?”  So, NASCAR, how was this any more exciting than 10 regular events?  I haven’t seen a lot of “Chase IV” tee shirts for sale, although you must admit, the roman numerals lend, a lame event, a modicum of class.

- The CON.  The car of now, formerly known as, the COT.  I think CON is a more apt description.  Better racing, nope; more passing, nope; safer, yep.  This 200mph lawnmower w/a wing does nothing to make the racing better.  Its crowning achievement is that it drives like crap for everyone.  NASCAR will say, “Look how close the finishes are.  It’s so competitive.”  Give me 2 Olympic gold medal 400M track relay teams and 2 local HS teams.  Now, have them run the event, in street shoes, on a hockey rink.  Them finishes are gonna be damn close.  Now, that’s competition.  Besides, the CON, is just plain ugly.

That’s all I got.  It’s on to Homestead.  Good luck to both contenders.  And, then a well earned rest.

Oh, yes, they call it 'The Streak'

By DAVID GREEN

Members of my generation will relate to the headline above, a reference to the Ray Stevens ode to the phenomenon of streaking, or running around in public without clothes. But that's not what this is going to be about.

Instead, I'm writing about winning streaks -- such as the one Jimmie Johnson carries into this weekend's race at Phoenix. Through NASCAR history, with only one glaring exception, it seems that four is the unbreakable barrier.

Let's do a little research. Surely, most of us know about Richard Petty's incredible season 40 years ago this year, when he won 27 of 48 races, 10 of them consecutively. Those numbers, along with Petty's career 200 victories, would seem to be all but untouchable.

As for the mere mortals who tried and failed to measure up to Petty's records, four has been the maximum number of wins in a row.

It was the second year of Grand National racing before there was a back-to-back race winner -- Curtis Turner, who won the third and fourth races of the 19-race 1950 campaign. Then, Turner had another double, in races No. 8 and 9, and then Dick Linder won races 11 and 12.

The next streaker of note was Herb Thomas, who won three in a row -- and four of five -- in races 24, 26, 27 and 28 on the way to his championship title in 1951, a season in which there were 41 races. Thomas won seven of them, with Fonty Flock (eight) and Tim Flock (seven) finishing second and third in points.

It would take 13 years before the longest winning streak was extended from three to four, with the barrier surviving even the domination of the Kiekhaefer Chryslers in 1955-56.

The first driver to win four straight had to be a bit of a surprise. To that point, he had never won. Not that Billy Wade was an unknown quantity; the 1963 rookie of the year stepped into Bud Moore's Mercury as the replacement for two-time defending Grand National champion Joe Weatherly after Weatherly's fatal accident in January 1964 at Riverside, Calif.

Such prestigious rides don't go to just anybody, and Moore's eye for talent had locked onto Wade as a prospect. Wade put Moore's car into victory lane for the first time on July 10 at Old Bridge, N.J., in a 100-mile race on a half-mile paved oval.

Then, as the GN circus continued on what was then referred to as the Northern Tour, Wade won again on the Bridgehampton, N.Y., road course July 12. The second victory in his streak came when David Pearson, Wade's teammate in 1963 in a part-time two-car team fielded by Cotton Owens, dropped out while leading.

Wade captured another short-oval event, a scramble on the 1/5-mile Islip (N.Y.) Speedway, on July 15, prevailing in a fender-banging battle with Ned Jarrett, to equal the three-victory streak first established by Thomas.

Then, on July 19, Wade roared into NASCAR history at Watkins Glen International, where he won his fourth straight victory. He went on to finish fourth in driver points that year, behind Petty, Jarrett and Pearson.

The races were the only ones Wade would win. He was killed in January 1965 -- the second tragedy for the Moore team in a 12-month period -- when he crashed during a tire-testing session at Daytona International Speedway.

Since then, several drivers have come close to the magical fifth straight victory, most recently Jeff Gordon in 1998. By scaled-down modern-day standards, that year was Petty-like for Gordon, who won 13 of the 33 events and strung five wins in six races between June 28 and Aug. 16.

Only twice since then has a driver won three straight -- Jimmie Johnson, in 2004 and again this year.

Johnson's streak came to an end in 2004 at Phoenix. Will history repeat itself, or is a new chapter in the offing?

Oops, Kyle Did It Again. Just Shut Up!!

By Mark Young

He did it again, Kyle Busch managed to fit his foot in his mouth again only this time it was while he was driving.  What's even better he ticked off his soon-to-be former crew chief and alienated his soon-to-be former pit crew as well.  I consider it par for the course coming from a young, talented, racing phenom that has been thrust into the limelight before he had a chance to grow up.  Heck, if he keeps running his mouth I am going to lose two cases of Budweiser to my buddy Dave!!  So for goodness sake Kyle.......JUST SHUT UP!!

U WANT SOME?

Let me set the scene for you, it was the Busch race just this past Saturday in Texas.  Kyle was on a rail, just like he was in a truck the night before.  The caution flag flies and the field is coming down pit road for tires and fuel.  Kyle slides into his pit stall but only half of the crew is over the wall.  Finally everyone gets on the scene and the stop is done......finally.

Of course the TV guys see it and make note of it all.  Then a bit later they air the radio traffic between Kyle and his crew chief Alan Gustafson.  Kyle asked if they started recruiting pit crew members from ARCA, a real smooth thing to say when all of the pit crew have radios.  Kyle and Alan continue the conversation a bit further then Alan finally said that they would have been ready if they weren't in the Cup garage fixing a car that got wrecked in happy hour.......Conversation over.

That was the second race in a row where a slow pit stop was followed by a verbal tongue lashing over the radio by Kyle.  In my mind there is a time and a place to discuss problems within an organization and over the radio when they all know millions of people are listening on TV, in the stands, on the Internet, and satellite radio.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with voicing displeasure when things don't go right, but when it involves a group of guys you depend on in order to finish a race there is a right and a wrong way to do it.

I shouldn't be surprised that it came from Kyle, I just wonder what the guys who will be changing tires and filling the fuel cell next year have to think about it.

BTW the bet was that Kyle wouldn't finish the year in the #5 and Junior would jump the DEI ship to finish the year with Hendrick.

Johnson and Knaus are Kings

By Mark Young

Can anyone stop Jimmie Johnson?  Yet again we witnessed what could be the best driver/ crew chief combination in the history of NASCAR's modern era pick away at the field through 300+ laps to come out on top and seal their third consecutive victory.  Suddenly Jeff Gordon's lead in the points has disappeared and been replaced by a 30 point deficit.  Whether you like Jimmie or Chad there is no arguing the fact that they are on a roll and very deserving of the title KOFM.  Their dominance is reminiscent of the Gordon/Evernham combination from the mid-90's, perhaps even stronger due to the increased level of competition and restrictions of what can be "tweaked".  Phoenix is going to be the deciding factor I am afraid, can Johnson repeat or will Gordon's "Drive For 5" regain momentum?

Alonso to NASCAR? Hahahahahaha!

By DAVID GREEN

Stream-of-(semi)consciousness thoughts on a glorious fall Saturday:

• A friend sent me an email in quick response to the news that Fernando Alonso is splitting from the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team: "Guess Alonso will be coming to NASCAR." He following that tongue-in-cheek prediction with a long stream of "hahahahaha." Most NASCAR fans are probably oblivous to it, but that's been a pretty embarrassing situation with one of F1's marquee teams.
• Best news I've heard in a long time department: Racing is back next year at The Rock -- which has been renamed Rockingham Speedway. Bless Andy Hillenburg for bringing stock cars back to one of the most entertaining venues in the country. The ARCA race (May 4) is a tough date, with the end of school just a few weeks beyond, but I'm going to do my best to be there. Now, if only Bruton Smith would sell North Wilkesboro to Andy...

• OK, so I was wrong when I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Jeff Gordon had as good as clinched the Nextel Cup championship. Jimmie Johnson has made that one heck of a horse race. And Clint Bowyer fans, I'm sure, are optimistic that the Hendrick superduo will stumble in their battle against each other, and Clint will slip past both of them. Going to be interesting, either way. Even those of y'all who don't like The Chase have to admit that.
• I wish, along with the title sponsor name change, the Busch Series would convert to pony cars next year. I know it's way too late for that to happen, but I really like the idea of differentiated cars for that series. That's not so much new thinking as it is retro; the old Sportsman cars were older than the Grand Nationals (current model and previous two model years) and during most of the first decade of the Busch Series' existence, its cars were compact sedans, not the intermediates of the Cup Series.

Todays Thoughts:

By Keith Ott

A quickie about the weekend TV ratings: 

Does anyone think NASCAR has a chance in hell of garnering anything but pathetic numbers?  The NFL has upstaged NASCAR at every turn thus far this season.  Now, NASCAR, has, with a 3pm start, seemingly surrendered the weekend ratings to the NFL.  The NFL will start at 1pm as always, and I seem to remember racing having something similar once, and fans will be 2 hours into watching their NFL teams play, before the race even starts.  Then, when the race is an hour old, the NFL puts on what is already being touted as one of the greatest matchups of all time.  Colts/Patriots could put up some of the best rating numbers in sports history.  It’s a lose/lose for NASCAR.  I know what will be live on my TV and what will be going to the box.

BTW, I’m an honorary Colts fan Sunday.  For one, the Bills play in the AFC east and we hate the Pats.  And two, I hate the way Belichek runs up the scores.  Go Colts!