My take on NASCAR drama

Chicagoland Speedway, Wikipedia

The dust has settled, even after the long rainy spell that turned it all into mud.

The first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship is now behind us--finally! It was a long road to hoe, but the championship battle has commenced.

My observations to follow this long week of racing news is as follows:

Adding Jeff Gordon to the chase:

As much as I recognize that Jeff Gordon seemingly got robbed by the events during the race at Richmond that affected the final race of the regular 2013 season, I'm not sure it made sense to simply add his name to the roster. When that was done to add Ryan Newman to the Chase, NASCAR went out of its way to justify it. Newman wasn't simply given a chase berth because he would likely have won the race that was stolen from him when Clint Bowyer spun out his car, Newman was added because the points dictated it. He was tied with Martin Truex, Jr. who as a Michael Waltrip Racing driver was penalized 50 points. The same wasn't true for Gordon, which once again shows NASCAR's inconsistency, a problem they never quite seem to grapple with.

Michael Waltrip Racing penalties:

If it was possible to simply add Gordon to the chase, why wasn't the same action accorded Martin Truex, Jr.? He too was a victim of the overall incident at Richmond. Clearly he had no knowledge of the team orders for which he was an innocent beneficiary. Truex was the one victim in this whole story and he was the only one given no consideration. That was patently unfair. I believe Gordon was added because NASCAR tends to favor him. There have been countless other incidents, like when NASCAR calls a race for rain at just the right moment, or when caution is called for debris that no one sees.

Clint Bowyer points penalties

Clint Bowyer's spin, which started the events that changed the face of the championship field, was intentional, by all accounts except that of Bowyer himself. I believe it to be as well, based on the video of his in-car camera as well as so much feedback from drivers and former drivers turned analysts. NASCAR could have gone back to the technology available to them to prove the spin was intentional, but they didn't. Rather than make it right they would have had to admit they were wrong. The decision-makers are the same ones that initially said there was no problem with the spin. NASCAR doesn't often admit when they are wrong. But I think they were wrong! They should have investigated this further.

For Bowyer to receive a points penalty in the regular season points standings was ineffectual. The penalty should have been after the reseeding for the chase. This was totally wrong on NASCAR's part. The result of their action was moot. Bowyer should not have been allowed to run for the championship in the same manner than the rest of the field of drivers. By comparison, what happened to Bowyer and Truex--well--there is no comparison. Bowyer, who caused this mess came out smelling like a rose while Truex paid the price. That is wrong!

Penske Racing and Furniture Row Racing

Probation for Penske Racing--again--and Furniture Row Racing was meaningless, yet the video transmission about dealmaking was alarming. How many times have these deals altered the results of a race in the past? Will it happen again in the future? This did result in NASCAR cracking down on having only one spotter per team with no digital radios and cell phones allowed.

Restart rules

I applaud NASCAR for loosening the restart rules that were never followed anyway. This is the closest thing to an admission that they were wrong in trying to police restarts, for which they failed miserably.

Painfully long rain delay

NASCAR did the right thing by re-starting the race after the rain. It was a good race overall and certainly worth the wait.

Thank goodness for Twitter

Thanks to Twitter, I was able to follow all the nuances of the painfully long week of news related to what was deemed "spingate." I feel as though I was as informed as I wanted to be, limited only by my own curiosity. NASCAR news men and women did a Yeoman's job reporting all of the events surrounding this bizarre week that began at Richmond Saturday night and continued until the conclusion of the rain-delayed first race of the Chase Sunday night at Chicagoland. Heck, it was almost Monday morning by the time the race ended.

Kudos to the news media

A special shout out to all of them for keeping race fans apprised of what was happening during all the drama unfolding throughout the previous week. They did a fine job, interviewing drivers, staying on top of NASCAR officials, asking all the right questions, and coming up with excellent analysis. 

Getting accustomed to empty Sundays

NASCAR's off-season this year, seems a little less painful than in years past when I couldn't stand waking up on a Sunday morning without the prospect of satisfying my racing fix. This year was different. I almost relished the end to this racing year. There was plenty of aggravation during the 2012 season. 

Perhaps my disfavor can be explained by the less than stellar performance of my favorite driver--Ryan Newman. Don't get me wrong--I am as big a Newman fan as ever--but I recognize that everybody has an off year sometimes. After all, he had plenty going on to distract him this year. Not only was he in line for a new contract with Stewart-Haas Racing, but sponsorship for the 2013 season was precarious when the U.S. Army decided not to back the #39 car due to budget constraints. I'm really not too upset about that, by the way. He and Krissie were also preparing for a new addition to their family. All that can weigh on a guy. Once Ryan's contract was settled, sponsors stepped up and Ashlyn, the Newmans' second child was born, Ryan seemed to be back to his old self, ending the season with four top 15 races; the last two were top fives.

I have to say that despite Newman's end-game rally, I did not enjoy the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Championship. Though I continued to watch each race, it was not with my normal enthusiasm. In fact I even wrote recently about favoring an end to the Chase. During this season, and frankly leading up to it, NASCAR rulings haven't always been fair or consistent; results of the championship run were way too predictable; and Ryan didn't make the chase. Truthfully, by the time the season concluded, I was actually ready for a racing respite.

I must have gotten over it, because sometime after Homestead I input Feb. 24, 2013 into my desktop calendar. I am counting down to the start of the season and the Daytona 500, just 48 days away now.

I just learned however, that due to NASCAR's latest rules, not only will Newman not be participating in the Shootout, but neither will this year's champion, Brad Kezelowski or Clint Bowyer, who finished second in points. What is up with that? NASCAR seems to go out of its way to make aggravating decisions--at least as far as I'm concerned.

I just can't help but wonder, if Dale Earnhardt, Jr. hadn't won a pole in 2012, I wonder how the rules would have been tweaked to accommodate...just sayin!

It is one thing for my personal disappointment that Newman won't be included in the Shootout, but the Champion?

While the Shootout isn't a points race, it is a fan favorite. I'm just not so sure this year, this fan will be watching!

Ryan Newman is off the charts; not a good thing!

Ryan Newman courtesy of Quicken Loans

Despite a streak of hideously bad luck in the last two races that virtually destroyed Newman's chances at a place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, there is good news for Ryan Newman this week.

It has just been reported that he will sign a one-year extension with Stewart-Haas Racing.

That has to be a load off Newman's mind, given the fact that his primary sponsor, the U.S. Army has gone AWOL on him. To further complicate issues, last week Office Depot announced they will no longer sponsor Tony Stewart's #14 car. This leaves a giant hole in the money side of things at Stewart-Haas Racing. Speculation was high that Stewart would abandon Newman's #39 car and use his Newman's other sponsors--Tornado, WIX Filters, and Quicken Loans on the #14.

It has been reported however, that Stewart-Haas will continue its plan to sponsor three cars in the 2013 season. The third will be driven by Danica Patrick, who comes with her already pre-ordained sponsor, GoDaddy.

There is still one more chance, albeit a long shot, that Newman can make the Chase. The only way is for him to win this, the final race of the regular season, at Richmond. It is certainly possible and he will certainly give it his best shot.

Newman has won a race at Richmond, though not since 2004. He has, however, led 437 laps in 21 starts, with no DNF's.

Newman finds himself in this untenable position because of the circumstances at Bristol two weeks ago when Juan Pablo Montoya stole his chances in an intentional shove that sent Newman spinning. Then last week at Atlanta, Newman was squeezed into the wall by Jimmy Johnson who as Newman put it, 'ran out of talent.'

Prior to the first incident, Newman was poised to get into the Chase on points. His DNF (do not finish) relegated him to 15th in the standings. That dropped further after his race car was destroyed in the second incident.

Good luck and may the force be with Ryan Newman Saturday night at Richmond.

A very good day for Stewart-Haas Racing

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeSunday’s race at Phoenix did not disappoint. The race for the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship remains unchanged—tight--with just three points separating Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart; Kasey Kahne celebrates an end to his long winless streak in Victory Lane; Ryan Newman made nice with Lady Luck, as she allowed him to turn a dismal 30th place start into a top-5 finish.

I cannot think of a better result from the unknown that was the newly-configured PIR (Phoenix International Raceway). It was certainly a good day for Stewart-Haas Racing. The only negative was when Brian Vickers apparently intentionally wrecked pole sitter Matt Kenseth. Vickers has been nothing but a hazard during this Chase for the Championship. Kenseth deserved better.

Chase needs tweaking

Stewart and Edwards ran a good race, finishing as they started, three points apart. Stewart remains three points behind Edwards, despite his running a better race, leading the most laps. In truth, Stewart should be in the lead, sporting four wins in the 8-race Chase for the Championship. Edwards’ has not won a race during the Chase. His only saving grace was a win during the regular season, which caused him to start ahead of Stewart. Edwards was more consistent, since Stewart had a couple of bad finishes that hurt him. But, with two instances of back-to-back wins in the final eight, Stewart should be far ahead. Perhaps more points should be awarded for winning a title race.

Newman and pit road

Newman had no glitches on pit road to contend with at Phoenix. That made all the difference. Even with the handling of his race car being a tad inconsistent, Newman did a great job passing cars and wracking up points. It is just too bad that cannot be said for previous Chase races. Pit road blunders really cost Newman. I’m certain that will be a big topic for post-season. There has to be improvement before the 2012 season begins.

Speaking of pit road, what’s with Brad Keselowski?

After last week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski complained that Ryan Newman intentionally blocked him in his pit stall. Scene Daily reported the story http://fb.me/KHNfRL7x. Keselowski had to back up to get back onto the track. In doing so, he ran into Denny Hamlin’s car.

Keselowski blamed Newman because he, Keselowski ran into Hamlin while backing out of his pit stall. Huh? Basically Keselowski blamed Newman for intentionally blocking him because Newman’s teammate/owner Tony Stewart is running is in the hunt for the championship. Newman admitted blocking Keselowski, but said he had to pull in at the angle he did to keep from hitting Keselowski’s jack man. Keselowski also intimated that Newman deliberately picked the #2 pit stall in front of his, to hamper his chance at the championship. Keselowski was angry that “the #39 (Newman) played the team orders card in the Chase.”

Newman’s Crew Chief Tony Gibson explained that they were surprised that pit stall was available. They qualified 24th and pickings were slim.

Keselowski’s charge was ridiculous and insulting.

Related articles

• Way to go Tony! (chontrack.blogspot.com)
• Who lit the match igniting the fire in Stewart-Haas Racing? (chontrack.blogspot.com)