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. 

NASCAR--time for a reality check

Image via Wikipedia

I’m so sick of political-correctness, fantasy, and lack of reality!

This whole Kurt Busch thing—let’s call it what it was—Busch was canned by Roger Penske. I admit I was shocked that Penske burned that bridge completely. No doubt Kurt Busch was angling for some kind of disciplinary action, but I admit that firing a capable race car driver who can drive for a bad attitude is rather like missing a shift. This isn’t a beauty pageant where points are awarded for poise and grace. It is about racing. Kurt Busch turned some dismal days into good race results. Attitude shouldn’t be a number one concern. Penske knew Busch was temperamental when he hired him. Busch’s tirades should not have been a surprise.

Still, it is not how Penske runs his company that bothers me. It is the total dishonesty surrounding it. How stupid do they think we are?

NASCAR and apparently everyone associated with it systemically has a way of manipulating reality, or at least trying to, so that everything looks rosy all the time. That isn’t how life works! While they boast about how NASCAR is all about the fans and people have more access to drivers and teams than in any other sport. Yet the attempt to obscure any perceived unpleasantries has a heavier smoke screen than a victory burnout. Don’t they think we can handle it? Are they afraid their actions will cause us to rip up race tickets and turn off the television?

I hate to tell them, but nothing turns fans off faster than dishonesty.

Tell it like it really is

Penske didn’t just part ways with Busch; the two didn’t just split up as headlines stated. Penske fired him. The ramifications of that are so much more serious than a parting of the ways.

Roger Penske has said little if anything about firing Kurt Busch. I think we would all understand if The Captain looked right at the camera or into the eyes of a print reporter and said Kurt Busch was impossible to deal with, so I fired him. We would all have understood.

Or perhaps Penske could have said, Shell Oil issued an ultimatum. If Busch stays, they are out. We would have understood that too.

If Penske’s decision was made because of the sponsor, that would play right into the corporate-America-calling-all-the-shots scenario. That is perhaps even more troublesome than this being Penske’s decision alone, but that is another story for another day.

Then there is Busch’s lame performance on video where he portrays himself as a businessman trying to decide which career path to choose. That isn’t real either, especially since he is the same guy we saw verbally assault Jerry Punch during an interview at Homestead. Where is the believability?

On so many levels, this story has been upsetting, not the least of which is that no matter what the reality of the situation, Kurt Busch let his bad behavior potentially doom a promising career. Busch, is after all, a past champion in the sport we all care about.

I feel for him and wish him well. Perhaps he does need to seek professional help for anger management. And, he should take his brother with him. It would be a shame to waste this incredible talent. I just hope it isn’t too late.

My New Year’s Resolution for NASCAR in 2012 is in the form of a reality check.

Keeping an eye on Justin Allgaier

I am really impressed with Justin Allgaier in NASCAR's Nationwide Series. I believe he will make that series well worth watching for the remainder of this season.  

Allgaier fought a loose race car, but wheeled his 16th place start into a 4th place finish. Allgaier is fourth in the points standings. 

This young man with an impressive resume; complete with results to back it up, is an Illinois native. He caught my eye while he began driving for Penske Racing in 2008. 

Allgaier seemed a natural fit for my liking, since he drove the #12 for Penske, the car formerly driven by my favorite Sprint Cup driver, Ryan Newman. 

Newman drove the #12 Alltel Dodge sponsored by Alltel, until Alltel was taken over by Verizon. Newman left Penske and joined Stewart-Haas Racing. The #12 Alltel Dodge was replaced by the #12 Verizon Dodge, driven by  Allgaier.

Allgaier drove full time in the Nationwide series, which was a first for Penske. 

In the cut-throat business/advertising world however, the writing was on the wall for Verizon, in the series named for Sprint. Alltel was permitted to remain a sponsor because it was established prior to Sprint taking over the series. But, once the name was changed, all bets were off. Apparently there is no room for competition in the world of cellular service, so Verizon pulled its sponsorship. Allgaier, the 2009 Rookie of the year who won his first race at Bristol in March, 2010, was the victim. 

This year, Allgaier is making the most of the situation as he drives for Turner Motor Sports in the #31 car. 

Related articles

• Justin Allgaier prevails in NASCAR Nationwide (theglobeandmail.com)

Sprint Cup Race at Michigan

Whew! What an interesting race. I don't know how much of the actual race I saw. I was so busy monitoring points, positions, and times on NASCAR.com's live leaderboard that I probably missed some of the action on the track.

The early part of the race was disheartening as I watched a very frustrated Ryan Newman struggle with an ill-handling racecar. I have to hand it to his crew, however, because they pulled together to get the car drivable again. And the two-tire strategy to get track position was just what the doctor ordered. It was enjoyable to watch Ryan start picking off positions once again. This race could have been a total disaster for him in the points standings, but they pulled it out, leaving him with a no-gain, no-loss scenario. The way this race started today, that is good enough for me. Ryan remains 9th in the points standings. The pressure is really on, however.

A few of my other observations in this race include:

• Congratulations to Brian Vickers. He deserved to win one. He fought hard, especially when considering his run yesterday when he was so close.
  

• If I were Jimmy Johnson, I wouldn't listen to Chad Knaus next time he wants to try the fuel strategy game. Johnson finished 33rd. That marks twice at Michigan that he led most of the laps of the race and came up short at the end.
  

• Good run for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. However, even though it has been some time since he ran well enough to gush over, it was disgusting to hear the ESPN guys, especially Andy Petrie rave over how Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could win this race, even though he was running sixth. Yes he was the fastest on the track at the time, but that has happened before only to see him lose it and smack into the wall. Can we not have a little reality check boys? They actually put up a graphic showing Jimmy Johnson, Brian Vickers, and Dale Jr. as the commentators talked about the amount of fuel each had left. Trouble is they were running first, second, and sixth at the time. C'mon! They were practically salivating over the possibility that Jr. could win this race, totally discounting the other drivers ahead of him, not to mention those behind him who could have come from behind to win it. This Dale Jr. thing is just a wee bit sickening!
  

• Kyle Busch was not a factor in today's race. And I'll bet he wasn't happy about Vickers' win after the way the two behaved in yesterday's Nationwide race.

• Poor Kurt Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya. They were doing great until lady luck bit them where the sun doesn't shine.
  

All things considered, that's racin'. So now -- it's on to Bristol.

Alltel Dodge comes to Arkansas

When Ryan Newman drove the #12 Alltel Dodge for Penske Racing, I was crazy about the look of that car. Now I know its appearance has nothing to do with the way the car handles and how much horsepower it has, but let's face it, that was one fine-looking car.

A little over a year ago, when Ryan Newman was racing around the track at Chicagoland, I was having a racing experience of my own, right in my own home town in Arkansas.

The Alltel Dodge show car was on display at the new Alltel store in Arkansas. I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to see it up close. I donned on my Ryan Newman shirt, and like the NASCAR nerd my daughter claims me to be, I set out to see a replica of the car I strain to see every weekend. What a nice way to spend some time, sharing NASCAR stories with Alltel employees, who just happened to follow the same driver I did.