Hey Putty!

Assessing the HOF and race shops

2010-08-31T09:24:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I made the six hour voyage to what I like to call Heaven – but most people call it Charlotte. The point of the trip was to see what the new NASCAR Hall of Fame was all about. And while I was there I figured it would be prudent to check out the shops of all the race teams. All in all, it was a wonderful trip – I enjoyed every minute of it. Each time I have been to the Charlotte area it has always been great experience as it THE spot for a NASCAR fan. However, some of you are either a.) Not within driving distance to North Carolina (some might say Birmingham isn’t driving distance) or b.) Have not yet had the opportunity to visit these places. After reading my reviews of the race shops and Hall of Fame, you will have a better understanding of what to look for and expect at NASCAR’s capital city.

Roush – Roush was the very first shop I went to. It was located off the same exit as Charlotte Motor Speedway so it wasn’t very difficult to find. The shop and the museum were in two separate buildings. The museum was great; it had all sorts of souvenirs ranging from used crew member uniforms to lug nuts to race used sheet metal. I got an up close view of Matt Kenseth’s winning car from the 2009 Daytona 500 as well as Todd Kluever’s torn up ARCA car from a few years ago in a vicious Daytona wreck. The museum even had a small movie theater (NOTE: I didn’t go in to this, so I’m not sure if it was on the team history or something else). The staff was real friendly, but I got a chuckle out of one guy in the museum who was a crew member for one of the teams – he was giving his buddies a tour of the place, and made it well known to everyone else he was a pit guy. Nothing wrong in having pride for your job.

While the museum was really cool, the shop itself was a bitter disappointment. And by that, I mean it wasn’t fan friendly. There was only a small viewing window by the entrance that allowed me to hardly see any of the cars. I saw three of David Ragan’s cars and maybe one of Greg Biffle’s, but that was it. The coolest part of the shop was when I entered and looked to the right, Robbie Reiser’s office was sitting right there. Unfortunately he was busy talking to someone so I did not get to say hello.

Richard Petty Motorsports – There is really not much to say here. It was in the same parking lot as Roush’s, but WAY smaller. It was one building, and this was definitely the worst of the shops I went to. I walked in and there was a receptionist and an Elliot Sadler show car, but there was no window to view the garage. As a matter of fact, they weren’t even selling any RPM products. Needless to say, I was in and out of this one. In fairness, I know this is a struggling organization and they can’t afford to build the mega shops like Hendrick and Roush.

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing- EGR was stop number three, and it was just 1/2 mile down the road from Roush. Overall, Ganassi had a very impressive place. His museum was in the same building as his shop, but his “museum” was a collection of the team’s trophies which were in the main lobby. The souvenir store sold interesting items such as lug nuts, sheet metal, and race used tires. The best part of this visit was the fan friendly access to the shop. There was a viewing platform that actually allowed you to be in the garage and hear the sounds of the work being to done to the race cars. I was very satisfied going here.

Stewart Haas Racing- Stewart Haas was next on my list, and it was just a few miles down the highway from the speedway. It had a very similar setup to EGR, with its souvenir store on the right and the shop in the back. Unlike Ganassi, however, it did not have a viewing platform. You were able to view the shop from the main room which was separated by a large window. The window picked up lots of glare from the lights, and therefore was somewhat difficult to view the work being done. What separated Stewart’s shop from the rest was how you were able to view the fabrication room, which was on the left side of the building. This gave SHR a nice distinction from the other teams. As for the store, they did not have the race used items like the other teams had, which was a disappointment. Like all the other places, the staff was friendly and they gave me directions to my next stop, Joe Gibbs Racing (jokingly, they were hesitant to give me directions to another team).

Joe Gibbs Racing- Joe Gibbs Racing was the only shop I had been to previously. It was several years ago, though, so I needed another visit to refresh my memory. One of things that make the JGR shop so nice is that you view the shop from above. You have a glass window separating you and the shop, but seeing it from an elevated view definitely enhances the viewing experience. The store was on par with Roush and Ganassi – used sheet metal, lug nuts and the like. One side note here: this was the fourth shop I had been to, and I ran into the same couple at every stop. The first three stops were on the same road so it made sense, but I found it funny at this point as the Gibbs shop was a good 25 minute drive from the other shops.

Michael Waltrip Racing- They sure do make you feel welcome here – a kind, elderly man held the door open for me along with a kind greeting. But, here is what is just terrible about this place- THEY CHARGE YOU $10 TO VIEW THE GARAGE! I saw Waltrip promoting the place on Race Hub a few months back, so I was really excited to check his place out. But when none of the other places charge you anything, I certainly wasn’t going to pay for something I had been looking at all day for free. Considering the fans play a big part in the success of owners and drivers, it’s not right for a team to charge them to see their garage. On the other hand, the souvenir shop was excellent; it had more race used parts than any other team, including splitters and transmission parts. The store also had David Reuitimann’s wrecked car from the 2007 California race. As torn up as that car was, you wouldn’t know it was in a wreck by looking inside. It really goes to show you how safe these cars are.

Penske Racing – About ten miles down the road from Waltrip’s shop was Penske Racing. This was easily the surprise of the trip. As far as viewing the shop goes, this was clearly the most fan friendly. It contained a “fan walk” where you walked above the cars and crew members. It was like looking out on your back deck and seeing a race shop. I was very satisfied that I made the trip to Penske. Not much to the souvenir store, though, as it was just t-shirts and a few die-casts. But I didn’t drive all the way to North Carolina to see the stores - I wanted to see a good race shop. And with that said, Penske’s was my surprise favorite.

Hendrick- This was my last stop of the day. It was on the way back in town (located literally 1 mile away from the track) so I saved it for last. As I was entering the building, there was a sign that said turn to 92.1 (I believe that was the station) for more info. There is a whole radio station devoted to Hendrick’s shop! I thought that was pretty cool. Anyway, like Roush, Hendricks place was divided up. I went to the museum first, which was pretty impressive. It had Cole Trickle’s car from Days of Thunder, along with many other cars from Hendrick’s storied career. I had to rush through most of it as it was nearing closing time by this point. Fortunately and unfortunately, it didn’t take long for me to see the shops. There were two shops right next to each other with Gordon and Johnson’s in one, and Junior and Martin’s in the other. Like I said though, it took me just a few minutes to see both of them. This is because it was very difficult to see the cars being worked on. Considering that Hendrick has the most money, I was expecting a much better viewing experience than this. Pretty disappointing, but at the same time its amazing how big his place was.

Two big races teams not on this list are Red Bull Racing and Richard Childress Racing. I did not visit Childress because it was about 50 miles away from the city and there was not enough time to go see his place. Red Bull wasn’t too far away – it simply didn’t make my list of shops to visit. Sorry Red Bull!

Hall of Fame – I don’t think I have any better way of explaining the Hall of Fame than by saying it met my expectations. That isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, as I had both positive and negative things to say about the experience. I was fine with the $20 admission, but anything more would be too much. The first thing I did at the HOF was go see a movie they played every 30 minutes. They movie lasted about 15 minutes and it pretty much recapped the 60 year history of the sport. Since it took me a good 3 hours to see everything, I can’t get into everything so I will just say what I had problems with.

My first issue came when I was looking at Kurt Busch’s 2004 championship car. Right by the show car was a picture of Kurt's machine during a race that year. Next to the picture had a caption which stated Kurt Busch and Juan Montoya were racing at Daytona. That is all fine and dandy, but Montoya was still racing in F1 during the 04 season (McMurray was driving the No. 42 Texaco Dodge that year). Maybe it isn’t a huge deal, but inaccuracies like that really get my blood pressure boiling.

There was a really awesome feature at the Hall where you could broadcast a clip from an old race (you could do a television or radio broadcast). Since the line was long for the radio, I chose television which had no line at all. The race clip they had was the infamous race at Richmond in 2008 where Kyle Busch and Dale Junior crashed battling for the lead with 2 laps to go. I had a great time being the play by play announcer for it, but when it went to replay my broadcast, there was no audio. Now I know why there was no line for this.

After my tour was over, I was looking forward to eating at the café they had. I was expecting televisions featuring old and current races, NASCAR décor on the wall, and more racing themed items. However there was none of that. The café was more of a concession stand that offered hot dogs and bratwursts. Nothing was on the walls, just plain white paint and no televisions. After you finish your visit at the Hall, do yourself a favor and go eat at Buffalo Wild Wings (right next to the HOF) instead.

So to sum it all up, most of the fun came on Friday when I visited the race shops. Penske was my surprise favorite and would definitely recommend you visit it if you are in the area. The Hall of Fame was enjoyable as well. I know I highlighted more of the cons than pros, but do not let that discourage you from visiting. There are so many great things to see there and it will definitely be worth your time. You can find out how quick you can change a tire and figure out what walking on 33 degree banking feels like. The artifacts in there are certainly spectacular, especially the 76 ball. And hopefully the problems I pointed out will be fixed by the time you get up there.

Stewart in danger of a winless season

2010-08-11T20:27:00.001-07:00

As I was watching the race at Watkins Glen on Sunday, I realized how important of a race it was for Tony Stewart. Not to solidify his standing in the points, but simply to win. After 22 races into the season, the two-time Sprint Cup Champ has yet finish first. Of course, this is nothing new; Stewart has gone this far before without a win in1999 and 2008, his first and last years at Joe Gibbs Racing. Still, the fact remains that Stewart is now in danger of having his first winless season in his twelve year Cup career. And should he not win, it would end the longest active streak with most consecutive winning seasons.

Stewart is on his typical summer hot streak, but usually he wins a race or two during it. While Smoke has been consistent, he hasn’t been much of a threat. His 119 laps lead for the season is on a pace to be a career low. And back to Watkins Glen, a track that has become Stewart’s own personal playground, he was a non-factor and finished 7th. A good points day, but the fact that he wasn’t even contending at his best track is a troubling sign. Unless they get lucky with some fuel strategy, I see a team that won’t be winning a race anytime soon.

While I think it is time to panic in the 14 camp, Stewart doesn’t seemed bothered.

"This is my 30th year in racing,” he said. “You take one weekend at a time and you don't think about the numbers as to how long it's been since the last time you've won. You just go with the same attitude you do every weekend, and that's to try and win the race. You go through the steps of trying to put yourself in that position to be there at the end of the day. You focus on what you need to do to win the race you're in."

Earlier in the year, I had my doubts about Tony even making the Chase. Going a career worst six straight finishes outside the top 15 will endanger anyone’s Chase chances. But he has responded quite well since then, with nine top 10’s in the past eleven races. With fourteen races left, there are still plenty of opportunities for a win. But after what I saw at Watkins Glen, I just don’t see a win for Stewart in 2010.

The 5 best tracks in NASCAR

2010-08-11T13:42:00.001-07:00

The hot topic the past couple of weeks has been the schedule realignment for the 2011 season. Some tracks have lost a race while others have gained one. According to my last poll on what your least favorite track is, many of you (at least 32 percent) should be pretty happy about Fontana losing race. Today, I thought I would turn the tables and share my five favorite tracks and let you guys vote on this as well.

-Talladega/Daytona – Yes, I enjoy restrictor plate racing. And yes, I am counting these two tracks as one. Some say the racing is dangerous and a recipe for disaster. I have never understood that as danger is at every track, not just these two. Even though cars going airborne look violent, it is a safer wreck than something like a t-bone because of the impact absorbed. As for the action, it doesn’t get any better than Talladega and Daytona. More drivers have a shot at victory here than any other track, and that’s what I love about it. The margin of victory is always slim, and lead changes are season highs.

-Bristol- I know many don’t like the new pavement and the track is not as popular because of it. Quite frankly I love the new pavement. Cars can race side by side the entire race and therefore, we are provided with some exciting racing. It also means more green flag racing and the momentum of the race is no longer slowed by 15 plus cautions.

-Atlanta – I have said this on numerous occasions; Atlanta is the new Darlington. The pavement has aged to where the track characteristics are similar to the Old Darlington. The tires were off so quick that you will see drivers come through the field and others fade to the back. This provides another element to racing, and in today’s NASCAR, where equipment doesn’t fail as much as it used to, worn tires are something that keep you on edge. But of course, NASCAR had to get rid of one their race dates, just like they did with Darlington.

-Homestead – Just like Bristol, Homestead has progressive banking. This is something all tracks need to strongly consider once they need to repave the track surface. There is more side-by-side racing here than any other mile and a half track, and has had some very exciting finishes (see: Greg Biffle-Mark Martin 2005) in its short history.

-Richmond – Saturday night short track race. Enough said. Part of what makes Richmond so awesome is the fact that it is run on Saturday nights. What I like most about it, however, is the fact that there is really no other track like it. It shares one key trait with Bristol though - it is a short track the produces side-by-side racing, always a plus.

I am sure a lot of traditionalists are going crazy right now wondering why no Darlington. My answer for that is it’s not the same anymore. Part of what made Darlington so great was how the tires would fall off, and with the new pavement, you just don’t see that anymore. With that said it is still one of my favorite tracks and just missed the cut. Now is your chance to share your favorite tracks.

Could Tony Eury Sr. be the key to the resurgence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR too)?

2010-08-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

With the recent downward spiral of attendance and television ratings, one cannot help but think the poor performance of Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a factor. His peak years came when NASCAR was most popular, 2001-2004. Since his last top ten points finish in 2006, ratings and attendance have also sputtered. Now, there are plenty of factors that have hurt NASCAR recently, its safe to assume more people would be watching if Junior was winning again.

But the question is can Earnhardt contend again? To answer that, you must first break down where it went wrong for Junior. There is no one set answer, but we can look at the following things:

Crew chief – To this day, I still don’t understand why Tony Eury Sr. was let go as Earnhardt’s crew chief. In a little more than five seasons these two worked together, they amassed 15 wins. The duo also had three consecutive 1000-plus laps led seasons, quite an impressive feat considering Jimmie Johnson is the only other driver in the past ten years to do this. Since 2005 Earnhardt has gone through more crew chiefs than wins, with only three trips to victory lane. Put Eury Sr. back in the pit box and let’s see if the magic can return.

COT- Perhaps Eury Sr. doesn’t have everything to do with it. With the new car, Junior has won only once, with just eighteen top 5’s and a lone Chase appearance that saw him finish 12th out of 12 drivers.

Owner – Many thought when Rick Hendrick signed Earnhardt back in 2007 that great things were going to come. After all, he won his very first race in HMS car at the 2008 Bud Shootout. And it took just a few races before he got a points paying win at Michigan International Speedway. Indeed, it looked like the right move for Junior. But since then, it has been a disaster; another crew chief change, 25th in the points last year, and just four top 5’s in the past two seasons. Three of those four finishes have come on the restrictor plate tracks of Talladega and Daytona, The problem with that isn’t the equipment; teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Mark Martin all had terrific years last year, and even though Martin is a little off this year, 2010 is again a good season for HMS. So why is Junior so far off? Well, at DEI he was the number one guy with the most resources, and now he is the fourth stringer at HMS. That right there could lead to self defeat, which leads me to…

Driver- Listen, I don’t know the guy personally, so it would be ignorant of me to say Earnhardt doesn’t have the desire to compete anymore. Listening to him on his radio during the races would seem to be quite the opposite. But it does seem weird how he could have some amazing years with lesser equipment and then struggle with the best cars in the garage.

While it looks to be a combination of everything, I firmly believe if Eury Sr. is put back on the pit box good things will happen. He has that “shut up and drive” attitude that can keep Earnhardt focused. Unfortunately, I don’t see this change happening at all, and if this problem doesn’t get fixed, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won't be winning races. And if he isn’t winning races, NASCAR will lose more fans.

Start and Parks Might Make a Difference For Some Chasers

2010-08-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

One-hundred and sixty-one. That’s the magic number, the amount of points any driver can make up in a race. The number inflates to 195 if a driver gets injured or fails to qualify (in this case, we aren’t talking about guys outside the top 35). I am talking about Chase contenders, those barely in and out of the top 12. Matt Kenseth, currently 9th in points, stands 152 ahead of 13th place Mark Martin, barely less than a race ahead.

So, theoretically Mark Martin could leapfrog Matt Kenseth this weekend if Kenseth were to finish last and Martin wins. Well, Martin could win – after all, he has a very impressive resume at the 2.45 mile road course. But, with the recent trend of start and parks, Kenseth is not finishing last. Even if he finds himself in a first lap wreck, his team is going to get back out on the track knowing several cars are about to retire.

We saw it get real nasty this past week at Pocono. There were at least seven legit start and parkers, which equates to twenty-one points that could be made up. That does not sound like an enormous amount, but as the Kenseth-Martin differential shows, it’s enough to make the difference as to who is in and out of the Chase going into Richmond.

Sometimes it is said all a driver has to do is start and he will clinch a spot in the Chase. This year we might be hearing that all one guy has to do is beat the start and parks and he is in. So I don’t know about you, but the magic number for me is 140.

Expect Vegas, Homestead to have much different slots on the schedule next year

2010-07-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

It looks that after years of speculation, the Sprint Cup series will be getting a scheduling makeover for the 2011 season. Atlanta, Fontana, and Loudon all appear to be losing dates in favor of Kansas, Kentucky, and Las Vegas. Of course, this is not yet set in stone, but losing an Atlanta (has become the new Darlington) race and a short track date in New Hampshire is not what the series needs. Many fans wouldn’t mind seeing Fontana lose a race, but I am getting off the subject.

Anyway, we know SMI’s CEO Bruton Smith has long wanted several of his track’s to have another race (in Kentucky’s case, one race) in the Sprint Cup schedule. Of all the tracks mentioned, Las Vegas is the most interesting. With each passing day, I hear more about Vegas hosting the season finale. It makes sense, if you think about it. With the season ending banquet held there anyway, why not have the last race of the year in the same place? You could make a whole other week out of it.

I know Las Vegas isn’t where most fans would like the season to end. It is just another 1.5 mile cookie cutter track that doesn’t need more than one race. In the track’s defense, though, it certainly is a much more appealing race now that they have added some banking to it. I am feeling nice, so I am not going to bash any tracks right now and say Vegas would better than (insert track you hate here). Point being, there are plenty tracks that would be worse to host the finale, whether it’s racing or seasonal weather.

Personally, I enjoy Homestead hosting the last race of the year. But, say Vegas does indeed replace the south Florida track for the last race of the year. Where will its new date go? I have heard speculation that it would go to the second race of the season, right after Daytona. This would be great for everyone. With it still being cold in February, Homestead would be the best fit for a race this time of year. And no one would love it more than the team truck drivers, as they would only have to go 200 something miles south for the next race. It sure beats the current 3,000 they have to drive all the way to California.

So, yes, we all shouldn’t be surprised with a major schedule overhaul in the schedule for next year. But if you are a betting man, you can’t go wrong gambling on Las Vegas to host the season finale starting in 2011. Now lets just hope we don’t watch 5 drivers shoot for the Cup in an elimination style Chase while we are out there.

Strong run for Bayne overshadowed by Keselowski-Edwards incident

2010-07-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

All the talk this week will be about yet another Carl Edwards Brad Keselowski run in. While I have an opinion on this, I have decided to stop talking about their feud because they don’t deserve the attention. Sure, it’s worth talking about if it happens in the Cup Series, but for it to happen in the minor leagues is just ridiculous. I don’t care who you think is right and wrong. Brad and Carl need to be doing this on Sunday afternoon’s while racing for the win. Having said that, lets move on.

We need to give Trevor Bayne a thumbs up for his third place run Saturday night. After winning the pole earlier in the day, Bayne led a total of 19 laps at Gateway – his first laps led of the year. Even after losing the lead, he managed to stay in the top 10 for the majority of the race. His third place finish also was a career best for the 19 year old Tennessean. A few weeks removed from recording his first career top 5 at New Hampshire, Trevor appears to have turned the corner and more finishes like this past weekend seem forthcoming.

Forget fixing the Chase, lets focus on the actual racing

2010-07-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

With rumors swirling that there will be changes made to the Chase in 2011, I realized how apathetic I am towards the situation. While it would be an exciting concept to have elimination races, (the rumors that I have been hearing) I feel it would sizzle out after a year or two, just like the Chase. Any which way NASCAR determines the champion, it is now permanently damaged. We aren’t going back to the old system, and even if we did, it wouldn’t bring back the loyal fans we have lost. From now on, more and more changes to the points will just flush out more fans.

I give NASCAR credit for trying to right their wrongs. They got rid of the spoiler and have now realized the Chase isn’t working. But they need to go after the biggest issue – the racing itself. Personally, I have no problems with how the races are now. I enjoy every single race and nothing irritates me more than hearing a fellow NASCAR "fan" say a race is boring (it is cars going around in circles, after all). However, I believe if NASCAR made two changes to the way races are run, fans would stop complaining about the racing.

I’ll get the minor and simple change out of the way first. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. Get rid of the wave-around rule. Seriously, nothing good comes from this. It only makes the drivers run at their own rate the first 80 percent of the race. Go a lap down? No problem, take the wave around after a competition caution. The leader loses motivation to lap, and the 25th place guy doesn’t care if he gets lapped. But the other problem with the wave around that bothers me the most is going from 10 cars on the lead lap to 30 in the blink of an eye. This destroys any late race pit strategy the leaders may have due to the importance of track position. NASCAR, you need to admit this rule was a mistake (on that note, I think we are stuck with this rule for a while. NASCAR seems to like it, and so do the announcers).

My next proposal for more drama filled racing will probably get some of you wound up. NASCAR needs to eliminate qualifying and determine the starting order by inverting the finishing order of the previous race. Just think about that for a second. Obviously, we don’t want start and parks taking the green up front every week, so the rule would only apply to the top 35 in points. Which means Kevin Conway would likely be on the pole for most races. And look at this past weekend’s race. You would have guys like Gordon, Stewart, and Hamlin starting in the back. Even Jimmie Johnson, who had a mediocre finish, would still be starting mid pack. My biggest concern with this idea is whether the first few laps would be a crash fest or not. These are supposed to be the 43 best drivers in the world, so they should be able to handle it. If not, we need some new drivers.

All you need to do is look at is this past weekend’s race when Jimmie Johnson led almost the first hundred laps after starting on the front row. Had it not been for a rare (yet more common this year it seems) driver error from the 48 who knows how much of the race he would have led. By inverting the field, you are going to see many different drivers lead instead of the same 7 or 8 each week. Some may call it a gimmick, but I like to think of it as giving more guys a chance.

Things to expect if you go to Daytona...

2010-07-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Daytona for the first time. Whenever I go to a new track, I like jotting down some notes and analyze whats good and whats bad about the track itself. By doing this I hope I can help out a fellow fan who is looking to go a race and wants to know what to expect. Here are some some items to take note of if you plan on going to the 500 or Firecracker in the near future.

Plan on bringing up to $60 for parking. Daytona offers free parking, however it is almost a mile away from the track. There is a shuttle, but if your like me waiting for a shuttle is an inconvenience. Parking closer to the track will cost you at least $10, but still expect to walk a ways if you only pay this much.

Make sure you have a place to stay. This past weekend, hotels were sold out all the way up to Jacksonville. So book in advance, but remember the closer to the track, the more expensive a room will be. If you don't mind the heat or a potential rainout (wish is common in Daytona, especially this time of year) look into camping out.

Visit the Daytona Experience, located right outside turn 4. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven in there. I did not get to tour the museum (I won't get into those reasons) but I recommend doing so. It costs only $25.

While at the DE, I ate at the Turn 4 Grill. Sounds pretty good, right? Well it turned out to be nothing more than your typical track concession stand. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the hot dogs. Defintely the best track dog I've had, and it was "only" $3.

No matter the size of the track, I appreciate having a big screen TV on pit road so I can see anything I might have missed. Daytona and Talladega are the only tracks I have been to that have them, and that's because of the size of these tracks (I am sure road courses would have them too for this reason, but I have yet to attend Sonoma or the Glen). Point being, if your thinking about sitting closer to the track, you can still follow the action on the big screen.

If you missed it, Darius Rucker (from Hootie and the Blowfish) played a pre-race concert on the Tri-Oval grass. I would like more tracks to do this as it makes the wait for the race more enjoyable.

One of the best crowds I have ever seen. The fans were really into the racing and I was surprised by the lack of drunk people. Don't get me wrong, many were drinking and having a great time, but it was nice not see anyone passed out hours before the race started.

I was expecting really bad traffic after the race. Several people told me to enjoy a three hour wait stuck in the parking lot before I reached the highway. Fortunately, for whatever reason, this did not happen. I spent 15 minutes stuck at a red light before I was back on I-95.

In conclusion, put Daytona next on your racing checklist . It has somewhat of a Disney World feel to it. There is much more to do during your stay there than any other track, and, lets face it, it's the most famous track in the world. Getting to see inside the stands for the first time is an amazing feeling. And I plan on being back next February for the 500.

Could Labonte go to the 83?

2010-06-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

After we witnessed 2000 Cup Champ Bobby Labonte start and park in a few races this year, many fans either called for his retirement or leave TRG Motorsports and find a more competitive ride. Well according to SceneDaily, Labonte is expected to announce on Wednesday he is parting ways with TRG. We all know Red Bull is looking for a driver with Brian Vickers out for the year. Reed Sorenson is in for 3 races, but what about after that? This may be Bobby's last chance racing for a competitive team.

Putty's driver rankings

2010-06-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is new to the blog, untested, so after a few weeks I may tweak it a little bit. The way I have created the system is to give points to each top ten driver over the past three races. I also give bonus points to the top three drivers in laps led over the same span. The system is big on wins; the top three drivers in this week’s rankings are also the three most recent winners. Anyway, here we go.

1. Kyle Busch – Seventh, a win, and third. Hard to be beat that right now, and Kyle isn’t just lucking into these finishes – he has led laps in his last three races.
2. Kurt Busch – The older Busch is running just as a good as Kyle right now. If I had factored in the All-Star race, Kurt might have been number one.
3. Denny Hamlin – Was running fifth before he broke his splitter at Charlotte. Hamlin is definitely back on track though after a rough start to the 2010 season.
4. Jamie McMurray – Second in two of his past three races, Jamie Mac is possibly having his best season ever.
5. David Reuitimann- David has two consecutive fifth place finishes and is reminding everyone he is still the man at MWR. Engines are starting to hold up.
6. Jeff Burton – I found something a little ironic in looking at Jeff’s past three finishes. We all know he was furious with Kyle this past weekend. Maybe its because he finished one spot behind him at Darlington, then again as a runner up at Dover?
7. Jeff Gordon – He hasn’t been as strong since Darlington, but is still running near the front. The wins will come soon.
8. Matt Kenseth – I feel like Matt has been off the radar since Martinsville. But in typical Kenseth fashion, he sits a third in the points and eight in my rankings.
9. Kevin Harvick – Like Kenseth, Kevin isn’t making much noise, yet he is leading the points. He will have to get more top 5’s and a couple more wins if he wants to win this championship.
10. Mark Martin – Has run terrible lately, but this team somehow manages to find their way into the top 5. If they start running better, watch out!

Points to ponder and thoughts - Charlotte

2010-06-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

-With the amount of cookie cutters in the Chase, I am starting to believe Kurt Busch may be the favorite to end Jimmie Johnson’s streak of four consecutive Sprint Cups.

-What an interesting season its been for Jamie McMurray. All four of his top 5 finishes have been either first or second place finishes. These have all come at NASCAR’s “Majors” tracks – Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, and Charlotte.

-Let me say this about Jeff Burton – as a NASCAR fan, I am proud to have him in our sport. I never get nervous when he is around my favorite drivers. I can’t say Kyle did anything wrong, but Jeff certainly put him in place after the race was over. As for Kyle’s third place finish, I never saw that coming after that hit his car took on pit road with Brad Keselowski.

-Despite Mark Martin’s struggles this season, he has 5 top 5 finishes in 2010, tied for the most.

-All three of David Reutimann’s finishes this year have been 5th place results. If his engines would hold up, he may very well be a Chase contender.

-After several consecutive weeks of being the car to beat, Jeff Gordon has looked rather mediocre these past couple of races.

-If Jimmie Johnson keeps making mistakes like he has been, he may be in danger of missing the Chase. Not saying its going to happen, but anything is possible.

-I know he is a slow starter, but Tony Stewart’s season continues to be a career worst. I have said before we will know after Pocono whether he will be back on track, but its clear – he isn’t. Mark my words, Stewart will NOT make the Chase.

-One last interesting note, this also about Stewart. You see stats all the time about Tony’s month by month wins, but here is a new one. Of his 37 career Sprint Cup victories, only 8 have come during a FOX broadcast. As we all know, FOX has broadcasted the first 13-18 races of the season since 2001.

NASCAR, for the love of God, please don't shorten the races

2010-05-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Forgive me in advance, but this is going to sound like a rant, which it probably is.

Believe it or not, NASCAR is better than any other sport when it comes to listening to the fans. Unfortunately, this is a major problem. As the cliché goes, if it aint broke, don’t fix it. Well NASCAR isn’t broke but they started addressing some concerns from the fans. Some of the changes have been great. We have the spoiler back, double file restarts, consistent start times, and green white checkered finishes (some hate this, but we the fans asked for it). This is all good, but it appears to be causing more problems, not solving them. I am digressing a little bit, but the fact that NASCAR has been listening worries me that they will make another change – shorter races. While it makes good sense economically and I wouldn’t mind an abbreviated race at Fontana (I’d rather it off the schedule), shorter races will be the death of NASCAR. I may be in the minority here, but shortening the races in an attempt to make them more exciting is a no win situation.

First of all, it will piss off even more longtime fans who enjoy the current length of races. We don’t need to lose any more veteran fans. Secondly, I guarantee racing will not be any better if it is only 300 laps. The All Star Challenge this past weekend was the perfect example. A 100 lap race, no points on the line. However, we still saw drivers biding their time, waiting to the end. That doesn’t bother me one bit, it’s a part of racing. As a matter of fact, thats an aspect of racing that I enjoy. If you don’t buy that example, look at the Nationwide series. If you find that more exciting, why not make that the series you watch? After all, it has most of the Cup drivers in there. Here is another thing. If you have a problem with the length of a race, there are many simple solutions. During the parts you find "boring", do some laundry, watch NFL, exercise, etc. For people that enjoy the length of the races, what are we to do if they are shortened? That’s an hour or two less in my week that I am watching NASCAR. It is also an hour or two more in the week I spend getting excited about the next race. NASCAR, I beg you, please don’t shorten the races.

Out of curiosity, how many of you that are in favor of shorter races enjoy watching qualifying and practice?

A few thoughts from the All Star Challenge

2010-05-23T19:14:00.001-07:00

I wrote about this a couple weeks back, but allow me to reiterate. There is no new Kyle Busch! If anything, his attitude is getting worse.

Speaking of Kyle, you knew something was going to happen between him and Denny when the lined up side by side on the front row for the final segment.

Jimmie Johnson is certainly not struggling since the spoiler came back. He is however, struggling to close out races.

This is the only time I will ever say this, but this is a race that could be shortened. Personally, I think a 30-20-10 segment would be nice. I also was not a fan of the mandatory four tire pit stop at the final segment. Get rid of this and bring back the inversion, the coolest thing ever.

If I thought the invert rule was awesome, you might be asking yourself what I think the dumbest rule is. Without a doubt, it is the 10 minute break before the final segment. It’s cool that teams get to use that time to work on their cars, but it’s a total momentum killer. Racing is a fast paced sport, and intermissions simply don’t belong in any race.

The thing that got me most excited about past all star races were the double file restarts. Now that we have it for every race, it’s just not the same. Maybe NASCAR should consider spicing it back with 3 wide starts? Now that could be interesting…

People lately have been complaining about the lack of excitement on the track. Here is a suggestion – get rid of qualifying and do a random draw. Seeing Kevin Conway start fourth in the Open provided for some thrilling laps in the beginning. Not to mention, this would cut back some costs with less track time.

Disregarding how it looks, I actually love this new car. It is much safer, tougher, and honestly, I don’t think it has made the racing any worse. Kurt Busch smacked the wall twice and still rallied to win. And Tony Stewart, who was caught up in the big one, was able to overcome his wounded car to finish 5th.

And finally, I would like to see what Regan Smith could do with better fund team, like Red Bull. I know he didn’t do much with DEI a few years ago, but I believe Smith could consistently be a top 10 finisher given a second chance.

The last time Bobby Labonte won a race

2010-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some interesting nuggets since Bobby Labontes last victory in 2003. For a driver I idolized in the late 90’s, I really hope these stats can be erased next weekend at the Coke 600.

The last time Bobby won a race….

-Joey Logano was 13 years old

-Matt Kenseth had just won his first and only Winston Cup

-Jimmie Johnson has zero championships and only 6 wins (this is the one I find most interesting)

-Bobby’s last win was also Winston’s last race with NASCAR

-The Chase did not exist

-Tony Stewart was defending his first Cup title

-Stewart had only 17 wins

-Larry Foyt was racing

-This marked the last time Bobby finished top 10 in the final point standings

-Ironically, this was also the final time for his brother, Terry to finish top 10 in points. 2003 was the year of Terry’s final win as well.

-Jamie McMurray won rookie of the year

-Bill Elliott had just run his final full-time season

Is Kyle better than Jimmie?

2010-05-17T15:18:00.001-07:00

Since winning his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup, the discussion has been where Jimmie Johnson ranks amongst the all-time greats. Some have even gone so far to say that he is the best ever.

I believe he isn’t even the best right now.

Instead, I would give that honor to Kyle Busch, winner of both Cup and Nationwide races this weekend at Dover. Statistically speaking, Kyle still has some catching up to do on Jimmie, but being nearly ten years younger, Busch has plenty of time to do that.

Seeing two of the best, yet most hated driver’s battle at Dover this weekend made for a very enjoyable race. It also provided us some convincing reasons why Kyle is indeed better than Jimmie.

On every restart, Kyle was able to beat Jimmie. Before you say that it’s only because Johnson’s car was terrible on the short runs, keep this in mind – Busch was the only one able to pass Jimmie on the restarts, no one else could. If you don’t buy into this, look at Richmond a few weeks ago. Jeff Gordon wasn’t getting beat by anyone on all those late race restarts. That is until Kyle lined up next to him for the final restart. We all know that end result of that one. Going back a couple of years ago to Chicago, remember that final restart where Kyle was running second? Since I talked about this just a few weeks ago, I won’t repeat myself, but I will say it was one of the best restarts I have ever seen. Ron Hornaday has long been known as the restart master, but Mr. Busch is showing that he is no slouch when the green flag comes back out.

Did you notice that final pit stop between Busch and Johnson? It was a drag race off of pit road, and once they were able to get back up to speed, Kyle went. Unfortunately, FOX did not show us the rest of the lap between them two, but my point is Busch straight up beat Johnson leaving pit road. This is anything knew for Kyle; time and time again he pushes the limit more than anyone else entering and exiting the pits.

As a team, Jimmie Johnson is still ahead of Kyle Busch. Obviously, he still has more patience than Kyle. But as far as pure driving goes, I would take Kyle over Jimmie any day.

Top Ten Predictions - Dover

2010-05-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am expecting four cars to duke it out for the win today - the Gibbs drivers Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin and the Hendrick guys Gordon and Johnson. Ultimately I think Johnson will end his "slump" and pick up the win. Mark Martin, as always, could sneak his way into contention at the end. Here is how the rest of the top ten should look.

Gordon
Johnson (winner)
Ky Busch
Hamlin
Martin
Truex
Allmendinger
Edwards
Ku Busch
Biffle

Diecast collecting for newbies

2010-05-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

I started collecting diecasts several months back, and let me tell you, it’s addicting! I bought my first 1/24 diecast in October and I have bought 17 others since then. I was looking to buy anything and everything. But, as you can imagine, it finally got to be too expensive – most of them cost sixty to seventy dollars when they are first released. For the time being, I have gone back to the much cheaper1/64 scales, which I already had a collection from my teenage years. And while I still consider myself a diecast collecting rookie, I thought I would share some tips from my buying experience.

-Action is the brand that every collector wants to buy from. For more on the history of Action and other diecast manufactures I suggest going to thesundayhauler.com.

-Do you pull for a certain driver, manufacturer, or sponsor? Say you like Red Bull. Then you would want to get Scott Speed and Brian Vickers cars. If you like Dale Jr., then you would look for his cars. Being the most popular driver, Earnhardt has many diecasts available. Now you know why he runs so many different paint schemes. Supply and demand, baby!

-If you are looking on the internet, here are few sites I have bought from; racingusa.com, diecastdepotshop.com, diecastcarsnow.com. The latter two are nice because they offer some from several years back. Racingusa has great service, and sometimes you can get a good price on a car by checking out their deal of the day. Comparing prices with other websites is also beneficial in getting a better deal.

-Always keep the box your diecast comes in. Value wise, it is just as important as the car itself. It also tells you how many were made.

-The production value sticker on the box is fun and important to look at. For example, Tony Stewart’s 2008 Home Depot car had over 28,000 made. On the other hand Clint Bowyer’s Count Chocula car from last year had roughly 600 made. Tony has a larger fan base, but which do you think is worth more?

-If you are at the track shopping for diecasts, I suggest going the tents not affiliated with any drivers. I was at the most recent Atlanta race and found a Denny Hamlin car for only $10 – it would have been at least 50 at his trailer.

-When it comes to collecting the 1/64 scale, most collectors keep the car in the original package. Personally, I don’t do this. You can buy display cases at your local hobby store that can hold many small scale cars in one place.

Diecast collecting is an excellent hobby for the NASCAR fan. It can keep your mind off a bad day at the track while still being a fan. It’s also fun to hear what fellow enthusiasts have in their collection. So with that said, feel free to comment and share your favorite collectible.

Revisiting my Darlington picks

2010-05-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

I finally had a good week! Just as I thought, Gordon led laps and we saw several different leaders through pit strategy. I was wrong about Gordon winning, though. Overall, a pretty good week as I got 7 out of 10 right. Truex, Kahne and Johnson were my three that didn't make the cut.

Top 10 Predictions - Darlington

2010-05-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

I am rushing this one together as I have alot going on right now. I expect to see Jeff Gordon leading alot tonight, but also some pit strategy will allow us to see several leaders. For the second consecutive week, I will pick Gordon to win.

In no particular order

Jeff Burton
Denny Hamlin
Jamie McMurray
Jeff Gordon (winner)
Jimmie Johnson
Ryan Newman
Kyle Busch
Kasey Kahne
Mark Martin
Martin Truex Jr

Enough about the "new" Kyle Busch

2010-05-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

It seems there has been a lot of talk suddenly about the “new” Kyle Busch after winning Richmond this past weekend. I am sure this talk has been going on for a few weeks, but I choose to disregard all this non-sense. But now we have Kyle himself believing this assertion. There are plenty of new things in Kyle’s life recently – he is engaged, he owns a Camping World Truck series team, and of course, he has a new crew chief in Dave Rodgers. There have been some changes in his life for sure. However, I chuckle listening to how Kyle Busch is more mature and how the “old” version of him would not have won Richmond. Look back to a similar situation at the 2008 Chicago race. Kyle had the dominant car, but lost the handle late in the race, just like he did this weekend. Busch got passed by Jimmie Johnson with less than 20 laps to go and looked destined for a runner up finish. A late race caution gave him one more chance, and he got one hell of a restart on Johnson to take the lead and win. He certainly didn’t give up in that race, during the so called “old” Kyle days.

How many times have we heard of other drivers becoming more mature? I remember how Tony Stewart was supposedly a changed man after the 2002 season. Kevin Harvick is another who had “transformed” into a good guy. Even Kyle’s older brother, Kurt has allegedly grown up. Truth is, I see the exact same behavior from these guys that they had five years ago. Some may have more conservative driving styles, but personality wise, they are still the same.

Kyle Busch is an amazing driver – he is arguably one of the most talented stock car drivers today. As far as maturity, he is still has room for improvement. I agree that his interviews have been more pleasant this year, but let’s wait until the end of the year before we make conclusions. Think about it, he hasn’t had a devastating late race loss in the Nationwide series this year, when he had plenty in 2009. These races were the best in demonstrating his lack of professionalism. He did have that tough break at Phoenix a few weeks ago, but we didn’t get to see an interview. After his win on Saturday, his response to a reporter saying we wanted the old Kyle back was, “Make up your mind, people.” Well for me, it has never been an option because there is no such thing because the old Kyle Busch has not left yet.

Should Tony Stewart fans panic?

2010-05-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

When Tony Stewart decided to leave Joe Gibbs Racing to pursue ownership for the 2009 season, many people, myself included, expected him to struggle. Tony proved us wrong, winning four races and even led the standings for the majority of the season. However, with just one top five and only three top tens in 2010, this is the season we expected from Smoke last year. It hasn’t been terrible – Ryan Newman won at Phoenix and Tony appeared to have a race winning car at Texas just three weeks ago. But after ten races, Stewart sits 15th in points and, statistically speaking, is having his worst season in his eleven year career. So Tony fans, should you be worried? Let’s break it down…

Reasons for concern – I always like hearing the bad news first (this is obviously the good news if you are a Tony hater) so I will start with the negatives. The absolute number one reason to worry is that this has been going on longer than you might think. Since Stewart won Watkins Glen 24 races ago, he has only 3 top 5’s and 8 top 10’s. I know one of those top 5’s was a win at Kansas, but you could sense the drop off in performance in the final weeks of 09. You also have to wonder if the distractions of being a car owner is starting to catch up to Tony. In the past twenty years, the overall success of owner/drivers has been minimal (with the exception of Alan Kulwicki). Stewart is historically a slow starter, but this has been one of his worst slumps in his career.

Reasons for hope – It’s still early. Tony doesn’t know what the problem is, but there is ample time to find it. With Newman finding success at flat tracks this year, you have to figure the 14 team will figure it out sooner rather than later. Although Stewart has five consecutive finishes outside the top 10 (top 15 for that matter), he still sits 15th in the points, 53 marks behind 12th place Carl Edwards. You also have to be encouraged with his run at Texas where he led 74 laps before getting caught up in accident, a wreck which he took the blame for. And the fact that there are no short flat banked tracks coming up any time soon has to be promising - upcoming tracks such as Darlington and Charlotte should help him out as they are comparable to Texas. Oh yea, I almost forgot about a couple of road courses he has had some success on!

No doubt about it, Tony Stewart is struggling. His numbers are down from previous years and has been a non factor in most races this season. Like I said, he is a slow starter, so this next month will be the real tell-tale sign of whether Stewart is a contender for the championship.

Time to wave goodbye to the wave around

2010-05-03T06:59:00.001-07:00

NASCAR has done a terrific job these past couple of seasons making changes in an attempt to make the racing more exciting (double file restarts, multiple G-W-C’s, bringing back the spoiler). However, one rule change I have been skeptical about from the beginning has been the wave around rule. I have tolerated it for the most part (it is nice when your driver takes advantage of it), but it finally got out of hand this past Saturday. In case you weren’t watching or fell asleep (I for one didn’t find this race boring at all), let me recap. Kyle Busch had put all but seven cars one lap down when one of those “debris” cautions came out. The eight lead lap cars came down to pit and guess what happened? That’s right; the lapped cars took the wave around by not pitting. In a matter of laps, we went from having eight lead lap cars to thirty! A couple of laps later, we had another questionable debris caution, allowing the wave around recipients to pit and get on an even strategy with the leaders.

Unlike many others, I like the length of the Cup races. I don’t think they need to be shortened at all. Its fun to see a race develop over the course of four hundred laps. The first half of Saturday’s race was a perfect example. To me, it was enjoyable seeing only a handful of cars on the lead lap. On the other hand, NASCAR is doing everything they can to make the racing as competitive as possible, and the wave around rule demonstrates that. However, it defeats the purpose of any driver running hard early on knowing the wave around puts every driver back in the game. My suggestion is to get rid of this rule but keep the free pass. Like I said though, the wave around creates more competition and because of this, it is likely we are stuck with it.

Changing subjects, if you didn’t get a chance to see the truck race yesterday, check out the highlights. That battle for the lead with ten laps to go was simply amazing. Kudos to NASCAR for drying the track when they could of called it a race.

That’s all for today, hope everyone is enjoying their Monday…

Top 10 Predictions - Richmond

2010-05-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

In no particular order

Kyle Busch
Joey Loganao
Sam Hornish
Jeff Gordon (winner)
Ryan Newman
Juan Montoya
Jeff Burton
Clint Bowyer
Mark Martin
Jamie McMurray

Kyle Busch take Richmond pole

2010-04-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Kyle Busch has won the pole for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races in Richmond. David Reuitimann qualified second to make it an all Toyota front row. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who have had run in's the past couple of races, qualified third and fourth, respectively. Ryan Newman rounded out the top five. For Busch, it is his first pole since he won Las Vegas in 2009.

Missing the race are Dave Blaney, Michael McDowell, and Max Papis.