The Frontstretch: Did You Notice? ... Stewart's Sabotage, Ragan Rattled, Bowyer's Cheap Shot, And Richmond Beauty by Thomas Bowles -- Wednesday September 10, 2008

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Did You Notice? … How much better the racing was at Richmond when just a handful of cars were racing for points? All over the track on Sunday, it looked like drivers were shot out of a cannon, released from the shackles of having to calculate what’ll happen if they play it safe and run 17th. From Tony Stewart’s spirited bid for a win to Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s spinout of Kyle Busch, the action on this three-quarter mile short track had fans on their feet all race long. Yeah, this track is conducive to great racing … but I don’t feel like there was this type of A+ competition back in May. No question about it, this 400-lapper was one of the best runs of the season to date.

With that in mind, let’s do a simple case of addition. No championship concerns + multi-groove short track = great racing. Points racing + aerodynamic-heavy race track = single-file parade. Hmm… I wonder what the problem could be? I just can’t figure it out …

Did You Notice? … That even with all that said, the CoT is such an ill-handling race car Tony Stewart was still struggling to even get into position to swap the lead with Jimmie Johnson. Even at a short track, this thing still handles like a 300-pound gorilla having a heart attack ‘round every corner.

Did You Notice? … Speaking of Stewart, he’s spent the past seven days fighting off comparisons to his more belligerent former self? That Rolling Stone article set the tone for September, in which Smoke was painted as an egomaniac who’s worried about little more than women and fast cars. Then, on Sunday evening, he let out a little post-race frustration, angry at a third runner-up finish in his last six weeks on tour. For this one, Stewart blamed his pit crew, who lost him the lead during the final series of pit stops with 28 laps remaining. Not surprisingly, crew chief Greg Zipadelli didn’t take to that too well; the two had words, and Stewart wound up sitting on pit wall like a kindergartener that’d been sent to time out.

But before you’re ready to write Stewart off as a 2008 version of his former self, I think you better hold on a minute. That Rolling Stone article mentioned nothing of the man’s many charitable endeavors, and many of those quotes appeared taken out of context. Off-color jokes are nothing to sneeze at, but it seemed like at several points in the article, it’s clear Stewart was hardly being serious. As a journalist, I smelled a man on a mission to paint this veteran a certain way – and he found enough quotes to support a pre-conceived “theory” he proved with flying colors. As for the Stewart – Zipadelli squabble, I think their relationship is strained, but far from severed. After all, it was Zipadelli calling out the No. 20 crew for some poor stops as recently as California, and even the casual fan has noticed how much they’ve struggled over Stewart’s usually sizzling summer.

Here’s the bottom line: Stewart and Zipadelli are in a position with nothing to lose, have the best equipment in the business, and are running better than they have all season long. If there’s a darkhorse to challenge Busch, Edwards, and Johnson in this Chase – Stewart is it. His entire team just has to realize it and jump on board … but that’s not an easy task in itself.

Did You Notice? … The spirited drives by both Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards at Richmond? Both drivers faced adversity for different reasons: Busch wrecked off Dale Jr.’s rear bumper, while Edwards had a flat tire under green. Those circumstances trapped both drivers midpack, stripping them of a chance to win and leaving them little to no reason to keep going. After all, a 15th or 30th place finish wouldn’t make a difference for either, as both had clinched the first and second seed in the Chase no matter what. But instead of packing it in, each driver gave 110%, coming home with Top 15 finishes and making statements that their teams are capable of handling adversity. These were admirable runs for two men who gained critical experience should the same type of problems befall them over the next ten weeks.

Kyle Busch and his No. 18 team faced a rare case of adversity Sunday… and proved up to handling the challenge.

*Did You Notice?*… The rather strange way in which David Ragan handled his post-race interview at Richmond? One of the first things he said after exiting his car was, “It just seemed to turn a corner — sometime after lap 100 there, we didn’t have any speed.”

Umm, David … wouldn’t that be because you wrecked sometime around Lap 123? The 22-year-old said they’d have to “bring the car back and see what went wrong.” Maybe it’s just me, but isn’t it kind of hard to get speed out of your car when it’s in pieces? Everyone makes mistakes and spins out on their own sometimes — but wouldn’t you think that’s on you, not the setup?

With that said, both driver and crew did a remarkable job of remaining in contention with a car that had slammed the outside wall at 100 miles an hour. But when all was said and done, David Ragan lost it on the track and cost himself a Chase bid … it’s as simple as that. All this talk about missing the setup is just hogwash – Bowyer was a dead duck if Ragan’s car was 100 percent.

Also, Matt McLaughlin had expertly pointed out Ragan insulted the Wood Brothers during the course of the weekend. Several fans were wondering what happened – and I also missed it – so I asked him to provide the info for this column. Here’s what he told me:

During the first pit sequence, Ragan was trying to exit his pit as Elliott [in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford] was just arriving to enter his directly ahead of the No. 6 team’s box. Because of that, Ragan had to pause briefly. His crew chief uttered a mild expletive, at which point Ragan commented, “Don’t worry about it, they’ll be a lap down soon.”

Ouch … not good. Considering Ragan wasn’t even born when David Pearson was running circles around the field in the late 1970s, that’s not exactly the type of attitude you want to hear concerning one of the sport’s most legendary teams. Without teams like the Wood Brothers, there is no opportunity for Jack Roush … and perhaps none for David Ragan, either.

Did You Notice? … Since we’re dumping on Ragan, I admit, let’s mention this one point – the poor guy was slammed with a cheap shot courtesy Clint Bowyer’s love tap of Regan Smith in the final 100 laps. Seemed like a little bit of a dirty play on Bowyer’s part … Ragan’s car was fading, and he didn’t need to do that to ensure he’d come out on top.

Don’t tell me that was an innocent mistake … Bowyer looked like he knew just where to hit Smith, and exactly where Ragan was on the race track. Just as our NASCAR Sprint Cup Insider told me not too long ago (Big tease! Our new column debuts tomorrow) “When you want to move someone, guys at this level know how to do it without getting caught.”

Did You Notice? … One final thing from the Chase battle this week. One of the underreported stories was Kasey Kahne’s plight on pit road all race long. Qualifying 14th due to this position in owner points, the No. 9 team watched in horror Sunday as two other Roush organizations – Jamie McMurray’s No. 26 and David Gilliland’s No. 38 – were further back in the field, enabling them to pick pit stalls both in front of and behind the No. 9. During the event, both McMurray and Gilliland then did everything possible to make Kahne’s life a living hell. By my unofficial count, Kahne lost at least 11 spots on pit road Sunday, as every time he came down pit lane he found himself with a tough exit based on the way the two cars parked around him.

As Kahne said himself after the race, his car handled so poorly it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. But the way Roush appeared to use this advantage is disconcerting at best, disgusting at worst – especially considering the Chase is comprised of just four organizations fielding three playoff cars apiece. How bad will this year’s team orders get? I don’t think we want to know to just yet …

Did You Notice? … Well, Matt McLaughlin and I were on the same wavelength for one more thing this week. You couldn’t help but wonder about Jimmie Johnson’s comment about Tony Stewart in Victory Lane, one in which he referred to the future Stewart-Haas driver as his “teammate.” In case you’re wondering, Hendrick is supposed to be sending engine and chassis support over to the future Stewart-Haas Racing and nothing more – and as I’ve been told several times by their staff, that makes the organization a “separate entity.” Hmm… looks like Johnson made a boo-boo on this one!

Yeah, I hear your yelling from the gallery: if Stewart really is some sort of underground teammate to Hendrick, why not put him in the No. 5 car then? Ahh … great question. It was going to take more than just a top-notch ride to pull Stewart away from Gibbs – Chevrolet had to offer him some kind of ownership stake. So, if you’re the Bowtie Brigade, why wouldn’t you offer him 50 percent of a team whose owner is in jail, while leaving it under the Hendrick umbrella as some sort of “B” team where additional expansion in the form of other cars can occur over time? For example, what if Mark Martin has a bang-up season next year and wants to keep racing? No worries if you’re Hendrick … just send Landon Cassill or JR Motorsports’ Brad Keselowski to a third team over at Stewart-Haas. After all, Roush has Yates … all’s fair in this ownership consolidation war.

Did You Notice? … The debris strewn all over Richmond? Between the drivers throwing out their water bottles and fans throwing their trash onto the track like it’s their home recycle bin, the inside wall was home to a pile of junk down the entire backstretch. For most of the race – and especially after the Junior – Busch wreck — NASCAR pretty much had the freedom to call a debris caution at will (although they chose not to).

Many writers have said this before, but the whole throwing trash on the track thing has just got to stop. There’s many ways in which you can show your frustration … you can yell, write a letter to the sport, or just don’t show up at the track in the first place. But if you’re going to go to the races, you’re going to have to follow the rules … I mean, how would you like it if you blew a tire because of some stupid guy throwing a beverage can out the highway while you’re going 75 miles an hour? This stuff is dangerous, it’s silly, and it’s giving fans a bit of a black eye.

Did You Notice? … The attendance for the Nationwide Series race at Richmond hovered somewhere between 50 and 100? Alright, so it was a little more than that … but I counted about five fans down the entire length of the backstretch grandstands. Five. Certainly 7:00 at night a few hours after a 1:00 Cup show isn’t the optimal time to reschedule the event; but you’d think a few more fans would stick around for that.

Along those same lines, most of the news apart from the Nationwide CoT test was somewhat discouraging. Smithfield Foods is ending their sponsorship of Team Rensi’s No. 25 after the season, and Germain Racing is also looking after GEICO decided to leave Mike Wallace. Sure, the pony cars could be a great new addition to the series … but what teams are going to be left to drive them?

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James
09/10/2008 07:34 AM
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Tom, Thanks for reporting the cheap shots taken at Kahne and Regan. Makes me think that the chase might have had more excitement if both Kahne and Regan made it-and left the whinners Denny and Clint out. So I guess the chase is going to be the Bevis and Butthead show. with Been there done that Johnson added in.

Melissa
09/10/2008 10:02 AM
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Finally a writer who did his research and realized that it isn’t just Tony who is angry at the crew, Zippy is as well.

Kevin in SoCal
09/10/2008 01:48 PM
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“Dont worry, they’ll be a lap down soon.”

That doesnt sound like as big an insult as you make it out to be. Sounds like he was just speaking the truth. The truth hurts. When was the last time the 21 car finished on the lead lap?

Señor Obvious
09/10/2008 01:49 PM
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“Don’t worry about it, they’ll be a lap down soon.”

Yeah, and then they will be out of the way so a contender can make a pit stop without having to stumble around a backmarker.

THAT’S not what insults the Wood Bros heritage though. What insults the Wood Bros. heritage is the same thing that insults Petty’s heritage. Time has passed them by. They can’t keep up with the changing landscape in NASCAR. NOT David Ragan’s fault. NOT David Pearson’s fault. It’s the late ’90s and early 2000’s Wood Bros. organitation that has insulted that Pearson era Wood Bros. organization.

Looks like a writer just looking for something to get his NASCAR-detractor followers up in arms about.

“As a journalist”, you should have maybe caught a whiff of that?

marshall
09/10/2008 02:08 PM
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Very good article Tom, and very perceptive on the Rolling Stone article and on the entire situation at the 20 team . You are right on the money on all counts .
I almost fell out of my chair over your assertion that Jack Roush might do something underhanded . What in his past could possibly give you such an idea .
As it seems to take a minumum of 5 laps to re-start a race after even the smallest piece of debris is discovered , and as many as 15 or 20 laps when a wreck happens , far too long on both counts , something needs to be done . Intentional driver debris ( throwing roll bar padding or drink bottles out the window to get a caution ), or stopping or slowing on the track , deserve automatic 5 laps held on pit road , cause the fans are sure tired of sitting through needless caution laps . Fans throwing debris ? Good question . You would think their neighbors in the stands would take care of that , but it still goes on .
Chevrolet offered Tony the Haas team because it was available . If it haden’t been , they would have helped finance a brand new team for him . Getting Tony Stewart on board was very , very important to Chevrolet . Ragan dissing the Woods . I know with Ragans background he knows all about the Woods and the old days in NASCAR . But the current philosophy in NASCAR is to run away as fast as possible from the past , if a driver is over 35 he should be retiring , and NASCAR has encouraged the lack of respect for anything further back than the 90s .

The Old Guy
09/10/2008 02:11 PM
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Petty Enterprises, The Woods Brothers, Morgan McClure Racing. Their time has come and gone and all are but field fillers these days.

It’s sad but unfortunately true.

I didn’t pay much attention to Kahne’s troubles on Pit Road but I did see the cheap shot by Clint Bowyer.

Jr.s hit on Kyle was exactly the same as Kyles
hit on Jr. Two guys racing hard just as they should have been.

Graceann
09/10/2008 02:44 PM
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Thanks, Finally someone has guts to print what went on in the pits with Kahne. Every body else wants say Kahne just didn’t belong in the Chase. Maybe he would have made it and maybe he wouldn’t but with Roush playing dirty we will never know for sure.

Robert Eastman
09/10/2008 03:05 PM
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I believe you’re mistaken when you wrote that GEICO decided to leave Wallace. It’s been reported that NASCAR and Nationwide threw GEICO out of the series which, for Mike Wallace, is terrible. They could have at least allowed them to finish out their contract. As always, NASCAR could care less about its teams’ struggles if it means adding a few extra dollars to their own “Billion Dollar” fortunes! How many ways can you say GREED! It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad: NASCAR’s GREED destroying NASCAR. (ie:NASCAR trying “to ROB” AB Busch by demanding $30 Million per year from them instead of the previous $15 Million/yr. NASCAR then ends up settling for $10 Million/yr. from Nationwide) STUPIDITY always happens when IDIOTS believe themselves to be “Geniuses!”

Ginger
09/10/2008 04:19 PM
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Thank you for mentioning Bowyer’s cheap shot. He took more than one of those during the race and does it every week. He has no respect for the other drivers on the track, and this little habit is going to turn around and bite him ‘you know where’. The sooner, the better.

Dennis
09/10/2008 04:59 PM
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Kahne has nothing to lose now and pay back at the right time can take out a Roush chase contender. It is what I would call, Good Karma.

Fpresto
09/10/2008 05:05 PM
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While I am a huge Tony Stewart fan I feel his comments following the race were uncalled for. Thanks to the free Trackpass I was able to monitor both Tony’s scanner and pit road times. After the third or fourth pit stop Tony came on the scanner and appoligized to the team because he continued to mess up and cost them time by not hitting his marks and vowed he would get it right sooner or later which he did. However, the last pit stop, where he lost the lead, according to the times shown on Trackpass was by far their fastest of the day. Johnson’s crew just did better. He seemed to forget his earlier pit road mistakes and nobody on the team rebuked him.

oldracer258
09/10/2008 06:29 PM
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I asked David about the comment on the 21 car. He said Bill wasn’t running good and for that reason he thought he would be a lap down soon. He is a good friend of Bill’s and Bill is his hero. He on no way meant to “diss” him.

Bob
09/10/2008 08:42 PM
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It was not the pits where Kahne has his problems, it is the racetack. Minus a little bit of insanity in mid season, he has been junk and so has his cars. As for the Roush conspiracy, if he was plotting something, wouldn’t he box in the man ahead in points? You better clean your windshield.

mkrcr
09/10/2008 09:35 PM
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Kevin in SoCal,Obvious,and The Old Guy…
Ditto. thanks for saving my my old hands typing.

Graceann
09/11/2008 12:17 AM
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Bob, Maybe you better check the videos & pictures of the pit stops. You must just watch on TV and nothing else, no follow ups to form your opinion. If you were there you might have seen Kahne’s crew pushing him backwards to get him in position so he could get out of the pit, or the few times when he actually tapped the #38 to push him out of the way, or if you read any articles on the race you would have seen comments from fans & Team director Kenny Francis. It made sense to go after Kahne so that Ragan would have a shot seeing Bowyer was doing a fine job of messing up his chances on his own. Why would Roush go after the points leader? He was already locked in the chase, that makes no sense at all Bob. You mentioned something about Kahne being junk? I beg to differ with you sir. Three wins is not junk, not many in the chase have made that accomplishment have they Bob? You need to check his stats, and I am not just talking NASCAR Cup. You just might be surprised at what Kahne can do, a little more than some of your “Superstars” and he has the trophies to prove it. You must just follow NASCAR or you would know this. Better clean your own windshield first.

Bob
09/11/2008 08:12 PM
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Graceann,
As you are biased to kahne, I won’t argue with you but 3 wins do not cover 4 30th to 40th place finishes. If I were blocking, I would block Bowyer not anyone locked in, Kahne can’t do anything from where he was if you beat Bowyer. Get your conspiracy theories correct.

Graceann
09/12/2008 03:29 PM
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It appears from the outcome Kahne was indeed the man to block. He did surpass Ragan. The rate Bowyer was going Kahne would have overtaken him as well. Have you not compared the stats of the two? Bowyer ran fairly comparable to Kahne all season, including the 20 and above finishes. To answer your question, Yes I am bias to Kahne, I prefer him over the other drivers. He at least does not ignore his fans, nor does he drive dirty to win.

 

Contact Tom Bowles

Recent articles from Tom Bowles:

Did You Notice? ... Layoffs Still Looming, Testing Hope, And Changes At Yates
Why We Were Robbed Of The REAL Championship Chase
Did You Notice? ... Hendrick Layoffs, Ratings Reality, And Gordon's Age?
Out With The Old, In With The Who?
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If you want to know more about Tom Bowles or to view all of his articles here at the Frontsretch, check out his archive and bio page.

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