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Edwards Placed On Probation For Three Races
posted by Jay Pennell
Tuesday March 9, 2010
NASCAR President Mike Helton addressed the media Tuesday afternoon following Sunday’s late-race incident between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Well over 100 laps down, Edwards intentionally spun Keselowski through the tri-oval while Keselowski was running sixth. The No. 12 car lifted in the air and slammed the outside wall with the driver’s side window. NASCAR parked Edwards for his actions and ordered him to the NASCAR hauler for further discussion on the matter. Tuesday, Helton explained Edwards would be placed on probation for the next three races and the drivers and their teams would meet with NASCAR about the situation. “Following that incident we asked the driver of the 99 to visit us in the hauler, and we made it very clear to him that these actions were not acceptable and did go beyond what we said back in January about putting the driving back in the hands of the drivers,” Helton said. “We believe the driver of the 99 understands our position at this point.” For NASCAR, the biggest issue emerging from Sunday’s incident was the fact the No. 12 car lifted into the air. “But the bigger topic is the 12 car getting airborne at a mile-and-a-half track which we typically don’t see,” Helton said. “It’s been years since we’ve seen that. So a lot of our effort yesterday, today and until we find resolve to it is figuring out how it happened, why it happened and what we can do to prevent it from happening in the future.”
Keyed Up and Key Motorsports split
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
If missing the first three races to date was not enough drama for the No. 90 Keyed Up Motorsports Chevy team and Casey Mears, organizational upheaval may tip the scales. A member with the team tells Frontstretch.com that Raymond Key’s Cup operation, originally formed with ties to Curtis Key’s teams in the Nationwide and Truck Series, has become its own entity. As of Monday, the team began a move into Tommy Baldwin Racing’s old shop while planning to continue trying to qualify on Cup races. However, if sponsorship for the team fails to pan out, Keyed-Up may vie for a partial schedule similar to that of the Wood Brothers and only run about 12 races the rest of the year.
Wood Brothers running FR9 for now, Roush says no big problems with new motor
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
Ford’s new FR9 motor has not made a speedy entrance to the Sprint Cup Series, mainly because the Ford teams need adequate supplies from the engine parts vendors and not because of performance problems, says team owner Jack Roush. Claiming the engine will perform well over the long-term, he still expects the new design to be “the Ford engine of the future” and fully in use by the end of 2010. While his four Ford teams are not running the revamped engine, Roush revealed that the Wood Brothers Ford team will run the FR9 this weekend at Atlanta and in April at Texas. Beyond that, either Roush nor Ford officials have announced a set schedule for full or future implementation of the power plants.
Crawford says truck team is 'close' on sponsorship
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
While never a standout in the Camping World Truck Series, Rick Crawford has experienced moderate success over his long career in NASCAR’s third-tier. After losing sponsorship at the end of 2009, his Circle Bar Racing team finds itself on the ropes, wondering how many races the future may hold. The veteran Crawford, though, remains optimistic a deal is imminent. “I would say we’re pretty close on signing a sponsor for the 2010 season and 2011 and beyond. [Not starting 2010 with a sponsor] was a matter of losing a sponsor late last year and [the prospective sponsor] getting its marketing efforts done. We’ve got the contracts ready; we’re waiting to get that signed.” Crawford started 2010 with a DNF at Daytona, placing 28th.
Justin Marks Wins The ARCA Race!
posted by Thomas Bowles
Saturday February 27, 2010
Justin Marks won a rain-shortened event at Palm Beach Saturday, collecting his first ever win in the series. Robb Brent, Blake Koch, Tom Hessert III, and Steve Arpin rounds out the top 5. Stay tuned to Frontstretch.com for plenty of post-race coverage on both the website and our Newsletter.
Looking For ARCA Coverage? We Got It!
posted by Thomas Bowles
Saturday February 27, 2010
While the ARCA race at Palm Beach may not be televised … we’ve got you covered. Our own Bryan Davis Keith is at Palm Beach all weekend and will be posting news, commentary, and features from the Florida road course both on the website and in our newsletter. Don’t miss out! And don’t forget, our own Tom Bowles is spending the weekend in Vegas, too … so we’ve got you covered from all angles. Just another reason why we’re the best seat at the track and the best view on the ‘net!
Carter Simo still plans 2010 Cup races
posted by Doug Turnbull
Friday February 19, 2010
One story lost in the shadow of Speedweeks in Daytona was the absence of Carter Simo Racing’s No. 08 car. Much of the team’s equipment was put up for auction Tuesday; however, a source tells Frontstretch.com the operation still plans to field a car in 2010, with a limited schedule of races TBD. CSR may also try and field a car for the Talladega ARCA race in April; until then, most of the team’s employees have been temporarily released and are working for other teams in the sport. In mid-2009, team owner John Carter bought the assets of beleaguered owner/driver Jeremy Mayfield, using the newly purchased equipment and Toyotas to field entries in five races with two-time champion driver Terry Labonte. Equipment issues kept the team from cracking the top 30 in those races. Road course ringer Boris Said also wielded No. 08 Fords last year at both road course races, scoring the team’s season-best finish of 24th at Infineon. Later on that season, Said and longtime partner Mark Simo split, creating the newly-named Carter Simo racing with Labonte behind the wheel. On Tuesday, CSR only placed the equipment purchased from Mayfield on the block, including five Toyotas, a race hauler, and other pit equipment and tools. However, the source says that the team still owns three old Yates chassis and an old Ganassi piece (all of which they converted to Dodges last year) in the shop, with plans on returning to the track midseason pending sponsorship. The move is similar to what happened with Carter Simo last year, in which they took a four-month break between Daytona and Infineon while preparing to race at specific tracks. CSR, which still splits its time between its shops in Charlotte and in Toccoa, Georgia, just has to modify the top of the noses on their cars before returning to the track, due to a minor, lightly-discussed rules change before the season. As for CSR’s 2009 drivers and whether they will return to the team, Boris Said currently is driving the No. 26 for Bill Jenkins’ Latitude 43 Motorsports, and is working on a long-term deal that should remove him as an option. Terry Labonte is also out of the running; he and former owner Bill Stavola formed Stavola Labonte Racing in 2009, but are currently sidelined due to a lack of sponsorship. According to sources, Labonte was offered but initially turned down a return to the No. 08. A John Carter-owned car did participate in the ARCA race at Daytona on February 6th. Former CSR driver James Hylton borrowed a car from Carter, then leased it to driver Jill George for the race. But George infamously crashed the No. 48 roof-first into the wall just 25 laps into the 80-lap Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, finishing 31st in the 43 car field.
Parrott In As Crew Chief For Kenseth
posted by Jay Pennell
Wednesday February 17, 2010
Less than a week into the 2010 season and Roush Fenway Racing has already made a switch at the crew chief position. News broke on Wednesday that Todd Parrott would take over atop the pit box for the No. 17 team with driver Matt Kenseth, replacing Drew Blickensderfer. The Kenseth-Blickensderfer combination won last year’s Daytona 500 and backed it up by winning the next weekend at the Auto Club Speedway. Despite their strong start out of the box, the No. 17 team failed to live up to expectations in 2009, scoring seven top-5s, 12 top-10s and failing to make, along with missing the Chase. Now after an 8th place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500, Blickensderfer is headed to the Roush Fenway Racing R&D Department and Parrott is taking over as crew chief.
Danica Out in Daytona
posted by Mike Lovecchio
Saturday February 13, 2010
A lap 79 crash abruptly ended Danica Patrick’s first career NASCAR start Saturday in Daytona. Patrick went a lap down early in the race and later got back on the lead lap on lap 55 via the “Lucky Dog” rule. As she began moving through the field, she was collected in an incident that involved 12 cars. “I’m just going to take away the fact that I know what it’s going to be like out there come next year,” she said. “I felt we would’ve finished strong if we would’ve finished, but as you can see it’s easier said than done.”
Truck Series Race Postponed Until 7:00 PM Saturday
posted by Thomas Bowles
Friday February 12, 2010
It’s official – Friday track activities were washed out by the weather. Not only was Nationwide qualifying pushed back, but the Truck race was postponed, too – they’ll run at 7:00 PM Saturday night. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the latest news ‘n’ notes from the track! |
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Broadcasting Brillance: My Picks For An All-Star NASCAR Commentating Crew
The Voice Of Vito · Vito Pugliese · Tuesday November 17, 2009
The 2009 Sprint Cup season is nearly over, with Jimmie Johnson simply responsible for his engine turning over next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the mercy killing of the 2009 season and Chase for The championship. Stat dorks have their calculators running overtime right now, trying to conjure up how and when Jimmie Johnson will actually clinch the title – assuming he does not pull a 2005 Homestead stunt and take himself out of the running, which would afford Mark Martin and the No. 5 team a shot at winning their first Sprint Cup in an improbable comeback.
Still, while the action on the track the last two weeks has caused the points battle to rubber band back and forth from a mere 73 points back to 108 markers between Johnson and Martin, what also has gotten the fans attention as of late has been the communication of the chaos that has transpired on the track.
Namely, the television coverage – or lack thereof.
Now, I am not going to pile on with criticism of the ESPN crew – though by prefacing my comments with that statement, I’ve just about opened the floor to any number of beratings and belittlings – but something has been lacking this year with the coverage. Not to fault anybody, but considering there is a championship at stake, there seems to be something missing.
Even NASCAR took the network to task a couple of weeks back, taking issue with the broadcast team deeming AMP Energy 500 at Talladega as “boring”; while at the same time, drivers including Tony Stewart were heard to be radioing into their crews, requesting something – anything – to keep them awake through the insufferable dross of a single-file cue of cars 30 deep, motoring around in a circle for half an hour. Ramsey Poston of NASCAR insisted that there was intense racing throughout the field during this stretch of the race – though these claims remain unsubstantiated and have as yet not been vetted.
Perhaps intense racing means different things to different people; but I digress.
That being said, with the final race upon us, history stands to be made with Jimmie Johnson poised to win his fourth consecutive tile next weekend. Spare the hate mail; I’m just reporting the facts. Even though the facts bear out that under the traditional points system, Johnson would have a mere 13-point lead over Tony Stewart, and be up 56 points on Jeff Gordon.
During the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 this Sunday at Phoenix, every effort was made to create excitement where there was little to be had, to help keep those at home from nodding off to the dulcet decelaration of tones entering the first turn. A puff of smoke here, a jackman getting taped up there, or something as innocuous as the track having shade on it (as if it would adversely affect only the one car in the process of lapping the field), was cause for alarm – though nothing actually happened.
While keeping things the way they were and worked for nearly 30 years could have potentially led to some intense racing , the scenario as it stands has Jimmie Johnson winning his fourth, or Martin breaking through to win an improbable first championship under the current circumstance. That being said, I started thinking about who would I want calling these final laps (besides me) to decide the 2009 Sprint Cup season finale. Like any great meal, it all boils down to presentation. After all, you don’t serve Fillet Mignon in a yellow paper wrapper, or lobster tails in a Styrofoam container with tartar sauce packets, right?
So to set the backdrop for a championship finish that needs a world-class crew to call it down to the wire, and to add some spark to what has become a bit predictable, I have assembled the following all-star broadcast crew below.
Who would you like to see call NASCAR’s finale Sunday night? Frontstretch’s Vito Pugliese reveals his dream list.
Ken Squier: To many who first started watching NASCAR about the same time Cale was mashing in Bobby’s fist with his face, this was the man who was recognized as the voice of what he deemed “big-time stockcar racing.” At 74 years of age, Squier still occasionally narrates NASCAR specials, and makes an appearance during Speedweeks in Daytona for SPEED for the Daytona 500 – the event he deemed “The Great American Race”. He gave legitimacy to a sport by convincing CBS to carry the 1979 Daytona 500, from green flag to checkered, and helped develop the in-car camera three years later. Sure in his later years of broadcasting he may have missed a name or two, (for some reason he would call Jimmy Spencer, “Jimmy Smith”) but he has had a decade to get rested and ready, and call the record setting fourth consecutive championship for Jimmie Johnson – or Mark Martin’s improbable title, coming out of self-imposed part-time exile, at 50 years of age.
Allen Bestwick: If there is a good reason that Alan Bestwick is being allowed to languish in the ESPN studios and not call the action during the race, I am all ears and would love to hear it. He was about as close as you can get to some fans long standing practice of muting the television and listening to MRN. He was one of the brightest additions to the “new” NASCAR network television package that debuted back in 2001, with NBC Sports. While many fans wring their hands over necks they’d like to do the same with, the same would never be said about Bestwick, as his race broadcasts were always insightful, informative, unbiased and remain the benchmark that all others today should be judged.
David Hobbs: For those of you like me who actually look forward to getting up at 7 AM to watch a live Formula One race, one of the things that you welcome is the deadpan British humor of David Hobbs. He, too, started his broadcasting career calling NASCAR races in the early 1980s, and appears as himself in perhaps the greatest racing recreation in the history of cinema, 1983’s “Stroker Ace”. I can only imagine the banter going back and forth between David Hobbs and Darrell Waltrip late in the race the next time Sam Hornish Jr. loops it around.
Kyle Petty: Think of all of the former drivers in recent years that have retired or pulled back to a part-time schedule that you would want to listen to call a race. Dale Jarrett does an admirable job, following in his father’s footsteps in more ways than one, and Darrell Waltrip has become as synonymous with NASCAR races as mysterious debris cautions, even when nobody has wrecked for the previous 45 minutes. While he was often chastised during his career because he had other interests and pursuits beyond just driving a racecar, television is clearly his calling. You’d be hard pressed to find somebody who has a bad word to say about Kyle Petty, and he serves as the prefect link to NASCAR’s past, present and future.
Kyle would probably quip that makes him the “missing link,” and do so in a way that didn’t sound cheesy, corny, or self-aggrandizing as some might.
Dave Despain: Some may recognize Dave Despain as the baritone bald guy with his own call-in show on SPEED capping off their bevy of racing shows Sunday nights, but others may not know that he used to be one of the chief pit reporters for CBS Sports along with Mike Joy during the 1980s. Despain has no issue making his opinion known, and does so in a way that helps educate many fans who are just starting to watch NASCAR – as well as those who have thrown up their hands and have just about had it. It’s probably no surprise that he reminds me a little bit of the late George Carlin; though I don’t think we’d have to worry about him blurting out one of the seven forbidden words during race telecasts. Besides, what winning driver wouldn’t want to be presented with a Despain bobble head in Victory Lane?
Jeanne Zelasko: Hah! Just kidding. Wanted to see if you were still paying attention. I know I got Steve Park’s attention. Those of you who remember the Sonoma race from 2001 will know what I’m talking about…
Bill Weber: Bill Weber has always gotten a lot of grief from race fans, which I never could quite understand. Back when he was doing pit work for ESPN during their heyday of NASCAR coverage (i.e., not today), he was one of the best in the business at explaining to fans the nuts and bolts about nuts and bolts. His time in the booth this year with TNT was shortened after he got into it with a fan in a hotel, but he was the first guy to say “hello” to me in the press room at Michigan International Speedway last season while I was fumbling around for the days bulletins like the noob that I was. While his future status is unknown in the booth, he needs to be ground level, in the thick of the action again, and put that hurricane-proof hair to the test once again.
Matt Yocum: The guy knows the name of every catch can man on even the most obscure start and park team, and can set up a post-race question to Tony Stewart that will not illicit a terse response, even if he blew an engine while leading on the last lap of the Brickyard 400. With the championship to be decided among two drivers, there are sure to be some powerful emotions brewing, and the last thing that would be needed is a dumb question that pours salt into the wound.
Robin Meade: Host of CNN Headline News morning show, Morning Express with Robin Meade, her credentials will be well known to anybody who watches her in the morning for more than three seconds. Does she know anything about racing? She took a lap with Wally Dallenbach for TNT a few years ago, helped to promote a NASCAR ride along give away on her show, and made an appearance at Chicagoland in 2008.
That’s good enough for me. Sorry Rusty and Brad; Game Over.
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With the final weekend upon us, hopefully the Ford 400 at Homestead affords a memorable call for a finish that will be either historical or hysterical. Whether it’s Bill Elliott racing towards a million dollars at Darlington or Dale Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd spinning at North Wilkesboro, the crew calling the action is forever ingrained as part of that event. Some of that seems to have been lost in recent years; I think my team could bring it back.
THE FREE FRONTSTRETCH PODCAST IS BACK – WITH CAREY AND COFFEY!
LATEST EDITION – FANS SOUNDING OFF ON CARL AND BRAD
Jay Coffey and Matt Carey are back in action for Frontstretch, contributing a second season’s worth of weekly podcasts you can’t find anywhere else. Click here to hear the latest edition from the hosts of the Carey and Coffey show, where they take a look back at the Carl-Brad feud through your comments and Tweets about the incident. It seems like everyone has something to say about it all, so C&C take the best of the best while making their own opinions heard on the wreck that sparked a national furor.
So click on the link, sit back, and relax. Once you’re done, if you like what you hear be sure to visit Careyandcoffey.com to get the latest news and information about their show that’s on-air every Sunday morning both online and with ESPN Radio in Southern CT.
©2000 - 2008 Vito Pugliese and Frontstetch.com. Thanks for visiting the Frontstretch!
