Tag Archives: Ken Schrader

1. Bad Karma For Robby. Robby Gordon seems to have been bit with some bad karma as of late. Last month, he lost approximately $4.5 million when the Dakar Rally was canceled due to the threat of terrorism in Mauritania, an unforeseen bill which prompted him to admit that the loss hit the Robby Gordon Motorsports "slush fund" pretty hard. Now, he may be looking at a fine from NASCAR for a situation not of his making. It seems that Gillett Evernham Motorsports, RGM's new partner, sent an unapproved nose for his recently converted Ford-to-Dodge racecar, one that officials wasted no time in confiscating from the No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge. A couple of pondering points here, though; will GEM reimburse Gordon for any fine that comes from the illegal part... and how cool would it be to have a $4.5 million slush fund?

The 2000 edition of the Great American Race wasn't very good, but come 2001 NASCAR thought they'd developed a solution to ensure good racing at Daytona. A small spoiler called the "taxicab strip" was added to the roof of the Cup cars; NASCAR officials hoped the cars would punch a bigger hole in the air with the strip, allowing for more passing despite the restrictor plates. Whether the strip actually made for better racing is highly debatable; what was of greater importance was how drivers quickly reported the strips made the closing rate on a car ahead frighteningly fast. That led to some dangerous and ultimately tragic racing that unforgettable February afternoon.

In the background of a busy garage as Session 2 got underway, it was formally announced on Monday that Ken Schrader will be piloting the No. 49 Dodge for BAM Racing during all Speedweeks activities this year. Replacing John Andretti in the car, Schrader will also be behind the wheel for the upcoming tests at California and Las Vegas, with the possibility of additional work with the team down the road. The move is like coming home for the Missouri native, who drove for the team during the 2003-05 seasons and collected six top-10 finishes in 104 starts.

Casey Mears was the first car to pull onto the track Monday morning, and once again, the roar of engines was heard running around Daytona International Speedway. With that, all of the offseason moving and shaking is now behind us, and almost all teams are set going into 2008. Now the job lies ahead of everyone to figure out who the new drivers are in what rides for the upcoming season. In order to help with that, here is a quick reference list.

Trying to find a high point for Ken Schrader last season was a major challenge. While he did lead two laps at Darlington, his No. 21 Ford was taken out in a crash and finished 41st - typical of his run with the Wood Brothers throughout 2007. Frankly, the only finish worth mentioning in that car was a 19th-place finish at Martinsville; not only was that Schrader's best run with the team in 12 starts, it was the only time he finished on the lead lap all season. Also notable was his lone race driving with a group of old friends - the No. 49 BAM Racing Dodge Schrader drove during the 2004-05 seasons. Pressed into service during a one-race deal for Indianapolis, the 52-year-old not only qualified the underdog team on speed, he brought the car home 25th, the car's fourth-best finish during all of 2007.

Did You Notice? That Ken Schrader popped up over in the Gillett Evernham camp this weekend? Patrick Carpentier mentioned him as one of the drivers most responsible for allowing the rookie to adapt to the track so quickly. That could only mean good things for the veteran; Schrader currently is without a ride in any of NASCAR's top three series, and could benefit immensely from developing a relationship with Evernham and Dodge. Even though the 52-year-old struggled throughout the course of the season with the Wood Brothers - he hasn't won a race since 1991 - you'd like to think he'd have a few more NASCAR starts left in him, given the right opportunity and a limited schedule.

All weekend long at Lowe's, both complaints and concern centered around the tire Goodyear brought to the event. After seeing the race unfold, is the tire still too hard for this surface - or are drivers getting to the point of whining about something a little too much?

While the same thing would have occurred in Daytona this July if it weren't for the rain, on Saturday it was the go-or-go-homers sweeping the top eight spots in the field for Sunday's race - the first time in the rule's short history that's happened. The reason for the somewhat strange lineup comes from the fact that this was an impound race, meaning that the final practice session for the weekend would be before qualifying, not after; and once the session was over, cars couldn't be touched before Sunday's event. That meant those teams "locked" into the field worked all weekend on race set-ups and drivability in the draft, while those on the outside of the Top 35 worked in qualifying trim - creating a huge speed differential at the restrictor-plate facility.

With the spotlight on the top 12 drivers in the standings each week, it's sometimes easy to forget that 31 others take to the track each weekend in pursuit of a long-sought after victory... but that's what the purpose of this column is for. With another Chase race under our belts, it's time to take a look at how some of the non-Chasers performed in Kansas this past weekend. Now, to say Sunday's race was crazy would be a bit of an understatement; weather, accidents, and plain bad luck ruined the days of many participants. As a result, seven of the Chasers experienced trouble, leaving many of those not in the NASCAR playoffs available to steal the headlines. With that in mind, let's take a look at Who's Hot, and Who's Not, Non-Chase style...

When it comes to the Top 35 nowadays, it's really become more about separating the "3" out of that number than anything else. For the past month, the battle has stood amongst three teams within Petty Enterprises (No. 45), Wood Brothers/JTG Racing (No. 21), and Bill Davis Racing (No. 22). Whatever the driver behind the wheel, they're fighting hard for the final two spots within that coveted 35-team window - as well as the automatic qualifying exemption that goes with it. As the season winds down, regular readers of this column know how much the intensity level has simply been ratcheted up - the stakes are just as high as if they were competing for the coveted Nextel Cup trophy.