NASCAR – Bobby Labonte Scrapes Further Down The Barrel

Oh dear.  The news that Bobby Labonte had been given the partial boot at the irrelevant Hall of Fame Racing wasn’t particularly a surprise seeing as how the team was struggling to find somebody to adorn their sidepods for many race days and that even with Labonte at the wheel, the team was still a shaky rung up from the start and parkers of the world.  Labonte’s replacement for seven races isn’t particularly offensive either.  Erik Darnell has certainly paid his dues on the lower rungs of NASCAR’s theoretical ladder system, although not being able to beat out David Ragan on a reality show isn’t exactly a glowing endorsement of driving talent.  But honestly, Darnell hasn’t embarrassed himself in Nationwide races for Roush this season.

Labonte on the other hand is really grasping for straws, agreeing to a seven race deal with start and park marvels, TRG, who have been fielding cars for David Gilliland throughout 2009.  Could TRG be interested in Labonte’s championship provisionals which guarantee them a spot in the field?  One thing’s for sure, it’s a sad fall for a man who was lifting the championship trophy less than a decade ago.

 

NASCAR: Peace Out David Stremme, Hello Brad Keselowski

Mysterious “sources” claim that Brad Keselowski to Penske is all but a done deal for 2010.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that David Stremme is the man about to get chopped.  Stremme’s second shot at NASCAR really hasn’t gone any better than his first one and Keselowski has already shown he can hang with the big boys in Sprint Cup, albeit with the best equipment in the game.  If Keselowski could somehow get his contract sorted with Hendrick, it really would be beneficial to all parties to get him in the #12 seat right now, as he’s obviously ready.

Finally, Sam Hornish will be the worst driver at Penske once more!

 

Wednesday Night At The Races?

Did you watch Speed last night? You probably didn’t, realistically. But there was high level racing: Trucks raced live and the Modifieds made their first ever run at Bristol on tape delay. Both races were pretty interesting, with the two Cup drivers in the Modified race ending up near the bottom (Ryan Newman crashed on lap 3, Kahne was out with mechanical problems) and the Mystic Missle piloted by Donny Lia winning the 150 lap feature.

Meanwhile, the trucks raced late into the night. After 1/4 of the field pit in the early going, the remaining trucks raced hard around the facility. While track position was botched frequently due to the retarded pitting rules for the Trucks, all was not lost. Kyle Busch stormed through, passed the leader going three wide through 3/4, and ended up running away with the win. Not too shabby. Much was made of the not-so-special record Ron Hornaday had made for himself by winning a bunch of truck races in a row. While he didn’t win, he finished 3rd, further putting him in the lead in that series pointwise. If only it meant something…

 

Carfax 400: Vickers Wins, Junior finally does something

If you had bet on any of my betting picks to finish in the top 3 on BetUS, you’d be up a lot of money after this weekend. Vickers won another fuel mileage race at Michigan, with Jeff Gordon coming up second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3rd. Its Jr’s best result in a long, long time, and while impressive, a good amount of his finish, if not the majority, was the result of smart planning on the part of his team and fortuitous cautions. Its better to be lucky than good though, as Jimmie Johnson found out, running out of gas while leading with only a couple laps to go again. As in the first Michigan event, Johnson had effectively dominated the race only to come up about 3.5 miles short on fuel. Mark Martin also ran out on the last lap. The win is huge for Vickers, who is just a handful of points out of the chase.

 

PREVIEW: Carfax 400 @ Michigan

Its a big place, ‘ol Michigan. As one of the fastest ovals out there, it provides shockingly little action. Its too big, too wide, the braking not severe enough. Really more of a rolling out of the gas. And so top teams dominate.

DRIVING FOR THEIR CAREERS:

-Jamie McMurray has finishes of 11th and two 10th places in his last 3 races. Expect him to be on the outside merely being strong.

-Stremme has never done well. Career best finish? 19th.

REMEMBER LAST WEEK?

I’ve tried to pick the winners the last two weeks and instead, I picked the 2nd place finisher both times. Hey, not too shabby I guess. Since we’re away from braking and actual talent, it comes down to car. What that means is Hendrick domination; 2 of the last three were won here, but more than that, the vast majority of laps too. But one man has shown the ability to break through that – Carl Edwards, winner of the fall race in 2008 and spring/summer race in 2007. Given the showing by Ford in California, I’m going with them here too. Not a strong bet though, admittedly.

GOOD THING HE’S DALE’S KID:

Dale qualified 30th, finished 14th in the earlier 09 race at Michigan. He looked good last year and is in the right car to win, and yet he simply isn’t as good as Johnson, Gordon, or Martin. And that will be his downfall.

WHO TO BET ON:

Brian Vickers in win/show/place. Always strong here, as he is anywhere where skill is mitigated. Just kidding. He’s actually pretty decent.

WHO NEEDS IT:

Kyle Busch wants in the hunt? Its now or never. Dale also needs a big performance to be taken seriously again. Otherwise, he’s on the downside of his career and staring at Kyle Petty as his future.

WATCH THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN FOR:

Dude who will do the most cool stuff and get ignored will most assuredly be Kurt Busch. Strong on the big ovals, typically agressive.

 

Why The Nationwide Series Sucks

So, I have a weekend away from the wife, and I’ve decided to do what any redblooded midwesterner would do given this situation: I am going to see NASCAR. Never been to MIS before, and I figure it should at least be interesting. It is a big place, after all. I’ve decided I like Turn 1 plenty, and I’m thinking I’d like to sit there; no big deal. Its $65 plus taxes and the charge for me to print it out on my own computer. Whatever. But if I want to go the day before to see the Nationwide guys duke it out? $50. Period. And sorry, but qualifying for the Cup series is $15, and that’s where you guys need to be priced. Its a bitch to get down there, and to ask me to pay $50 when I know your stands won’t even be a quarter full is an insult. I’ll gladly sit on the entrance to turn 3 for $10-15, and not a penny more. Just be glad someone is there and paying for parking.

 

Stewart Wins at Glen: We Forget to Update

So, they raced on Monday and we got a show. Tony Stewart wins yet another race on a road course, Marcos Ambrose makes me look pretty smart by finishing second, and good showings throughout much of the field by ringers (Max Papis) and regulars alike (Jimmy Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya).

Not a surprise: A big ‘ol wreck that collected pretty much everyone in its wake. Also not a surprise: Junior doesn’t manage the brakes and goes headlong into the wall in the last two corners. This weekend, its off to Michigan, who’s entry list is already up. Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte are looking for past champ provisionals, while Brad Keselowski looks to get back into Cup action.

 

Something-Something At The Glen Preview

I don’t know who the sponsor is this year (something cheese based?) and I don’t really care either. So with that said, a preview for this week’s race in Upstate NY.

DRIVING FOR THEIR CAREERS:

-Reed Sorenson almost got knocked out of his ride. Probably still on the cusp of a truck series career. Maybe he could be ARCA champ?

-Stremme must be on THIN ICE~ after last week.

REMEMBER LAST WEEK?

I told you to watch for Juan Pablo Montoya to be strong. Well, he was. And, naturally, he didn’t win. The odds were good though, right? Well, being a road course specialist doesn’t help when he’s never done too well at a track. The twisty processional that is Sears Point isn’t much like the passing zone happy knife fight that is Watkins Glen. He might do okay, but I wouldn’t bet on him, hot hand or not. Value bet this week is Marcos Ambrose: 3rd here last year, car is stronger in ’09, and this is exactly the kind of place he raced V8 Supercars on. Also, Kyle Busch. He’s had some tough times, but he’s solid at the Glen.

GOOD THING HE’S DALE’S KID:

Last 3 finishes for Joonier here at The Glen: 22nd, 42nd, 18th. A top 20 is a victory here this weekend for a guy who can’t turn right.

WHO TO BET ON:

Ambrose. No lines on BetUS, but he’s gotta be a better deal than Montoya. Also consider in the value area Patrick Carpentier. He’s a ringer in a halfway decent car with lots of road racing experience and he’s probably through the roof high if he’s not in “field”.

WHO NEEDS IT:

Kyle Busch. Incredible to think he might miss the chase.

WATCH THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN FOR:

Robby Gordon. Always competitive at Watkins Glen and crazy. Bound to make it into your TV screen without loud pronouncments from the announcers and pass 3 dudes at once before wrecking horrifically.

 

NASCAR: Speaking of (Almost) Rising From The Dead…Here’s Jacques! (UPDATED)

Hoping For A Happier Weekend

In one of the truly bizarre stories of the moment, it appears that Jacques Villenueve has taken time out of his busy schedule of begging to get back into Formula One to hop back into a Sprint Cup car for this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen.  Villenueve looks set to replace Reed Sorenson in the #43 GEM car for the weekend and that more races in NASCAR may be a possibility.  Sorenson’s name has been bandied about in past weeks as a possibility for the scrap heap if GEM decides to downsize, so this move might be the death knell of his Cup career, especially if Jacques can put in a good performance.

The #43 is in the top-35 of NASCAR owner points, which means that Villenueve is locked into the field and won’t suffer the embarrassment of DNQing as he did at Daytona in 2008.  Whether he can come in cold and deliver a good performance for the beleaguered #43 team is another matter entirely.

UPDATE:  GEM’s released a statement saying that while the offer was out there, Reed Sorenson has apparently recovered from minor carbon monoxide poisoning suffered at Pocono to be able to drive the #43 car.  But really, is there any reason to think that Jacques wouldn’t be an upgrade over Sorenson on a road course?

 

NASCAR at Watkins Glen Entry List – Now With Actual DNQs!

After the first Sprint Cup race without a DNQ in about five years, there are thankfully more than forty-three entries listed for the second and final road course of the 2009 season.  Here are the notables:

*Patrick Carpentier in the #55 subbing for Michael Waltrip (guaranteed a spot in the field)

*PJ Jones in a second Robby Gordon car.

*Boris Said in a John Carter crapbox.

*Ron Fellows in the Finch entry.

*Max Papis in his usual #13 Germain car.

*Brian Simo in Tommy Baldwin’s machine.

*Two TRG cars with Andy Lally in the main #71 car and David Gilliland in the #70.

Should be a fun qualifying session to see which ringers make it in.