Keselowskis, Johnsons, and the Schedule

Scheduled Events

 

There's some hubbub around Jay Hart on Yahoo! saying that NASCAR needed to "get out of the NFL's way."  What he specifically said is that, "...there is no answer as long as the Chase kicks off about the same time as the NFL season.  What NASCAR really needs to do is get out of the NFL's way. Start the Chase in August, end it in early October." 

Well, with new tracks in "new markets" competing with traditional tracks in traditional NASCAR strongholds, it's damn near impossible to shorten a season without seriously pissing off a LOT of fans.  However, as someone who has faced Sunday afternoon having to pick between watching Jimmie Johnson march towards another Cup championship and a winning Chicago Bears team, I can tell you I've chosen the Bears a few times.  The same thing happens in early summer when the Stanley Cup Playoffs get rolling.  To me, a Detroit Red Wings playoff game takes precedence over another 1.5-mile tri-oval race.

That doesn't mean I'm not a NASCAR fan.  I just have other things in my life, in particular other sports.  I know I'm not the only one. 

Today, it's not just about getting new fans to tune in to NASCAR.  Growth was easy when people were discovering the sport for the first time, or fleeing the implosion of American open wheel racing and looking for somewhere else to get their oval track speed fix.  Now it's about getting people to tune in by being better than everything else on television at the time the races are run.  Unfortunately for NASCAR, the NFL puts on a good show. 

The people that run NASCAR have to consider the gains that could be made in the ratings by avoiding direct competition with the NFL.  Network television dramas and comedies are scheduled with a thought towards what other shows are in their time slot.  The sport doesn't need something as dramatic as cutting off a huge chunk of its schedule, what it needs is a schedule that allows fans to catch the Cup race and their favorite NFL team's game in the same weekend. 

And if you don't think fans can change from the Saturday night/Sunday afternoon routine, just look at the competition itself.  I'm sure lots of people questioned Monday Night Football in the beginning.  Who's going to watch NASCAR on a Friday evening?  Maybe the same fans that watch football on a Monday night. 

Caution Flag

 

There's a certain bravado to racing "balls out" all the time like Brad Keselowski.  A lot of fans respect that, and there's a long tradition of drivers from Oldfield to Earnhardt who collected a lot of trophies and fans racing like that.  However, that style of racing also leads to a lot of bent sheetmetal and bent tempers.  If successful, you can get in other drivers' heads, like "The Intimidator" did.  If unsuccessful, a driver risks getting payback (and then some).  To be successful, a driver needs to know who he can push, how hard he can push, and when to push, and it can't be "on everybody all the time as hard as you can." 

Brad, apparently, missed that message in his driving lessons, but then from all I've heard if his father's been giving the lessons then I don't think restraint is in the curriculum.  Now we've seen that there's at least one driver who's not afraid of his schtick, as Brad's already gotten dumped on his head and spun around for pushing Carl Edwards just a little too hard.  Carl overreacted both times, but he did react...an action for an action, he didn't just drive out onto the track both days looking for trouble and finding Brad Keselowski.  Trouble, in the form of Brad, found him, and Carl pushed back. 

I could say more, but what I wanted to say here has already been said better by Valerie Wood at http://valerie-femmefan.blogspot.com/2010/07/where-are-all-these-keselowski.html

 

Except that I don't think Bob Keselowski should have his hard card pulled.  I'd personally like to see him suit up and take a shot at Carl.  Then we can all see just what driving like a Keselowski means.  But that's just not safe. 

And I'll just add that maybe Carl should read up on the Law of Unintended Consequences, particulary this part:  "a perverse effect, that may be contrary to what was originally intended (i.e. when an intended solution to a problem only makes the problem worse)."  Every time Carl intervenes in Brad's driving line to express his dislike of Brad's driving style, he tends to have the unintended consequence of making Brad look like the victim in this scenario. 

Congratulations Jimmie Johnson!

 

Congratulations to Jimmie and Chandra Johnson for the recent birth of Genevieve Marie Johnson.  A well chosen name, as well, especially considering how difficult it must be to name a baby when your last name is Johnson.  Pick a common name, and your child is destined for anonymity (there are 13 Jimmy/Jim/Jimmie Johnsons in just the sports category in Wikipedia).  Reach too far for the unusual, and you risk looking like Frank Zappa. 

I recently asked, "hasn't anybody in stock car racing had a daughter?"  I now have my answer, and perhaps someday nearly two decades from now Genevieve will join the Sprint Cup series.  Hopefully, by then she won't be racing for the first female win in the series.  Hopefully by then someone will have broken Jimmie's championship win streak, too.

Dale Earnhardt's Legacy was in Victory Lane This July

Four wins in the past two weeks have been the indirect result of Dale Earnhardt's actions nearly a decade ago... 

The racing world lost Dale Earnhardt nine and a half years ago.  Nearly a decade later, his impact on the sport can still be seen even beyond his recent induction into NASCAR's Hall of Fame, the safer cars that NASCAR races to prevent another accident such as is, the absence of the number 3 on the Sprint Cup circuit, and the remnants of his team (Dale Earnhardt, Inc. having become a part of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing) winning the Daytona 500.  Particularly since the beginning of July, as reminders of his legacy have been all over the top three levels of NASCAR racing since the beginning of the month.

Win #1: Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona (Nationwide Series)

 

The most visible, emotional and direct of the Earnhardt connections of the past few weeks was when his son raced a Wrangler #3 to Victory Lane at Daytona in tribute to Earnhardt's inclusion in the inaugural Hall of Fame class.  It was a special moment in the Earnhardt legacy, but it was only the beginning... 

Win #2: Kevin Harvick at Daytona (Sprint Cup)

 

The day after Jr.'s emotional victory at Daytona, Kevin Harvick drove to victory in the Sprint Cup race at Daytona.  Kevin was supposed to run a part-time schedule in the #30 AOL car for Richard Childress in 2001, and instead was brought in to replace Dale in the renumbered 29 car for the second race of the season.  While most NASCAR fans were understandably focused on Dale Jr. after his loss, I made note of the fact that Harvick achieved what most stock car drivers dream of - a full time ride with a competitive Cup team - in a way that no one wanted to get it.  There have been a lot of personnel changes over the years, but in a way the team that won last week at Daytona is the same team that had to somehow carry on without Dale Earnhardt behind the wheel all those years ago.  Kevin has scored 13 Cup victories as a driver for that team and in the meantime has also become one of the top Camping World Truck Series owners with 2 recent championships. 

Bonus: The Return of Steve Park

 

Daytona also saw the return of Steve Park to the Cup Series.  2003 was the last time Park drove in a Cup race, and aside from one truck race in 2009 his first time in a top-level NASCAR car since 2006.  He was Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s first full-time Cup driver, winning 2 races for the team.  Although Park didn't make it to Victory Lane this weekend, according to the TV reports he was a welcome sight in the garage and finished 13th. 

Win #3: David Reutimann at Joliet (Sprint Cup)

 

The next week saw the Cup series go to Joliet and David Reutimann raced to his first full-distance Cup victory of his career.  It was also Michael Waltrip's first full-distance victory as an owner.  In 2000, Mikey's disappointing 15-year winless career was winding down.  But for 2001, his 16th full Cup season, he would finally get his chance and make good on it by winning his first race as a driver for Dale Earnhardt.  Nine years later, NAPA is still sponsoring his team, having stuck with him through thick and thin.  While Aaron's is regularly on the side of Reutimann's car and Tums was on it at Joliet, it is quite likely that Michael Waltrip Racing wouldn't be in a position to win Cup races if it weren't for NAPA, a connection that began at Daytona all those years ago and still continues to this day with sponsorship of Martin Truex, Jr., another former part of DEI. 

Win #4: Austin Dillon at Iowa (Camping World Truck Series)

 

The next day the Camping World Truck Series visited Iowa Speedway and different rolling Earnhardt tribute visited a different Victory Lane as Austin Dillon drove a black, red, and camo #3 Chevrolet to a dominating win.  8 days after the Dale Jr.'s Wrangler #3 won in Daytona Dillon made the #3 two-for-three in NASCAR's top series, a triumphant return for the number which has yet to see competition on the Cup level since Dale's death in 2001. 

Without Dale...?

 

Of course, without Dale Earnhardt the NASCAR of the 80's and 90's would have looked very different.  Seven championships and 76 wins would have gone to different drivers, but that is only the most obvious of changes.  Four wins in the past two weeks have been the indirect result of Dale Earnhardt's actions nearly a decade ago (or earlier).  His influence was such that made careers for drivers who might not have made it at NASCAR's top levels without him, people who are currently winning races might not have succeeded if it weren't for Dale Earnhardt. 

Without Dale, would Richard Childress be the top-tier Cup team owner that he is today, able to provide Kevin Harvick with a winning car or support to start his truck team?  Without Childress, would Harvick have faded into obscurity as a journeyman short track driver?  Would Richard Childress be able to provide his grandson Austin with the support he needs to make the most of his talents?  Would Michael Waltrip's career have ended without him ever reaching Victory Lane in a points race, and would he have been able to field a winning multi-car Cup operation today?  Would anyone in the Cup garage even know who Steve Park was?

2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominees

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This is commentary on three of the nominees for the 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame class.  The full list can be found after the commentary. 

Fred Lorenzen

 

Fred Lorenzen's nomination to the 2011 Hall of Fame class was met with immediate questions.  Why would he be nominated ahead of other, more successful drivers with championships or more wins? 

The simple answer is, counting championships and wins is something for a record book.  What NASCAR built is a Hall of Fame.  Fred Lorenzen is apparently more famous than other drivers with more trophies.  Contributions to the sport don't have to come in the form of victories, and his contributions were enough to bump him into the nominee field ahead of a few NASCAR champions. 

I doubt, however, that Lorenzen will make it into the Hall in the next few years, considering the strength of the nominee field already, not counting those who will become eligible within the next half decade. 

Illinois isn't exactly a great source of NASCAR talent, but I'm okay if "The Elmhurst Express" doesn't make it into the Hall, knowing that Rockford native Chad Knaus is rapidly ensuring that a space is reserved for him when he becomes eligible.  So I know we'll at least have one in the Hall someday.  Whether we get two really is up to Lorenzen, because I don't think Roscoe's Danica Patrick is going to make it. 

Darrell Waltrip

 

When Darrell Waltrip is inducted into the Hall of Fame, whether it be the Class of 2011 or a future year, I do hope acknowledgement is made of his "second career," that of a broadcaster. 

The earliest NASCAR race I can remember watching was the 2001 Daytona 500, Waltrip's first in his long career for Fox.  Of course the overriding memory of the race will always be the death of Dale Earnhardt, but before attention turned back to the scene of the last lap accident, I remember Darrell cheering little brother Michael to his first Cup victory in NASCAR's biggest event, chased to the end by his new teammate. 

Since then his career has included a movie role in the animated film Cars, an Emmy nomination and all along the way rewriting the language of NASCAR:  as annoying as it was in the beginning, these days NASCAR races just aren't the same unless they're started with, "Boogity, boogity, boogity, let's go racing boys!" 

While arguments can be made for either Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jimmie Johnson to be the "face of NASCAR," it's voice is undisputably "ol' D.W." 

Dale Inman

 

NASCAR (along with most motorsports) is a driver-centric sport.  The rest of the crew toil in near anonymity to build a car and maintain it during an event, while the drivers get nearly all of the attention when the car wins.  There are a few exceptions, and I'm always happy to see the guys outside the car get some credit. 

Inducting Dale Inman would go a long way towards recognizing the contributions that the crews make in the wins and championships that the drivers get all the credit for. 

Dale Inman won seven championships as Richard Petty's crew chief.  It is Dale's eighth that really raises eyebrows.  Richard Petty never won a championship without Dale Inman, but Dale Inman won a championship without Richard Petty.  Think about that.  I'm not saying that it was all the car, but I can say that it wasn't all Richard Petty, either. 

The Full List

 

Drivers

Bobby Allison:  1983 Winston Cup Champion with 84 wins

Buck Baker:  1956-1957 Grand National Champion (1st consecutive winner)

Red Byron:  1948 Modified Champion (NASCAR's 1st championship awarded) & 1949 Strictly Stock Champion (1st champion in series that would eventually become the Sprint Cup)

Jerry Cook:  6-time NASCAR Modified Champion

Richie Evans:  9-time NASCAR Modified Champion

Tim Flock:  2-time Grand National Champion

Jack Ingram:  2-time Busch Late Model Sportsman Series Champion

Ned Jarrett:  2-time Winston Cup Series Champion

Fred Lorenzen:  26 Grand National wins including the 1965 Daytona 500

Benny Parsons:  1973 Winston Cup Champion

David Pearson:  3-time Winston Cup Champion with 105 wins

Lee Petty:  1st 3-time Grand National Champion and winner of the first Daytona 500 in 1959

Fireball Roberts:  33 Grand National wins including the 1962 Daytona 500

Herb Thomas:  1st 2-time Grand National champion (1951 and 1953)

Curtis Turner:  Helped build Charlotte Motor Speedway, 17 wins, including being the only driver to win a race that was red-flagged because his car was the only one still running, banned for life in 1961 for attempting to form a labor union for NASCAR drivers (the ban was lifted in 1965)

Darrell Waltrip:  3-time Winston Cup Champion with 84 wins

Joe Weatherly:  2-time Grand National champion

Cale Yarborough:  1976-1978 Winston Cup Champion (1st to win 3 consecutive) 

Other Personalities

Richard Childress:  11-time Owner's Champion in NASCAR’s three national series, including six as owner of Dale Earnhardt's Winston Cup car

Rick Hendrick:  12-time Owner's Champion in NASCAR’s three national series

Dale Inman:  8-time Grand National/Winston Cup Championship crew chief

Bud Moore:  2-time Grand National Championships as a car owner

Raymond Parks:  Car owner for Red Byron's 1948 and 1949 Championships (see Red Byron above)

T. Wayne Robertson:  helped raise NASCAR popularity as R.J. Reynolds Senior VP

Glen Wood:  4 wins, co-founder of Wood Brothers Racing