Giving Back to the Sport He Loves.

I'm not a huge Mark Martin fan, but I've got to recognize what I consider to be a class act.  Mark Martin, through his website, Markmartin.com, will be the sponsor on the car owned by Tommy Baldwin, and will be driven by Scott Riggs.  Riggs will attempt to qualify the car at Bristol.

In this time of economic insecurity, I applaud Mark Martin for making this very nice offer of sponsorship for a team that's trying to get itself off the ground.

"I just wanted to help a fellow driver," Martin said.  "I think this is a great opportunity to get involved, and encourage others to follow my lead, including other drivers."

In order to keep NASCAR solvent, this is a huge thing.  Mark Martin is sponsoring a competitor.  Is that a great gesture or what?

Regardless of what you think of Mark Martin, I think you have to call him a gentleman, if nothing else.

I hope this trend will take off, and maybe one day we'll see JeffGordon.com on the hood of some other car, or JimmieJohnson.com on the hood of some car.  Some of these drivers have earned a lot of money, and in order to keep the sport accessible for smaller teams, some of them might have to give back to the sport that supports them.  Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, etc.  I think you should all give this some thought.

I don't know about you, but my hat's off to Mark Martin for what he's doing for Tommy Baldwin and Scott Riggs.

It's Bristol Time!

NASCAR teams and drivers, and especially the hauler drivers were glad to get a weekend off, especially after the California and Las Vegas runs, but you, me and probably ever other fan out there are chomping at the bit to get back to it.  It's Bristol, baby, and we're going short track racing!

Bristol has been the site of some of the best racing I've ever seen, period.  Last year, the new car, or as they used to say, the Car Of Tomorrow, lessened that excitement just a little, but Bristol is Bristol, and you can't keep a great track down for long.  Bristol is one of the last true bull rings that exists in NASCAR's highest series, and I'm guessing that Sunday's race is going to be a barn burner.

Even this early in the season, we've got drivers with a few scores to settle, and what better place than Bristol, Tennessee?  The winning car may not have fenders on it, because the beating and banging is so intense there, it's part race and part demolition derby.  If you happen to be a driver with a grudge, this is the place to settle it, because there will be so much rubbing and banging that even NASCAR will be hard pressed to tell if contact was on purpose or incidental.

Should the victim of a love tap be your particular driver, you, of course, will cry 'foul!' and report it immediately to your favorite driver's message board or scream it at the TV in either your home, your local watering hole, or where ever you happen to witness the incident.  If I were you, I'd scream it out at the track itself, because it's now easier to get Bristol tickets than it has been in decades.

For me, as a fan, the main joy of watching a Bristol race is the close contact that exists there.  I enjoy watching racing at all the tracks, but Bristol is special to me.  If you've never been to your local race track, Bristol is probably the closest thing on national TV that you have ever seen that's close to the excitement that you get on a small track.  If you want to see the competition that you'll see at Bristol every week, go to your local short track and get some Cokes, or Pepsi's, maybe a hot dog, and sit back and just watch.  If you're a racing fan, believe me, it won't take you long to learn the names of the drivers and figure out your favorites.  Bristol is the national version of your local short track.  Most of the drivers at Bristol on Sunday have run at local tracks just like yours.

Some of them still do.

I admire drivers that drive anything, anywhere, no matter how large the crowd is.  If you happen to live in Georgia, you might see a big name driver running on a local dirt track near you.  If you live in California, you might see someone by the name of Mears running a local feature.  If you're lucky enough to live within driving distance of Eldora, you know what I mean.   At one of my local tracks, Greenville-Pickens Speedway, we've been blessed over the years by names like Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Earnhardt, Keller, Pressley, and a host of others.

It doesn't matter where you live.  Chances are you've got some great drivers around, and you should go see them.  Support what they're doing, if you can afford to.

Maybe one day you'll see them at places like Daytona, Talladega, Indianapolis, and yes, even Bristol.

Fans, Fans, Fans.

Fans. If you're reading this site, chances are you are one. Or perhaps not. All I know is that fans are what makes the NASCAR world go round and round. A lot of people think it's the sponsors, the owners, or even the drivers. Sure, all those elements add value to the NASCAR experience, and having fun watching races wouldn't really be possible without them.

But fans are where it's at.  

The fans support the sponsors, and until the last year or so, bought tickets for the races. Without the fans, sponsors wouldn't be in NASCAR. Without fans, these guys might as well be driving around a cow pasture somewhere, like they did before NASCAR even was. 

NASCAR fans come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Their devotion to certain drivers is, well, fanatical at times. That's the basis of the word 'fan' anyway, isn't it?  

In other words, their driver can do no wrong, and if their driver fails, it must be either equipment failure, some other driver's fault, or their crew chief's fault. If NASCAR fans based their adoration for drivers based only on statistics, we all would have been Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, and Earnhardt fans in the 1970's and 1980's. We all would have been Waltrip fans during that time as well. In the 1990's, we all would have to have been Gordon fans, because Jeff Gordon's stats from the '90's are particularly spectacular. 

But that's not the way being a fan works. We are fans of a certain driver for as many reasons as there are stars in the evening sky. We like the way they look, or their personalities, or the way they give interviews. Some of us have personally met a driver, and he was gracious and kind. He may not produce much on the race track, but we become fans of that driver just because of a personal smile or wave. In the old days, drivers were not so much celebrities, as they now are, but more or less circus clowns. They provided the entertainment, back in the days when you could bring a family of 4 into the track for $10.00. People who populated the stands back in those days began to follow the careers of certain drivers, and eventually became fans of those drivers. Sometimes the loyalty to those drivers led to fans only buying certain types of automobiles and other products. That's what NASCAR counts on these days: Fans support the sponsors, and therefore, the sponsors support the series.  

How do you explain Bill Elliot being the most popular driver all those years? Bill has won some races, sure, and one championship even. But Bill was the most popular driver in NASCAR for many years when he wasn't winning many races, and other guys like Gordon and Earnhardt were winning races and championships. Bill is a likable enough fellow, sure, but why the MPD status? It's simple. Fans of Bill were fans whether he won or lost races. Bill's personality seemed to overcome any problems he had on the track.

The same can be said for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale has not won a championship in Cup at all. He's won 18 races, and he did win those two Busch championships. But Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s on track performance has been less than spectacular for the last few years, yet he keeps winning most popular driver awards. It's not his feats at driving that lead to those awards, obviously, it's who Dale Jr. is. 

If we all went by statistics with which to base our loyalty to drivers, we would all be Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Carl Edwards fans these days. Of course we are not. These drivers have their own fan base, some of which is based on their performance, and some of it on just who the driver is. 

There are fans of some drivers who have achieved relatively little in comparison to other drivers, yet they are free and willing to call other drivers who have achieved more as being 'idiots', or 'over rated'. That's the fun of being a NASCAR fan. Everything goes when one is defending one's driver.

Personally, I am a fan of not just one driver, but several. I'm guessing most of you feel that way as well, though I once got slapped lightly on the wrists, figuratively, for cheering on some other drivers as well as my friend's favorite driver. It was all or nothing for this friend, and there were no other drivers good enough to cheer for in my friend's opinion. I'm not that way. I personally like drivers based on what they've done in the past, but also on their personality and basic outlook on life. 

I don't consider any driver in any of the current NASCAR series to be a hero, but there are many that I personally admire. My last hero in NASCAR was Dale Earnhardt. Other heroes I've had in NASCAR in the past were Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, and people like Tim Richmond, Davey Allison, and strangely enough, or not, a guy named Alan Kulwicki.  

I'm fans of those guys because of not only what they did, but the kind of men they were, and for some, fortunately still are.

Four Races Into the Season: What Have We Got?

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is only four races old, but we're already seeing some trends developing.  The fact that the 24 car, driven by four time champion Jeff Gordon, is currently leading the points is not really a surprise.  Gordon has yet to win a race since 2007, but he's driving consistently so far in 2009, and therefore reaps the rewards of that consistency by leading the points very early in the season.

Second in points is somewhat a surprise to some, but not really to me, personally.  Driving for Richard Childress' long anticipated 4th team is Clint Bowyer, who has also not won a race yet this season, but proves that even new teams can click along and score good points after only four races into the season.  Clint obviously is not new to the Childress organization, but the number and sponsor is new.

Producing very few surprises at all are the 99 car of Carl Edwards and his teammate in the 17 car, Matt Kenseth, currently 4th and 5th in points respectively.  I think everyone expected Cousin Carl to be off and running for the title in 2009, and I doubt that anyone expected Matt Kenseth to win the first two races of the year, but I think we all knew he would probably be pretty strong in 2009.  Also surprising very few is another Roush teammate, Greg Biffle in the 16 car who is currently running in 10th in points.

I suppose that if I had to list any real personal surprises thus far in 2009, it would be how well some of the Dodge cars are running.  Kurt Busch, driving the 2 car for Penske Racing, won convincingly at Atlanta this past weekend.  By virtue of his win, and by strong runs elsewhere, Kurt is currently in 3rd place in points after four races in 2009.  Another Dodge driver who so far is having a productive season is Kasey Kahne, who drives the 9 Budweiser Dodge.  Kasey currently resides in the 9th place in points.

Another Chevrolet driver whom I should have already mentioned who's doing very well, is no surprise to me.  Kevin Harvick, who drives the 29 Pennzoil Chevrolet is currently 8th in points.  Though winless in points races in 2008 and so far in 2009, Kevin did win the All Star race at Charlotte this year, and won the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona in February.  Kevin and his team have put together strong performances so far in 2009, and I feel that it's just a matter of time before he takes the checkered flag in a points race.

There are, of course, some Toyota's in the top ranks four races into the season.  Kyle Busch, who won at Las Vegas, is currently in 7th place in the points.  That should suprise no one, as far as I can tell.  After the year that Kyle had in 2008, we knew he would probably come roaring into 2009 like a lion.  Michael Waltrip Racing driver David Reutimann is currently in 12th place in the points, and it appears that David, as long as Michael himself, may be enjoying a breakout year so far in Cup.  Michael is currently 16th in points.

Another Toyota driver I'm not surprised to see running well is the 83 Red Bull car driven by Brian Vickers.  Brian showed a lot of promise last year, and apparently the 83 team has carried on, giving Vickers some good equipment and allowing him to produce some very impressive finishes so far in 2009.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Brian get a win this season.

Some other surprises I've seen so far, and they might not be surprises to you, but they are to me.  Mark Martin, driving the 5 car for Rick Hendrick has had a horrible run of luck so far in his final push to win a championship.  Mark is currently 35th in points, far from where he wanted to be after four races.  Martin has been qualifying very well, so I see little reason to worry about him making races, but the on track problems that seem to be plaguing his Chevrolet have to be worrying him.

Another surprise for me is that Jimmie Johnson, driving another Hendrick car, the 48, and champion for the last 3 years, so far has not been able to produce what many consider to be quality runs so far this year.  Jimmie is currently in 13th in points, which for many of his fans must be highly annoying.

One of the happiest statistics for me to report, and of course this is just me, is that Tony Stewart, in his newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing team is currently 6th in points.  It's been hit and miss for SHR so far this year, since Tony seems to be running well, and teammate Ryan Newman has been struggling.  I'm a fan of Tony's, and hope to see him win in 2009 for his brand new team.  His first win for his own team will probably be the high point of his life, and I can't wait to see that happen.

There's other drivers I'm surprised about, and somewhat not surprised about, but I'll try to incorporate that into a column on another day.

To be honest with you, I'm not terribly surprised that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is currently 24th in points.  It's not that I don't like Dale Jr, but I kind of saw this coming, to be honest with you.  I'm formulating a column about that, and will share it with you soon.  The reasons why I'm not surprised at his current status may surprise some.  It's still very early in the season, and things can, and probably will change.  Whether they change for the better or the worse for Dale Jr., I can't predict, but I'm guessing some things will change.

What's the Secret behind Jimmie Johnson's Success?

A little food for thought this morning:  Why has Jimmie Johnson been so successful in Sprint Cup?  Currently, he's won three consecutive championships, plus a ton of races, at this time, 40 wins since he drove his first Cup race in 2001.  Out of 258 total Cup starts, Johnson has finished in the top 5 101 times, and 157 times in the top 10.  Jimmie has also won 19 poles in his Cup career so far.

Jimmie Johnson has never finished higher than 5th in points for any season since he began running full time in the Cup series in 2002.  Twice he finished 2nd in points, and of course, he's also finished first for the last three seasons.  To say the obvious, basically no one has enjoyed as much success in the Cup series in such a short time, at least not in a long time.  Kyle Busch is a hot driver, and he may eventually eclipse Jimmie Johnson, but so far, Jimmie has to be considered a top driver in the series since 2002.

It's often reported, and repeated by members of the various teams at Hendrick Motorsports, that all the teams share information and technology.  That may or may not be absolutely true.  One factor that comes into play is the fact that the registered owner of Jimmie Johnson's 48 Lowe's Chevrolet is not Rick Hendrick, but Jeff Gordon.  Now I'm certainly not an insider in NASCAR circles, which means I have no special intelligence or information regarding exactly how information is shared at Hendrick Motorsports.  There is an old saying, I think that can be attributed to George Orwell, which states that some pigs are more equal than others.  I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that Jimmie Johnson is a little more equal than some of the other drivers on his team.

That's not to say that Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, and by proxy, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are being short changed, but with crew chief Chad Knaus calling the shots, I'm pretty sure that Jimmie Johnson can rest assured that he is driving the very best equipment available, every single race.  And why not?  The man has won 3 Cup championships for Hendrick Motorsports.  Jimmie Johnson is obviously a talented driver, because great equipment or not, a poor driver could not achieve all that Jimmie has.

Jimmie Johnson is not my favorite driver.  If I based my loyalty to drivers on statistics alone, he probably would be, but that's not what I do, and I hazard to guess, neither do you.  We see little in the way of personality when Jimmie is interviewed.  He has broken out of the robot mold a little this season, sporting a beard, which surprised me.  Most Hendrick drivers are always clean shaven, even during practice, with the obvious exception being Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Personally, I find Jimmie Johnson to be a likable guy, if not particularly interesting.  He's a made for TV kind of driver, always thanking his sponsors and team, and rarely saying anything that can be construed as controversial.  In other words, he's a sponsor's and owner's dream driver.  He goes about his business quietly, and so far, has been racking up wins and championships.

Like him or not, Jimmie Johnson is an impressive driver on the track.  I know there will be knocks on Cheater Chad because I'm saying this, and there is some value to those opinions.  It could be said that Jimmie had 'special' equipment back in 2006, or even 2007.  The Car of Tomorrow rules more or less even the playing field these days though.  Though Jimmie has not won a race so far in 2009, he's still been a factor in most of the races run so far.  

God willing, Jimmie Johnson will be around for a long time.  He's not my favorite driver, but I can't help but admire his accomplishments.

Photo courtesy of Cox News.

Last Night, All Heck Broke Loose!

Oh, you thought I was talking about the race?  Oh, Ok.  I suppose all heck did break loose during the race.  Not that I got to watch much of it.  I was without power most of the night.

All I can say is Congratulations to Kyle Busch for winning at his home town track of Las Vegas.  This guy is just getting better and better all the time, and might be one of the best drivers that NASCAR has ever seen.  If there's not a major fan club out there for Kyle yet, note to entrepreneurs, start one.  This dude is going to be big before it's over.

My power went out, which of course means the TV went out at about 7 or so last night.  I didn't get to see much of the race, but I listened to the end of it on my GE Super Radio, with batteries installed.  MRN - The Motor Racing Network, does a great job in a pinch.  It's not like seeing the race, but it's probably the next best thing when you're sitting in the cold, 24 degrees as of this morning, and literally sweating it out.

We had about 5 inches of snow here in the Upstate area of South Carolina last night.  I know, most of you folks in Minnesota and Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, and other states scoff at that.  In SC, this is a pretty major deal though.  Tree limbs fall, power goes out, and we're left with no NASCAR on FOX, or any other channel for that matter.  For a NASCAR fan, that's like being left at the alter.

I do read that though overcoming yet another embarrassing pit stop deal, Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to finish 10th last night.  I'm glad to see that, and now that this puts Dale Jr. solidly in the top 35 in points, and hopefully some of the rumors about him not making races will cease.  I find it funny to read that stuff like I've read in the last 4 or 5 days saying that Rick Hendrick called Jr. into the office last Monday and told him to get a top 10 at Vegas or turn in his helmet.  I'm afraid that some of the people that were repeating this rumor believed it.  You anti Junior people, please, try to come up with something a little more believable than that that bag of crap.

Finally, this week we're off to Atlanta, one of my favorite tracks in the world.  If you haven't been to Atlanta, and can get there, believe me, it's a great experience.  There is no such thing as a bad seat at Atlanta, and you will definitely get your money's worth if you go to the track.

Will what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas?

What a mess the Nationwide race was yesterday.  I mean, it was fun to watch, but so many wrecked cars, and so few reasons for them.

It appeared that some cars could get maybe 2 feet out of the groove, and they just wrecked.  It's that simple.  Some cars could run high and did OK, such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Go Daddy 5 Chevrolet.  Others that put even one tire outside the middle groove of the track were sent into an immediate spin, and all heck broke loose behind them.  Based on the Nationwide race on Saturday, Sunday's Cup race should be very interesting indeed.

On Saturday, Kevin Harvick was driving his own car, the 33 Rheem KHI Chevrolet.  He got caught up in a wreck when the 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet of Jeff Burton, owned by Richard Childress, spun in front of him.  Kevin had a few choice words for Jeff on the radio.  Today, they are teammates, both driving Richard Childress Chevrolets.  I doubt that any angst from yesterday will carry over to today, but Kevin was obviously not happy with his RCR teammate yesterday.  Kevin eventually got his car back onto the track, but basically was just trying to run NASCAR's minimum speed, sticking to the apron of the track for the most part.

I don't know what's going to happen today.  I have a feeling it's going to be ugly, like a Las Vegas bar brawl on wheels.  There are some drivers that desperately need good finishes, and obviously Matt Kenseth wants to go 3 for 3.  Dale Jr.'s trying to climb his way out of the top 35 doldrums.  Several Toyotas, including the 18 of Kyle Busch will be starting from the back, so the 18 will be passing a lot of cars today.  How cleanly he passes some of those cars will probably be somewhat of a story today.  Kyle is a great race car driver, but he's not known for having an excess of patience.

Today's race, by most indications, should be much more entertaining than the yawner known as California was last weekend.