NASCAR's 2009 Season Starts with a Bang, or is that a Crash?

Several crashes, in fact.  The 2009 Budweiser Shootout did not fail to disappoint in terms of excitement.  If you wanted some bang for your buck, you certainly got your money's worth on Saturday night at Daytona.

Not surprisingly, several of the Shootout rookies went out of the race early with crashed cars, including Joey Logano and Scott Speed.  A late race crash took out last year's winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Bobby Labonte was taken out in that same crash.  By the time the final green, white, checker restart green flag waved, nearly half the field had been sidelined by crashes.  By the time the checkered flag waved, crossed with they yellow even once again, fully half of the starting field of 28 cars were lying in smoking, bent heaps.

Though there were many feats of incredible driving on Saturday night, two in particular stick out in my mind.  The first was during an early melee' which found Jeff Gordon picking his way through a hand full of wrecking cars, missing several by inches.  Viewed in slow motion on the instant replay, one has to be amazed and impressed at how many steering corrections Gordon made in the space of about a second and a half to avoid being a casualty of one of several Big Ones.  My hat's off to Jeff for finishing that race with a more or less intact car in 4th place.

The second great example of driving skill was shown at the very end of the race.  Kevin Harvick, who had been involved in an early scrape with the wall, who at least once lost the draft and was running far behind the pack early in the race, made an amazing charge during the final laps, and squirted to the lead.  Just as Harvick cleared Jamie McMurray, all heck broke loose behind them, bringing out the crossed checkered and yellow flags, making Kevin Harvick the 2009 Bud Shootout winner.  Harvick drove through cars that were slipping and sliding, bumping and banging, and somehow slithered through nearly impossible gaps between cars.  Harvick's performance was an incredible piece of driving, and I offer heart felt congratulations for bringing home the win.  Owner Richard Childress was understandably all smiles in victory lane after the race, knowing his team is off to the best start he could ask for so far in 2009.

Kudos go out to brand new team owner Tony Stewart, who led the Shootout at one point and brought home the number 14 Chevrolet in 3rd place.  That's a pretty good finish for a brand new team in its first race.

There was only one engine failure during Saturday night's race, which I find encouraging.  I personally was expecting at least 3 or 4 engine failures, but the only power plant that let go was the 43 Richard Petty Racing Dodge, driven this year by Reed Sorenson.  Though the Daytona 500 will undoubtedly be tougher on engines than was the 75 lap Shootout, it appears that most of the teams have their engine programs well in order so far this season.  Jeff Burton, driver of the 31 Caterpillar Chevy, blew an engine in Shootout practice, but since there was basically no testing prior to the Shootout, many of the teams were known to be experimenting with different engine packages, and some of these experiments are bound to fail.

All said, it would appear that the drivers, the crew chiefs, and the engineers learned quite a bit on Saturday night, and they now have a full week to prepare for the Big Show.  As I write this, in a few hours qualifying will begin, with 56 cars attempting to fill a 43 car field.  Unfortunately, we've already had one casualty, as the number 60 Dodge fielded by Carter-Simo Racing never completed a full lap at the minimum 175 mph speed.  Apparently battery and carburetor issues could not be repaired to the point that allowed 74 year old driver James Hylton to complete a lap above the minimum speed.

The Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying races  will be on Thursday afternoon, and I have a feeling there will be a lot of NASCAR fans calling in sick that day or developing sudden illnesses that morning.  I have to hand it to NASCAR, I truly had some doubts about this new Bud Shootout format, and though my favorite drivers didn't win, I got way more excitement than I bargained for.

The Debut of Stewart-Haas Racing

February always brings a time of new promise for everyone who's involved in NASCAR.  That includes not only the drivers, but the crews, the owners, the sponsors, and yes, even you, the fans.   If you are reading this column, then there is a very good chance that you are a NASCAR fan, and as a fan, you are a very important part of the sport.  Think about it, without fans, these would just be a bunch of guys driving the family cars around in circles in a cow pasture somewhere.

But, since I digress, as I often do, one of the most exciting changes in the Sprint Cup series for 2009 is the brand spanking new Stewart-Haas Racing team.  SHR, co-owned by Tony Stewart, Joe Custer and Gene Haas has a brand new look and some serious attitude in abundant supply going into 2009.  

Tony Stewart is not only a new driver for the team, he is also a majority owner.  Tony has always been known for his determination to win, and now that he owns a piece of the company, he will likely be more driven than ever to win.  Tony Stewart will be driving the 14 Chevrolet sponsored by Office Depot, Old Spice, and Burger King.  The '14' number didn't happen by accident.  Tony Stewart's hero A.J. Foyt drove that number during his days as a NASCAR driver.  A.J. Foyt will be at Daytona to celebrate Stewart's debut as a team owner, and if that doesn't get Tony fired up, nothing will.  As if Tony Stewart needs much of anything to get him fired up!

The other entry in the Stewart-Haas Racing effort is no other than former Penske driver Ryan Newman.  Ryan has won an incredible 43 poles in his 260 starts in Cup racing.  He also has 13 wins, including the 2008 Daytona 500.  Ryan is a college graduate with a degree in engineering, and though he's rarely emotional on camera, he obviously has some serious skills as a driver and competitor.  Because he is not outspoken, he tends to fly under the radar, so to speak.  Ryan goes about his business in a quiet, but determined manner.  He seems to be the perfect complement to Tony Stewart's often blustery personality.  Ryan Newman is from South Bend, Indiana, the state which is also the home of Tony Stewart.  Whether this had anything to do with these two drivers forming the new team is not entirely known, but I wouldn't doubt that it is more than a coincidence.

Tony Stewart is obviously no slouch in the performance department either.  Tony is your 2002 and 2005 Sprint Cup champion, and has 33 Cup wins to his credit.  Tony is a champion in the Indy series as well, and has won championships in many other series.  Tony Stewart has won races in all three of NASCAR's top series and charges just as hard on a dirt track in front of 1,500 fans as he does on a NASCAR track in front of 225,000 fans and millions of TV viewers.

Stewart-Haas also brings some serious talent to the pit box as well.  Tony Gibson, who lately was the crew chief for Mark Martin and Aric Almirola at Dale Earnhardt Inc. will be the crew chief for Ryan Newman in the 39 US ARMY Chevrolet.  Tony was also a crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for several races at DEI.  Having listened to Gibson talking to his drivers on the radio over the last couple of seasons, it's obvious that he's a cool operator, much as his driver is.  The ability to never lose one's cool often determines whether a race is won or lost.  The combination of Gibson and Newman should be about as good as they come.

Tony Stewart will have a man for whom I have a tremendous amount of respect on top of his pit box for 2009.  His name is Darian Grubb, and he is a Daytona 500 winning crew chief with Hendrick in 2006.  At the time, he was filling in for the suspended Chad Knaus, and during that time he helped Jimmie Johnson win not only the Daytona 500, but also the Las Vegas race 2 weeks later.  In 2007, Grubb was on the pit box when Casey Mears won his first race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Concord, NC.  Darian probably would have been Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief in 2008 had Dale not brought Tony Eury Jr. with him from DEI.  Being a crew chief for Tony Stewart has to be a situation that is exciting to both Tony and Darian.  Grubb will bring a wealth of experience from his years at Hendrick Motorsports to the new Stewart-Haas Racing team.  This fact, as it turns out, is important on so many levels.

You see, Stewart-Haas Racing, as has Haas Racing in the past, will be using Hendrick equipment.  Stewart-Haas will not just be leasing engines, they will enjoy a ton of technical support from Hendrick in 2009.  Technically, the 14 and the 39 cars should be every bet as good as the 5, the 24, the 48, and 88 cars in 2009.  With crew chiefs Gibson and Grubb in charge, this new team could do great things in the new season.

With the combination of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman as drivers for the new team, expectations are high, and I personally doubt that with the combined talent of the drivers and crews, accompanied with Hendrick support, that Stewart-Haas Racing will have a very successful first year.

And Another Owner Falls by the Wayside

Last night it was announced that Bill Davis is now a minority owner in the Penske Racing team, which means that Roger Penske has bought the owner's points for the Bill Davis 22 team, and will retain the number for possible further use.

This is another sad day for NASCAR.  Davis has been an owner in NASCAR since 1988, beginning in the then Busch series, and eventually moving on to Cup and Truck teams.  In the old Busch series, Davis had 11 wins in 12 years as an owner in the series.  His first driver was Mark Martin, who got the first win for team Davis in 1988 at Rockingham.  Other Busch series winners for Bill Davis were Jeff Gordon and Scott Wimmer.  Gordon won 3 races for Davis in 1992, and Scott Wimmer won 5 races for Davis in 2002 and 2003.

In the Cup series, Davis began as an owner in 1993 with Bobby Labonte as his driver.  In his 16 years as an owner in the series, Bill Davis as an owner participated in 722 races and managed to get 5 wins, 28 top 5 finishes, and 104 top 10 finishes.  Bill Davis drivers also won 8 poles during his tenure as owner.  All of the victories in the Cup series were with driver Ward Burton, who got his first win for Davis at Rockingham in 1995.  Other wins were at Loudon, New Hampshire, 2 wins at Darlington, and of course the memorable Daytona 500 victory in 2002.

In the Truck series, Bill Davis has won an impressive 24 times as an owner, including winning the championship in 2008 with Johnny Benson.  Mike Skinner has also been a long time Davis driver and winner.

One thing that I personally wonder about is that Bill Davis has used Toyota products exclusively since the beginning of 2007.  Will including the Davis stable at Penske Racing open the door for the 2, the 12, and the 77 to move to Toyota in the future?  I believe it's a valid question.  I have no idea what Penske's commitment to Dodge is, but I believe it's a valid question to ask.  Apparently, Penske NASCAR entries will all be wearing the Dodge badge this year, but one wonders about 2010 and beyond.

In other news, maybe not so recent, but one wonders what benefit Verizon, who bought Altel earlier this year, will get from not being able to put their logos on the 12 Penske Dodge which will be driven by David Stremme in 2009?  Since Sprint sponsors the Cup series, the name change will not be allowed, and obviously the 12 car will have to have a new sponsor sooner than later.  Is this exclusivity clause that exists with Sprint and NASCAR good for the series?  Running off sponsors at this time does not seem to make sense to this writer and fan.  Sponsors are very difficult to procure in 2009, and eliminating all the other phone company business seems detrimental to the sport.  Is there really no room in the Sprint Cup for competition among phone companies?

2009 looks to be a very interesting season, if for no other reason the ability of NASCAR teams to attract and keep sponsors.  Times are admittedly tough, so how long will sponsors hang in there to get their name plastered all over TV 38 weeks out of the year, including non points races.  

What's happening at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing?

I suppose the simple answer to this question is a ton of uncertainty is happening.  At present, it would appear that only 2 cars out of the combined teams now have sponsorship for 2009.  The number 1 Chevrolet of Martin Truex Jr. appears to have full sponsorship for 2009 with Bass Pro Shops.  Juan Pablo Montoya appears to have at least partial sponsorship from Target, Big Red, and other associated gum brands.

The 15, which won 2 Daytona 500's with Michael Waltrip at the wheel, will not run in 2009 unless a driver and sponsor can be found.  With the latest driver, Paul Menard now driving a Ford for Yates Racing, apparently the 15 will be on hold in 2009.   The 8 of Aric Almirola as of now has announced no sponsorship for 2009, though supposedly the plan is to attempt a full Cup season in the car.

The really big news as of right now is that the 41 is no longer 'owned' by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.  Jeremy Mayfield has registered the 41 number for at least the Daytona 500, and Jeremy Mayfield is the owner of that team.  They're also running Toyota's, and so far as I know Earnhardt Ganassi isn't running Toyotas this year.

I sincerely hope that the 8 car of Almirola picks up some sponsorship in 2009.  It would be a shame to see a number with such a storied history be eliminated from competition in 2009 because no sponsor can be found.  This is still an Earnhardt owned car, and the quick decline from prominence on the track is disturbing.

The 2009 season is shaping up, and there are a ton of changes.  Some of these changes are probably good for the sport, but probably an equal number are not so good.  

Here's hoping for a good 2009 season.

Negative Feelings (And what you can do with them)

How's it looking for your driver this year?  Do you hope he wins it all or are you hoping that he loses just to prove a point?

Say your driver is Jeff Gordon.  Do you dislike Steve Letarte to the point that you hope your driver loses again just to prove your point about Steve?  Or say you're a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan.  Do you want Dale to lose to prove your point about Tony Eury Jr. being his crew chief?  It would seem like there is a lot of this type of sentiment going around in 2009.

Personally, I've never been a fan of either Jimmie Johnson or Chad Knaus, but they seem to have a winning combination together, let's make that 3 years so far.  Your 2006, 2007, and now 2008 champion have been not only Jimmie Johnson, but also Chad Knaus, because he's been integral in every one of those race wins, and every one of those championships.  Without one, you could not have had the other.  Facts are part of life, folks.   Jimmie and Chad have indeed won three championships in a row.

Love Jeff Gordon or hate him.  It doesn't matter to me.  His crew chief right now is Steve Letarte, and without Steve, Jeff will win exactly nothing.  Oh, he's already done that, you may say?  Sure he has.  In 2008, Jeff Gordon was completely victory free for the first time since he started racing in the Cup series.  Does the fact that Jeff Gordon didn't win a race in all of 2008 make him fire his crew chief?  Not so far.

Relationships between drivers and crew chiefs are difficult to explain.  Take my driver, for instance.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. barely won at Michigan last year.  His crew chief is Tony Eury Jr., who also happens to be Dale's cousin.  Tony Eury Jr. has said that he doesn't read much stuff on the internet, because it basically pollutes his mind when it comes to racing.  Tony Jr. is 100 per cent dedicated to being Dale Jr.'s crew chief, and Dale seems to be 100 per cent committed to having Tony Jr. on top of the pit box on Sundays.  We as fans have many ways to voice our opinions, but drivers can only go so far in that realm.  Crew chiefs have even fewer outlets, if they want to remain sane.

I believe that in 2009, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the real deal.  He wants to win races.  He wants to win the Cup.  His chosen crew chief is Tony Eury Jr.  No one is better qualified to make the call as to who sits on top of the 88 team's pit box in 2009 than Dale Earnhardt Jr.  If Dale says it will be Tony Eury, Jr, then who am I to argue with that decision?  I'm a fan, just like you.  I have no say in making that decision.

So, as one fan to another, I say sit down, shut up, buckle in, and let's get ready to have a ride in 2009.  Voice your opinions all you want to, but don't expect your driver to change his mind because of your opinion.  If you were that smart in the first place, Rick Hendrick, Chip Ganassi, Richard Childress, Jack Roush or a host of other owners would have hired you long before now, and you wouldn't have time to be reading this.

Buckle up and get ready, because here we go.

My Vote for 2009 Champion

Yep, I'm talking about my boy Dale Earnhardt Jr.  I think he can do it all in 2009.  Think I 'm kidding?  I kid you not.

Dale Jr. has been trying for this chapter in his career all his racing life, and this year, his second with one of the best teams in existence, Hendrick Motorsports, might be his best chance.  Dale Jr. and Tony Eury Jr., cousin and crew chief either have it figured out or they don't.  I'm betting that they do.  I'm guessing that Dale Jr. does what his fans want him to do this season:  Win.  And win big.

Hendrick Motorsports has given Dale and Tony a plan for how to win in 2009.  Between these guys, they can figure out the details.  They've both been racers for too long not to figure it all out by now.  I say, look out for Dale Jr. in 2009.

He's going to win races.  Eventually, he'll win championships.  He's too good to lose.  He's going to do great things in 2009.

I believe it.  I suggest you do too.

Paris? Berlin?

I'm getting some strange hits on the blog lately.  Paris, France?  Berlin, Germany?  That's strange.  I appreciate them all, but where are these hits coming from?  I want more hits from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, and places like that.  That's the roots of NASCAR.

It's a good time to get prepared for a world of changes in NASCAR for 2009.  Bobby Labonte will be in the 96 Ford, not the 43 Dodge.  A lot of other drivers will be in different cars.  Try to spot Scott Riggs, or try to identify the UPS car this year, if you haven't been in the loop.  (Hint: The UPS car will be a Ford this year)

A new feature on the blog is the ability to follow this blog.  You can be the first, or the second to try it out.  I don't know exactly what it does, but you can do it.  I followed another blog member's blog, just to see if I could.  It's Dan Scott's blog, and Dan is a talk show host at 104.9 FM in Clemson, SC.  Dan has been battling with losing weight, and I wish him all the best.  My best answer for losing weight is stress.  Stress about losing your home, or not having enough money to pay your doctor's bills or feed your cats.  That's stress.  Do it, and I can pretty much guarantee you will lose weight.  I've personally gone from about 205 to 170.  Stress.  It works.

I live in the middle of NASCAR's traditional territory, but no one around here talks about NASCAR on the radio.  Is that a niche that needs to be filled?  If so, I could probably do it.  Besides my wonderful writing skills, I also have a pretty good radio voice.  I've been an amateur radio operator since 1994.  I could do a one to three hour show on weekends, talking about NASCAR in all it's glory.  I'm here for you, guys!  Let me know.

It's Daytona speed weeks time, and I'm jazzed as I can be.  Let's get this show on the road, boys and girls!  Let's get it on!