Wanna Fight About It?

I post this title, laughing out loud, because I know some of you will want to fight about it.  That's fine.  You don't even know what we're fighting about yet, but yet you're willing to fight.  I like that in a person.

Right now even I don't even know what we're fighting about.  All I know is that the famed '8' team is dead, Aric Almirola is out of a ride, and Teresa Earnhardt doesnt even own the number '8' any more.  Chip Ganassi does.  Chip is the 'G' part of EGR, or what's now known as Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.  Up until last week at Texas, EGR mostly featured the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy of Martin Truex Jr, the #42 Target Chevy of Juan Pablo Montoya, and the #8 Chevy, sponsored sometimes by Guitar Hero, Metallica, and I don't know who else.  Apparently the sponsorship on the '8' has ended, and the team is shutting down.

If I had the money to sponsor the 8 car, I would.  I don't have that kind of money.  I doubt that you do either.  I hate that Aric Almirola and probably about 40 of his compatriots at EGR are now basically without a job.  Like most of you, I've been there, done that.  It's not fun.

My question to you, gentle reader is this:  Should Dale Earnhardt Jr. go to Chip Ganassi and ask to secure the use of the famous '8' number again, now that it seems to be out of action?  The '8' is the number with which Dale Jr. won all but one of his Cup races.  Has Dale Earnhardt Jr. established himself with the '88' or should he go after the '8' again now?

Oh heck, I know that's going to screw up so many people's merchandising plans.  I personally haven't bought any '88' stuff, but that's only because I don't have the money to do so.  I've personally got a lot of '8' stuff, and though I don't expect Budweiser to be back in Dale Jr.'s camp any time soon, I've got some '8' diecast cars and hats, etc.

What should Dale Earnhardt Jr. do?   I don't know.  He and Rick Hendrick have a lot invested in the '88' brand now, so should they switch now that they probably have the chance?  I don't know, to be honest with you.  It might be a once in a lifetime chance to bring back the number that made Dale Jr. the popular driver that he is.  

What do you think?

Is it possible to be a fan of a spoiled brat?

I suppose the obvious answer is a resounding 'Yes.'  I'm not a fan of Kyle Busch, but I find his on and off track antics to be entertaining, at the very least.  Last week he was making cracks about the sport's currently most popular driver, and this week, he literally ran away from a disappointing finish in the Truck race at Martinsville.

I watched it live on Speed TV today.  Kyle Busch literally acted like a little boy who had been kicked in the shins and ran home to Mama.  

Of course, Kyle might have been late to do his part in an M&M's commercial or something.  I'm certainly not privy to information like that.  Believe it or not, I'm not told the details of Kyle's schedule.

I did see him, courtesy of SPEED TV, throw his helmet and HANS device onto the rear of his 51 Toyota truck, owned by his friend Billy Ballew.  After Kyle got out of the truck, he didn't talk to anyone on the team; he simply sprinted up pit road, dodging other trucks that were still coming onto pit road.  He found the gate to let him out of the track, and hopped across the wall, and walked deliberately across the track, and was let out with a sound of 'Boos' in the air.  It's possible he was late to an important meeting, of course.  Anything is certainly possible.

For some perverted reason, I find myself becoming a bit of a fan of the Pee Wee Herman looking, temperamental driver.  It's not that I hope he wins, but performances like he put on after today's Martinsville race are absolutely priceless.  If nothing else, Kyle Busch puts on a very interesting show.

The fact that he has racing performance on his side helps too.  The guy has won in virtually everything he's ever driven, and usually many times.  Kyle Busch is an obviously very talented race driver who apparently has somewhat of a short fuse.  What better guy to capture the interest of NASCAR fans?

Kyle Busch has the talent, and an attitude that tends to irritate fans of other drivers.  He is somewhat like the Darrell Waltrip of the 1970's and 1980's, and somewhat like what many thought of a young Dale Earnhardt in the early 1980's as well.  Kyle Busch is brash, he's unapologetic, and quite honestly, he's a pretty good driver.

The fact that he has major temper tantrums makes it more fun.  Of course, he's not the only driver to have them.

Former teammate Tony Stewart is famous for them.  Brother Kurt used to be, but lately, Kurt seems to be trying to emulate the Jeff Gordon/Jimmie Johnson/Matt Kenseth type of profile, basically smiling at the camera and thanking the sponsors, and never taking the bait when asked specifically about what the driver thinks about getting punted or pushed into the wall.

In some ways, Kyle Busch is old school.  He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and though he acts like a brat at times, the passion shows through.  Kyle races hard, no matter where he is, and when he loses a race, he's upset.  Maybe he carries it overboard at times, as he did today in the Truck race at Martinsville, but when you get right down to it, you have to think that he's just passionate about winning.

Is that such a bad thing?

And you thought this was going to be a hit piece on Kyle Busch.  It wasn't meant to be.

He's very passionate about whatever race he's driving in, and I, as a fan, I'm happy to see that passion in racing.  Kyle, you just keep on doing what you're doing.  You might seem like a spoiled brat at times, but at least I know why.  Keep doing what you do, and one day you'll maybe have fans like Petty or Dale Jr. does.  And maybe you won't have to mouth off about it.

Martinsville: It never ceases to be entertaining

Martinsville is the oldest continually sanctioned track in NASCAR, and this weekend showed us exactly why.  For pure short track excitement, Martinsville definitely delivers.

Yesterday's Cup race saw a lot of fender banging and bumper bashing.  Jimmie Johnson, who won the race, did so without escaping the race unscathed.  He had a late encounter with Denny Hamlin, which put Johnson in the lead, and moved Hamlin to 2nd.

Today's Camping World Truck series race provided more of the same.  After leading a lot of laps in the latter stages of the race, Kyle Busch was bumped by Kevin Harvick, which allowed Harvick to pass.  Harvick was followed by his KHI teammate Ron Hornaday, who made harder contact with Kyle Busch, pushing in the quarter panel on the left rear of Busch's Toyota which in turn caused a tire rub.  The yellow flag came out almost immediately after Harvick's pass for the lead, due to another incident on the track.  

Kyle Busch asked for his crew to check out the damage, and also rubbed the left side of his truck on the inside wall near the entrance to pit road.  Kyle inadvertently crossed the white commitment line, but stayed out on the track.  NASCAR called foul.  Kyle's chances of winning the race were obviously over.

After the race, SPEED TV's cameras where on Kyle Busch as he exited his truck.  Kyle removed his helmet and HANS device, and slammed them down on the rear of the truck.  He then sprinted up pit road, into the oncoming traffic of trucks still entering pit road.  He then hopped over the fence onto the track, walked across, and exited the track, all to audible boos.

I'll offer some commentary on this event later, but so far in 2009, the Martinsville Truck race has been by far my favorite!  Beating, banging and even a temper tantrum!  Does it get any better?

The word 'embattled' is starting to irritate me.

'Embattled' crew chief Tony Eury Jr. is still on the job.  Is that a huge surprise?

I'm not surprised.  I didn't expect there to be a huge shake up on the 88 team this week.  For some reason, I seem to be the only one who thinks so.

What has Tony Jr. done wrong except not handing Dale Earnhardt Jr. a win?  I thought the driver was supposed to be involved in wins too.  The last time I looked, the crew chief sits on top of the pit box, and the driver sits inside of the car.  Of course, the crew chief is important to the outcome of a race, but for some reason, people keep forgetting the guy that's pushing the throttle, the brake pedal, the clutch pedal, and actually turning the steering wheel.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not been faultless this season.  Just go back and watch your Daytona Tivo again.  Don't get me wrong, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of my favorite people in the world, but he's human, and he makes mistakes, believe it or not, just like me, or possibly even you.

I know I make mistakes.  Just ask my current boss.  She'd probably talk for about an hour or more about my current transgressions.  I'm new to what I'm doing, and I make mistakes.  Believe me, I make a lot of them, apparently.  Today I think I peeved her more than I thought was humanly possible.  Leave it to me though.  I managed to do just that.

I'm just saying that even though owner Rick Hendrick says all is well, we'll see what we will see.  Nobody drives these days for Rick Hendrick without producing, and I don't think that even good ole Dale Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. will last forever without producing wins.  If they eventually don't produce wins, Rick Hendrick will demand a change.  Probably that will first be a crew chief change, but eventually that might be a driver change.

For the moment, I encourage the Junior Nation to leave Tony Jr. alone.  Right now he's the chosen man.  Let him do what he does, and quit busting his chops for at least right now.  Tony's the man on the pit box.  If he gets to stay there, fine.  If he leaves, you can have your pound of flesh then.  Right now, Rick Hendrick has faith in this combination.  He's the guy that pays the salaries and turns off the lights at night.  Let's give it a little time.

Inheriting a Name

General George Smith Patton, Jr. obviously was the son of a man by the same name.  In his case, the famous General Patton achieved most of the fame for which the "Patton" name is famous for.  Patton led and pushed his US 3rd Army across Europe in 1944 and 1945, and moved a tremendous amount of men and materiel, in the worst of conditions,  to free the elements of the 101st Airborne Division who were surrounded at Bastogne during what is now called the Battle of the Bulge.  General George Patton is a hero, not just to the US Army, but to the United States as a whole.  The man accomplished great things as a military commander, and some of that was because Patton was afraid of very few things in life.  The General was known as a risk taker, sometimes as taking unnecessary risks by his superiors.  He paid the price for that by being relieved of command more than once, but in the end, he proved to be the guy that is one of the best remembered for liberating Europe from Nazi Germany in World War II. 

There has been a phrase attributed to General George S. Patton Jr.:  "Take not council of your fears."  I've read that actually this phrase might be more accurately attributed to General Phillip Sheridan, who lived and served a full generation before Patton.  Either way, General Patton apparently believed in that saying.

What has all this to do with NASCAR, which I'm sure is the question you're asking yourself by this point?  It's easy.  Think about names like Petty, Earnhardt, Eury.  Fathers and sons.

Lee Petty was Richard's father, and he was a champion in his own right, before Richard Petty ever got behind the wheel of a race car.  Most casual fans of the sport today might recognize Richard Petty's name, but few will remember that his father was a great racer before him.  Richard went on to become the "King", with 200 victories in his career.  That's a number that will not be matched.  There are reasons for that, including the fact that NASCAR doesn't sanction Cup events 3 or 4 nights a week, as they did back in the '6o's and early '70's.  Back in those days, before the days of Winston, Richard might win 2 or 3 races a week at times.  The point is, today, nobody remembers who Lee Petty was, even though he was a great driver.  They mostly remember Richard.

And then there's Kyle Petty.  Kyle has won a few races in his career, and these days he's mostly known as the guy that started the Victory Junction Gang Camp.  Kyle is an all around good guy, and he says what he thinks, which is rare among drivers, or even former drivers these days.  Personally, I have to admire that quality.

Kyle actually started the VJGC in honor of his son, who was destined to be the 4th generation Petty NASCAR driver, Adam Petty.  Adam died in an accident at New Hampshire in 2000.  Unfortunately, tragedy and grief follow the sport of NASCAR, and of course we also lost another good driver, Kenny Irwin in 2000 as well.

In 2000, a young man named Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed his father footsteps into the Cup series, and was successful.  He won his first race at Texas, and followed that up with a win at Richmond.  He then went on to win the All Star Race at Charlotte, which of course, was named the Winston then.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. was on his way.  Or so it seemed.

On February 18, 2001, the man who had won 76 races and 7 championships died.  A lot of, but not all of, the fan base who used to support Dale Earnhardt transferred it's devotion to the son.  Some of that fan base supported Earnhardt's replacement, Kevin Harvick.  Some just went away and support other drivers, but most of that fan base suddenly became Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans.  Thus we witnessed the birth of the Junior Nation.  Dale Jr. already had fans, but this unintentional result of his father's death dumped a lot more fans on Dale Jr. than he had ever had before.

Is it just because of the name?  Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. certainly bears his father's name.  For some reason, no one ever held his half-brother Kerry to the same standards.  Kerry Earnhardt, who still works for the family company, and has a son, Jeffrey, who is becoming an accomplished racer in his own right, has never been held to the same standards that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has.

I certainly don't expect Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. to do what his father did.  They both grew up under different circumstances.  All I do know is that Dale Jr. is an entertaining guy, at least in my opinion.

And about Tony Eury Jr.?  Leave him alone.  He might not be the best crew chief in the field, but he's the one that Dale Jr.'s chosen.  If you're a Dale Jr. fan and can't get past that, then find another driver.  That's the law, according to Dale Jr., and if you don't like it, take it up with Dale himself.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may never win as many races or championships as his father has, but to me he's an interesting guy.  Interesting drivers are suddenly becoming too rare in NASCAR.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., my best advice to you is what General George S. Patton Jr. once said, or maybe it was Phil Sheridan:  "Never take council of your fears."

Some Breakout Performances at Bristol

First of all, congratulations to Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin for making it a great day for Joe Gibbs Racing at Bristol on Sunday.  Busch and Hamlin finished 1st and 2nd, respectively.  Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon also put in solid performances for Hendrick Motorsports, finishing 3rd and 4th.  Richard Petty Motorsports' Kasey Kahne continued to show strength in 2009, finishing 5th at Bristol in the Budweiser Dodge.

Two drivers who made badly needed good runs on Sunday were Mark Martin, who finished 6th, and Ryan Newman who finished 7th.  Both of these drivers are running for new teams this year, Mark Martin for Hendrick, and Ryan Newman for the brand new Stewart-Haas Racing, and both have been mired back in the pack in points thus far in 2009, mostly hampered by bad luck and engines trailing parts and oil and smoke.  It's good to see two good drivers get good finishes at Bristol.

Ryan Newman is often somewhat of an afterthought to most casual fans of the sport.  He maintains a quiet demeanor, and rarely makes waves either on or off the track.  Ryan is often overshadowed by his often flamboyant partial owner and teammate Tony Stewart.  It is sometimes forgotten that Ryan Newman is a great qualifier, one of the best in the modern era of NASCAR, and he's won his share of races so far in his relatively short career.  

Mark Martin is, of course, probably the biggest legend among current drivers in NASCAR who has never won a championship.  Mark came very close a couple of times, but has never managed to take the big trophy home.  2009 was to be his last full time season, but now he's been talking about attempting a full time 2010 run as well, and one has to wonder if owner Rick Hendrick will give him that opportunity next year, or will Mark have to go elsewhere to make that happen.  Though Mark basically has been on the verge of retiring for several years now, his priorities have changed.  He originally was going to retire to help his son, Matt, with his racing career.  Apparently Matt has other priorities other than racing, and Mark seems to have a renewed energy and passion for doing what he has done for so many years, which of course is driving race cars.

There are some fans and even sports writers who have been critical of Mark Martin's quest to keep driving, even though he's announced his retirement more than once.  The criticism seems to be that he's taking up room that could be filled by younger, hotter drivers.  I understand that argument, but I have to admit, Mark Martin has been running well this year.  He's won 2 poles so far, at Atlanta and Bristol, and though he's had problems with engines and such during the races, Sunday showed he can still run with the young guys.  To me, a guy born in 1959 is not ancient.  Of course I might be biased on that opinion, since I was only born a scant 4 years later than that.  I also have to say that when you're hot, you're hot.  50 or not, go for it, Mark. 

Has anyone noticed that Jeff Gordon has a 76 point lead over second place Kurt Busch in the points?  Though Jeff has not been to victory lane in over 45 races now, the 24 crew has done what they need to keep Jeff exactly where he wants to be early in the 2009 season.  Under the current points system, Gordon is playing the game exactly as it needs to be played, by being consistent.  Though Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth have each won 2 races this year, neither is number 1 in points.  Not exactly a criticism, but maybe a suggestion, and I'll bet readers of this article have probably thought it before:  Why not make wins count more?

Just a suggestion.

What Would You Do for the Opportunity to be a Part Of NASCAR?

I'd probably give a left part of my body, although I'm not sure exactly which one.  I have two ear lobes, do I really need both of them?  I'm just asking.  Maybe I should make that a right portion of my body, since I'm left handed.  I don't know, I don't have a lot of experience in this field.

But I know that I'd give just about anything to be able to follow the series from track to track, to have access to the garage, the crew, the chiefs, the owners, and of course the drivers.

Of course there is a certain amount of celebrity curiosity there.  I've only met a very few drivers in person, and those occasions were mostly formal, but it would be awesome to see what's going on behind the scenes at the tracks.  

To be honest with you, the only people I've ever met that I'm completely awed by are my father and my mother, who for more than 84 years have kept the bonds of a family together, through hard work and a lot of love.  These are people who have been through hardships that most of us couldn't imagine.  My father is a veteran of World War II, where he served in Europe.  My mother worked in a life boat factory to support the war effort during that time.  In other words, my parents have lived through some difficult times.

I'm much more fortunate than my parents.  I never had to go fight soldiers on foreign soil, I've never had to go through rationing for things such as gas, tires, or oil.

But I'd be willing to do just about all of those things to be able to follow the teams around to the tracks and have access to them.  It's not that I'm a groupie of any particular driver or anything, because I'm not awed by any of them at all, but it's just this:  NASCAR is one of the very few things I truly love in this world.  That's why I write about it.  

Sure, I have drivers I favor over other drivers, but in the effort to make this site not just about one driver, I've overcome some of those prejudices or biases, or at least I have so some degree.

If I were travelling from track to track every week, could walk around the garage, see the sights, listen to the talk, I'd be in some strange form of Heaven.  In other words, it would be like the most fun I've ever had in my life.

The atmosphere surrounding NASCAR is somewhat contagious.  These people are making money, a lot of them are rich, without a doubt, beyond my wildest dreams.  To me, that's not the allure though.  It's just the part about being part of something.  I don't know if that makes any sense, but just to write about what I write about is a huge privilege.  Even at the stage at which I am now, which means that I'm nothing more than a fan.  I can write about things that interest me, and I get paid exactly what you pay to read this site, which, the last time I checked, was exactly nothing.

I just enjoy doing this.  The other night I had a dream where I got to interview, of all people, David Starr.  I don't know why, because I've never followed David's career, but I was interested to find out that David has won 4 races in 218 starts in the Camping World Truck Series, and has also achieved 9 starts in the Nationwide Series.  I didn't get that from the dream, of course, but I did look it up when I woke up from that dream.  

I think anyone that has the opportunity to get involved with NASCAR, should, at all costs.  I know I would.

Heck, I'd do it for free if I could.