Kathy's NASCAR Pit Stop

Hi everyone,

I have some news to tell you.  I have been asked to blog over at That's Racin' for the 2005 NASCAR season!  I was totally shocked that they chose me among the many bloggers out there and I hope I don't disappoint them.

While I'm blogging over there, I won't be keeping up with this journal, but, you can catch me and the other three bloggers over at That's Racin, just look for the Inside Line and you'll see me and the other three bloggers, just look for Kathy's Pit Stop.

Thanks to all my readers and I hope to see you over there commenting on my blog and the others!

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NASCAR's new qualifying procedures could leave some fans wanting more.  If you're a NASCAR fanatic, like I am, you just might be frustrated with the changes.  While the changes may help the teams save money on qualifying setups verses race setups, it gives the fans watching from home less TV coverage of on track activities.  Now the Nextel Cup Series will do just as the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series does, practice  (not sure if there will be just one or two sessions), qualify and then NASCAR impounds the cars until the race.

I don't know about the other fans out there, but this doesn't make me that happy, instead of giving us more TV coverage, we are getting less.  How will all of this really affect fans like me?  Let me explain...

Friday - I usually start checking early on any and every site I can for any new NASCAR news and any tidbits on how practice is going for the teams.  NASCAR doesn't post speeds until after the session is over and unless you subscribe to their Trackpass, you have to wait for times.  Then in the afternoon is qualifying and when I take over the TV, the kids can either watch it with me or watch something else on one of the other TV's.  Later the truck race usually comes on, although the first few are usually held on Saturdays.  This may change because at most of the tracks, qualifying might be held on Saturday instead.  I think practice may be moved to Saturday too, so we could be stuck with just the truck race on Friday's instead of qualifying and then the truck race.

Saturday - Start checking the news early on, watch Happy Hour and then the Busch race.  With Happy Hour gone now, that leaves us with the Busch race and any Cup qualifying that has been pushed to Saturdays.

Sunday - The Cup race.  Nothing will change here.

As you can see, from my point of view, we will have less TV coverage than before over the whole weekend.  I really disagree with them eliminating Happy Hour, not only for the fans, but some of the teams really benefited from that last practice session, now we may see more teams having to adjust a lot more during a race.

Honestly, I think they need to add more on track coverage.  Since they're getting rid of Happy Hour, why not show the practice session, that is before qualifying, on the Speed Channel?  I think it's only fair since Happy Hour was taken away.  Another idea is that I think the Speed Channel should expand their coverage of the truck series by showing qualifying on TV.  They have done a great job of promoting the truck series, but I think more needs to be done and showing qualifying is a start, at least to us fans. 

Don't get me wrong, all the NASCAR shows that are on are great, but what fans like to see most of all, is the cars on the track, at least this fan does!

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Yeah, I know, some are probably thinking "big deal," but to a NASCAR fan it is a big deal.  February is the month they start racing again.  Just eleven more days until the Bud Shootout, where the poles winners of the past season (12 of them) and the previous winners of the Shootout (9 of them) go up against each other. This year there are 21 eligible participants and as usual, it should be an exciting race, albeit a short one.

The list of eligible participants are...

Ryan Newman - 8 poles - Rockingham, Bristol, Loudon, Richmond, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, and Phoenix.

Jeff Gordon - 6 poles - Martinsville, Michigan, Sonoma, Daytona, Chicago, and Bristol.

Kasey Kahne - 4 poles - Las Vegas, Darlington, California, and Pocono.

Jeremy Mayfield - 2 poles - Dover twice.

Casey Mears - 2 poles - Pocono and Indianapolis.

Joe Nemechek - 2 poles - Talladega and Kansas.

Brian Vickers - 2 poles - Richmond and California.

Greg Biffle - 1 pole - Daytona.

Kurt Busch - 1 pole - Homestead.

Jimmie Johnson - 1 pole - Charlotte.

Bobby Labonte - 1 pole - Texas.

Ricky Rudd - 1 pole - Talladega.

Dale Jarrett - Shootout winner in 1996, 2000, and 2004.

Tony Stewart - Shootout winner in 2001 and 2002.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Shootout winner in 2003.

Mark Martin - Shootout winner in 1999.

Rusty Wallace - Shootout winner in 1998.

Geoffrey Bodine - Shootout winner in 1992.

Ken Schrader - Shootout winner in 1989 and 1990.

Bill Elliott - Shootout winner in 1987.

Terry Labonte - Shootout winner in 1985.

By now, most people know who I'm rooting for and while I would love to see Rusty win it, I think the adjustments they are having to make to the new car may hamper them, as well as this being a restrictor plate race.

Going by past performances at Daytona and restrictor plate racing in general, I think it'll be down to three or four drivers to win it, unfortunately none are my favorite.  While everyone is dealing with the new changes that were made for this year, these drivers have always seemed to perform well at the restrictor plate races.

In no particular order, I think the possible winner of the Shootout will be either Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson.  I'm not saying none of the other drivers can win it, we all know anything can and does happen, but these drivers, except Stewart, were on a hot streak last year and have always performed well at restrictor plate races.  I'm still hoping for Rusty or Newman to win it, but I think one of the above four will take the checkered flag first.

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That seems to be the question these days about Penske South teammates Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman.

Last Fall they had a little altercation on and off the track at Martinsville, everyone thought they would talk about it, get over it and that would be the end of it.  Well, that's what we get for thinking!  Seems the little feud is not over afterall, "We're just peachy" was the statement from Newman when asked about how they're doing.  They still haven't discussed it.

The hard part, for me at least, is that I like both drivers, Rusty's been my favorite since I started following NASCAR and I liked Newman after he started.  I can see both sides of the situation, both drivers wanted that win and both drivers thought they could win it, but it wasn't the case, Johnson went on to win.

Watching them, even before the Martinsville incident, I noticed they were never really in a position on the track to act as teammates, one was always near the front and the other wasn't close enough to help, so when the time came when Rusty asked them to ask Newman to cut him some slack, the teammate bond was nowhere to be found.  Newman thought he was faster and had a better chance, so he went for it.

Now I only know most of what Rusty has said, Newman has been fairly quiet about all of this, but Rusty thinks he deserves some respect from Newman and feels as is he's not getting it.  Newman thinks he's between a rock and a hard place because as a driver, Rusty is a competitor, but he is also part owner of his car, making things difficult, according to Newman.  It may be a hard spot for Newman to be in, but Rusty's right, he deserves some respect, especially from his teammate.  Rusty said he wish he had the same relationship with Newman that he had with McMurray, who drives his Busch car, but obviously that isn't going to happen.

Will the feud ever end?  Obviously not if it's left up to Rusty and Ryan, they seem to be a standstill and I think Roger Penske needs to step in, put his foot down and make them talk, even if it means locking them in a room.  Enough is enough, they need to act like teammates, not enemies.

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What will 2005 bring for Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin?  Everyone who follows NASCAR knows the names, whether you love them or hate them, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin will end their Cup Series careers at the end of the 2005 season and I'm hoping that both of them have a very good season.

Both drivers will be trying to do their best and to win at tracks they've never won at before.  One big race that has eluded both of them has been the Daytona 500, both will be trying their best on their final try at the big race.  Even if the Daytona 500 eludes them, they will have one more shot at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. 

Both drivers have gained the respect of their fellow drivers and I'm sure they'll get a nice sendoff at the end of the year, from fellow drivers and fans and they certainly deserve it and I'm sure there will be a few tears shed too.

Rusty will not only being trying to get that elusive Daytona 500 win, but also trying to get a win in a restrictor plate race and of course, possibly win a second championship.  Rusty is known for speaking his mind about things he agrees or disagrees with and he usually gets a lot of grief for the latter.  Just because he speaks up about something he doesn't agree with does not make him a whiner, as a lot of Rusty haters like to call him, at least he has the guts to say how he feels about something. 

Mark will be trying for the Daytona 500 win and his first championship, he's been so close, so many times.  What can you say about Mark?  Mark is so humble and nice, that's why everyone likes him, I have never heard anyone say a bad word about Mark.  I think of it this way - Mark put the gentlemen in "Gentlemen, start your engines!"

I know the season will go way too quickly for Rustyand Mark fans and that final race will be here before we know it.  These two vetrans of NASCAR may not be on the track in 2006, but they will still be involved in NASCAR and their teams, both are part owners, so they'll still be around.

I just hope when final checkered flag falls at Homestead that either Rusty or Mark is crowned the champion for 2005, it would be a great sendoff and I hope all the fans of NASCAR join in and give them a loud cheer for their outstanding careers.

And don't forget that waiting in the wings are their sons, Stephen Wallace and Matt Martin, who will try to move up into NASCAR and follow in their fathers footsteps.  Matt still has a while to wait, but rumor is that we may see Stephen in a Busch race or two late in 2005.

Here's hoping for a great final Cup season for both Rusty and Mark, they've both accomplished a lot in their careers and are considered to be two of NASCAR's best.

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Finally!  Now there's something to talk about other than rumors!

Testing began this morning at Daytona International Speeway, a little late due to some rain, but none the less, it got underway.  Testing runs from the 11 - 13 for the drivers who finished in the odd numbered position in the standings.  Next week (18 - 20) will be the testing session for drivers who finished in the even numbered position in the standings.

Jeff Gordon topped the speed charts for the morning session with Boris Said, not too far behind him.  It was reported that Said turned some heads in his session this morning, I guess people weren't expecting him to do well.  Speeds ranged from Gordon's 185.265 to 176.585 run by Jeff Fuller.

There doesn't seem to be any complaints coming out of the Dodge camp, this is the first time the new Chargers have been on the track, so I'm guessing that the drivers are fairly pleased with the new cars, I just hope the Penske cars do well this year.

Speeds that were reported on for this mornings session are...

Gordon - 185.265
Said - 185.181
Mayfield - 184.506
Biffle - 184.430
Kurt Busch - 184.419
Waltrip - 184.158
Jarrett - 183.993
Sadler - 183.824
Rudd - 183.666
Newman - 183.411
Earnhardt Jr. - 183.329
Leffler - 183.311
McLaughlin - 183.206
Kvapil - 183.098
Kyle Busch - 182.960
Petty - 182.886
K. Wallace - 182.793
Bliss - 182.726
Edwards - 182.685
McMurray - 182.231
Skinner - 181.701
K. Earnhardt - 181.697
Mears - 181.459
Shepherd - 181.419
LaJoie - 181.368
Fuller - 176.585  

Afternoon testing speeds....

Jeff Gordon - 185.448 mph
Randy LaJoie - 185.231
Boris Said - 184.642
Elliott Sadler - 184.604
Greg Biffle - 184.456
Michael Waltrip - 184.170
Jeremy Mayfield - 184.109
Kurt Busch - 184.042
Dale Jarrett - 184.000
Mike Bliss - 183.872
Morgan Shepherd - 183.527
Ricky Rudd - 183.516
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 183.251
Travis Kvapil - 183.236
Carl Edwards - 183.228
Mike McLaughlin - 183.214
Kenny Wallace - 183.161
Kyle Busch - 182.994
Ryan Newman - 182.860
Jason Leffler - 182.838
Kyle Petty - 182.745
Kerry Earnhardt - 182.626
Jamie McMurray - 182.437
Mike Skinner - 181.965
Casey Mears - 181.954
Jeff Fuller - 178.710

Only 32 more days until the Bud Shootout!

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Are any other NASCAR fans going crazy out there like I am?  There is only 46 more days until the Bud Shootout, but time seems to be going by so slow, I think snails are faster!

I keep looking and looking, but no classic races on and the NASCAR news is still very slow.  Electronic timing is being added for pit road for 2005, a few driver rumors and Gateway's announcement of them naming their race this year the Wallace Family Tribute 250 to pay tribute to the Wallace family and Rusty in his final year.  Other than that, not much going on.

I got a new racing wheel and pedal set to use with my Playstation 2 for Christmas and I'm still trying to get used to it, but even playing my NASCAR games isn't enough, the start of the season needs to hurry up!

I hope all the other NASCAR fans out there are handling the off-season better than I am.

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It looks like things may be changing for the qualifying format for the Daytona 500.  Don't worry though, there will still be Speedweeks and the qualifying races, it appears as if they are changing things a little bit.

Everyone who follows NASCAR, knows about the Gatorade Twin 125's, which are the qualifying races for the lineup of the Daytona 500, well, it appears they are going to lengthen each race by 25 miles, making each of the 150 miles in length and to go along with that, they are changing the name to the Gatorade Duel. With the changes, teams may have to change their strategies as far as when to pit and such.

I haven't heard anything about why they are making the changes, just that they are.  I guess they wanted something more catchy for a name and while the Gatorade Duel may sound a bit more catchy and flashy, it just seems to me that they are trying to get away from the traditional times of NASCAR.  Yes, they are still keeping the races, but they've been called the Twin 125's since 1969, why get rid of that? Why not just call it the Twin 150's??

I know some may think change is good and some changes are good, but NASCAR is moving more and more away from the tradition that was once NASCAR and they are just making too many changes.  I have no problem with France wanting to make the sport grow, that's only natural, but at what expense?  The fans made NASCAR what it is and now Brian France is just changing things left and right, forgetting about the fans and tradition that made NASCAR what it is today.  They took away Rockingham and stripped Darlington of the Southern 500, what's the next track or race to go?  I know more and more tracks want races and that's understandable, but if they really want to expand that much, get rid of the road courses and make it where they only go to tracks once instead of twice in a season, it's better than stripping tracks of their races.

Ok, I think I'll stop now.  I'm still counting down, only 57 days left until the Bud Shootout.  :)

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****Warning - Rant Ahead****

With the banquet coming up on Friday, December 3rd, you would expect a flurry of news on the top ten drivers that will be at the table, but that is not the case.

Look all over the place for any NASCAR coverage and you will see Kurt Busch splashed everywhere, as he should be since he won the championship, but not much is being mentioned about the others, except for Earnhardt Jr.

Why is this?  Why is the only driver we seem to be hearing about, other than the champion, is Earnhardt Jr.?  Did I miss something?  Did all the other drivers drop out of the top ten and just leave Busch and Jr. there?  I don't think so. 

Obviously, the media thinks that only Busch and Jr. are the only ones fans care about, well they couldn't be more wrong.  Yes, Jr. has a large fan base, but not everybody is a fan of his, heck some people don't even like him.  Oh sure, you might read a snippet here or there about Mark Martin, of course that is just to tell you he missed out on the championship again, not about his stellar performance this past season.

What about the fans of the other drivers in the top ten that will be at that table on Friday night?  Where are articles written about Johnson, Gordon, Martin, Stewart, Newman, Kenseth and Mayfield?  If they're out there, I can't find them.

Why does the media think that fans only care about Busch and fifth place finisher Earnhardt Jr.?  Yes, Jr. finished 5th in points and he is having more written about him that Johnson (2nd), Gordon (3rd) and Martin (4th), why is that?  I can take a stab at that, is it because of the name?  Probably so.  If his last name was Parker or Jones, would he still get this much coverage?  I doubt it.

No disrespect to the Earnhardt Jr. fans out there, but I'm getting tired of only hearing about winner of a race and Jr.  Not everyone is a Jr. fan and we just like to see other drivers covered in the media too, I just wish the media would listen.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not NASCAR, neither is Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, etc., NASCAR is made up of many drivers and their fans, not just one.

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Kasey Kahne was officially named Rookie of the Year for the Cup series and he definitely deserved the honor.  Kahne, 24, is the second youngest driver to win this honor in the Cup series, only Jeff Gordon was younger at age 22.

While he may have finished 13th in the final standings, he sure put on quite a show this year racking up 13 Top 5's and 14 Top 10's and 5 of those Top 5's were second place finishes. 

He came so close many times this year, but that elusive win in the Cup series just didn't come.  There shouldn't be any worries about that though, I expect to see Kahne in Victory Lane next year, and probably more than once.  He's shown the fans and the competitors that he's a good driver and someone to lookout for and he can really drive that car around the top groove of a racetrack.

If there's anything negative about Kasey, which this really isn't a really bad negative, is his personality.  Now, before the Kahne fans jump on me, hear me out.  To me, it seems that Kasey wants to be liked by everyone, and while that's not a bad thing, it's not really going to happen in NASCAR.  There is always going to be someone, even a competitor, that doesn't like you, that's just a fact.  I just think he needs to stop worrying about that so much.  If someone is your friend and an incident happens on the track, you talk about it and your friend will get over it, if he doesn't, he's not really your friend.  I just think he needs to stop worrying about it so much and just concentrate on driving the car and bringing home some wins for his team, which I'm sure he will in 2005.

Congratulations Kasey!

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