How Much More?..........

It’s possible that the 3400 pound maximum weight specification for Cup cars will be raised in the near future. I haven’t seen anything concrete on this as yet; it’s just something that’s gnawing at the back of my mind.

With all of the new safety features that have been added in the past couple of seasons, there has to be a lot of added weight in the process. Basically, the cars are built to 3100 pound specifications and then the driver’s weight is added to this. Say a big fellow like Jimmy Spencer who probably weighs over 200 lbs is the driver. Just for the heck of it let’s say that Spencer weighs 220 pounds. Add this to the 3100 and you get 3320, which only allows a team 80 pounds to work with when adding weights to the left side frame rail to balance the racecar from front to back.

First of all, they came up with the HANS device, which probably doesn’t weigh more than four or five pounds, but the little things add up. Then they added an extra netting on the corner of the window. Then they added side cushions to the seat to keep the drivers head from leaving the area to prevent the tragedy that took Dale Earnhardt’s life. They also came up with new seat designs that are not only safer, but larger and more comfortable. Then they came up with this new carbon monoxide system, and also another transponder box.

Now they are mandating a new fire extinguishing system using a Halon gas fire suppressant. This system is going to be installed above the fuel cell under the rear deck lid. With its gas bottle and piping, it’s bound to add extra weight to the racecar. The new system is mandated to go into effect beginning August 13th for the Cup, Busch, and Truck Series, but NASCAR hopes teams will begin using it immediately.

Following the fire system will be the roof hatches. With their hardware mechanisms, they are also bound to add more weight to the racecar. They plan on implementing a smaller man-sized hatch over the driver’s seat in the roll bar cockpit, which will be a hatch within a hatch that will allow the whole roof to be lifted from side to side, front to back or back to front, whichever the crash situation may call for.

The more weight differential there is between the driver’s weight and the maximum weight of 3400 pounds there is, the easier it is for teams to balance the racecar. As an example, look at the success of smaller drivers like Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin as compared to some of the heavier ones. This really can’t be used as a yardstick, however, because Dale Earnhardt Sr. wasn’t a little guy and he had phenomenal success.

As weight keeps being added to the racecar, and modifications added to the racecar’s design to allow for the new systems, there is bound to be a lesser degree of available weight for teams to use in gaining the right balance for their set-ups at different types of racetracks. Don’t be surprised if the maximum weight is raised before or during the off-season.

Championship Points System……

Cup drivers are the worlds worst when it comes to whining and complaining. They have to come up with any excuse possible when their sponsor’s light shines on them, wondering why they aren’t doing as well as expected.

Such may be the case with all of the carping about the current championship points system. The system has been in place since 1975, and has been the subject of carping and complaining many times in past seasons. You can rest assured though; it has never come under fire by the few drivers in the top five who are in a position to grab onto the brass ring. It’s always harangued by former champions and runner-up drivers who aren’t doing as well as expected in that particular season.

The major changes planned for the points system will give more points for winning races, and also bonus points for winning poles. At the present time, there are no points awarded for winning poles, and only five points awarded for a bonus for winning a race.

Also on the table is a previously tried plan to do away with awarding points all of the way back to the 43rd position. A cut off position is being considered, maybe somewhere around 25 or 30 points. This practice would prevent teams with crashed racecars from repairing the wrecks and coming back out on the track to race for a few more points. The slower wrecked cars get in the way of the competition, and parts have been known to fly off of them causing problems for both fans and competitors.

The major problem that a lot of the current losers have with the points system is that it rewards consistency, and not winning. There have been quite a few seasons where drivers have won the championship after having only won one race, compared to other drivers that season who have won six or seven, but have had bad luck at other races where they weren’t able to finish. Winning just one race and getting consistent top five and ten finishes will win you the championship, as was nearly the case with Bobby Labonte, who won in 2001 with two wins, nine top five, and 20 top ten finishes. Terry Labonte won in 1996 with two wins, 21 top fives, and 24 top tens. Consistency was the key factor in both of those championships.

Brickyard 400…….

Qualifying for the event tended to be somewhat of a bout of luck dominated by Mother Nature. With the emergence of strong storms passing over Indiana this past weekend, it’s a wonder that any of the events were able to take place.

Some of the qualifiers hit the track when there was overcast skies and turned really fast laps. Others were relegated to the hot sun and a slippery track surface that slowed their speeds considerably.

Some of the regular Cup drivers were really unlucky. Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 49 BAM Racing Dodge ended up going home. The driver of the Petty Enterprises No. 43 Dodge, Christian Fittipaldi, also went home along with Bret Bodine, owner/driver of the No. 11 Ford. Craftsman Truck Series and former Cup Series drivers Ted Musgrave and Robert Pressley were also among those who didn’t make the field. Morgan/McClure’s second entry, the No. 104 Kodak Pontiac driven by Busch Series driver David Reutimann was another notable entry that hit the highway early.

One driver who didn’t have to worry about going home early was pole winner Kevin Harvick who set a new Brickyard 400 track record with his blistering qualifying speed of 184.343 miles per hour on the historic 2.5 mile flat oval. The other driver who broke the 184 mile per hour barrier was Ryan Newman who started on the front row beside Harvick with a qualifying speed of 184.238.

Kevin Harvick won from the pole! They call the Daytona 500 the “Great American Race,” but as far as I and a lot of other folks are concerned, that’s just a lot of NASCAR/France family hype that doesn’t mean diddley squat. To me and lots of other folks, the Brickyard 400 is the premier race on the circuit. There isn’t a racetrack in the country that has the historical significance and meaning that the Indy track enjoys. When a driver wins the Brickyard 400, it really means something. Harvick was ecstatic, to say the least. His name will go down in history as an Indianapolis Raceway winner.

The nearly four hour race didn’t go off without a hint of controversy. There were some decisions that were made by NASCAR that upset a lot of drivers and teams. To begin with, NASCAR officials blew it when they closed pit road during the pit window for fuel where the cars have to either fuel up or run out of gas, losing valuable track position.

Pit road was closed because of a major boner from a veteran driver who apparently is losing it. Any driver with a half a brain that has the first pit stall knows that he can’t come racing into the pits, slow down to 55 miles per hour at the entrance line and stop in the first pit box. Dale Jarrett pulled an idiot move and ended up spinning his car out trying to stop, hitting his jackman in the process. It’s time Jarrett got out of the racecar. Of course, hit pit crew members that were interviewed by the media stated that it wasn’t his fault, it was the fault of the speedway for having pit boxes that were too small. That in itself was an idiot statement from an idiot crew member.

NASCAR was right in closing pit road in order to deal with the injured crewman right at the pit road entrance. They had to have room to get safety crews and the ambulance in there to take the injured crewman to the hospital, and that couldn’t be done safely while pit stops were being accomplished. Where NASCAR screwed up was by not throwing the red flag to stop the race so the cars on the track wouldn’t use up what little fuel they had circumventing the track under caution. Some of the teams pitted anyway with the pit road closed because they didn’t have a choice. They were running out of fuel. NASCAR penalized these teams and made them restart the race at the end of the longest line. If the NASCAR officials would have had the brains to stop the cars so they wouldn’t run out of fuel, they would have saved the integrity of the race. As it is, those cars that lost position were unfairly treated by NASCAR and they should file a grievance for NASCAR’s inability to provide a fair and equal competitive event.

The second gaffe by NASCAR was created by restarting the cars in double file at the end of the race with 10 laps remaining. They should have had a “down finger” restart where the competitors restart the race in single file instead of side by side where the leaders have to fend off lapped cars with only ten laps remaining. The NBC crew didn’t interview very many drivers after the race, but one driver that was interviewed, Bill Elliott, lashed out at NASCAR for their inept decision on the last restart. It isn’t like Bill Elliott to complain about NASCAR. I would assume that there were drivers who refused the interview because they were too upset, and I also assume that Tony Stewart was one of them. The NBC crew had to interview team owner Joe Gibbs because Stewart was too upset to talk with them. Gibbs stated that they were all very disappointed and kind of in a devastated state. Stewart led the most laps of the race and NASCAR didn’t allow him a chance to race for the win at the end with their stupid inept decision making. NASCAR needs to get rid of Darby and Hunter and get someone in there with some brains to run the Cup Series. Hunter isn’t even associated with the Cup Series, that camera hog is supposed to be the vice president of corporate communications, not a Cup Series decision maker. The Cup Series has its own communications manager, Danielle Frye, but you never hear of her because of Hunter’s media hogging. She’d probably get fired if she said anything.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Kevin Harvick -- No. 29 Chevy – finished 1st
2. Ryan Newman -- No. 12 Dodge – finished 11th
3. Bill Elliott -- No. 9 Dodge – finished 5th
4. Ward Burton -- No. 22 Dodge -- finished 26th
5. Michael Waltrip -- No. 15 Chevy – finished 16th
6. Kurt Busch -- No. 97 Ford – finished 7th
7. Joe Nemechek -- No. 25 Chevy – finished 37th
8. Bobby Labonte -- No. 18 Chevy – finished 22nd
9. Jimmie Johnson -- No. 48 Chevy – finished 18th
10. Jeremy Mayfield -- No. 19 Dodge – finished 41st

The first four positions in the drivers point’s standings remain the same with Matt Kenseth stretching his lead over second place driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. to 286 points. Jeff Gordon is now listed with a -318 in third place followed by protégé Jimmie Johnson who is now listed with a -496. Michael Waltrip moved up one spot to fifth and is listed with a -499. No one in the top five has the opportunity to take the lead away from Kenseth in just one event. Bobby Labonte dropped down one spot to sixth with a -510, and is followed by race winner Kevin Harvick who is now listed with a -529 in seventh place. Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman are still listed in eighth and ninth place with a -583 and a -654. Rusty Wallace moved up one spot to round out the top ten with a -685.

Next Week…..

Race No. 22 on the 36 race 2003 Cup schedule is the Sirius Satellite radio at The Glen. The event will be held on Sunday, August 10th at 1 p.m. eastern at the Watkins Glen International at Watkins Glen, New York. Qualifying for the event will be televised live via time delay on the SPEED channel on Friday, August 8th at 3 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner of the event was Tony Stewart. He was followed across the finish line by rookie Ryan Newman, Robby Gordon, P.J. Jones, Ricky Rudd, Scott Pruett, Jeff Burton, Todd Bodine, Michael Waltrip, and Mark martin.

Ricky Rudd won the Bud pole award with a qualifying speed of 122.696 miles per hour. There were seven caution periods for a total of 18 laps out the 90 laps on the 2.45 mile road course. You can expect a few teams to bring in “ringers” or “interlopers” who are supposed to be road racing specialists. These people usually throw a kink in the regular scheme of things associated with the driver’s point’s system and driver’s employment opportunities with different teams.

Its Ringer Time Again……..

8/6/03…..The second road course race of the season brings even more “ringers” or “interlopers” into the Cup Series than usual. According to published reports, there were eight drivers set to enter the competition at The Glen. One good thing about it though, none of the regular Cup drivers who are considered to be worth their salt were to be replaced.

We all know by now that the premier ringers are road course specialists Ron Fellows and Boris Said. Fellows is set to replace Jeff Green in the No. 1 Pennzoil Chevy for DEI, while Said got the nod to pilot the No. 01 Pontiac vacated by Jerry Nadeau when he was injured a couple of months ago.

Morgan/McClure Motorsports will be attempting to enter two cars at The Glen, with road racers Johnny Miller in the No. 04 Kodak Pontiac, and P. J. Jones in their regular Cup entry, the No. 4 Kodak Pontiac. McClure has been without a regular driver in the No. 4 since firing Mike Skinner earlier this season. Neither of the Morgan/McClure entries have any provisional starts coming to them, so they may end up going home if they can’t qualify on time.

Grand American driver Scott Maxwell will be attempting to put the No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge in the race, without a provisional start, while Petty moves Christian Fittipaldi to the No. 44 Dodge for the race.

Chip Ganassi Racing will enter five time Trans-Am winner and current point’s leader Scott Pruett in the No. 39 Dodge, while Andy Petree will enter road racer Paul Menard in the No. 33 Chevy to make his Cup debut.

An interesting bit of trivia: It’s been thirty years since a ringer has won a road course event in Cup racing. In 1973, ringer Mark Donahue won at the now defunct 2.62 mile Riverside, California road course for Roger Penske in the Winston Western 500 driving an American Motors Matador. David Pearson, who won the pole for that race driving a Mercury, won 11 races that year. Benny Parsons only won one race that year, but ended up with the championship.

8/9/03…… The ringers didn’t so well at qualifying. The only ringer to make the top ten was Jerry Nadeau’s replacement in the No. 01 Pontiac, Boris Said. John Andretti, who replaced Jack Sprague in the No. 0 Net Zero Pontiac was the next road course specialist to qualify at 15th. Although Andretti is considered to be a Cup driver out of work, his roots are still considered to be in open wheel road racing.

Ron Fellows qualified DEI’s No. 1 Pennzoil Chevy in 18th, while Scott Pruett qualified Chip Ganassi’s fourth entry in the 28th position. Johnny Miller was next in the No. 104 Pontiac for Morgan/McClure Motorsports, followed by P. J. Jones in Morgan/McClure’s regular entry, the No. 4 Pontiac. Paul Menard, Andy Petrees choice foir the No. 33 Chevy, was the last one to make the race with a provisional in the 43rd position. Ken Schrader in the No. 49 Dodge, Joe Varde in the No. 235 Chevy, Scott Maxwell in the No. 43 Petty Dodge, and Larry Foyt in the Harrah’s Dodge all went home.

Safety Crews?.......

The absence of a professional Cup Series safety crew was brought to the forefront again after a turn five crash in Friday’s practice at The Glen. Ryan Newman wrecked his racecar, which ended up on its side covering the driver’s window, preventing him from making his exit. Newman complained to NASCAR about the amount of time it took the safety crews to reach him.

Not only did he complain loudly about the response time, he was also bothered by the fact that when the crews got to the wrecked racecar, they had no idea what they were supposed to do. Newman had to holler instructions to them from inside his car, telling them to upright the car so he could crawl out of disabled vehicle.

Newman again complained about the incident at a media press conference the following Saturday morning, repeating the comments he made the day before. Of course, NASCAR had heard of his dismay the day before and was ready for him Saturday morning. Not to miss out on a media opportunity, series director John Darby, was quick to put NASCAR’s spin on the situation.

Darby used the usual old standby remarks, stating that NASCAR was looking at the situation, and that all tracks are different, and that all response times are different because of the different locations and situations surrounding the wrecks. He also stated that the safety crews do not respond to a wreck on the track until it has been cleared with NASCAR.

That makes a lot of sense. You can’t have safety crews pulling out onto a racetrack in front of a racecar traveling at speeds exceeding 190 mile per hour. What would make more sense, and more than one driver has called for this, is to have a professional safety crew that travels from track to track with the circuit.

Tony Stewart was vocal about this last season and during the off-season. Driver’s concerns in this matter have fallen on deaf ears. NASCAR would have to invest some of their precious resources into a project of this nature, and they don’t want to get into that area.

It makes sense that a professional safety crew would be trained to extricate drivers from their wreck vehicles much more efficiently than the varied fire/rescue teams around the country who work at the tracks during the NASCAR events. Some of the venues have to rely on volunteer fire companies who have personnel that are stowing hay away in a barn one day, and pulling race drivers out of wrecked vehicles the next. This is what raises the hackles of some of the drivers. They feel that NASCAR at least owes them the best in safety equipment and personnel, after all, NASCAR would be nothing without the drivers who race the races.

The other side of the coin is this: NASCAR has to protect itself from possible litigation. If the sanctioning body were to have their own safety professionals and one of them made a mistake that cost a driver his life or limb, then they could be held legally responsible. It could cost NASCAR big time, in more ways than one. I assume this is one of the major reasons that they have stayed away from providing a professional safety crew as other racing series like IRL, CART, and Formula 1 do.

The way it stands now, the individual tracks are responsible for contracting the local fire/rescue companies to work at their tracks at events, leaving NASCAR out of the loop and out of the realm of responsibility. NASCAR President Mike Helton stated that the tracks were responsible for hiring professional safety crews and that NASCAR stands behind them. Helton went on to say, “We feel that the way we do it works for us.” Well, it may work fine for Helton, but he’s not the one who’s struck in the racecar trying to get out. If he was, I’m sure he’d take a much different stance on the subject, instead adhering to the avarice of NASCAR.

Watkins Glen……..

8/10/03……. Robbie Gordon finally got his much deserved victory at Watkins Glen. Some of you may remember a few seasons ago, I don’t remember exactly which one, when the NASCAR mandated transponder box mounted on the right side floorboard of his racecar caught fire at The Glen forcing him out of contention when he was leading the race, and set up to win his first victory. Actually, this first win at The glen was Robby’s third career victory, and his second of this season as he’s managed to sweep both the Infineon and Watkins Glen road courses in 2003. This is the second week in a row for Richard Childress Racing to take the checkers and Childress’s first win at the Glen, capping off a well deserved high spot after a long dry spell of not winning races. Childress has stuck behind Robby when others were against him. The feisty Gordon isn’t one of the most popular drivers in the garage area, to say the least.

The continuing saga between Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon took a sudden twist as Biffle punted Gordon off of the track going into the first turn of the race. Biffle stated on his radio that it was a terrible mistake and that he felt really bad that he couldn’t help it because his brakes locked up going into the corner and he couldn’t slow down before running into Gordon. What would you expect him to say, that it was intentional?

Adding to the bad day Gordon had from the start, he appeared to run out of gas on the last lap while he was running in the third or fourth position, don’t remember which. He fell back and as the cars were coming up to the flag stand when they came through the last turn, he got in the way of Kevin Harvick, who got into the back of him, knocking his slow erratic racecar off of the track into the outside rail. Gordon was not a happy camper. To add insult to injury, it took safety crews forever to get there. After he finally got into the ambulance, it took a long time to get him to the infield care center due to the traffic after the race. If he had been hurt, it would have been a bigger issue than it was. As I stated above, something needs to be done about the safety crew issue. The safety crew situation as it stands may be to NASCAR President Mike Helton’s liking, but he’s apparently the only one who likes it!

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Jeff Gordon -- No. 24 Chevy – finished 33rd
2. Greg Biffle* -- No. 16 Ford – finished 31st
3. Mark Martin -- No. 6 Ford – finished 10th
4. Tony Stewart -- No. 20 Chevy -- finished 11th
5. Rusty Wallace -- No. 2 Dodge – finished 37th
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- No. 8 Chevy – finished 3rd
7. Matt Kenseth -- No. 17 Ford – finished 8th
8. Kurt Busch -- No. 97 Ford – finished 12th
9. Bobby Labonte -- No. 18 Chevy – finished 14th
10. Boris Said -- No. 01 Pontiac – finished 39th

How did the ringers do? Scott Pruett was the highest finisher coming in second. Pruett has a years experience under his belt driving for Call Wells in the Cup Series, and showed his prowess with the Cup car at The Glen. John Andretti, another experienced Cup driver who is no longer in a steady Cup ride was the next non-regular to finish, crossing the line in the 19th position. P. J. Jones came in 25th followed by Paul Menard in 30th. Johnny Miller crossed the line in the 36th position followed by Ron Fellows in 38th. Boris Said, a strong favorite who started in the tenth position finished 39th. So much for the ringers, as is usually the case.

Matt Kenseth beat Jeff Gordon to the line, but he didn’t beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jr. is still in second and is now listed with a -258 to Kenseth’s 3294 point lead. Jeff Gordon’s bad luck dropped him back farther with a -396. Jimmie Johnson is still in fourth with a -478. Kevin Harvick’s fifth place finish moved him up two spots to round out the top five with a -516. Michael Waltrip got relegated back one spot and is now only one point behind Harvick with a -517, followed by Bobby Labonte who also got relegated back one spot to seventh with a -526. Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman are still in eighth and ninth with a -598 and a -658. Robby Gordon’s win moved him up one spot into the top ten in driver’s points with a -667.

Next Week …………

The Cup circuit travels to Michigan International Speedway for Race No. 23, the GFS Marketplace 400. The event is scheduled to be aired by the TNT channel on Sunday, August 17th at 1:30 p.m. eastern. Qualifying for the event is scheduled to be aired via a short time delay on the SPEED channel on Friday, August 15th at 3 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner of the August Michigan event was Dale Jarrett. He was followed across the finish line by Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, rookie Jimmie Johnson, Johnny Benson, Jeff Green, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Bud pole award with a speed of 189.668 miles per hour. There were 7 caution periods for 30 laps out of the 200 laps on the really fast and dangerous 2 mile D-shaped oval.

This work was previously published at Suite101.com

J. Gordon/Harvick Revisited…….

I’ve heard a lot of comments doing the week concerning the last lap altercation at The Glen between Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon. Both drivers had told their stories several times and the media had had a hay day with it.

Radio stations have been bombarded by callers responding to D. J.’s questions as to who was at fault. Some of the call ins that I’ve heard have been downright mean. We all know that Jeff Gordon has a lot of fans, but its also very apparent that he has a lot of racing fans who don’t care much for him.

Regardless of who likes and dislikes whom, the bottom line is this: It was just one of those racing deals. I came to this conclusion by looking at it from both drivers’ views. Starting out with Gordon, there are a lot of ifs involved with what he could have and should have done. It takes a little more than 70 seconds to get around the complete 2.45 mile circuit at Watkins Glen. That’s only a minute and ten seconds. You run out of gas halfway through your last lap. This means that for 35 seconds you are fighting to keep your racecar going to make it to the finish line. You’re racing for points, you know you aren’t going to win, but where you finish is very important in the overall scheme of things. As you make it around the final turn your racecar slows more, the finish line is in sight. Something in your mind brings back the fact that you need to zigzag the car to slosh what little bit of fuel that may be left to the fuel pick-up opening in the bottom of the fuel cell. You are only thinking of getting your racecar to the finish line that is in your field of vision. You aren’t thinking of the cars coming behind you, you don’t have time. We are only talking about a few seconds here. That’s the way Jeff Gordon looked at in in the few seconds he had to deal with it.

Along comes Kevin Harvick, racing around the final turn with Ward Burton, Jarrett, Kenseth, and Newman right on his tail trying to take a position away from him before he gets to the finish line. Here’s Jeff Gordon, zigzagging in front of him. Which side will he pass Gordon on? He’s not holding a line, he’s zigzagging. Before he can make the decision in a couple of seconds, traveling at a speed over 100 miles per hour, he connects with the back of Gordon’s car. Gordon spins out into the outside fence, Harvick continues on the finish line just a few feet away. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault. It was just one of those racing deals. There are a lot of things that each driver can say that they may have done different, but in the heat of the moment, what happened, happened, and that’s the way it was.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. made the comment that Gordon should not have been in the racing groove if he was running out of gas. Earnhardt claims that he ran into Gordon before Harvick did, because he didn’t have a choice. Gordon zigzagged in front of him. In all fairness to Gordon, he has just as much right to try to make it to the finish line as anyone else. Maybe he didn’t have the time to get out of the racing groove, and if he did, he probably zigzagged back into it some, trying to pick up fuel. That’s Racin’, it’s as simple as that.

Chase Car?.........

NASCAR certainly termed that addition to their repertoire correctly! All this car is supposed to do is to chase wrecks on the racetrack. This addition is supposed to make the drivers feel better, because NASCAR is thinking of their safety having a monkey chase wrecks on the racetrack. I say this because the so called Chase Car is supposed to stay away from the wrecks and not get in the way of the safety crews.

As far as I can see the function of the Chase Car serves no apparent purpose other than to be there to give a driver involved in an altercation a ride to the in-field medical center if he chooses not to ride in the ambulance. Big deal, that’s what the drivers need at this juncture from NASCAR, a hollow fix, a gesture without any substance what-so-ever.

This is NASCAR president Mike Helton’s way of addressing the lax safety issues surrounding the response times of all of the different safety crews that attend to wrecks at the multitude of racetracks on the NASCAR circuit. Helton claims that they aren’t going to change current policy and hire their own safety crew. Just think of how that would cut into the NASCAR executives future bonuses. I sure that the drivers on the circuit are very happy with this, and are now confident that their lives are in good hands….. Yeah, right!

GFS Marketplace 400…….

Ryan Newman managed to survive the gas mileage war to win his series high fifth race of the 2003 season and the sixth of his Cup career. The victory also marked the milestone 50th Cup Series win for team owner Roger Penske.

The event was a strange one for the Michigan venue that is known for its long green flag runs. Actually, it was down right exciting for a Michigan race with a record nine caution periods topping the previous record of eight. Naturally, Todd Bodine was involved in a crash. I was talking with my son on the phone and we were joking about how the number of races that Bodine finishes in a given season would make a good topic for a trivia question. This time it was doubtful as to who the guilty culprit was, Bodine connected with Kurt Busch and ended up on the hood of Kenny Wallace’s car up against the fence with both cars on fire. Both drivers escaped injury and Kurt Busch got away unscathed, as per usual, to mix it up with old nemesis Jimmy Spencer a time or two before the end of the race.

The “boob of the race” award has to go out to Rusty Wallace for his idiot move cutting across the pit lane entrance area from left to right in front of Dale Earnhardt Jr., causing damage that took Dale Jr. out of contention for the win and eventually ending up four laps down. Wallace got what was coming to him though, as his car blew an engine and caught fire in a similar fashion as his teammate Ryan Newman’s car did earlier in the season. What came around went around, but Dale Jr. took a big hit in the driver’s points.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Bobby Labonte -- No. 18 Chevy – finished 37th
2. Ryan Newman -- No. 12 Dodge – finished 1st
3. Robby Gordon -- No. 31 Chevy – finished 6th
4. Kevin Lepage -- No. 57 Ford -- finished 31st
5. Terry Labonte -- No. 5 Chevy – finished 13th
6. Jason Leffler -- No. 0 Pontiac – finished 35th
7. Christian Fittipaldi -- No. 43 Dodge – finished 33rd
8. Jeff Burton -- No. 99 Ford – finished 11th
9. Dave Blaney -- No. 77 Ford – finished 25th
10. Jimmy Spencer -- No. 7 Dodge – finished 26th

As is clearly visible, this week the only two drivers that started in the top ten to do any good at all were race winner Ryan Newman and sixth place finisher Robby Gordon. Last week’s winner Kevin Harvick followed Newman across the line, inheriting second as Jimmy Johnson ran out of gas along with Kurt Busch. Tony Stewart finished third followed by Greg Biffle, Steve Park (Great to see Steve with a top five finish!), Robby Gordon, Michael Waltrip, Ken Schrader, Matt Kenseth, and Jonhhy Benson.

The driver’s points widened out even further this week with Matt Kenseth now listed with 3432, leading second place Dale Jr. by a whopping 329 points. Third place Jeff Gordon’s luck was just as bad as Dale Jr.’s or worse, as he lost a lap early in the race due to a flat tire. Gordon is still in third and is now listed with a -461, followed by Kevin Harvick who moved up one spot to fourth with a -479. Michael Waltrip’s top ten finish moved him up one spot to round out the top five with a -509. Jimmie Johnson dropped down two spots to sixth and is now listed with a -524. Bobby Labonte remains in seventh with a -607, followed by Ryan Newman who moved up one spot to eighth with a -616. Kurt Busch dropped down spot to ninth and is now listed with a -622, followed by Robby Gordon who still rounds out the top ten listed with a -655. The biggest movers in driver’s points were Rusty Wallace and Ward Burton who both dropped three points. Wallace dropped from 12th to 15th while Burton dropped from 20th to 23rd.

Update …..8/18/03…… The news of Jimmy Spencer scuffing up Kurt Busch’s beak after the Michigan race Sunday came as not much of a surprise. As we all know, the two have a history of banging chests, with Busch known for bad mouthing Spencer in his absence. Apparently he bad mouthed Spencer to his face Sunday, and found that it wasn’t such a good idea to run his foul mouth at someone nearly twice his size.

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not especially condoning what Jimmy Spencer did. Name calling and bad mouthing are no legal excuses for using violence in this day and age. Spencer should know that, if he doesn’t, he’s fixing to find out! Busch went crying to the law about Spencer, so now Jimmy will have to deal with the legal end of it, probably facing minor assault charges. I’m not a fan of either one of the errant drivers, and am amused over the incident. I would assume that Busch isn’t amused this morning, his swollen face is probably quite sore. Spencer, reflecting on his actions of the previous day, probably isn’t so amused this morning either. Spencer is the man who never forgets!

I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if NASCAR President Mike Helton lowers the boom on Spencer to set a precedent for future brawlers. NASCAR suspended Kevin Harvick a race last season as a result of his antics, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Spencer has to sit out the Bristol race next week to pay for his errant actions at Michigan, along with the sting of a healthy fine! As for Busch, he’ll probably end up getting off Scott free, as he usually does. Spencer gave him something to remember though, now we’ll see if Busch “never forgets.” Check back here for more on this story as it develops throughout the week…….

Update ……. 8/18/03……. NASCAR was unusually fast in making its decision this time on the two errant drivers who are the subjects of the latest controversy in The Cup Series.

The sanctioning body decided that Jimmy Spencer, the most offensive culprit of the two, should get the worst end of the stick. Spencer was suspended until August 26th and fined $25k, along with being put on probation until December 31st.. This means that Spencer will not be present for the running of the Sharpie 500 at Bristol, but his nemesis Kurt Busch will. Busch got a little slap on his paw by drawing probation until Dec. 31st. Knowing Busch though, he’ll tend to take this lightly and may end up getting suspended if he doesn’t take immediate control of his temper and his mouth.

NASCAR unwillingly was put in the national spotlight because of the altercation between Spencer and Busch, and it had to act quick and decisively to make a good showing amongst the rest of the national sports venues. All major sports in our country take a dim view of violent aggression, whether it is football, baseball, or hockey. Something has to be done to insure that our children, who tend to call sports figures their heroes, are not given the wrong impression of society as a whole. Right is right and wrong is wrong, there has to be an example set to show our children the results of doing wrong. I applaud NASCAR’s quick stoic move in this respect, even though I may not feel that the punishment was handed out evenly. It takes two to tango!

Next Week ………….

The Cup Series travels to Bristol Motor Speedway at Bristol, Tennessee for race No. 24, the Sharpie 500. The night race is scheduled to be broadcast by the TNT channel at 7 p.m. eastern on Saturday, August 23rd. Qualifying for the event is scheduled to be broadcast by the TNT channel on Friday, August 22nd at 3 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner of the Sharpie 500 was Jeff Gordon. He was followed across the finish line by Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, Bobby Labonte, and Mike Wallace.

Jeff Gordon won the Bud pole award with a speed of 124.034 miles per hour. There were 15 caution periods for a total of 118 laps out of the 500 laps on the .533 mile high banked concrete oval.

Manufacturer’s Clout………..

Some of you may remember the way the Ford Motor Company squawked about Greg Biffle racing a Dodge truck last spring at Charlotte, and finally put a stop to it. Biffle is under contract to drive a factory supported Ford for Roush Racing. Even thought Jack Roush gave his permission for his driver to drive the Dodge truck, Ford would have no part of it.

Roush Racing may be heading for trouble by allowing Biffle to race outside of the Ford realm. He’s driven the No. 7 Kleenex Chevy for Evans Motorsports on a couple of occasions, including last week at Michigan. You can rest assured that Ford wasn’t happy about it. The Dodge Motorsports division of Daimler/Chrysler has allowed its drivers to participate in the Busch Series because Dodge doesn’t have a factory backed Busch Series program at this time.

The big stink once again permeated the track this weekend at Bristol when Dodge Motorsports put a stop to Jason Leffler driving the Haas/CNC No. 0 NetZero Pontiac. Leffler is under contract to drive Jim Smith’s factory-supported ASE/CARQUEST Dodge in the Craftsman Truck Series. Smith had given Leffler permission to race three or four races in the No. 0 Pontiac, but Dodge will have no part of it. Leffler is a Dodge Craftsman Truck Series driver and that’s the end of it, according to them.

The association between Jim Smith and Jason Leffler go back to the beginning of Lefflers career in his teen-age days. Smith has helped bring Leffler up through the racing ranks and Leffler is really close to Smith and feels that he owes him a lot.

Jason Leffler has been trying to get back into Cup racing since his stint driving the No. 10 Cingular wireless Dodge during the 2001 season. A last minute deal which may have included a contract signed by Leffler to drive for a Dodge for Smith in the Truck Series next season may have paved the way for Dodge to allow Leffler to drive the No. 0 Pontiac at Bristol. Leffler qualified the No. 0 in the 30th position for Saturday night’s Sharpie 500 Cup race.

NASCAR Control……

A lot of media attention has been given to the Cup Series driver’s point’s system. There are those who claim that the system is outdated and doesn’t reward race and Bud pole winners to the extent that they think it should.

In reality, the present system gives race winners the highest points rating of 175, plus the extra five point bonus of leading a lap. The system doesn’t award anything for winning the Bud pole position. Winning the pole in qualifying for an event isn’t racing. The point’s system was designed to award driver’s points for racing competition, not time trial competition.

There are a lot of us who feel that the current system is very efficient and that no changes need to be made. The ones now who are carping that the system is outdated are the ones who would take more points for wins allotted to them by NASCAR’s limited control of the competition. If the point’s system were changed to reward more points for wining races, and more points for qualifying positions, NASCAR would be able to exert more influence over the championship, and that’s just what they want. The driver’s who are carping for the NASCAR control are the ones who would benefit from it.

The current system is set up to reward the drivers who are consistently up front finishing in the top five week after week. These are the drivers who have “got it together” and they are the ones who should take the top echelon of the awards. This season, although Ryan Newman has won a series high rive races, he has several races that he didn’t finish. He hasn’t been consistent, although he has won more races. His standing in the driver’s points are correct as according to his and his teams abilities this season. Matt Kenseth has only won one race, but he has been consistent in his top five and ten finishes, being up front at the end of races, where it counts. This is what makes a champion!

Will the system be changed? Yes, without a doubt. NASCAR has been working feverishly over the past few seasons to gain complete control over the competition, and they will undoubtedly change the point’s system to align with their objective.

Sharpie 500 ……

Kurt Busch’s win at the Sharpie 500 was booed by the majority of fans at the event. His victory celebration in the winner’s circle was tainted. A dirty driver winning a dirty race with a dirty attitude that needs more of what Jimmy Spencer dished out! That’s pretty much what Sterling Marlin felt when Busch hit him after he moved up the track to let him pass. Marlin said, “I don’t guess Spencer got him hard enough.” Apparently, Spencer didn’t!

What goes around comes around, and Busch will be getting his before it’s over with. His actions are on the minds of all of the drivers he races against, and their trust of him as a solid driver has been tarnished. He has lost the respect of the majority of the drivers on the Cup circuit. Even Jeff Gordon said that he doesn’t condone Busch’s style of driving. What does that tell you?

1. Jeff Gordon -- No. 24 Chevy – finished 28th
2. Mark Martin -- No. 6 Ford – finished 36th
3. Michael Waltrip -- No. 15 Chevy – finished 42nd
4. Mike Skinner -- No. 01 Pontiac -- finished 18th
5. Kurt Busch -- No. 97 Ford – finished 1st
6. Ryan Newman -- No. 121 Dodge – finished 6th
7. Ted Musgrave -- No. 7 Dodge – finished 31st
8. Ricky Rudd -- No. 21 Ford – finished 33rd
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- No. 8 Chevy – finished 9th
10. Matt Kenseth -- No. 17 Ford – finished 4th

Following the dirty driver across the finish line was Kevin Harvick. Right on his back bumper were rookie Jamie McMurray, point’s leader Matt Kenseth, with Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top five finishers. Positions six thru ten were taken by Ryan Newman, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Craven, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeremy Mayfield.

Point’s leader Matt Kenseth is now listed with 3592 points, 351 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick moved up one spot to third, listed with a -464. Jimmie Johnson moved up two spots to fourth and is now listed with a -529, followed by Jeff Gordon who dropped two spots to round out the top five with a -532. Point’s positions six thru ten are held by Kurt Busch with a -602, Ryan Newman with a -621, Michael Waltrip with a -632, Bobby Labonte with a -685, and Robby Gordon with a -757.

Next Week……

Race No. 25 on the 36 race Cup schedule is the last traditional Southern 500 that will be run at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend. The event is scheduled to be aired live on the NBC channel on Sunday, August 31st at 12:30 p.m. eastern. Qualifying for the event will aired via short time delay by the SPEED channel on Friday, August 29th at 3 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner was Jeff Gordon. He was followed across the finish line by rookie Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Ward Burton, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, rookie Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Burton.

There wasn’t any Bud pole awarded due to inclement weather. The field was set according to owner’s points with Sterling Marling leading the line-up. There were nine caution periods for a total of 63 laps out of the 500 mile 357 lap race on the 1.366 mile egg shaped oval.

John Andretti……….

8/31/03…….Dale Earnhardt Inc.(DEI), continuing its game of roulette, has signed John Andretti to pilot its No. 1 Pennzoil entry for the rest of the 2003 season. Andretti replaces Jeff Green, who was fired from his ride in the Richard Childress Racing’s No. 30 AOL sponsored Chevrolet last May. Andretti was fired from his ride in the No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge a few weeks ago, and has been taking temporary rides since.

Jeff Green had agreed to race the No. 1 until the end of August, and DEI opted to let the issue unfold with Green in order to try some one else in the car for the rest of the season. There hasn’t been any word yet on who may drive the No. 1 Chevrolet for DEI during the 2004 season. There has also been no concrete word on a sponsor for the No. 1. Pennzoil is leaving DEI at the end of the season. If sponsorship for the No. 1 Chevrolet can be found, Busch Series driver Scott Riggs has been rumored as a possible driver in 2004, along with Greg Biffle.

It would seem fitting for the DEI organization to seek a young up-and-coming driver for the opening. Shane Hmiel had been mentioned at the beginning of the season when all of the talk about Steve Park losing his job was dominating the rumor mill. Actually Hmiel has been doing much better this season in the Busch Series and this writer thinks that he would be a great addition to the DEI driving stable.

I must admit that I panned the idea of Hmiel driving in Cup in an article a few months ago, but Shane has put his best foot forward and has really improved his performance. I would rather see Shane driving the No. 1 than Scott Riggs. Shane Hmiel’s dad Steve is the vice president for competition for DEI, and Shane would fit into the organization better seeing that he already knows most of the people who work there. As far as Biffle is concerned, I believe it would take an act of congress to get Biffle away from Roush Racing and the Grainger sponsorship. Unless, DEI managed to lure Biffle to their stable along with sponsor Grainger. Those things happen in NASCAR racing.

See-Saw…..

In either a see-saw or a classic Silly Season move, Jason Leffler has now flip-flopped back to Cup. I recently wrote that Ultra Motorsports, his recent Dodge factory backed team in the Craftsman Truck Series, had forbid him to drive the No. 0 NetZero sponsored Pontiac. I also followed the published reports that he and Ultra Motorsports owner Jim Smith had been friends since before the onset of his career and that he was dedicated to remaining with Smith.

He may have been dedicated to Smith, but when all of the votes were counted, it was evident that he was more dedicated to the almighty dollar and a Cup ride. Leffler has been signed to drive the No. 0 Pontiac for the remainder of the 2003 season and for the entirety of the 2004 season.

In taking the Cup ride in the No. 0 Pontiac for Haas/CNC Racing, Leffler had to give up his Craftsman Truck Series ride in the No. 2 Ultra Motorsports Team/ASE Dodge. The embattled Jimmy Spencer will take over Lefflers truck Series ride. Spencer is a Dodge driver in the Cup Series so he is was one of the drivers who were logistically available for the Dodge factory backed team to hire. Dodge does not like its drivers piloting rides in other manufacturer’s cars, and in turn, does not like other manufacturers drivers racing in its Dodges.

NASCAR Dumps Tradition ……

Its a shame, but this Labor Day weekend’s traditional Southern 500 race at the Darlington, South Carolina facility will be the last. We are all aware by now that NASCAR is all about money filtering into the pockets of the France family, and actually has very little to do with actual traditional stock car racing. I’m sure that if Bill France Sr. knew anything about the present attitude of his family, he’s have sores from thrashing around in his grave. NASCAR sold its soul to the TV networks a couple of years ago and as time progresses, the situation is getting worse instead of better. Anyone who has respect for the France family doesn’t have much respect for traditional stock car racing.

The proposed 2004 schedule shows that the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham is only scheduled to get one race, while other questionable tracks on the circuit are getting their usual two dates. I guess if Rockingham had lights, they’d get to keep their second race. What the proposed schedule hasn’t shown yet is the time of day that the events are going to occur. It was rumored this past spring that a lot of races were going to be moved as close to prime time as possible to appease the TV networks in their quest to make money off of prime time advertising. The traditional Sunday afternoon racing may soon become a thing of the past, like the Southern 500. How can you have a Southern 500 race in California?

Indy Racing League ……

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to have been able to attend the Firestone 225 Indy Racing League race at Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth Pennsylvania. I’m very happy to report that the racing tradition of the IRL is still very much intact. As a matter of fact, the IRL has grown to be extremely fan oriented, and not out to fleece all the money out of its supporters that it can possible get.

Compared to attending a NASCAR race, the IRL event was really a breath of fresh air. The Indy Racing League’s use of the Nazareth facility was very professional in the way it offered its program to the public. The fans were polite, stayed in their seats during the race, and just seemed like a higher class of people.

The last time I attended a Cup race at Pocono, if you didn’t stand up during the race, you didn’t get to see anything on the track because no one was sitting down. The fans were very rude and disrespectful, why pay for a seat you can’t use? I don’t mean to ruffle feather here, but the fact is that NASCAR fans need to take a look at what they are doing to the tradition of stock car racing. It would do all NASCAR fans a world of good to venture out of their domain and see how the other fans in the racing world conduct themselves.

Southern 500 …………

Texas Terry Labonte broke a four year losing streak and took home the bacon at the last Southern 500 Darlington Labor Day race. Labonte has been running much better this season, and has recently been finishing in the top five and ten; it was only a matter of time before the team got it together for the victory. It was really fitting for Labonte to win the last traditional Southern 500 at Darlington in the race where he got his first Cup victory in 1979.

The caution marred event will be a memorable one for Darlington’s last Labor Day hurrah, complete with a couple 6 car wrecks, and some major gaffes from top competitors. One of the biggest gaffes in the race was when sophomore driver Ryan Newman accidentally hit the kill switch on his steering wheel during a pit stop under caution. Newman had been leading the race and was the man to beat, but his car stalled and they couldn’t start it. The crew pushed it back and forth at the end of pit road several times until Newman found the problem and flipped the switch back so the car would fire off. Newman apologized to his crew over the radio, admitting his rookie mistake. After leading a race high 120 laps, Newman found himself eight laps down.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Ryan Newman -- No. 12 Dodge – finished 23rd
2. Jimmie Johnson -- No. 48 Chevy – finished 3rd
3. Terry Labonte -- No. 5 Chevy – finished 1st
4. Elliott Saddler -- No. 38 Ford -- finished 9th
5. Bobby Labonte -- No. 18 Chevy – finished 7th
6. Matt Kenseth -- No. 17 Ford – finished 14th
7. Mark Martin -- No. 6 Ford – finished 33rd
8. Ricky Craven -- No. 32 Pontiac – finished 8th
9. Greg Biffle* -- No. 16 Ford – finished 10th
10. Dave Blaney -- No. 77 Ford – finished 30th

Kevin Harvick was the first driver to follow Labonte across the finish line, marking three second place finishes in a row for the driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench sponsored Richard Childress Racing’s Chevrolet. Jimmy Johnson was third followed by rookie Jamie McMurray, Bill Elliott, Jeremy Mayfield, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Craven, Elliott Sadler and rookie Greg Biffle.

The top seven positions in the Cup driver’s point’s standings remain the same with Matt Kenseth now holding a 389 point lead on second place driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick is now listed with a -415, followed by Jimmie Johnson listed with a -485. Jeff Gordon rounds out the top five with a -591, as Kurt Busch follows close on his tail with a -604. Ryan Newman still holds the seventh position with a -643 while Bobby Labonte moved up one spot to eighth right on Newman’s tail with a -665. Michael Waltrip dropped down one spot to ninth and is now listed with a -706, while Tony Stewart moved up one spot to round out the top ten in points with a -782.

Next Week……

Race No. 25 on the 36 race 2003 Cup schedule takes us to Richmond International Speedway for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 under the lights. The event will be broadcast live by the TNT channel at 7 p.m. eastern on Saturday, September sixth. Qualifying for the event will be televised by the TNT channel on Friday, September fifth at 3 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner of the Richmond September night race was Matt Kenseth. He was followed across the finish line by rookie Ryan Newman, Jeff Green, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Todd Bodine, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Ward Burton, Dave Blaney, and Jeremy Mayfield.

Rookie Jimmie Johnson won the Bud pole award with a speed of 126.145 miles per hour. There were 10 caution periods for a total of 65 laps out of the 300 mile 400 lap race on the three quarter mile D-shaped oval short track.