Bump-Drafts.com

(A Weekly Edition of bump-drafts.com prepared specially for NASCAR_Nation and NASCAR For Dummies)

What’s Going On Out There? Like many of you, I while away the time in anticipation of the 2008 by checking in from time to time about what’s going on off the track. There’s no shortage of news and grist for the rumor mill. Like:

Mendeering Moves On- That’s today’s big news. You may remember Jeff Mendeering as the guy who filled in as Crew Chief for Jeff Gordon while Steve Letarte was serving his suspension. Former Team Gordon guy Robbie Loomis has been making moves for Petty Enterprises these days, and has brought Mendeering on board to be Crew Chief for Petty driver Bobby Labonte.

You can tell that the King’s men are working feverishly to reclaim Petty glory. They brought Labonte in to pilot Papa Petty’s famed #43 Dodge. Last season, they made yet another Crew Chief change when they brought in Doug Randolph to replace Paul Andrews.  Now we have this move.

As a Labonte fan, I hope it works. I still think Petty still needs to invest in the future by bringing on a promising young driver to groom for NASCAR glory, perhaps to drive Kyle’s car (c’mon Kyle, you know it’s time to go to the booth already).

One thing for sure, Mendeering has learned a thing or two about success in all his years in the Hendrick Motor Sports garage.

 

The State of The Sport- There’s a lot of banter in the media about fan unrest concerning the sport about which they are so passionate. Some would have you believe that the unrest is so great that the sport is in trouble.

I will need to post very soon as to my own take on the numerous changes that have occurred over the last 4 years or so. I will say no more today than to say that the rumors of NASCAR’s demise are greatly exaggerated. Right now, marketers only rank the NFL ahead of NASCAR as a vehicle to reach upscale (so much for this being a “redneck” sport) males. It’s easy to see that even from an anecdotal perspective, NASCAR is gaining new fans all the time.

Yes, there’s plenty of room for improvement, but the good news (no matter who you are), is that the sport we love so much is very much alive and well. At least the powers that be in NASCAR are for more fan responsive than Major League Baseball, where they live in continual denial about the realities of the viewing public.

Face it folks, no matter how angry you are at Brian France and Mike Helton, you’ll still be there for 2008. Admit it.

 

Questions About Moves for 2008 Abound- Thank goodness we have a short off-season. There is much water cooler talk about how changes made at the end of the 2007 season will affect 2008. Among other questions:

How will Junior fare at HMS? Was his disastrous 2007 season due to his team, or his driving? Is he really a great driver experiencing bad luck, or is he overrated, thanks to his famous last name?

How will former HMS driver Kyle Busch get along at JGR? The combination of Busch with other strong personalities such as Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin could make for sparks of a good kind or sparks of a bad kind. How will that work? That may depend on…..

How will Toyota fare now that they are affiliated with a major racing team? Toyota haters hate this move, as there are still many that feel a “foreign” (don’t get me started on this now) manufacturer has no business in an American sport. I have to think this move will pan out (The JGR-Toyota marriage). There’s too much at stake for the JGR organization and the Toyota Corporation for this to fail. Still, they have to make it work on the track. If not…..

What will become of Tony Stewart? It’s contract renewal time for Smoke. It’s no secret that struggles at JGR with Toyota would no doubt signal the end of Smoke’s run with Gibbs. Other factors that will play into this is Smoke’s market value (which is very high- who wouldn’t want this successful yet colorful character. Arguably, only Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are better among veteran drivers). Stewart will want his due. Also, you can’t around GM’s love of Tony and Smoke’s long standing association with Chevrolet. Hmm. Well, let’s just say that winning trumps everything, so we’ll just have to see how this will play out.

How much effect will having open wheelers have at NASCAR’s highest level? If you believe Jerry Bonkowski from yahoo.com, not much. The struggles of Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti among others demonstrate that even a talented driver can’t just jump into a “stock” car and win. Will Villanueve, Carpentier, and company master the learning curve, or will they become discouraged at return to whence they came? I anticipate a more mixed result- but then, I’m just a fan.

I’m also wondering with great interest where David Stremme, Tony Raines and Jeff Green will land in 2008. I’m also wondering when Brad Coleman, Landon Cassil, Stephen Leicht and Jeffrey Earnhardt will get their Cup break. 

But perhaps the biggest question of them all is: How will we the fans survive until “Speed Week”? I’m working on it, I’m working on it.

Until next week…hang in there. Let me know if you hear anything.