Bump-Drafts.com

(A Special Weekly Edition of bump-drafts prepared for NASCAR_Nation)

Up Next: The Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The green flag will drop at 2:25 p.m. Eastern, 11:25 a.m. for those of you in Rio Linda and points elsewhere in the Pacific time zone. Broadcast on FOX.

Track Trivia Atltanta Motor Speedway is 1.5 mile oval track with 24-degree banking in the turns. Geoff Bodine owns the fastest all-time qualifying speed on the “Peach Tree State” track at 197.478 m.p.h. back in 1997. Ryan Newman and Buddy Baker have the most
poles with 7 each. Greg Biffle was the last pole sitter here in October, 2007. Geoff Bodine ran the fastest qualifying time of 197.478 m.p.h. in 1997.

In 1997, Bobby Labonte set the race pace with an average speed of 159.904 m.p.h. in a Joe Gibbs Pontiac (the #18).

Labonte’s 6 AMS victories ar most among active drivers. Dale Earnhardt Sr. has the most victories overall at Atlanta with 9.

NASCAR racing began here in 1960, with Glenn “Fireball” Roberts clocking in the first victory.

Other Atlanta Trivia. One of the most famous races at A.M.S. occurred on March 11, 2001, when rookie Kevin Harvick went to Victory Lane, taking over the Mr. Goodwrench ride from Dale Earnhardt, who died on the final lap at Daytona just weeks earlier. It was an emotional win for mourners in Earnhardt Nation. Fittingly enough, Harvick just edged out Earnhardt’s last arch-rival, Jeff Gordon. The margin of victory? A mere .006 seconds.

“The Silver Fox”, David Pearson, famous for going easy on his car through much of the race so he could pounce at the end, won in Atlanta on September 17, 1961, having only led one lap! Once again, we’re reminded that the only lap where it really matters you lead is the final one. The November 7, 1982 event saw 45 lead changes- Bobby Allison took the checkered flag that day.

You won’t see this with the “new” car…..just 10 cars finished the first race in Atlanta in 1964. 41 finished the second race here in 2005.

Hopefully, we can expect fewer cautions this week…The track record for Atlanta in terms of cautions is 14 at the Fall, 2007 race. Twice Atlanta has had a race with just one caution flag- most recently in 1970.

The Craftsman Truck Series will run here Friday night, the Nationwide Series on Saturday afternoon.

What’s Up: The question right now is whether or not Carl Edwards can keep up his winning ways. During his great 2005 season, Cousin Carl swept the events here, just as Jimmie Johnson did last year.

You can be sure Johnson will look to rebound from his disappointing performance at Las Vegas last week. Johnson’s 14th place standing on the points chart is not a place he’s accustomed to being. We’ll also be looking for Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman to keep up their solid running, and I’m sure Tony Stewart will look to shake off the nasty crashes of last Sunday.

Atlanta is a fat track with the possibility of three lines to run. It will be pedal to the metal here with cars attempting to run wide open all day long.

NASCAR Speak Your chance to impress the uninitiated by dropping these terms.

“Main Switch Panel”- You ever wonder what that group of toggle switches were for to the left of the steering wheel? Those contain the switches for the starter, ignition, and cooling fans.

“Engine Guage Cluster”- While cluster may be a description of what happened in California, what we’re really talking about here is a group of gauges engine oil pressure, water temperature, oil temperature, voltage and fuel pressure.

“Master Switch”- This shuts down the electrical system in an emergency situation.

Special Thanks: There’s a lot that goes into making this little report happen. I want to thank Linda at NASCAR_Nation for providing the platform to share this post. It plays a big part in getting the word out. Thanks also to Kyle at FanZone for his role in making me a member of NASCAR media, opening up a world of up-to-date information for this and my radio gig. Thanks to people such as Linda, Kyle, Bob, and RevJim for the links, plus anybody else I don’t know about. Thanks to my friends at letsgoracingfans.com and NASCAR_Nation- two message boards I HIGHLY recommend for congregating with fellow NASCAR nuts.

Most of all, I want to thank my family- Lynnae, Hannah and Jonathan for their love and patience.

Thanks to God for all of this.

Enjoy the race.

(A Weekly Special Edition of Bump-Drafts prepared for letsgoracingfans.com)

You could see the race was effectively over on the last two re-starts. Each time, Carl Edwards-in his #99 Dish Network Ford- took off like a scalded jack rabbit to win the UW-Dodge 400. This makes 6 wins for Team Roush at Las Vegas, to go with a pair of victories each by Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth, as well as Mark Martin, who took the #6 to Victory Lane back in 1998.

Roush Racing did themselves proud. Not only was Edwards strong, Kenseth looked good up until the Gordon incident at the end, Greg Biffle finished 3rd, and even David Ragan got in on the fun by edging Kasey Kahne out for 6th. Jack Roush must have some magic in his hat that he uses for Vegas, because his teams are good to the point of making you think that somebody at the “Diamond In The Desert” must owe him a favor or two.

I was just sure this was Kyle Busch’s race to lose, in spite of the fact that no one has ever won from the pole at Sin City. The younger Busch made me look like a prophet for a bit until the handling on his car went south on him late in the race. Edwards ran with the #18 M&M’s Toyota all day, first overtaking Shrub on lap 21. By lap 117, Busch surrendered the lead, and although Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon had good runs- today seemed destined to be a Roush day.

It didn’t look that way at first. Roush driver Jamie Mc Murray almost took flight in the infield after a spin-out and Edwards darn near got penalized for a pit road incident involving a stray tire. Fortunately, crew chief Bob Osborne kept a cool head, stayed on top of officials, and they ultimately ruled in favor of Edwards, blaming a TV camera man for being in the way (Dang media types anyway).

There were a record number of cautions as it seems that NASCAR teams are still figuring out how to work the “new” car at Las Vegas. Accidents cut short the days of Tony Stewart (who bit the wall hard on lap 109) and Robby Gordon (victimized by a lfat tire on lap 144), Patrick Carpentier, DaleJarrett, Kurt Busch, and Scott Riggs.

Speaking of Riggs……it was nice to see some less familiar names up front. I thought the Haas-CNC cars of Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield looked great in stretches, and it was good to see another solid performance by Elliott “Rabbit Release” Sadler. It was also weird seeing Ken Schrader up front, though he gave way later in the race.

It wasn’t a good day for Open Wheelers. Sam Hornish, Patrick Carpentier and Dario Franchitti all saw their best laid plans go up in smoke.

I’m glad Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon weren’t hurt too seriously.Gordon had two words for track owner Bruton Smith concerning the inner wall “Safer Barriers.”

Though it was a bummer to see wrecks mess up otherwise good days, there’s no doubt this race belonged to Edwards. The Columbia, Missouri native was just too much. He and his Roush teammates (Kenseth and Biffle) were easily the most consistent cars out there, with apologies to RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, and the HMS combo of Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It just hit me- another random thought- no Jimmie Johnson today. Apparently, Johnson was a victim of Murphy’s Law. Everything that could go wrong apparently did to the #48.

This may not have been the best race I’d ever seen, but it was a good one. Today’s outcome springs forth yet more new story lines in a 2008 season that bears no resemblence to 2007.

Will Carl Edwards make it three in a row, to turn At-lanta into Hot-lanta? I wouldn’t bet against it.

From personal experience, I know that sports fans love lists. I got my first taste when SPORT magazine did a list of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL about the time I was 13 (back in 1977). I recall a scoring formula being drawn up, and my favorite quarterback of the day, Roger Staubach, being on that list. I also remembered having argument with who and wasn’t on the list.

My point being, I also know that sports fans also love to take issue with lists. I will endeavor to come with a thorough analysis of NASCAR’s best to attempt to put sound reasoning behind my analysis.

How did I arrive at this list? First, I identified roughly 20 of the Sprint Cup’s best drivers. There’s really no need to bog myself down with the likes of journeymen drivers such as Kenny Wallace and Dave Blaney- though they obviously possess talent. They’ve never won, so it makes no sense to compare them side-by-side with the likes of Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart. I also threw some of the newer drivers out such as David Ragan and Paul Menard, who again, have not yet attained measurable Cup success, though may very well at the end of their careers end up with all the same gaudy statistics of drivers like Jeff Gordon.

From there, I selected six criteria important in driving success: racing skills, strategy, “closing” ability (that ability to charge hard when the driver sniffs a potential win), passion, consistency and equipment. Now I realize strategy and equipment involve other members of the drivers team, but even in those areas- a driver can play a part, and it’s not the only criteria. All six are needed on some level. to be great, and point values are assigned to each driver for each category on a scale of 1-10- with 10 being the highest. Once all those points are added up, then I add up the grand totals for a driver rating.

So without further ado, here goes (in ascending order):

9- (tie)- Kevin Harvick- The man who took over the late Dale Earnhardt’s ride as a rookie in 2001 for Richard Childress in many ways mirrors some of “The Intimidator”’s qualities. As you will see in the scoring breakdown, Harvick received 9s for racing skills and passion. “Happy” is pretty solid across the board, making one wonder why he was not been a bigger winner, though it should be mentioned he is the #2 winner all-time in what is now the Nationwide series. The double duty may be one of the problems. In recent times, equipment issues have definitely hurt Harvick’s stock.

Scoring: Race Skill- 9, Strategy- 8, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 9, Consistency- 6, Equipment- 7 TOTAL SCORE- 49

9- (tie)- Ryan Newman- If qualifying were winning, “Flyin’ Ryan” would be as familiar as Jeff Gordon or Junior with over 40 poles to his credit. Until Newman won at Daytona, he had not been to victory lane since late 2005. Newman picked up 9s for skills and passion, plus 8s for equipment and closing ability. Consistency and strategy (with a dash of bad luck thrown in) keeps Newman from the top, but this is a pretty good ranking for a guy with a baker’s dozen wins.

Scoring: Race Skill- 9, Strategy- 7, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 9, Consistency- 7, Equipment- 8 TOTAL SCORE- 49

6- (tie)- Clint Bowyer- The Emporia, Kansas native is the car guy’s racer with an impressive collection of classic cars and a dirt track behind his home. The fact that a driver this inexperienced is on the list tells you what I think of his potential. Bowyer is very strong across the board, and needs only to learn to relax to become a mroe frequent victor. Oddly enough, though RCR teammates Harvick and Jeff Burton have had some real equipment issues recently, Bowyer has managed to dodge debilitating car-related problems- perhaps another testament to his skill.

Scoring: Racing skill- 8, Strategy- 8, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 8, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 7 TOTAL SCORE- 49

6- (tie)- Kyle Busch- Some people may disagree with me, but I believe “Rowdy” most resembles Earnhardt than any other driver on today’s NASCAR circuit. The 22 year old is extremely aggressive on the track and will not hesitate to try to thread the needle on a pass. With that, I give Busch a 10 for skill and he also gets a 10 in equipment as a member of the Joe Gibbs stable. Working against him are issues of questionable strategy (maturity?), closing ability (he’s been on the wrong end of way too many photo finishes) and Kyle has a low mark for consistency- again brought about by aggressive driving that has led to early exits. Still- on the whole- you can see how good the Las Vegas born Busch can be.

Racing skill- 10, Strategy- 7, Closing ability- 7, Passion- 9, Consistency- 6, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 49

6- (tie)- Dale Earnhardt Jr.- NASCAR’s favorite son one of three drivers on the list who gets a 10 for skill. A listen in on the radio tells you Junior is very conscious of everything going on out on the track. Lil’ E is also one of four drivers who gets a 10 for passion, something evident in his speed week performance and many interviews. Until his move to HMS, Earnhardt had bad equipment, but gets a 10 here by virtue of being with Hendrick. Consistency and some very questionable strategy have no doubt played some part in Junior not being a more frequent presence in victory lane.

Racing skill- 10, Strategy- 6, Closing ability- 7, Passion- 10, Consistency- 6, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 49

5-Matt Kenseth- While not necessarily the best at anything, Kenseth has virtually no downgrades in any other category other than equipment, somewhat the failure of his team and manufacturer (Ford) in their progress on the “new” car. Nonetheless, the 35 year old has a well-rounded approach and takes very good care of what he has. The 2003 Cup champion has a storied track record for consistency and closing ability. I submit he’d have an even better track record with a team like Hendrick or Gibbs. I’m not suggesting Jack Roush is a slacker, but I would say that his team is behind the curve and Ford’s engines are ponderously weak compared to Chevy and Toyota.

Racing Skill- 9, Strategy- 9, Closing ability- 9, Passion- 8, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 7 TOTAL SCORE- 50

4- Kurt Busch- The only thing that will hamper Busch the elder’s legacy is his propensity to get into trouble. His run-ins with the equally mercurial Tony Stewart and Johnny Benson aside, Busch is another very well-rounded driver. Evidence of the 2004 Cup champion’s skill is his 2nd place finish as Sunday’s Daytona 500 in spite of starting at the very back- 43rd! Kurt is also very aware on the track and rarely makes a bad decision (except when he’s mad). The deal with this guy is he just isn’t weak any ANY category.

Racing Skill- 9, Strategy- 9, Closing ability- 9, Passion- 8, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 8 TOTAL SCORE- 51

3- Tony Stewart- With over 30 victories, “Smoke” is one of NASCAR’s most prolific drivers. A testimony to his abilities are his 2002 & 2005 titles. For his skill and equipment, Stewart gets 10s. In fact, his lowest score comes in the strategy department- a respectable 8. Truth be told, on any given day, this guy is the best- conjuring up in my mind comparisons to Cale Yarborough.

Racing Skill- 10, Strategy- 8, Closing ability- 9, Passion- 9, Consistency- 9, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 55

2- Jeff Gordon-Love him or hate him, you can’t deny greatness of a driver with 81 career wins and 4 Cup titles (1995, 1997, 1998, & 2001). The 36 year old from Vallejo, California also just missed titles in 1996 (to Terry Labonte), 2004 (to Kurt Busch) and 2007 (to teammate and employee Jimmie Johnson). Gordon gets 10s for skill, consistency, and equipment. Gordon also gets very high marks for strategy and passion (though that may begin to wane).

Racing Skill- 10, Strategy- 9, Closing ability- 8, Passion- 9, Consistency- 10, Equipment- 10, TOTAL SCORE- 56

And the winner is………1- Jimmie Johnson- You can’t be REAL surprised can you? At this point in his career, the only category where the two time Cup champ and owner of some 37 wins has ANY weakness is in consistency- and even then, Johnson scores an 8. He races hard, he races smart, knows how to save himself for the end of the race, and his victory total tells you that in spite of his laid back California image, Johnson has a fire in his belly.

Racing skill- 10, Strategy- 10, Closing ability- 10, Passion- 10, Consistency- 8, Equipment- 10 TOTAL SCORE- 58

On the cusp: Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton

Back in the day they’d make the list: Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte

Making the list soon: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Brian Vickers

Has potential, but it’s late: David Reutimann, Greg Biffle

There you have it. To me it is kind of funny how this pretty closely resembles last year’s Chase. Perhaps What I’m really doing is offering up my ingredient list of how they got there.

I’ll be curious to hear arguments against my list. After all, that debate is what making a “best of….” sports list is all about.

For our first in a series of team previews for the 2008 season, I present you the New York Yankees of NASCAR: Hendrick Motorsports. Like the baseball team of re-known, the rich only seem to get richer, possessing a “Murderer’s Row” lineup of talent behind the wheel, in the pit box, and in the shop. Can these guys do any wrong? Meh, forget that question- while some may question the scruples of some within the organization, let’s just say that EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING seems to go their way. They are home to a 2-time defending Cup champion, and he’s not even their “star” driver. Jimmie Johnson may be the man of the moment, but clearly, this is still the team that Jeff Gordon leads. As if not having a 4-time Cup champion is enough, Rick Hendrick now has NASCAR’s most popular driver-he of the legendary pedigree- that is one Dale Earnhardt Jr. And then speaking of pedigrees, let us not forget that Casey Mears (nephew of Indy car stud Rick Mears) is also on the team.

Hendrick Motorsports is without a doubt “King of the Mountain” in NASCAR (with all apologies to Brian France). With all the talent throughout the organization, it’s hard to imagine a bad season for HMS because with the acquisition of Junior, they’ve only gotten better. Think about it- this team won half of the races ran in 2007, and now they’re adding one very motivated superstar eager to prove he’s worthy of his rock star status.

Let’s not forget- it’s not only the drivers who are great here. With Steve Letarte, Chad Knaus and Tony Eury Jr. (to name a few), you have the best pit bosses in the business. All their styles may vary, but they all get great results.

In 2008, it’s hard to imagine much will change. A 3-peat for Johnson may be asking a bit much, but certainly a top 5 finish at season’send is not. My gut tells me that Gordon may lose some of his edge as he gets older and he settles in more with his new found role as a father, but this is more than made up for by Earnhardt and Mears. Besides already having a great relationship with Rick Hendrick- Dale Jr. is here primarily for one reason- a reason big enough to leave the racing team his late father founded: by joining HMS, Junior places himself in the best position to be a winner. There’s a discipline with this organization missing from DEI. These guys start early and finish late with a single minded dedication to achieving great results. With 10 wins for Johnson, 6 wins for Gordon, a victory for the upstart Mears and one for the departed Kyle Busch, I’d say they have a formula that works. This team was clearly ahead of the curve on the “Car of Tomorrow” and just about anything else.

Other teams are catching up. That’s true. But guess what? I think Rick Hendrick and company know that and have taken that into consideration. Knowing this, it’s hard to imagine Hendrick Motorsports being anything less stellar in the upcoming season.

Junior Nation is banking on it.

(Prepared specially for letsgoracingfans.com)

In today’s competitive climate of sport, one should never take victory for granted. Take NASCAR for example: a racer is doing incredibly well if he wins 20% of the races he enters. 20%! No less than Mark Martin has said to savor each victory, because you never know if you’ve just won your last one.

That’s just wins, not Championships. The fact that a driver as prodigious as Martin has never won a Cup is testament to this. Neither did greats like Junior Johnson, Fred Lorenzen, or Fireball Roberts. Now try wrapping your head around two in a row. Only 8 drivers have done it- Dale Earnhardt went “back-to-back” 3 times (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94) Richard Petty twice (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough pulled a 3-peat from 1976-78, Darrell Waltrip went back to back with Cup titles in 1981 & 82, David Pearson accomplished the feat in 1968 & 69, as did Joe Weatherly in 1962-63. Lee Petty was the original repeat Champ in 1958 & 59. Today we add one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, who added a companion Nextel Cup today next to his 2006 title. The company the El Cajon, California native joins says a lot about the achievement.

Before adding more to that, let us tip the cap to “Mr. Consistent.” Matt Kenseth ends his 2007 season the way any driver would want to cap off a season. The 35-year old from Cambridge, Wisconsin ends a great stretch of top 5 running with his second victory of the just concluded season. Kenseth quickly overtook Johnson early in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead and never really looked back. Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman kept Kenseth on his toes, but the driver of the #17 Ford was in control. Given that today was the swan song for Kenseth Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, it seems fitting to end the association in this way.

Reiser has accepted a promotion at Roush- Fenway Racing that will enable him to spend more time with his family in 2008. Though he will be missed on the track, Reiser will be a valued contributor to the Roush team in his new capacity. If Kenseth’s late season run is any indicator, there are great things in store for the Ford team that is home to Kenseth, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie Mc Murray and Greg Biffle.

The Roush-Fenway team will no doubt be joined by the likes of Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Joe Gibbs  as teams well-positioned to knock Rick Hendrick off the top of the heap. Nothing lasts forever, but I’m not ready to bet against HMS.

Even on his own team, Johnson will have stiff competition. Jeff Gordon is far from finished as a racer, Casey Mears is a capable driver, and there’s guy named Earnhardt will will be more than ready for a re-birth. It’s this kind of friendly and spirited competition that has made HMS great. I think we’ll see Junior smiling a lot more in 2008.

Next season seems like an eternity away. Plenty of time for Johnson to savor a truly historic season complete with 10 wins, 4 victories in a row and one big trophy.

To Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motor Sports and Johnson’s fans- “Congratulations.” This is truly something special.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been pondering NASCAR fan displeasure with soon-to-be repeat Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. What did he ever do to NASCAR Nation? Other than being the catalyst for the "Big One" at Talladega a couple of years back, the driver of the Lowe’s #48 Chevy has never been one to cause on-track controversy. A trouble maker? No. Johnson seems to be one of the quieter figures in the shop. Off-track mishaps? Nope, the 32-year-old El Cajon, California native has been a model citizen- he even engineered a donation of over a million dollars to victims of the recent southern California wildfires. Is he a cad? No way. Johnson is a happily married man with a beautiful wife who is ever at his side. So what gives? I think I’ve figured it out.

I found the answer as I recalled my favorite football team from the 1970’s: the Dallas Cowboys. Led by Coach Tom Landry and star signal caller Roger Staubach these guys were the original Boy Scouts of professional sports. In spite of the squeaky clean image, they still had fans who hated them. Trust me, wearing the #12 jersey to school got me some nasty glances. I digress.

This was part of the problem for the Cowboys and I think this is a part of the problem for Jimmie Johnson, and for that matter, the rest of the gang in the Hendrick garage. Like the NFL, NASCAR’s popularity stems from being a popular hang-out for the rough and tumble. The NFL gave us the "Purple People Eaters," Al Davis (also known as the "Darth Raider"), "Night Train" Lane and the playboy antics of Paul Hornung (who was also suspended for gambling). Likewise, NASCAR has given us "The Intimidator", infield fist fights, Curtis Turner, and the wild and wacky Flock brothers. Now compare this to the likes of Staubach and Jimmie Johnson, and they look as exciting as your high school science teacher.

So while controversy makes enemies, it also has a strange way of making you friends. Consider NASCAR driver Robby Gordon. His career victory total is less than one-third of Johnson’s season total. Yet- Gordon enjoys a certain popularity because he doesn’t back down from a fight, and has been known to exact a little frontier justice on the track. In the macho world of NASCAR, this has earned the journeyman racer a following.

There’s also a very corporate flair to Team Hendrick and the Cowboys of the 70’s. The result from this creates a perception of favored status by the powers that be of the league. Raider fans (often Cowboy detractors) cried "foul" with every ruling against them, claiming that if the Cowboy brain trust were making a particular move, they’d get away with it because they were perceived to be "good for the NFL." Those same charges are often leveled by NASCAR fans not fond of Hendrick Motor Sports. It is claimed that Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon are often on the receiving end of favorable cautions, rulings, and other such manipulations that create a winning climate. It’s a leap in logic upon examination of the facts and looks at the broader context of the circumstances and the overall effects- yet nonetheless when teams like HMS and the Cowboys win as often as they do, it’s not hard to see why people might conclude they get a helping hand.

In my opinion, we have a case of two organizations that are victims of circumstances, their own success and a lack of color. People like to root for the underdog. These guys aren’t. In the world of sports, there’s a certain attraction to the bad boys. These guys aren’t. When a team dominates like these guys have, it’s easy to fear that the ruler of the day will rule forever.

Look at history. History tells us Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Company won’t dominate forever. Times change. Teams will catch up and slowly but surely, aging drivers will lose their reflexes and their passion.

It’s just a matter of time. We’ve seen it before.