Bump-Drafts.com

When: Sunday, March 30, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EDT, 11:00 a.m. PDT Green Flag Start

Where: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia

Broadcast: FOX-TV Network, 1:30 p.m. EDT Pre-Race, 10:30 PDT

Track facts: Martinsville is NASCAR’s shortest track at .526 miles. The track possesses 12 degree banking in the turns, and it’s flat as a board on the straights. The track is asphalt with concrete corners.

Track History- NASCAR’s oldest track held its maiden race on September 25, 1949. The winner? World War II hero Red Byron. Curtis “Pops” Turner started from the pole. Jimmie Johnson has won the last THREE races at Martinsville, and no doubt he’ looking forward to this occasion to get his 2008 turned around.

The Qualifying Record? “Smoke”- Tony Stewart ran a qualifying lap in 19.306 with a speed of 98.083 m.p.h., October 21, 2005

The record for race speed is 82.223 m.p.h. by Jeff Gordon on September 22, 1996. He ran the race in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 55 seconds.

“The King” is the King. Richard Petty holds the record for victories at Martinsville with 15. Among active drivers, Jeff Gordon has 7.

Ol’ D.W. is the “King of Qualifying.” Darrell Waltrip has 8 poles. Jeff Gordon must really like it here. “The Rainbow Warrior” has earned 6 poles- making him top of the heap for active drivers.

21 caution flags flew last fall, beating the old record of 19. On three occasions, only one caution waved, the most recent being April 25, 1971.

Other track trivia: “Mr. September,” Harry Gant was the oldest winner at this track at the age of 51 years old in 1991. Richard Petty is the youngest Cup driver to win here, he did so just 2 months shy of his 23rd birthday in 1960. Petty Enterprises is the winningest team here with 19.

Who’s been the best here in recent years? Besides the defending champion Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch have posted the best averages in the last couple of seasons.

What’s Up?: NASCAR Cup action returns after taking an Easter holiday. Crew chief Gene Nead is leaving the #21. Until joining Wood Bros. in November, 2007, he was crew chief for Robby Gordon. There’s also talk of a merge between two Dodge teams- BAM Racing, owned by Beth Ann Morgenthau and Petty Enterprises.

What’s interesting about looking at the list of good runners on this track is that all of the drivers on that list have a reputation for aggressiveness, with the possible exception of Johnson, who in my opinion has a driving style quite similar to the “Silver Fox”- David Pearson. Johnson just lays back, and then….WHAM! He’s on you like a cat on a blue jay.

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR for Dummies Primer

Apron: We’re not talking about what grillmasters wear at infield and tail gate parties. In this case, the “apron” is the paved portion of a track that separates the racing surface from the infield.

B-post: This is the post extending from the roofline to the base of the window behind the driver’s head.

Compound: We’ve heard a lot about compounds after the controversial Atlanta race. The compound is the formula or recipe of rubber composing a particular tire. Left-side tires are considerably softer than right-side tires, and it’s against the rules to run left sides on the right. There are four basic components: rubber polymers, carbon blacks, oils and curatives.

Thanks for reading everybody! Enjoy the race.

When: Sunday, March 30, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EDT, 11:00 a.m. PDT Green Flag Start

Where: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia

Broadcast: FOX-TV Network, 1:30 p.m. EDT Pre-Race, 10:30 PDT

Track facts: Martinsville is NASCAR’s shortest track at .526 miles. The track possesses 12 degree banking in the turns, and it’s flat as a board on the straights. The track is asphalt with concrete corners.

Track History- NASCAR’s oldest track held its maiden race on September 25, 1949. The winner? World War II hero Red Byron. Curtis “Pops” Turner started from the pole. Jimmie Johnson has won the last THREE races at Martinsville, and no doubt he’ looking forward to this occasion to get his 2008 turned around.

The Qualifying Record? “Smoke”- Tony Stewart ran a qualifying lap in 19.306 with a speed of 98.083 m.p.h., October 21, 2005

The record for race speed is 82.223 m.p.h. by Jeff Gordon on September 22, 1996. He ran the race in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 55 seconds.

“The King” is the King. Richard Petty holds the record for victories at Martinsville with 15. Among active drivers, Jeff Gordon has 7.

Ol’ D.W. is the “King of Qualifying.” Darrell Waltrip has 8 poles. Jeff Gordon must really like it here. “The Rainbow Warrior” has earned 6 poles- making him top of the heap for active drivers.

21 caution flags flew last fall, beating the old record of 19. On three occasions, only one caution waved, the most recent being April 25, 1971.

Other track trivia: “Mr. September,” Harry Gant was the oldest winner at this track at the age of 51 years old in 1991. Richard Petty is the youngest Cup driver to win here, he did so just 2 months shy of his 23rd birthday in 1960. Petty Enterprises is the winningest team here with 19.

Who’s been the best here in recent years? Besides the defending champion Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch have posted the best averages in the last couple of seasons.

What’s Up?: NASCAR Cup action returns after taking an Easter holiday. Crew chief Gene Nead is leaving the #21. Until joining Wood Bros. in November, 2007, he was crew chief for Robby Gordon. There’s also talk of a merge between two Dodge teams- BAM Racing, owned by Beth Ann Morgenthau and Petty Enterprises.

What’s interesting about looking at the list of good runners on this track is that all of the drivers on that list have a reputation for aggressiveness, with the possible exception of Johnson, who in my opinion has a driving style quite similar to the “Silver Fox”- David Pearson. Johnson just lays back, and then….WHAM! He’s on you like a cat on a blue jay.

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR for Dummies Primer

Apron: We’re not talking about what grillmasters wear at infield and tail gate parties. In this case, the “apron” is the paved portion of a track that separates the racing surface from the infield.

B-post: This is the post extending from the roofline to the base of the window behind the driver’s head.

Compound: We’ve heard a lot about compounds after the controversial Atlanta race. The compound is the formula or recipe of rubber composing a particular tire. Left-side tires are considerably softer than right-side tires, and it’s against the rules to run left sides on the right. There are four basic components: rubber polymers, carbon blacks, oils and curatives.

Thanks for reading everybody! Enjoy the race.

(A Special Weekly Edition Prepared for NASCAR_Nation)

I should take the week off……but I won’t. I’ll keep it a little more brief, but the occasion gives me opportunity to weigh in on trends as we make our way into Turn One of the 2008 season.

Biggest surprise- For me, it’s not Junior, I expected improvement. It’s not Toyota’s performance, you may remember I predicted that. It’s Richard Childress Racing. I had been dissing on them after their late 2007 collapse in the Chase. Kevin Harvick has been remarkably consistent, Jeff Burton is our most recent winner (plus he’s posting an average finish of 8.2), and Clint Bowyer has flashes of true racing brilliance. The tire strategy at Bristol was a HUGE gamble- and they made it work.

Biggest disappointment- It’s not Jeff or Jimmie. I’m predicting no 3-peat for J.J., and I stand my forecast that Gordon will not make the Chase. For me, the biggest disappointment has to be…..The Open Wheel Invasion. I support their presence in NASCAR, but man I didn’t think we’d see Jacques Villenueve and A.J. Allmendinger without rides, or Dario Franchitti as a “go or go homer.” Sam Hornish is hanging on, and Patrick Carpentier can’t get in a race. Reed Sorenson isn’t fulfilling his potential either.

In my opinion, things are better in NASCAR in 2008. Our first 5 races have produced 4 different winners from 4 different makes from 4 different teams. In doesn’t get much more even than that.

Did anyone really think (outside his legion of fans) that Junior would be Hendrick’s Top Driver statistically?
Rock Solid Shops- Joe Gibbs has brought respectability to Toyota. Richard Childress is solid to to bottom (imagine Bowyer being your #3 driver). Roush-Fenway has three drivers running solid, with a 4th showing signs of promise. Penske and Gillett Evernham are getting their money’s worth from Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

Hanging On- Richard Petty Enterprises looks to be in rough shape. Yates Racing can’t get a sponsor for Travis Kvapil. Bill Davis and the Wood Brothers appear to be on life support.

Did anyone really believe that DEI would be doing as well as they are? Martin Truex is looking pretty good and so is the Martin/Almirola Show in the #8.
T.V. Ratings Are Up
Crashing Out Is DownI’m not ready to say that this is a great year, but NASCAR seems to have something for 2008.

Now get out there and enjoy some spring air. Oh yeah, enjoy the Nationwide race in Nashville.

(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.