| | | | | | | | |  | | | |  Face it, Casey Mears is now in "audition" mode. -Lori Munro
Sit down, strap in, and get ready to sound off as Doin’ Donuts radio show joins the blogosphere! Let Lori Munro and Dennis Michelson know your opinion on the topics below then tune in Monday night at 8pm ET on RaceTalkRadio.com for more "Doin’ Donuts."
MORE MPG THAN MPH
Dennis says...
Is it just a coincidence or will we continue to see more fuel mileage races with the new car? While you will always have a few races whose outcome is more strategy and luck than fastest car, we seem to have more of these with the new car design. There is also nothing wrong with winning a race by outsmarting the competition. But if we do see more and more fuel mileage races driving skill will be less important and engineers will be more important. Isn’t it funny how the reaction of the fans depends on who is benefiting from the "Lucky Win?" Junior Nation felt that the racing Gods owed their guy one but Kurt Busch stole a win! But I suppose when Mother Nature gets involved the wins look cheaper.
Lori says...
I personally don’t think the COT has anything to do with the fuel mileage game and it’s far too soon to make such predictions. We are barely in the 2nd semester of "COT 101" but hey, it gives us all something to raise an eyebrow at. It frosts me that some fans cannot grasp the concept of teams working to get themselves into position to win. Mother Nature could have very well held off her deluge and the Smoke signals coming from inside the 20 car would have been far more cheery… but this weekend it just wasn’t meant to be.
PAYBACK ON TRACK OR OFF
Dennis says...
NASCAR set a dangerous precedent on Sunday when they penalized Juan Pablo Montoya for admitting on the television interview that he spun Kyle Busch on purpose. At the beginning of the year NASCAR said they would be more lenient with their drivers for their actions after an incident saying the sport needed to see more of the personalities on display. But now Juan Pablo gets busted two laps for being honest! Come on NASCAR…let the guys police their own sport! Paybacks are part of short track racing and despite being a mile long New Hampshire races like any old short track.
Lori says...
I have to come to NASCAR’s defense on this. Montoya DESERVED to be penalized, but not for wrecking Busch. He deserved a penalty for being dumb enough to admit it on national television. We all know that in racing, payback is inevitable and when it happens, its a "racin deal". Its up to the folks watching to make up their minds what the intention was. Had NASCAR not penalized Montoya, they would be held accountable for dropping the ball.
GO SPEED RACER
Dennis says...
Sunday afternoon at Cayuga Speedway ARCA racing fans witnessed an amazing feat. Scott Speed was turned by a lap down car and lost six laps when his car became bogged down in the wet turf in the infield. Instead of just riding around the last 230 laps of this ARCA event, Scott Speed battled hard and made up all but one of those laps the hard way…by racing his way past the leader! The final lap was gained via the Lucky Dog rule and Scott Speed ended up finishing seventh. It won’t be long until NASCAR Sprint Cup fans are cheering Scott Speed to victory!
Lori says...
And I’ll pick up where Dennis leaves off; Whatever Scott Speed wants to do with his life, be it racing or bicycling, downhill skiing or golf, he’ll do it HIS own special way. He is indeed a character that on one hand, stands out like a sore thumb amongst the collage of driver uniforms, yet still possesses what has made many a fine racer over the course of history; talent, drive and focus. If I were building a team, I wouldn’t want my driver to settle for anything but victory and in this past weekends Cayuga ARCA RE/MAX 250, Speed lived up to his name and raced his way back into contention.
WING VERSUS SPOILER
Dennis says...There is no doubt that the best racing in NASCAR is in the Craftsman Truck division. While the shorter races and the drivers are part of the reason that is the case, the racing trucks are also responsible. NASCAR officials even mentioned that they tried to mimic the drag and down force of the trucks for the Car of Tomorrow. Drivers and fans have complained quite a bit about the new car and that has left me wondering if NASCAR made one big mistake. Would the new car have raced better with a big spoiler instead of the wing? Maybe NASCAR can build a few COTs with a spoiler instead of a wing and put that theory to the test!
Lori says...
I get Dennis' theory, but believe NASCAR has their own theory in mind when it comes to the wing and being able to control every aspect of it. Its so rigid and everything about it right down to its installment is scrutinized to the max. Think about how rear spoilers are "leaned" on during pit stops by the catch can man adjusting the car’s panhard bar … just a slight tweak here… a bend there…. Try doing that with the wing…. Ain’t gonna move and NASCAR wins again. That being said, I also believe that the COT will continue to evolve and be reassessed by one of the most successful automotive sanctioning bodies in the world.
LAME DUCK RACING ASSOCIATION
Dennis says...
Each season team owners are making their decisions earlier and earlier on the fate of their drivers for next season. While the mega millions being spent by sponsors is driving this trend, the owners are turning more and more drivers into lame ducks earlier and earlier in the season. Perhaps they are just trying to make sure the free agent drivers know they have a seat open. While sending Casey Mears packing is a good move at Hendrick Motorsports, making him a lame duck this early can’t be good for team morale! Maybe the better move would have been never to hire him in the first place.
Lori says...
Team morale MAY be affected, but I like to look at the glass being half full in a situation like this. There are a lot of people on a team that depend on the best possible result you can get every weekend. With the announcement of Mears leaving HMS at the end of this year, I would hope that it would be some sort of sign to everyone that you should never be complacent in your position. In the best interest of everyone, Mears included, now is NOT the time to simply fall apart altogether and we’ve actually seen in the past where performances "magically" pick up in situations such as this. Face it, Mears is now in "audition" mode and I predict that car and team will get a win before the year is out. | | | Permalink | Comments (0) | | | | | | | | | | |
