| | | | | | | | |  | | | |  Average drivers such as Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears are hot properties right now and for the life of me I am asking why? - Dennis Michelsen
Each week RaceTalkRadio personalities Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen will face off on some of the hot topics from the world of racing. We guarantee there will be some cage rattling and the black flag will be flying frequently! Let Lori and Dennis know your opinion on the topics below then tune in Monday night at 8pm ET on RaceTalkRadio.com for more "Doin’ Donuts."
MANAGING A MESS
Dennis says...
NASCAR should be applauded for not taking a risk on killing a driver at the Brickyard on Sunday. But I hope their great job of managing the mess doesn’t get NASCAR off the hook for helping create the situation that led to this mess!
The only mistake NASCAR made was not taking responsibility for letting the fans down. Why didn’t anyone come on the air and apologize for giving the fans less than a great show? ESPN announcers were quick to blame the track and defend NASCAR and Goodyear!
NASCAR and Goodyear were given a free pass and this is not the first time the show has sucked because of tires this season. This is one of the marquee events on the NASCAR circuit and everyone involved in the decisions leading up to this debacle should be ashamed of themselves! The fans deserve a better show than this.
Lori says...
Eau contrere' Dennis, for there WAS an apology issued but one had to have their ears tuned to Sirius Satellite radio to hear it. And who may have made this apology? It thrills me to announce that young Mr. Brian Vickers took one for the entire NASCAR team after he smoked his motor and fell out of the race. In an interview shortly after he went "poof," Vickers wanted to make sure that the fans received an apology for what they were seeing on the racetrack at Indy. Class act indeed.
And the whole group of power suits running the show really missed an opportunity here. With O’Reilly Raceway Park only a few short miles away, why not run the Brickyard like the Dakar Rally; in stages. The first stage is a 10 lap free-for-all at the big track. The next stage is even more exciting; the cars all parade through suburban Indianapolis on their way to ORP for some real racing!! Screw the Pocono tires, forget competition cautions, who cares about making bird casserole during a race…. Have a parade to end all parades with 42 cars (no Mikey, you can’t participate whilst driving the NAPA accordion)… I said 42 cars enroute to ORP for some real stock car racing. I’m sure even the Ghosts of Gasoline Alley would come along and catch the show.
$310,000 DOWN PAYMENT TO TIRE OF TOMORROW
Dennis says...
Government contractors often rack up millions of dollars in additional profits when they are late delivering on a project! Goodyear made an estimated $310,000 additional revenue through tire sales for the Brickyard Twelve Lap at a Time on Sunday. NASCAR should fine the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company an equal amount for their part in this debacle and match those funds out of their own pocket to fund research on the "Tire of Tomorrow." Indianapolis Motor Speedway not taking rubber is not news!
This has happened in the past it was just worse this season. Goodyear has screwed up at least three other times this season. This has been the "Three Bears Story" of tires this season. Hopefully just like the little bear Goodyear will find the tire combination that is just right more often the rest of the season. But it doesn’t take a tire engineer or a rocket scientist to figure out that different car designs need different tires!
Lori says...
Does anyone remember the Formula 1 race at Indy three years ago and the great Michelin tire debacle? I say we go find Max Mosley, beat the hookers off of him, shave of his Hitler-esque moustache and get him on the case. Look what he can do when inspired by something that’s not auditioning for the role of Eva Braun:
"Further to the incidents at Indianapolis last weekend," Mosley wrote. "We have reason to believe that Michelin have suffered at least two major tyre failures at high speed in private testing. We have also received information which suggests that Michelin Formula 1 tyres have been prone to sidewall failure for the past two years and that some of the failures last year which were blamed on debris on the circuit may in fact have been due to tyre defects unconnected with debris.
"After the failures at Indianapolis, you informed us and the media that you were flying in "Barcelona" tyres and that these would be safe. You then withdrew these same tyres within 24 hours on the grounds that they were not safe. In your letter of June 18 you told us that despite full analysis and evaluation you did not know the "root cause" of the problem. Nevertheless despite this lack of understanding you stated that your tyres could be used if vehicle speeds in Turn 13 were reduced. However only one or your major failures was in that corner, the other was in Turn 5 in the infield. You will certainly understand that we find this lack of clarity and apparent lack of understanding deeply disquieting.
"Would you therefore please supply us, as a matter of urgency, with full details of all failures your tyres have suffered over the past two years when fitted to Formula 1 cars. Would you please also tell us precisely what you have done or are doing to prevent further tyre failures. Obviously we will treat all technical information as strictly confidential."
I suggest we just change the names to protect the innocent, switch the word Barcelona to Pocono, Formula 1 cars to Cup cars, and submit this as a proposal/threat to someone who cares? Please? And oh, by the way, fans had their money refunded back at the F1 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway because the racing sucked.
CLAMORING OVER AVERAGE DRIVERS
Dennis says...
During "Silly Season" the big names mentioned every week have been Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. But now that those two drivers are likely to be teammates next season the talk has been about the next tier of drivers. While some of them such as Martin Truex Jr have a lot of potential, there are others that have been fired that are gaining a lot of attention.
Instead of rotating average drivers through the Cup seats every season why aren’t teams developing more of their own young drivers? Joe Gibbs Racing is likely to move their new hotshot Joey Logano to replace Tony Stewart. But average drivers such as Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears are hot properties right now and for the life of me I am asking why?
NASCAR teams have gotten themselves into this bind by turning the Nationwide Series into Cup-lite instead of using it to develop new talent. This is one mistake I don’t expect the new Stewart-Haas team to make. Look for Tony to make alliances to develop young drivers so he can fill the next seat with a driver with lots of potential.
Lori says...
For the life of me, I don’t understand this sub-par rotational vortex of black hole drivers myself. Especially, when Jeremy Mayfield is available. The things Jeremy can do for a team is beyond comprehension and will not only translate to a higher company morale, but he can also provide a tremendous insight into how people should live, whom they should date, and when and why.
Think back and you’ll recall that it was Jeremy that self-diagnosed his own shortcomings in the #19 Evernham Dodge; something about a girlfriend, a team owner and his focus. No idea how any of that affected his talent level, but there’s good news for all those looking for a driver!
Yes, Jeremy is available NOW! Dial 1-800-HAS-BEEN and get your new driver TODAY!
For references, please contact R. Evernham or B. Davis.
Thank you.
ENGINE OF TOMORROW
Dennis says...
NASCAR set an interesting precedent by penalizing the Toyota teams for building a great engine! Taking fifteen horsepower away from those teams to appease the whining of Chevy and Ford will get the sport on the way to the Engine of Tomorrow. Turn back the clock and you will see what NASCAR has in store for the teams and the fans. It wasn’t that long ago that every manufacturer had a unique design to their race car. NASCAR would make adjustments to spoiler sizes and valence heights to try to even the competition. But instead of getting the manufacturers equal, their changes inevitably made someone else’s car stronger for a few weeks until the next adjustment. The eventual solution to this mess was the common body template and the Car of Tomorrow. If NASCAR keeps making mid-season changes to the engines the only long term solution will be the "Engine of Tomorrow." So much for the best team winning! If you build a better mousetrap than the competition you deserve to catch more mice!
Lori says...
The mouse who currently partakes in self-gluttony is the youthful and exuberant Kyle Busch. After the horsepower is reduced, starting fields inverted, LeMans starts required, tying a parachute to the back of Busch’s Toyota, locking him in a closet for the first 50 laps of a race or poking out his eyes with a stick… Kyle Busch is still going to be dominant and is still going to win.
Take a great car and put a mediocre driver in it, it’s a backrunner. NASCAR can carry this on as far as they want. They can introduce crate motors… but until they start banning great drivers, then Kyle is going to keep winning no matter what he’s strapped in to.
RAMBUNCTIOUS RUSTY
Dennis says...
Over the weekend Rusty Wallace told the world that Ryan Newman was fired by Roger Penske! It wasn’t long until the parties involved both came out with their own statements about what happened. Why did Rusty open his big mouth? Even if his statement had been true why bother telling the world about it?
Obviously Rusty Wallace still despises Ryan Newman and for the life of me I have never understood why. Perhaps after years of being in the racecar subjected to fumes Rusty has lost his mind! A few weeks ago Rusty took out a piece of paper and told the world that Toyota had so much more horsepower than his Chevy engines.
Now he can’t help himself by telling the world that Penske fired Newman! Why has a once great champion become as annoying as finger nails on the chalkboard? SHUT UP ALREADY RUSTY!
Lori says...
Rusty Wallace was born to drive racecars and anybody who has watched his career knows he’s a damn good driver. The problem is, we live in a world where those who have achieved success in their chosen profession, sometimes go on to become spokespeople. Why? Because they typically deliver a level of believability, authority and honesty. They know what they’re talking about. They’ve experienced it all first hand. What has happened is that society has come to accept a certain level of expertise and class. It’s easy to just believe what is being said, whether it’s true or not and especially if it’s coming from someone who should truly be "in the know."
Rusty is a driver.
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