| | | | | | | | |  | | | |  I can just imagine Bill Sr. rolling in his place of rest right about now - Lori Munro
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."
FIRE TONY EURY JR?
Dennis says...
Junior fans will be screaming once again for Tony Eury Jr to be fired after the team got caught on the wrong end of the gas strategy game at Watkins Glen. Hey Junior Fans…your guy is STILL fourth in points! Sometimes in racing your well-laid plans go up in smoke with a wreck on the track and it is even worse at a road course. Should Junior have pitted earlier? Did Tony Eury Jr make a mistake by not getting him on and off pit road when the spin happened? These Crew Chiefs have a split second to decide whether to pit or not and we have no clue what went into the decision making that led to him staying out. Maybe they were getting awful gas mileage? Perhaps they had a sneaky strategy that they were planning for that last stop. Tony Eury Jr is one of the best Crew Chiefs in the business but I am sure Junior fans will be hanging him in effigy again this week! Death, taxes, and annoyed Junior fans being annoying are the only certainties in life!
Lori says...
Back before the sea of red turned to green and much of the fan talk was “DUMP Eury Jr!” I scoffed at those people. Now I’m beginning to wonder if a clean slate would have proven to be more favorable for team 88. Crystal balls would surely come in handy at times like this and even though I’ve been so bold over the past months to say that Kyle Busch makes EVERYONE look like yesterday’s news, there is indeed something amiss with the #88 team. After Junior’s first 2008 win at Michigan, he has not finished better than 12th with endless issues arising on pit road. While other teams are stepping up their game during the past few weeks, I’m afraid that Dale Earnhardt Jr’s first season at Hendrick Motorsports just isn’t as AMP’ed up as we expected it would be. I say do what sometimes works with other teams; do a crew chief switcheroo and see what happens. Eury Jr. has been given a reprieve on top of a few years to get it done with Junior and it’s just not working.
GORDON-LESS ROAD RACING
Dennis says...
What if they held a road race and a Gordon wasn’t competitive? We don’t have to wonder what that looks like because we saw it on Sunday at Watkins Glen. Twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth place from the two Gordons at the track they usually dominate is a sure sign of the impending Armageddon. While his teammates were racing competitive on Sunday, Jeff Gordon disappeared and was never a factor despite starting towards the front. Robby Gordon told the world he was throwing everything at this race yet had a fueling issue that cost him a lap and kept him out of contention. Not seeing either Gordon in contention at Watkins Glen might be one of the big surprises of the year.
Lori says...
When Dale Jarrett says, “Jeff Gordon can’t even get around PJ Jones”… we know something is definitely wrong. I’m truly beginning to think that Gordon simply hasn’t been able to adapt to the COT and its high center of gravity… yet… Or perhaps he never will and time will pass him by in favor of the young guns in the sport that haven’t had old ways ingrained into their system. It’s real hard to point your finger at Jeff Gordon and say that his time has passed, because just like you can be assured the sun will come up tomorrow, so will Gordon’s efforts and people will look back on 2008 as a year to forget for the 24 team.
NASCAR INTERNATIONAL
Dennis says...
NASCAR has tried to expand the sport internationally yet they are ignoring an issue just north of the border in Canada. Again this week the Nationwide Series race got shuffled to late night and the Sprint Cup race also had issues on Canadian television. NASCAR is risking losing some of their most loyal race fans in this continuing squabble between ESPN and TSN. This should not have come as a surprise to the folks at NASCAR. The Mexico experiment failed because there are not enough stock car racing fans in that country and that will never change! Canada loves stock car racing and thousands of Canadians fill the seats at tracks from Michigan to Daytona to New Hampshire every season. NASCAR needs to make sure TSN and ESPN play well together for the rest of the season and should have worked this out a long time ago.
Lori says...
And that ain’t even the start of it. The Watkins Glen Cup race was not carried on Canadian television either, for favor of a golf game instead. Just when Ron Fellows, Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve had the ear of the Canadian fans after their great showings at Montreal, poof, they’re gone as is all NASCAR racing from Canadian TV sets everywhere. NASCAR should be thrilled that their “global” desire was appeased with Fellows winning in Montreal but being that Canadian television opts instead to show people hitting white balls with sticks in a grassy field breaks the momentum of stock car racing being a global sport. Canadian race fans need to turn to black market means of television coverage because their needs are not being met. Now if NASCAR racing were to have French-only speaking play by play coverage, that just might pre-empt curling and seniors badminton on TV.
RUNNING OUT OF FINGERS
Dennis says...
During his victory celebration after winning at Watkins Glen this weekend Kyle Busch counted out his victories and displayed eight fingers. Kyle better get some fingers added surgically or hire an extra hand because he will win at least eleven races this season! Is it just me or are the crowds becoming more Kyle-friendly? All aboard the Kyle Busch bandwagon because this kid is only going to get better! (That is a scary thought indeed.) Love him or hate him NASCAR fans, he could care less. We are seeing one of the most amazing seasons in NASCAR history!
Lori says...
Come on Dennis… you of all people should KNOW that 1 of those fingers was reserved especially for the fan that continues to boo him… you know:
He’s giving them the one in the middle
The one that’s a little bit longer
and he’s got another one on the other hand
so he can say it even stronger…
Now, if you’re asking if he’s done he’s sure not saying they’re #1…..
Keep watching folks and take note; you’ll be telling your grandkids about the era of Kyle Busch just as they now talk about other great stock car racing heroes of the past!
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
Dennis says...
G’day mate! Throw a couple shrimp on the barbie and celebrate one of the feel-good stories of the season. Marcos Ambrose got his first NASCAR win of his career on Saturday at Watkins Glen and the fans loved it! Other than Boris Said winning I can’t think of another result that could thrill the fans more. Not only did one of the classy guys in the sport win but he did so with an up and coming team battling the big boys! G with an O, an O with a D, T with an I and an M with an E and you have a Geshickter. Next year JTG Daugherty Racing makes the big move up the ladder to Cup. Do not underestimate this team or their driver! Aussie, Aussie, Aussie...Oi Oi Oi!
Lori says...
I have to admit it. I wept. Yes, broke down like a school girl when I saw the beaming face of the Tasmanian known as “kangaroo meat” climb out of his STP emblazoned car and wave the checkered flag. It was like an overwhelming outpouring of emotion being that STP was back in victory lane thanks to someone who always sees the sunny side of life. However, what I foresee next is since Canadians and Tasmanians are winning, NASCAR will likely ban foreigners for stinking up the show. It’s bad enough there’s no North Carolinians winning anymore so I can just imagine Bill Sr. rolling in his place of rest right about now.
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