Fast Laps on the bricks and it’s about time

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

4 Responses to “Fast Laps on the bricks and it’s about time”

1. Charlie on July 25th, 2007 1:59 pm

   Hello? Steve? Luke? Danica? Where are you guys?

   Good. Finally some peace and quiet. This NASCAR stuff is just too hectic.

   I have invited some new kids to play. We’ll see if they got game or not.

   1. I should refuse to answer anything “Rowdy” tainted. Digression is the better part of blogging though. I will say Junior, only because of the Hendrick infrastructure. I am not all that sold on his real chances of beating his own team-mates. Let alone the Gibbs, Roush, RCR and Penske contingents. I don’t think R… Kyle is going to end up with a championship capable team.

   2. As I said last night. Hire Dave Despain. Or surrender to the Suzi Kolbers of the TV world. I just hope that they haven’t ruined Jerry Punch.

   3. I let Steve go first on this one last night because I didn’t(still don’t) know anything about J.D. Stacy. Ginn tried to get big fast, went for the home run by trying to sign Jr. Then punted. You’ll have to tell me if that is what Stacy did or not.

   4. I happen to agree with Mike Helton. With no union to protect (shield) drivers or any workers in NASCAR, the “test with due cause” policy seems to work fine. That said, I don’t care if they test them every day. Just keep the penalties BIG. Like they are now.

   Oh, hi Danica.

2. Luke on July 25th, 2007 2:39 pm

   1) Junior. Kyle’s got it inside, but it’s the outside that makes or breaks it. I can’t see him at this point landing in an outside environment capable of getting it done.

   Then again, he could luck into a championship. It seems to run in the family.

   2) Put Bestwick as the permanent anchor for pre-race would be nice.

   Don’t be afraid to sack up to NASCAR, if needed. ESPN/ABC knows how to draw a crowd, and NASCAR should be prepared to listen, and give it a go.

   Don’t cheat the viewers. Commercials are a necessity, but don’t screw the folks at home like “other” networks have. Also, don’t cut post race short like they did in the spring at Bristol.

   3) Yes and no. From the looks of it, initially, he’ll still be a part of TEI. Well, until “Her Royal Highness” kicks him out.

   4) I still don’t see it as a rampant problem. Putting forth the effort to “crack down” then tells the public that there is a problem, even if there isn’t one.

   It happens on occasion, but it isn’t prevalent. Then again, neither were steroids in baseball, and BB can bite me. That isn’t his record.

   Then again, what is NASCAR afraid of? Could it turn up that there might be some recreational use going on, and more than anyone is aware of?

   Kevin Harvick did sum it up nicely. They owe it to the sponsors and fans to prove that they are clean, and deserving of their career.

   Not that there’s really a doubt, but it could be a new marketing platform to even further boost the NASCAR image, and driver image as a role model.

3. Steve on July 29th, 2007 9:39 am

   1- Rowdy has more raw talent than most others on the curcuit. Wherever he ends up–he will raise their game. Rowdy –Cup champ by 2010.

   2- ESPN needs to remember what they did in the early days with Bob Jenkins and Larry Neuber; then later with Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons. They let the race tell the story and more importantly BE the story. The races were never about them–until Buffet Benny made his first appearance.

   3– Ginn and Stacy had one thing in common–they both under-estimated the true monetary commitment needed to be competitive. The one difference is that Stacy was all about promoting him and his name on as many race cars as possible. Ginn–even when there were no others to put on the cars, was reluctant to self-promote.

   4– Every sport has to have a anti-drug policy and NASCAR’s needs to be the most aggressive of all. No driver wants to worry about the guy next to him and whether he is mentally capable of controlling his car at 200 mph. I say randomly test 1/8th the field for every race every week. Use the same lottery ball system used for qualifying draw and no one would know when his turn was coming.

4. Charlie on July 29th, 2007 10:16 pm

   One more time my synapse-challenged friend. NASCAR isn’t just drivers. If you are going to randomly test, you have to randomly test 1/8th (your number) of all participants. Crew Chiefs, tire changers, engine techs, all of them. They all affect on-track performance. I still say that the “test with cause” policy works fine.

   And how did you guys manage to chase Danica out of here? The room needed a little something and she is certainly a little something.

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