January Fast Laps are where you find them

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.

12 Responses to “January Fast Laps are where you find them”

1. Luke on January 29th, 2008 12:33 am

   I’ll kick 2008 off.

   1] Ganassi’s last effort worth really discussing was 2002. Sterling was running away with it, got hurt in September, yet even Jamie McMurray could win in that car. It’s been all downhill since.

   As to why, who knows. Dodge isn’t helping. They flat out stunk across the board in 2007. There were a couple wins, but it wasn’t anything close to being impressive. Penske had issues, Ganassi continued to struggle, and Evernham was out in left field as well. OK, BAM fields (tries to) a Dodge as well, but let’s face it, their door are slowly rolling down.

   I think Ganassi has just been behind. Let me rephrase that. They got behind in 03/04, and have failed to catch up. At times there may have been a glimmer of hope, but we’ll have to see what the splitter brings forth in 08.

   2] Both are impressive in their own right. As to which is more impressive, I’m not sure. It would seem that both, as of late, are impressive when you can keep from taking a nap.

   3] Smith, Carpentier, Villeneuve, Franchitti, Hornish.

   I’d go with Smith, with Franchitti running second.

   Villeneuve can’t even land funding, Hornish couldn’t keep up in Busch and lucked into starting spots in the first 5, and while Carpentier has the talent, it needs refined and transitioned to ovals.

   4] Wow. DJ will be great, no doubt. Rusty was, well… Rusty. He caught a lot of flack, but I liked him. He was criticized for talking about Steve too much, but considering that half the time there was an accident Steve was involved, he didn’t have much of a choice.

   I think Rusty will fit well in his new role, and I can’t deny that I look forward to listening to DJ and the Doc punch back and forth.

2. Luke on January 30th, 2008 6:30 pm

   After hearing the Franchitti argument, I’m still going with a close race, but finishing second.

   It’s not talent, but equipment that will make the difference in this battle.

   As another thought, and distant possibility, one Mr. McDowell will be eligible as well. It’s the top how many finishes that are averaged? If the cards lined out right, and those MWR guys have their act together (thanks JD!), could McDowell be your sleeper in this race?

   Well, the kid has talent. The question is, will he run out?

3. Amy on January 31st, 2008 8:40 am

   So, On Pit Row huh. What to say about those guys? Well i suppose i could start with i’m Amy. Steve’s Daughter. So for some of you, anything i have to say from here on out doesn’t count, right/. Wrong. I’m not a Nascar fan. Sure Tony Stewart is hot. And ya i have Chad Little’s autograph… I know, Old school right? But I don’t actually like Nascar. To me it’s like whats the point? Well the point it when my dad and Charlie are talking about it, it’s worth listing to. I never ever knew how much attention I actually payed to my dads show untill i won over a grumpy customer at my work by being able to talk Nascar to him. He was impressed. That day i spent a half hour, (of company time lol) talking to this guy about Nascar. I couldn’t beleive myself. I never knew how much i listened. Thats my point. When it comes to the two of them, you just listen. No questions asked. They have become one of the best Nascar shows around. Not only because they love the sport but because they’re hearts go into this show. I watch my dad spend hours working on this stuff. As well as listen to him and Charlie call each other back and fourth alllllllll day long. It’s like “hey steve you gotte go to this site. there is great stuff on there” Then it’s like “Okay Charlie.” 5 minutes later it’s ringing again. lol this time it’s Dad calling Charlie. “hey Charlie i got the fast lap questions.” Then it’s “Okay Steve get them on the web site.” But not matter the problems they encounter, they still put their heats into the show, making this show, a big difference compared to others. So call my opnion biased, say it doesn’t count. But i’m damn proud of my Dad and Charlie too. Because when you can teach someone about Nascar without them even realizing it, that makes you above the average radio show host. So ya i’m proud, Wouldn’t you be? I love you Dad

4. Steve on January 31st, 2008 9:06 am

   1– I think a lot of Ganassi’s success in the other series is due to the big-fish/little pond theory. Ganassi can dominate in series’ where the level of competition is less; but when given the huge number of teams that can win on any weekend, his teams then become the Little Fish in the Big Pond.

   2–The sheer un-ending relentlessness of a plate race in Cup makes it a much bigger accomplishment than the single, double or triple stint in an endurance race. Just knowing that your stint will come to an end gives drivers a mental edge.

   3– I’m going against the grain a bit in picking Michael McDowell as the 2008 ROTY. The way he ran in the ARCA series last year, made me a believer. If MWR can give him something to drive and Reuttiman can get the car into the top 35 when McDowell takes over–he will be the ROTY.

   4– I’ll take DJ on this one. After listening to Rusty talk about how it was getting dark for HOURS at Kansas–he lost me. If DJ can be half as good in the booth as his daddy–he’ll do just fine.

   Thanks for the kind words Amy. I never thought she listened to anything I said–EVER.

5. Charlie Turner on January 31st, 2008 12:09 pm

   Those nice things that Amy had to say are not in the tradition of this here Fast Lap Blog. They may be a ploy by Steve-O to distract me from my mission of ripping his arguments to shreds. Thanks Amy, that was pretty cool.

   I sense a bit too much agreement in these early 2008 Fast Lap responses. Maybe not.

   1. The competition in the Cup Series is so intense that you have to take advantage of your opportunities when you get them. Just ask Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne. They each wasted potential championship seasons - when they were easily the top race winners - by finishing poorly in races that they did not win. Both drivers have struggled in the following years. Ganassi’s big chance in 2002 ended when Sterling Marlin was injured when he looked to be running away with the championship. Chip’s teams haven’t been close since. Elite teams - like Hendrick in Cup and Ganassi in Grand Am and IRL - have more opportunities than the pack.

   2. Four hours or more of handling a 3500 pound stock car - at 180 plus mph in packs of cars that are sometimes three and four wide and a dozen cars long - with no break in concentration except for caution periods and pitstops, takes the prize for me. The stints of endurance racers at Daytona are broken up and there is at least some opportunity to relax a bit on the oval portion of the track.

   3. Only Franchitti and Hornish are guaranteed to start the first five races of 2008. If you only look at Sam’s early results in Cup and Busch last year, he didn’t look very good. Once he announced his comittment to going Cupping full time, he qualified for the remaining races on his own speeds. I look for Hornish to edge Franchitti in a close race. But Luke has me thinking about McDowell now. I hadn’t thought about the possibility of Reutiman getting that #00 into the top thirty five before turning it over to Mac. Daytona will be the key.

   4. DJ is a natural born celebrity-announcer and he was terrific last year. But I like Rusty Wallace. He is not as pollished as DJ but his enthusiasm is something that NASCAR must guard against losing. There were times in 2007 - like at Kansas - when Wallace did things that irritated viewers. But I can remember plenty of “anyone but Rusty” paraphenalia back in the 90’s. I think some of the Wallace bashing is a remnant of that.

6. Luke on January 31st, 2008 12:13 pm

   Well, at least I’m not the only one keeping tabs on McDowell. A few things have to fall into place, but it could happen if JD & Co. are truly practicing the Toyota philosophy.

7. Luke on January 31st, 2008 12:16 pm

   C’mon Charlie. With all the writers on strike, she probably hired one on the fly to put something together.

   You can’t discount Smith one bit though. He’s also in the Top-35, and DEI’s rides were above and beyond Penske and Ganassi in 2007.

8. Charlie Turner on February 1st, 2008 4:54 pm

   Smith will fall prey to DEI’s second-tier team. Maybe even third tier. I’m sorry but I need to see a string of races with nothing blowing up before that team get’s any votes from me. They only got one team going last year. Now they’re gonna run four? Not buyin’ that.

9. Luke on February 1st, 2008 8:28 pm

   A string of races without blowing up?

   Knock the 0 off of 01, and there you go. Although if I were Mark Martin, I’d be concerned. Oh, wait… “Mark Martin” != Blown Motors.

   Although, I’d take a 2nd tier DEI machine over a Ganassi machine at the moment. Dario has the skill, but until I can see some evidence that Ganassi is catching up, I just can’t call it in his favor.

   McDowell, however, I can see sneaking in and spoiling the show. An outside chance at best (he’ll have at least 5 races less to pick from), but it wouldn’t surprise me.

10. Steve Wronkowicz on February 2nd, 2008 4:22 pm

    Amy–here’s the fiver I promised you. Hey wait–she was saying nice things about the show not just me.

    DEI should be done with the blown engines from 2007. Those were specially made for Junior remember. But there will be no ROTY coming from the wicked stepmom team any time soon. I took McDowell on the show and I’m sticking with him. Charlie can’t git enough of them opwn wheel boys. Write this down. There will be no ROTY from the OW ranks in 2008.

11. Luke on February 3rd, 2008 5:23 pm

    All I need from the Dodge camp: Show me performance.

    Dario and the gang have talent, yes, but in a stock car and with a struggling manufacturer? Convince me, and do it on the track.

    Also, any bets against Doug Richert aren’t the wisest one could make. It might even make a smart bookie flinch.

    However, I still support the McDowell possibility. Noting that the chips have to fall in line for it to happen.

12. Charlie Turner on February 3rd, 2008 7:52 pm

    Consider it written down Steve - for the whole world wide web to see - forever. I picked Hornish on the show and here. Roger Penske knows more than me. Roger made my pick. If it isn’t Sam it will be Franchitti. Dario has tons of talent, Montoya is there - and they are reportedly buddies - and Ganassi did it with JPM last year. I like McDowell, but the deck is stacked.

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