600 Miles of Memorial Day Fast Laps Next Up
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.
May 19, 2008 9:43 am CDT 7 CommentsIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Don’t relax your anti-hype muscles just yet race fans. It’s Memorial Day weekend, home of the race formerly known as - and still referred to by Latin American racing journalists and Tony George as - The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indy 500.
The first summer holiday also hosts the brain child of NASCAR’s Barnum, Humpy Wheeler. The Coca Cola 600 was formerly and modestly, known as the World 600. PT Wheeler must have thought, “you know, if the open wheelers can have 500 Memorial Day miles, we’ll have six. And even basketball fans know that the “World” is bigger than anything in Indiana.”
All that Sprint All Star race hype that was heaped upon us last weekend is just the opening act to the slobberknocker that’s on deck. But there will be racing for real, at least. Try our four Fast Lap questions as the Bench Racing version of the holiday weekend warm up.
1. Why is NASCAR allowing teams to alter the front and rear end geometry on the new car, when they they are so stringent about body templates?
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr says he may move his JR Motorsports team to Cup in 2009 because of cost. What does that say about the Nationwide Series?
3. Will the Coca Cola 600 be just an extended replay of the Sprint All-Star race?
4. Best and worst of the Sprint All Star weekend?
At ON PIT ROW, we strive to tone down the hype ( LISTEN LIVE TUESDAYS AT 5 PM EDT!!!!!!) and be the touch of class (REPLAYS ARE AT RACETALKRADIO.COM THURSDAYS AT 7 PM EDT!!!!!!) that NASCAR and it’s circus barkers so often lack. If you participate, and we like what you write, we may invite you to join us for polite (BRING IT ON YOU WIMP!!!!!!) NASCAR-rich discussion on a future episode of the show.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
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7 Responses to “600 Miles of Memorial Day Fast Laps Next Up”
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About the Fast Lap blog
Fast Laps! Welcome to the On Pit Row Fast Lap blog. Every week On Pit Row we pose four Fast Lap questions. Four corners - four questions. On the radio show, Steve and I have 30 seconds each, to give our response to each of the four. If you are a listener, you already know that we rarely agree on any answer. The Fast Lap is NASCAR debate. Hannity and Colmes. Lincoln and Douglas. Wronkowicz and Turner. OK, maybe not Lincoln and Douglas. We have more fun than Lincoln and Douglas. Here's the challenge. We will post our Fast Lap questions some time each Monday. Four questions on topical NASCAR related subjects. Your mission is to comment with your answers and each answer is limited to 100 words. The questions, answers and comments will form the basis of this blog for that week. Comment on the Fast Lap questions. Comment on the comments. Insult the commenters. Witty ridicule is rated at least as highly as cogent commentary. Just remember that you have limited words and penalties are severe. Or not. Steve and I will select worthy blog entries to be featured on an edition of On Pit Row. That's the plan. I'm sure we will have some other things to post about each week but the intention is to pose most posts as questions. I want to argue with you! Bring it on.
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1. NASCAR simply may not have thought about teams adjusting the body, after so many years of teams doing everything they could with geometry, the bump stops, and working on the car in that respect. However, NASCAR’s appetite is irresistible when it comes to controlling teams, and something will change – possibly very soon.
2. It says that the Nationwide Series needs to do more to be different, and that NASCAR needs to step up and help the teams in the series become more competitive, if NASCAR wants the series to succeed. I’m afraid we’re getting to the point where there is too much cost involved to operate three series.
3. Unfortunately, I think it looms as a strong possibility. Atlanta and Texas had dominant cars out front, but in the field, there was ability to pass. There was less than usual Saturday night, and I’m definitely worried.
4. Best: Deliberate, gleeful disobedience of NASCAR’s “rules” during the burnout competition. Kudos to Harvick and Johnson the most, both of their performances were crowd-pleasers. If this returns next season, I’m shocked.
Worst: Kasey Kahne’s anti-climatic victory in the main event, after finishing fifth in the Showdown and taking no tires after segment three. This had to have been one of the most uneventful All-Star races in memory.
1. Lets kill this meme now, no team is twisting and or otherwise making “body adjustments” to have their cars crabwalk in each straight. In the strictest sense yes you can say that but in the purely mechanical sense they are adjusting the trackbar far more than previously.
As far as “why,” maybe because nothing prevents it in the Mythical Rulebook. John Darby claims something will be done, but if it is it will need to be in both series because both are doing it.
2. Not much to may way of thinking, it says more about the CoT switch than anything else.
If the Nationwide CoT is introduced to NNS next mid-season as planned it says more about a business decision to spend the money moving to Sprint rather than spend it and remain in NNS. If you’re going to have a large cash outlay to change your fleet why not move.
3. No reason not to think otherwise, but it will fuel the demented minds that think every race in the “good old days” were faught tooth and nail and had twenty cars lined up in a photo finish.
The reality is 450 of the 600 miles will be marking time and staying out of trouble.
4. Best, both Cup events and the NCTS event.
Worst everything else. If I want to view a reality show I’ll watch American Idol. (*retch* I can’t believe I said that)
1. It is because of the strict rules concerning the body template that they are allowing the chassis adjustments. NASCAR wants to leave it up to the teams to make the cars racier, and since the teams can’t mess with the body, the trackbar and other chassis and suspension adjustments are the only way they can do it. Good for NASCAR for continuing to leave gray areas, whether they want to or not.
2. I can’t add anything to this that Marc hasn’t written.
3. We know the teams won’t be using the same set ups they used for the All Star race, just because of endurance and durability issues. We tend to forget, however, that even with the “conventional” car, the races on intermediate tracks are usually a snooze fest until the last 100 or so laps. There will probably be about five or six cars left on the lead lap at that point, just like the “good ol’ days” but it should be a pretty exciting finish.
Oops! I’ve contracted that “C-nile” virus that causes one to click “submit comment” before the comment is complete.
4. Best part: Sam Hornish Jr transfering in to the main event and finishing seventh. Worst part: During driver/team introductions when Kurt Busch’s team tried to take back the “Bad Guy” title for their driver by dumping and spraying Miller Lite Beer on and at the fans. That stuff smells like hangover urine and is harder to clean off.
I know I missed the show but here is my 2 cents (Canadian) anyway - that’s 2.1 cents US BTW.
1. Why is NASCAR allowing teams to alter the front and rear end geometry on the new car, when they they are so stringent about body templates?
They are not really ‘allowing’ the teams to get away with it per se as it is perfectly legal, because what the teams are doing is playing with what is written in the rules and pushing it to the max.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr says he may move his JR Motorsports team to Cup in 2009 because of cost. What does that say about the Nationwide Series?
Expensive as hell, with low sponsorship dollars. What you really should be asking is; “Dale Earnhardt Jr says he may move his JR Motorsports team to Cup in 2009 because of cost. Does this mean Tony Stewart will be driving for him next year? Or The Biff, or Truex?
3. Will the Coca Cola 600 be just an extended replay of the Sprint All-Star race?
No. Attritton will set in, and someone will make a dumb move causing carnage fo sure.
4. Best and worst of the Sprint All Star weekend?
Best: The truck race. Does that count? IF not, the underdog Kasey Kahne winning after being voted in or the last chance qualifier with AJ and Sam moving on.
Worst: Too many to list.
Hey, what did you guys do with Steve? Last time I saw him, he was painting a #9 on his forehead and he was still filling out Kasey Kahne ballots for the All-Star race. Whatever.
1. It’s not they they are allowing it. They are just not prohibiting the practice. What the teams are doing is not against the current rule. Get over it Steve! Kasey did it too.
2. Says to me that NASCAR may have mis-calculated the Nationwide commitmment of their bigger Nationwide teams. I wonder what the Harvicks are thinking? If the Nationwide teams with the best funding move up and the orgs with the least can’t afford to play anymore, what kind of series will they have?
3. Yawn……wake me at lap 350.
4. Best - The conspiracy theory that emmerged featuring Allmendinger and Budweiser somehow deciding that taking out Sadler -Junior Nation voter’s endorced favorite - would ensure Kahne’s fan-vote win.
Worst - Rules in a knife fight - I mean burn-out competition. Rules!? We don’t need no stinkin’ rules!
1– Much to Charlie’s chagrin NASCAR will realize that a memo to “clean up their act” will not suffice to eliminate the practice. Soooo–new rule time; clamping down on the sidewinders via rule changes.
2– What it says it that NASCAR has greatly misjudged the worthwhileness of the Nationwide Series. They have turned it into a test and tune session for the Cup Series. Those that have invested in it as a separate entity from Cup will abandonity due to costs. If NS teams move to SC, where will they a niche there? There are already too many teams without enough sponsor money.
3– Have to agree with Charlie on this one. The 600 has the making for a real snoozefest. After 500 miles in the afternoon, I’ll be ready for a nap before the final 200 miles at Lowes.
4– Best part on the All-Star weekend was the drivers in the burnout contest defying the rules. Who came up with that idea anywho?
Worst–watching cars head to the front and not being able to be challenged for the lead. Speaking of challenging–boy did the Dodge Challenger pace car at Toledo Speedway look sweet.