NASCAR Chase Makin’ or Breakin’ Fontana Fast Laps Next
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.
August 26, 2008 1:01 pm CDT 3 CommentsIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Bristol was interesting wasn’t it? Nothing like a little short track carnage and door banging to spice up the final two weeks of NASCAR’s Race to the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.
There is still a race for the last few spots in the Chase top twelve. Clint Bowyer, in 12th is only 12 points up on steady David Ragan. Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin are in right now and Kasey Kahne is not. The two race showdown is all that is left.
First up is the two miler at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The track is a near twin to Michigan and two weeks ago, MIS hosted the Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards show. Of course, last weekend’s Bristol night race was a Carl and Kyle show - with a side of short track fireworks.
These two really only have the twenty remaining bonus points - that are up for grabs to the winners of Fontana and Richmond - to race for. Carl grabbed the ten extra points for Bristol with his bump-to-pass move. Can’t wait to see what happens next.
Until then, we have four fast variably banked and slickly paved Fast Lap questions for your debating pleasure.
1: Given his history with Hendrick and Ganassi; can Casey Mears’ move to the #07 car be successful?
2: Is the racing better to watch at the new Bristol?
3: Will “Magnetgate” change the way you view Joe Gibbs, JD Gibbs and/or Joe Gibbs Racing?
4: Will having the Labor Day weekend race move to Atlanta at night be enough to stop the nostalgia mongers from calling for a return to Darlington?
You can bang doors, bump pass, even wreck your competitors in this race. The Fast Lap doesn’t cater to whiners. Kyle.
Check out this Bench Racing post for a shot at a free Kevin Harvick bobblehead, courtesy of Shell Gasonlines.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Mark Martin’s Fast Laps are Numbered
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.
June 23, 2008 10:04 pm CDT 2 Comments
Kyle Busch won his fifth Sprint Cup contest of the season Sunday at Infineon Raceway. That gives him at least fifty bonus points in the Chase to the first Sprint Cup. That Chase starts after only ten more races. Not all that much time for the likes of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle or other pretenders to the Cup to get on the board, get off the snide, break the ice - win something - and maybe just as importantly for Shrub haters, keep Kyle from winning everything in sight.
Some drivers need to win to keep their championship hopes alive. Others to keep their jobs. It was a matter of time before Casey Mears’ disappointing 2008 start began to dog him in the speculation department. One of the big Sonoma rumors was that Mears would be moved to create a seat in the #5 for Mark Martin, who may be moving out of the DEI stable to free a full-time seat for Aric Almirola.
The move would set Mark up for the first ever - Third Times a Charm Retirement Tour. The #5 team at Hendrick Motorsports should be better than anything that DEI is fielding these days and Mark can still drive. But would Mark Martin be any better than the fourth best driver in the Hendrick Motorsports stable today?
What do you think? And while you’re at it, give the four, flat, all left handed turns of this week’s Fast Lap some thought. Remember your answers are limited to 100 words or less. But come on back and defend your position later in the week. Defense is unlimited.
1. What happened to the boos when the Shrub won? Are California fans truly more mature than the rest of NASCAR Nation?
2. David Gilliland turned one good Busch Series finish into a full time Cup ride. Can he turn one good Cup finish into a career?
3. Does the future of the Wood Brothers lie in Marcos Ambrose’s hands?
4. Juan Pablo Montoya is quoted in the London Times saying that NASCAR is better than F1. On Sunday’s Wind Tunnel, Scott Speed said that NASCAR is much easier than F1. Who is right?
We have plans for the best responses. What those plans are, I can’t say. Trust me. Would I lie to you? O, and listen to the live streaming broadcast of ON PIT ROW Tuesday from 5-7 pm edt. It’s good for you and trans fat free.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Happy hour Fast Laps at the Thunder Lounge
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.
March 31, 2008 9:09 pm CDT 7 Comments
Man, I love races at Martinsville. I admit that it is often hard for me to maintain my focus for the three and a half hours of most Sprint Cup races. But it never seems a problem at the little paper clip in Virginia. Sunday was fun to watch.
I am a bit shocked that Jeff Gordon failed to win the thing. Both he and Jimmy Johnson had to work back, through the pack, to the front. The relentless way that they did so showed they ain’t as dead as the haters had hoped.
Nice comeback by Jamie McMurray and ditto for Casey Mears. There were plenty of short track tempers shown and the carnage within the fleet was a joy to behold. Too bad it’ll be so long before they go back again.
Next up is something completely different, as they use to say on Monte Python’s Flying Circus. Heading down to the home of the Thunder Lounge at Texas Motor Speedway. One of NASCAR’s fastest tracks will be a real change of pace for the cupsters. Try out TMS with four highly banked Fast Lap questions and you might just be featured ON PIT ROW.
1. Even without a win at Martinsville, is Hendrick Motorsports back?
2. In retrospect, should Michael Waltrip Racing have handled the Dale Jarrett/David Reutimann owner’s points swap situation differently?
3. With the awful weather conditions so far this year - is it time for NASCAR to look at wholesale schedule changes?
4. Was NASCAR’s in-race penalty sufficient for Matt Kenseth’s retaliation towards David Gilliland or should they levy additional punishment?
Go to the comments section and give us your best answers to our four Fast Lap questions but remember you are limited to 100 words or less for each. Then remember to stop back throughout the week to defend yourself from the fender banging of your friends. While here, feel free to bump draft fellow Fast Lappers too. We use the best - and sometimes the worst - comments on the radio version of ON PIT ROW. You can listen live on Tuesdays from 5-7 PM EDT at OnPitRow.com.
Photo credit - Icon Sports Media, Inc.
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.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Steve Wronkowicz on Fast Laps by a Slow Writer
- Steve Wronkowicz on Fast Laps for a Long Cold Winter
- Steve Wronkowicz on Thunderous Fast Laps in the Shadow of the Thunder Lounge
- Steve Wronkowicz on Phoenix Fast Laps: The Chase Heats Up
- Charlie Turner on Thunderous Fast Laps in the Shadow of the Thunder Lounge
Google Search
NASCAR Fantasy Racing
On Pit Row is glad to be a part of such a great NASCAR fantasy racing game like Champs, Chumps & Sleepers. Grand prize is a Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure. How cool is that?
NASCAR Games
