Phoenix Fast Laps: The Chase Heats Up
by Charlie Turner
Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow
November 5, 2008 1:53 pm CST 1 CommentIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Is it coincidence that the Sprint Cup Chase heads to the hottest place in NASCAR just when the suits in Daytona would like you to think that the playoff pressure is heating up for Jimmy Johnson and Carl Edwards? I think not.
You gotta give Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne credit. They aren’t holding anything back in their attempt to make a game out of this Chase thing. Between banzai passes and high-stakes fuel strategies, the Office Depot Racing team is hangin’ it out.
The 2008 Chase has become - perhaps always was - a classic Chevy vs Ford battle. Dodge never showed and Toyota, strangely, never contended.
Last night’s live radio version of the Fast Lap was a classic battle too. Steve put up a good fight, only to be over-matched by his more experienced, and intelligent, opposition - me. At least that’s what I think. We’ll put our opinions up here later but in the meantime, we’d like to see yours. Here you go. Batter up!
1: NASCAR is backing off its 24 practice dates in 2009 strategy. What is the right number?
2: What was Greg Biffle REALLY asking after the race by wondering how the #99 team got 8 more laps to a tank of fuel than his #16 team?
3: Dale Earnhardt Jr. said the season is too long. If it is, what is the right number?
4: Should there be any concern in the Joe Gibbs Racing organization over Joey Logano’s lack of performance in their cars?
Four Fast Laps but you only get a hundred words or less to respond to the questions. After that, the gloves are off and you can defend your position just like David Gilliland or Scott Speed. And nobody will sanction you even a little bit. Come on, we want to argue with you.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Mark Martin’s Fast Laps are Numbered
by Charlie Turner
Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow
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.


