Author: SM Staff

NASCAR’s 2011 version of silly season turned out to be as intense as the resolution of its Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship. Since early summer we have experienced the annual fun of tracking the garage rumors as we tried to determine which driver was going to land in what seat not to mention which crew chiefs were going to land on top of what pit box. Even the corporate sponsors for these racing teams often took center stage during silly season. Making it even more interesting is the fact that, as we get closer to the start of a new season, the 2011 silly season festival still hasn’t been officially resolved yet.

Throughout all of the numerous silly season scenarios, the name David Ragan seemed to surface in nearly every one of them. That was because of harsh economics that in turn led to major sponsorship problems. It also forced Roush Fenway Racing to make the difficult decision of trimming their operation from four to three teams. In short: Ragan found himself looking for a ride late in the year.

Everyone was expecting a long awaited break out season for Ragan in 2011. There was a brief point in time when it appeared he was going to do just that. He scored his first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup win last July at Daytona and there was even a brief period when he was considered to be a contender for the one of the wild card berths for the 2011 Chase line up. Unfortunately up and down performance levels, combined with bouts of bad racing luck, kicked in again. After completing his fifth full season in Cup racing, Ragan finished 2011  with one win, four top five finishes, eight top tens and 23d in the points.

However, as late summer turned into early fall, Ragan found himself with a huge problem regarding his future with Roush Fenway Racing. There were rampant silly season rumors that said his long time primary sponsor, United Parcel Service, would not be returning with the team. In September, Ragan was told by Roush Fenway Racing that he was free to consider other offers.

These rumors became reality in late October when United Parcel Service officially announced that it had renewed its contract as the official logistics partner of NASCAR but would be severely curtailing its role as a primary team sponsor. Granted it requires a huge sum of money to be the official anything of NASCAR, but in this case it’s a very lucrative deal for UPS. They provide a pick up and delivery service for race team at the tracks. In fact, on any given race weekend, the UPS center is often the busy part of any NASCAR garage.

However it was the second half of that UPS press release that hurt David Ragan’s cause. Company officials announced they would not be returning as his primary sponsor and opted, instead, to become an associate sponsor for Carl Edwards’ Roush Fenway Ford.

At this point you really have to give the Roush Fenway Racing marketing department an A for the effort that went into finding a replacement sponsor for Ragan’s team. Sadly, the nation’s state of harsh economics simply wouldn’t allow that to happen. Roush Fenway officially released Ragan in early December and announced it would become a three team operation for the 2012 season.

Now an official member of the 2011 NASCAR silly season, the rumor mill quickly swept up Ragan and stated he was the front runner to take over the #51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet owned by James Finch. While this operation doesn’t have the resources of a Roush Fenway ride, it certainly is considered to be in the upper echelon of the so called second tier teams in Sprint Cup racing.

Despite the presence of some very positive talks between the owner and the driver, a very benevolent Finch realized that the talent of a David Ragan could find himself being offered a better deal. The two men reportedly shook hands, on the possibility of working together, but didn’t actually sign a contract. It was a move that would loom very large during silly season.

However the highly unique 2011 silly season hadn’t even hit its stride yet. The first surprising development landed on December 6th following the stunning announcement that said Kurt Busch and team owner Roger Penske had “mutually agreed to part ways.” That meant the high caliber #22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge seat was now open. Despite a lengthy period of disagreeable behavior, it was still only natural that the silly season cycle would immediately place Busch, a former series champion and frequent race winner, at the top of the list.

Meanwhile the silly season hit hard at Richard Petty Motorsports in the middle of December. Their contract with long time sponsor Best Buy Stores was up for renewal and the garage rumors said their renewal was based on the subsequent replacement of driver A  J  Allmendinger.

At this point David Ragan had engaged in possible contract talks with the aforementioned James Finch as well as Penske Racing and now Richard Petty Motorsports. He was now in a professional holding pattern waiting to see which move Kurt Busch was going to make.

The silly season dominoes began falling hard and quick on December 21st. First off it was confirmed that Allmendinger had been officially released by Richard Petty Motorsports. A matter of hours later, Roger Penske surprised us all by announcing that he had signed Allmendinger as the new driver of the #22 Dodge. The following day Busch surprised us with the announcement that he was now the new driver of the James Finch ride.

Meanwhile, with the Penske ride now taken along with his original back up plan with Finch also claimed, Ragan’s name instantly rose to the top of the list to take over the empty seat at Richard Petty Motorsports. But there was yet another problem with this potential move. It seems that Best Buy Stores opted to move their sponsorship money over to Roush Fenway Racing’s #17 and #99 Fords driven by Ragan’s former team mates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. For the second time in approximately six months, Ragan again found his Sprint Cup future clouded by sponsorship issues.

Just when we all thought that all of these point-counter points were heading to some form of logical conclusion, the silly season sweepstakes started awarding prizes again. Once again the ensuing announcements turned out to be at the expense of David Ragan. During the final week of 2011 word got out that driver Aric Almirola was being considered for the Richard Petty ride. This was confirmed during the first week of January. The announcement also named Smithfield Foods and the U.S. Air Force as sponsors.

Aric Almirola spent the 2011 season in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series driving the J R Motorsports’ #88 Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Realizing that an upper tier Nationwide Series ride was far better than the prospect of of third tier Cup ride, Ragan’s name soon became attached as a primary candidate to take over the J R Motorsports seat. But, believe it or not, Ragan got bit by the cruelty of silly season again when the team announced that it had signed up and coming driver Cole Whitt to take over the ride.

No doubt about it, it’s been a brutal silly season for David Ragan. While the immediate prospects for the 2012 racing season are not very clear, it certainly doesn’t mean Ragan’s Sprint Cup career is over. He’s already proven that he’s a very talented driver and, off the track, a very good ambassador for any sponsor that chooses to be associated with him. Good things will turn up for this driver. It’s just a question of when.

Imagine, if you will, this scenario: Mr. Rick Hendrick arrives at the official home of his North Carolina based NASCAR empire. As he walks through the building, with a typical smile on his face, he waves at his employees and greets them with a cheerful good morning.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”208″][/media-credit]The boss is in a great mood. He’s ready to turn a brand new day into a great day and take care of business. Upon arriving at his office, Mr. Hendrick is greeted by his executive assistant who hands him his first cup of coffee of the day. He’s handed the first round of telephone messages and next is informed that his itinerary for the day has been downloaded into his personal computer.

Prior to exiting the office, the executive assistant says: “oh by the way, it seems that your brand new race driver has an issue with breastfeeding.”

That’s right! The final controversy of NASCAR’s 2011 racing season involves mild mannered, everybody loves him, Kasey Kahne. Making this even more amazing is the fact that the issue is indeed over breastfeeding a baby in a public location: an act that has, for too many generations to count, been widely regarded as perfectly natural and to many even beautiful.

This issue stems from a December 27th visit to a super market where Kahne was caught off guard by the sight of a woman nursing her infant. One has to understand that element of surprise here. It’s not exactly something you expect to see while buying groceries. However, most people would simply go about their business and realize that this was nothing more than a woman feeding her hungry child.

Kasey Kahne took this super market experience to the worst possible level. He fired up his cell phone and activated the “T” word. That, of course, stands for “Twitter.” Then it got interesting.

In a series of “Tweets” Kahne wrote: “just walking through the supermarket. See a mom breast feeding a little kid. Took a second look because obviously I was seeing things. I wasn’t”

But it was the next “Tweet” that launched the controversy. In that message, Kahne wrote: “one boob put away one boob hanging. Nasty. I don’t feel like shopping or eating anymore.”

In this age of political correctness that second comment alone was more than enough to light up a public fire anytime anywhere. Compounding the situation was the fact that the very popular Kahne has a reported 100,000 plus followers on “Twitter.” In less time than it takes for a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to turn a fast lap at Daytona, the responses to the driver’s observations came fast and furious.

One of those responses, that received a lot of national attention, stated “I hope someday you have a kid and someone tells your wife that feeding your child looks nasty. Stay classy a**hole.”

At this point one would think that Kahne should have realized that some of his “Twitter” followers were angry and this would be a great time to stop sending messages. Wrong! Apparently Kahne’s index finger moves faster than his race car because he responded to this “Twitter” criticism by calling the lady a “dumb b***h.”

A mere matter of seconds after Kahne hit the “send” button to let that message fly, the war was ON and that’s when it hit on a national level.

This was followed by the obligatory statement of apology, published on Kahne’s “Facebook” page, the following day which stated: “I understand my comments regarding breastfeeding posted on “Twitter” were offensive to some people. For that I apologize. It was no way my intention to offend any mother who chooses to breastfeed her child, or, for that matter, anyone who supports breastfeeding children. I want to make that clear.”

Referring to being surprised by what he encountered at the super market, Kahne’s apology went on to say: ” In all honesty, I was surprised by what I saw in a grocery store, I shared that reaction with my fans on “Twitter.” It obviously wasn’t the correct approach. and, after reading your feedback, I now have a better understanding of why my posts upset some of you. My comments were not directed at the mother’s right to breastfeed. They were just a reaction to the location of that choice, and the fashion in which it was executed on that occasion. I respect the mother’s right to feed her child whenever and wherever she pleases.”

In the aftermath, all of Kahne’s “Twitter” messages regarding this incident have been deleted. Obviously he should have hit the “delete” button before he hit the “send” button.

It raises the question: when will Americans realize that one has to be ultra careful regarding what they post on the so called social networks?

When the aforementioned Rick Hendrick began the process of turning a brand new day into a great day, it was assumed that one or two challenges might land in the middle of his desk. Somehow I don’t think that Mr. H ever dreamed that the issue of breastfeeding might be one of those challenges.

AJ Allmendinger has asked the jolly man from the north pole to ignore the wish list he previously sent him. There’s nothing else Allmendinger could find under the tree that will top what he received on Wednesday afternoon, that being a ride at Penske Racing.

[media-credit name=”Al Bello/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”215″][/media-credit]Allmendinger was named the new driver of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge, which had been vacated by Kurt Busch a few weeks ago. Driving for Roger Penske is something Allmendinger says he’s always dreamed about being able to do and now he feels he’s got the best shot he’ll ever get in NASCAR’s top level.

“To give me this chance has just been amazing, “said Allmendinger on Wednesday about Penske. “It’s been quick. It’s happening real fast but I’m ready to go. Going into next year, obviously we’ve got a short amount of time with how late this is all happening. I met [crew chief] Todd Gordon and everybody and just trying to make sure that I get to the shop as much as possible over the next six weeks and get in the car and get ready for it. I’m ready to go.”

What drew the attention of Penske officials is how Allmendinger had been able to progress over the years. Coming into the Cup Series with Red Bull Racing, back when they too were getting their feet wet, he was doing more with less. Then moving to Richard Petty Motorsports he contended for wins but found more bad luck and mechanical failures than decent finishes.

Penske Racing President Tim Cindric associates Allmendinger with the word potential, something that they were very serious about when looking for their next driver. Speculation ran wild for days following Busch’s release that notable drivers on the market such as David Ragan, Brian Vickers or David Reutimann would get the call.

Then at the 11th hour it was Allmendinger. While thinking he was all set at RPM for 2012 and working with his No. 43 team to prepare for a strong season, he started to hear the same rumors as everyone else: Busch was on his way to replace him. Then with sponsor Best Buy moving to Roush Fenway Racing, it couldn’t stop Allmendinger’s internal red flag from going up.

But before he could become too worried about being out of a job, he was walking into his new home, thinking he might need a map to find his way around. Now he’s taking time to learn everyone’s names, trying to connect with his new crew chief and fitting his seat into brand new cars.

It’s a good fit, believes Cindric. Working with now senior driver Brad Keselowski, who won three races and contended in this year’s Chase, will also be a good fit for the organization. Both are young and talented there’s nowhere to go but up. The relationship between Keselowski and Allmendinger will need to develop though, as the two barely know each other, having only exchanged pleasantries in the past.

What Allmendinger knows is that he’s got everything he’s ever wanted in a team. Stability, a rich history and confidence moving forward as well as the pressure. There will be a lot of pressure, Allmendinger knows it and embraces it.

“To have Mr. Penske personally want you to drive his race car is a thing that gives me a lot of confidence,” said Allmendinger. “It’s the same thing as when Richard Petty asked me to come drive his car. It gives you confidence when you have somebody with that background and with the accolades and everything that they’ve went through in their lives to make their organizations where they’re at. It gives me a lot of confidence.”

He continued though, “At the same point I know there’s a lot of pressure there. I’m not blind to the pressure with Shell-Pennzoil and with the organization and what they’re used to, having their ideas about winning. I know there’s a lot of pressure there to go out and perform but for me, if I didn’t feel like I could do that I’d just be wasting everybody’s time and then I wouldn’t be here.”

Allmendinger though says he knows he’s at the level where he can win races and be a championship contender. One of his strongest tracks is Dover International Raceway, where he has continually shown he can drive with the best in the business like Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson. There’s now a feeling that Allmendinger is one step closer to getting over the hump and finally breaking through.

“This is going to be my best chance I’ve ever had in the Sprint Cup Series to go out there and perform and I’m ready to do that,” he said.

Cindric is being more reserved when it comes to predictions. Making it clear that this is not a test session or one-year job audition for Allmendinger, it’s a partnership aimed to better the two sides for a while to come. Fulfill the potential Cindric likes to talk about.

“I think you have to be realistic and I think we have to hit singles in the beginning before we can worry about hitting the doubles and triples and home runs,” he said. “There’s no preconceived notion that we’re going to walk into this thing and just hit the ground running. We’re going to have to work toward it. If that happens, great, but I think we have to be realistic in the fact that we’re replacing a world-class drive and we’re trying to figure out how we get to the next level.”

Walk before you run is the echo around the No. 22 team now a days. For Allmendinger though, it’s really nothing new. He’s been down and out, from one team to another and rumored to be on his way out of the series for good. Every year he’s come back and his quiet plugging away has paid off with one of the best rides on the track.

“It’s easy to keep my confidence when Mr. Penske wants you to drive his race cars and come to his organization,” Allmendinger says about his recent roller coaster. “It makes me be able to look in the mirror and wake up in the morning and feel confident knowing that such a guy like Mr. Penske and everything that he’s had as race teams and all the great drivers, to have him come to me and say, ‘hey, I want you to drive my race car.’ That gives me all the confidence I need right there. He knows talent when he sees it and if he thinks I have enough talent to be a part of his organization, that’s all I need right there.”