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  • Daniel Suarez Establishing Career; Making Debut at Richmond International Raceway

    Daniel Suarez Establishing Career; Making Debut at Richmond International Raceway

    Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Tuesday that Daniel Suarez, K&N East and Mexico Toyota Series (MTS) competitor, will make his debut in the No. 20 Toyota at Richmond International Raceway this weekend.

    “I think it will be a good weekend for us,” Suarez explained during the press conference held this afternoon. “I’m really looking forward to it.  I’m very excited.  I’m excited to be, you know, (with) strong teams in every single series.”

    Suarez, who has already captured four wins in both the K&N East and MTS this season alone, is apart of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program, which ensures that international drivers still receive opportunities that  American competitors are guaranteed.  He also was inducted into the NASCAR NEXT class last season, and is likely to be re-elected at Richmond this weekend.

    This weekend, Suarez will compete in the BlueOx 100 and the ToyotaCare 250 on Friday night at Richmond, and then travel to his hometown, Monterrey, Mexico, for the Regia 240 on Sunday afternoon.

    “It’s probably one of the busiest weekends in the year for us, doing our debut in the Nationwide Series,” Suarez expressed about doing triple duty this weekend in two different countries.  “A couple minutes later we need to get ready for the K&N race.  After the race is over, we need to get ready to get in the airport and leave to Monterrey, Mexico, (for the) NASCAR Toyota Series race.”

    “So we’ve (decided) to drive away exactly when the race of the K&N is over (back) to Charlotte, take a flight at 6:00 a.m. to get into Monterrey, Mexico for practice and qualify for the NASCAR Toyota Series deal.”

    Suarez is also excited to close out the biggest weekend of his career in front of his hometown crowd on Sunday.

    “Probably (to) get that victory in front of your family, friends, all these people that have been watching me growing up since I was 11 years old, definitely means something big for me,” Suarez furthered explained.

    Suarez, 22, admitted during the conference that he and Joe Gibbs had not signed for anymore races then Richmond; however, he’s still expressed his thankfulness.

    “For now we just signed a Richmond race,” Suarez explained about the current contract with Gibbs.  “To be honest, we have been talking about (this) since last year (on) how to do something good.  I’m really happy to be in this position right now, to have everyone in Mexico, like Escuderia Telmex and Telcel Racing, helping me in my career.”

    “Right now, Joe Gibbs Racing, is an amazing project.  We were talking about (doing) something in the second half of (the season).   For now, (though), it’s just Richmond, but I’m really looking forward to do something good in the future. I’m just focused to do well in this race (at Richmond).  I’m pretty sure that after that race we are going to have something for the second half of the year.”

    Suarez did, shyly, express that he’s never driven a Nationwide Series machine, or even tested, however, he’s hoping the K&N and MTS experience will pay huge dividends in helping him adapt quickly.

    “It’s going to be a new experience for me.” Suarez alluded to after being questioned about past experience.  “The Nationwide car already is something different for me.  I never have been in a Nationwide car. But to be honest, I have a lot of confidence on myself and also in Joe Gibbs Racing to learn about everything. The first point and the most important point is to try to learn about everything and then be competitive.  I think I can say that I love to be competitive in everything I drive, even video games.”

    “For now so far we have been trying to practice the pit stops in the shop, trying to get the communication better with my crew chief and with everyone in the team.  I think in a couple days, Thursday afternoon, is going to be interesting, my first couple laps in the Nationwide car in Richmond.  So let’s see.”

    Suarez finished his statements with a strong goal, to finish in the top-10 at Richmond and beyond despite be inexperienced and still developing.

    “Finish competitive, finish in the top 10, learn about everything.  I think this is the most important point,” Suarez explained about his expectations for his first NASCAR Touring Series start. “But it’s going to be difficult.  I think I need to take this step by step, learn about the first practice, try to get the communication better with my crew chief, get a fast adaptation with the car, with the tires, with the horsepower, with the racetrack.  After that I think I can start getting my expectation better.”

    Kevin Kidd will stand atop the pit box for Suarez this weekend, and while the two have never worked together before, it appears both have a lot of respect and confidence in each other.

    “Kevin Kidd is a personal crew chief, that he has a lot of experience in the Nationwide Series, and not just in the Nationwide Series, but racing in general.” Suarez expressed about working with Kidd this weekend. “I think he’s going to help me a lot (this weekend).”

    “Like I said last year, I think the communication with my crew chief helped me a lot to get better the second half of (last season).  But, you know, it’s kind of difficult because we have been working a lot with the communication with the K&N team, and the Mexico team, but right now the Nationwide Series is something different.  Definitely communication is a very, very important point. 

    Suarez has surprised folks before with his abilities; so, don’t be astonished if the talented up and coming superstar etches his way into the top-10 for a solid debut finish.

    “I think my crew chief and my whole team, they are going to try to help me a lot to be as fast as possible, as the same level as them, to try to be competitive and be in a good position for the race,” Suarez concluded with, confidently.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Cup Stars in Nationwide – The Drivers Aren’t the Problem

    Cup Stars in Nationwide – The Drivers Aren’t the Problem

    At Phoenix a few weeks back, Cup drivers took every spot inside the top five in the Nationwide (NNS) race and also led every single lap. At Las Vegas, they held the top four finishing positions and led 193 of 200 total laps. At Bristol, they led all 300 laps on their way to finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This pattern needs to end. Don’t be fooled into believing that I am against Cup drivers in Nationwide though, because I’m actually not. I’m against dull and action-deprived shows that are so predictable.

    In the 100 races run between 2011 and 2013, Cup drives have won 74 of them. I’ve heard a plethora of ideas floating around about what, if anything, NASCAR should do. The most popular ones involve limiting the number of races Cup drivers can par-take in; or actually going as far as to ban them completely. The opposing side argues that the Cup stars bring in sponsors, attract more fan interest, and are great for the up-and-comers to learn off of.

    However, the problem isn’t Cup drivers in Nationwide as many erroneously believe….it’s the Cup teams in Nationwide. You disagree? Well, chew on these stats and then tell me what you think – Kevin Harvick won 15 Nationwide races between 2006 and 2007 for Richard Childress Racing. In 2009 and 2010, he drove for his own organization and won just five times over that two year period. It’s a head-turning stat, but not near as blatant and incontrovertible as this one…

    In 2011, Kyle Busch won eight of the 20 NNS races he entered in. In 2013, he took the victory in twelve of his 26 attempts. In 2012 though, he participated in 22 races, failing to win a single one. What was the big difference that year? Well, in 2011 and 2013, Kyle drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. In 2012 however, he ran his own cars under the Kyle Busch Motorsports banner. Joey Logano was Kyle’s replacement in the JGR ride and won nine times.

    The Camping World Truck Series has a smaller field, is cheaper to run, and consequently, easier to dominate (see Kyle Busch’s career); yet 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski has found it difficult to succeed there. In 17 starts driving his own trucks, Brad has never won. How do you argue with these facts? Kyle had to shut down his Nationwide program due to lack of sponsorship at the end of last year, but these drivers don’t have to all own their own race teams; that’s not what I’m trying to sell here. It’s just one of the options.

    If they don’t want to or can’t field their own cars, then there’s always the Nationwide only teams such as RAB Racing, JD Motorsports, and TriStar, who would benefit immensely from having that kind of star power wheeling their machines. Obviously, teams like Jr Motorsports and Turner-Scott would be more more appealing to Cup drivers. The Cup teams could only continue to field cars in the series, if they put a Nationwide driver in the seat. Not only would this idea continue to allow the young guns to race against and learn from Cup drivers, but they’d be able to do so in the best rides out there. It would level the playing field (or even put the Cup drivers at a disadvantage), and gives the NNS guys and girls a legitimate shot at victory lane each week. Oh, and the change would probably draw many of the disgruntled fans back too.

    With the JGR & Penske seats vacated, talents like Ross Chastain and Jeb Burton, who are currently fighting to keep their foot in the door could get their big break…pending sponsorship of course. A contingent of people out there want to argue that if it were Mark Martin or Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning all these races, then this debate would be non-existent. Well, they are right to a point, but you’d still hear my voice opposing it…and I doubt I’d be alone. I could care less who wins; I just want to see a good show. A single driver, no matter who it is, dominating from start to finish on a weekly basis, is far from entertaining. When you have such a disparity within the field, a change needs to be made.

    Dale Jarrett brought up at Vegas that it’s only the fans and some media who complain about this. Well, the media writes about it because the fans complain about it so that’s a moot point. Let’s focus on the fans for a second though. They buy the tickets, they watch on TV, and they are the reason why sponsors even care that the series exists. Sponsors won’t stick around if they aren’t getting the biggest bang for their buck. Case and point…Nationwide is pulling the plug as the series’ title sponsor at the end of 2014. They plan to solely focus on their role as the official insurance company of NASCAR in 2015.

    This way, everyone is getting what they want. The big names stay, the sponsors stay, and fans on both sides of the argument will be satisfied for the most part. The Nationwide regulars would now have a fighting chance at winning more than a handful of times each year while also getting the experience of racing Sprint Cup stars before they become NSCS competitors themselves. There is no need to ban or limit the Cup drivers and/or Cup teams; simply forbid one to partner with the other in Nationwide races.

    I don’t know about the rest of you, but it would be much more enjoyable to watch Kyle Busch pass a Nationwide regular for the win in inferior equipment, rather than lapping said Nationwide regular for the third time on his way to victory lane.

  • Denny Hamlin’s Homestead Victory Both Ironic and Symbolic

    Denny Hamlin’s Homestead Victory Both Ironic and Symbolic

    “He said he was coming for me. I usually don’t see him so he’s usually not a factor.”

    Those were the words of Denny Hamlin this past March following the Cup race at Bristol. He was referring to Joey Logano who was irate after getting spun by Hamlin while running second in the race. Those strong words uttered by Hamlin would come back to haunt him just one week later.

    As fate would have it, the ex-teammates and new rivals were locked into an epic battle for the win at Auto Club Speedway just seven days after their Bristol conflict. After nearly crashing each other with six to go, the gloves came off and the battle for the win was on. Logano led the race as Hamlin stalked him with a fire in his eyes and the pedal through the floor.

    Coming to the white flag, Hamlin gave the No. 22 a shot in the rear and moved alongside. Logano responded by running him up the track, trying desperately to slow his momentum. The two roared out of turn two and neither lifted. They slammed doors down the backstretch as the pair approached the checkered flag.

    In the final corner, Hamlin seemed to have the advantage but a second place result would not suffice for Logano who was still seething over the Bristol incident. He mashed the gas and implemented the philosophy, “eight tires are better than four” in a final attempt to steal the win. The result … Logano slammed the outside wall as Hamlin spun head-on into a part of the inside wall that was not protected by safer barriers.

    Over the radio, he screamed in agony; “my back! My back!” He was loaded onto a stretcher as Logano drove down pit road, flipped the bird to the horrified crew and said in a post-race interview, “that’s what he gets.”

    To be fair, he was just involved in a brawl with Tony Stewart on pit road and knew nothing regarding Hamlin’s condition at the time.

    Hamlin suffered a compression fracture in his lower back and had to sit out the next six weeks due to the crash. The animosity between these former teammates could not be understated following their clash at 200mph and neither have mended their relationship since that day. When Hamlin returned, he ripped off back-to-back finishes of second and sixth but suddenly, the wheels fell off his chase aspirations. He crashed heavily multiple times during the year injuring his hand at Bristol and even going airborne in the July event at Daytona.

    Arriving at Homestead was a relief for the beaten and battered Hamlin as he could see an end to this nightmare of a season. After an enthralling late-race duel for the win with Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin captured the checkered flag and ended his year celebrating in victory lane. The irony of his Homestead triumph is obvious but how about what it symbolizes? To me, this win was an unspoken statement by Hamlin showing that the championship caliber driver that we knew before the injury was still in there somewhere.

    I’ll admit that I started to question whether we’d ever see Hamlin racing at his full potential ever again. I was concerned that the spinal fracture would change him as a driver much like Formula 1 racer Felipe Massa who after nearly winning the 2008 championship, hasn’t won a single race since after suffering a head injury early in 2009. We can’t ignore that Hamlin’s results were also hindered by the fact that he became the JGR Guinea pig for experimental setups to test for his teammates who were both in title contention this year.

    When a team is down in the dumps like the No. 11 was, the best time to win is in the final race of the year. It’s the most overlooked win of the season but to the team, they are able to ride that high through the entire winter which is crucial as they prepare for 2014. In the last four Homestead events excluding 2013 obviously, the winner went on to be the championship runner-up the following year twice.

    You can do whatever you want in an attempt to motivate a race team but there’s no stronger medicine than victory lane champagne.

  • Why Did Matt Kenseth Leave?

    Why Did Matt Kenseth Leave?

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]As my father used to say, “I’d have liked to have been a little birdie”. We will probably never know what was discussed in that verbal intercourse between Jack Roush and his points-leading driver, Matt Kenseth.  But whatever it was saw one of the best drivers in the sport head for Joe Gibbs Racing (or so they say).

    It’s an interesting phenomenon. Last year it was Roush driver Carl Edwards that the Gibbs organization coveted. Carl didn’t take the bait and stayed. This year it was Matt Kenseth and Matt moved on. I guess it’s flattering to the Roush organization that other teams are coming after their drivers, but losing a driver the caliber of Matt Kenseth is quite a blow. I have no inside information, but I think three factors led to Kenseth’s defection.

    First was the sponsorship situation. It is unbelievable to me that a former champion who is always in the front of the field has no sponsorship while lesser teams with lesser drivers get enough money to run the entire season. Matt is low-key and less exciting for sponsors maybe, but it seems to be a problem with Roush-Fenway more often than not.  Rising star Trevor Bayne had to discontinue his Nationwide Series quest because sponsorship could not be found. If the truth were known, Roush has financed Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.’s Nationwide effort often. The fourth team, the famous No. 6, is without sponsorship. The future seemed to be iffy for Kenseth. If Gibbs is the place he lands, Home Depot is really a solid sponsor and Gibbs seems to find sponsors easily.

    Secondly, Kenseth might have been looking for new scenery. As successful as he has been with RFR, the same old grind gets old. Staying with the same team for a decade makes one look at the grass on the other side. It may be greener. How often does a driver get the opportunity to go to a team with solid sponsorship that is competitive as the one you are leaving? Opportunity knocks but once, an old philosopher once said. Maybe Matt saw this as his last chance.

    Finally, maybe it was the money. If the rumors swirling around last year are any indication, Gibbs offered a very lucrative package to Edwards to lure him away from Roush. Ford and RFR offered more and Edwards stayed. Maybe with the sponsorship problems (lack of resources) made it impossible to make a decent counter offer to Kenseth. Despite all the talk about it not being the money, it always plays a part in every equation. If that money also offers security, it would be hard to turn down.

    In comments today from Stenhouse, it appears this has been a done deal for awhile. “I got the call actually before Road America, but they wouldn’t let me tell anybody,” Stenhouse said. “I got the call last Thursday.” Stenhouse initially thought it was for the fourth car in the stable, but learned earlier this week it was for the car Kenseth is vacating.

    So, Silly Season starts in earnest. With the first domino falling, surely others will follow. If the No. 20 is Kenseth’s destination, will Gibbs field a fourth car for Logano? That has been mentioned. Will Richard Childress shake up his organization? Will Penske stay with A.J. Allmendinger or will he look at another driver for his flagship No. 22 Ford next year? Will Richard Petty Motors stay with Ford or head back to Dodge? Will Dodge field any cars next year? Lots of questions, but with Silly Season happening earlier and earlier these days, most of those answers might come quicker than you think.

  • For Toyota, the Bad News Keeps on Coming

    For Toyota, the Bad News Keeps on Coming

    One doesn’t have to look hard to find story lines during the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series season. The stories are everywhere. Perhaps the story of the Joe Gibbs Racing team ranks at the top of the list. It has been a strange season for the Toyota team headed by the former NFL coach.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]First came driver Kyle Busch’s battles with Kevin Harvick that resulted in suspensions, and then the “fight.” Who knows what Richard Childress was thinking when he got Busch in a headlock and began punching him. Everyone knows that Jack Roush and many others feel the same way about the younger Busch, but to lower himself to actually physically attacking the young driver? There had to be a full moon that day.

    Then came last week’s “oil pan gate” scandal, and it’s just too much.

    The story is that the three Gibbs cars came to Michigan last weekend with unapproved oil pans. That may seem like a minor offense, but not to NASCAR. With all the talk this week about how it could offer the Gibbs teams a competitive advantage, you could say that it’s not been a fun month at JGR. Even Denny Hamlin’s win at Michigan was overshadowed by the oil pan story.

    Add to that the rumor that Carl Edwards was talking to JGR about signing with the team for a fourth car, “if the rest of his teams approved and a proper sponsor could be found.” Add to that the praising of Ford, its vehicles, its CFO, and everything Ford in victory lane on Saturday and after the Cup race on Sunday. Old Joe and JR must have barfed.

    But the Toyota camp had more to worry about with the news on Monday. In a report by the Associated Press’ Jenna Fryer and others (followed by an official non-announcement late Monday afternoon), it appears that Red Bull, who owns the two Sprint Cup Toyota’s driven by Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne, may be leaving the sport. While many are wringing their hands over this move, it’s no secret that the Red Bull team has had little success during their short time in the series. Since 2007, Red Bull only has one victory, that by Brian Vickers at Michigan. One of the original teams Toyota brought to Sprint Cup, it seems that they have come to the end of the road, leaving JGR as the only successful Toyota team in NASCAR’s premier series (yes, Michael Waltrip Racing has won a couple of races). With money in the sport not plentiful, and the seats for drivers scarce, you have to wonder what it means to both JGR, MWR, and even Brian Vickers. Silly Season might be a dandy this year.

    With Gibbs having its severe problems and the demise of Red Bull Racing, many traditionalists (and heck, maybe even Jack Roush) are almost giddy. Toyota is already dominating the Nationwide Series and has been near-dominating the truck series, and it rubs many the wrong way. This is a small victory for those of that ilk, but kids, just remember this. Toyota is a worthy adversary. The Japanese manufacturer isn’t dead yet, no matter how bad it looks.