Tag: Roger Penske

The View from my Recliner — NASCAR is in Trouble

The headline says what I am thinking. NASCAR is in trouble and here are five reasons why.

Title Sponsor issues: Brant James’ story in USA Today paints a bleak picture about the new title sponsor of NASCAR’s top series. When Sprint announced that they were leaving the sport, NASCAR was hoping to get a 10 year, $1 billion deal from a new title sponsor. According to James’ story, it looks like NASCAR will get less than what Sprint is paying in 2016 which is $60 million. When you think about it, if they get $40 million to be the title sponsor and Hendrick Motorsports is getting $30 million to be the sponsor of Dale Earnhardt Jr. what does that say about the future of the series?

Age of Ownership: The big name owners in the Sprint Cup series are getting up in age. Roger Penske, Richard Petty, Joe Gibbs and Jack Roush are in their 70s, Richard Childress, Gene Haas and Rick Hendrick are in their 60s and Chip Ganassi is 58. They are racers who have become successful owners. Sooner or later, these owners are going to want to get out of the business and who is there to replace them? There have been investors who have come in to “save the day” for struggling teams. George Gillette came in to save Evernham Motorsports and Rob Kauffman bailed out Michael Waltrip Racing. Neither team exists today because Gillette ran out of money and Kauffman got tired of throwing good money into bad. NASCAR isn’t growing its bench in the XFINITY series because the owners of the top teams are Cup owners. Who will be the next group of car owners?

Empty seats: When I was at the New Hampshire race, it was a beautiful sunny day in the 60s. The Patriots and Red Sox were out of town. Perfect conditions for a sellout. The grandstands were half empty. It has been the same throughout most of the season. Richmond, Charlotte, Daytona and Dover have all taken out seats and they still are empty. Unless the fans start filling the seats again, there is trouble on the horizon.

TV Contract: The money that came from the latest TV deal with Fox and NBC brings $1 billion into the NASCAR bank account, but where they are placing the races is hurting. Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network are fledgling networks and are using NASCAR to attempt to build a fan base. NASCAR fans are a creature of habit. When you have to hunt for where the races are being televised it’s not a good thing. The TV ratings continue to fall off and it is hurting the growth of the sport.

Who will speak the truth: These are my observations. The question is when or will you ever hear anyone in NASCAR talk about these observations? When you hear anyone from NASCAR talk, all is good, nothing to see here. When you hear the talk show hosts on SiriusXM radio speak, all is fine and I wonder if they really think that way. Or, is it because they receive paychecks from Motor Racing Network, owned by International Speedway Corporation that they hold back their opinion? Who in the garage will speak the truth now that Tony Stewart is retiring? The owners created the Race Team Alliance and worked with NASCAR for the Charter system, but is it just putting a band-aid on a wound that is gushing blood?

NASCAR is in trouble. I hope that someone in the offices in Daytona Beach and Charlotte is working to fix these problems for the future of the sport we love.

As we head to Talladega, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson are safely in the Round of 8 and the other 10 Chase drivers will hope to survive. I hate having Talladega in the Chase. There will be a driver or two eliminated Sunday afternoon because of someone else making a mistake. Ten drivers are losing sleep all week knowing that their chance at a championship could end because a non-chaser makes a mistake in the pack. It cheapens the Chase.

That is the View From My Recliner. I would like to hear what you think.

October 18, 2016
Hot 20 – Mr. Hamlin, what races do you suggest we remove, reduce, or reschedule?

As NASCAR swings into Chicago and begins the Chase, I can not help but notice that Denny Hamlin, and now Danica Patrick, have made mention that the season is too long. Reduce some races in length, reduce some altogether, run some mid-week are among their suggestions. I am cool with that, but in my mind there are a dozen races on eight tracks that cannot be touched. Ever.

Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, and Charlotte continue with their two each with no changes to race length. If 600 miles to too long at Charlotte, stay home. You can not tinker with the two road courses at Sonoma or Watkins Glen. The Southern 500 should never again be violated at Darlington. Same goes for the Brickyard at Indianapolis. The racing there might be questionable at Indy, but it has become a crown jewel event. Touch any of them, and more than a few of us fans will be gone. NASCAR simply can not afford to see too many more of us on our way out.

As for the other 24 contests on the other 15 tracks, go for it. However, you risk some upset folks at Martinsville, Richmond, and Atlanta where tradition means something to some people. Remove those tracks, and you remove fans. Texas, Michigan, Las Vegas, Fontana, and Chicago are not going anywhere. The trio of northeast venues, Pocono, Dover, and Loudon, would be tough for NASCAR to abandon. I could not care any less for Kansas or Kentucky, but I am sure there are others who do not share my sentiment.

As long as NASCAR refuses to brand each of its events so they might each become something special, traditional, and untouchable instead of nothing more than a spot to park a sponsor’s name for yet another generic race, a lot of them can disappear, be moved, or reduced in length without much fanfare. I mean, this weekend in Chicago we have the legendary and prestigious Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400. Good bloody grief! What these two drivers are proposing works in theory. However, the devil is in the details, and we should leave it to Mr. Hamlin and Ms. Patrick to toss out a few specifics until we go ballistic. You know we would, no matter what they come up with.

As for the Chase, eight organizations are represented by the 16. Joe Gibbs has all four of his outfits in the running. Stewart-Haas goes with three, missing only Patrick. Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi both came through fully loaded with their two car teams. Barney Visser was also perfect, going one for one with Martin Truex, Jr. We have a pair from Rick Hendrick’s stable, Richard Childress has his grandson, and Bob Jenkins has his surprise entry. Some did not make it, even those with past success. Jack Roush came up empty, despite three entries. Neither of Richard Petty’s cars made the grade.

A dozen veteran Chasers joined by a quartet of first-timers. Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson are joined by rookies Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher. How might they do? As 2014 champion Kevin Harvick lays it down, “Are you happy to be there or do you want to win?” If they want to win, they could do fine. Like the seven former champions back for another drink from the well.

Heading into the Chase, NASCAR has decided to be kinder, gentler to those crew chiefs who break the rules. One loose lug nut does not a suspension make. Now it will take three, and then he is gone along with 35 points. So much for kinder and gentler, and this is a new rule change that goes beyond the Chase and into next season.

Failure to get the winning car successfully through the Laser Inspection Station by a significant amount, and you keep the win, but it won’t mean much. Up to 35 points gone and during the Chase that win might not count toward a free pass into the next round. With the points penalty, that just could kill the season. It is the kind of penalty that cost Ryan Newman 15 markers heading into Richmond.

Newman might not be in the Chase, but after what happened last week, he could wind up being a factor. We will have to wait to see how hot he might be at one member of our Hot 20 heading to Chicago.

1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2012 PTS
Tied for wins with Kyle, second only to Harvick in points. Brad might be thirsty again.

1. KYLE BUSCH – 2012 PTS
Imagine having to race all 36 races to win the title. Last season seemed so much shorter.

3. DENNY HAMLIN – 2009 PTS
You can shorten the World 600 in Charlotte…or you could to go-cart racing as an alternative.

4. KEVIN HARVICK – 2006 PTS
His Chase attitude is to “worry about the consequences when all the dust settles.” Game on.

4. CARL EDWARDS – 2006 PTS
Is this the year he can finally put that brides-maid dress away?

4. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. – 2006 PTS
Has led the pack this season for 1,664 miles. If you are going on a trip, here is your driver.

4. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2006 PTS
Seeking a new nickname. Maybe something that rhymes with “Seven Time.”

4. MATT KENSETH – 2006 PTS
There is nice Matt and there is Chase Matt. You don’t want to make Chase Matt angry.

9. JOEY LOGANO – 2003 PTS
Last year, guess who upset Chase Matt.

9. KURT BUSCH – 2003 PTS
He has a title. Younger brother has a title. All older siblings know that just does not cut it.

9. KYLE LARSON – 2003 PTS
Over his last three races, has finished first, third, and second. That is called momentum.

9. CHRIS BUESCHER – 2003 PTS
Not everyone gets to live in the penthouse. even for what most predict will be a short stay.

9. TONY STEWART – 2003 PTS
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Newman knows!

14. AUSTIN DILLON – 2000 PTS
A truck title. A XFINITY crown. There is room on the shelf for one more.

14. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2000 PTS
Could former winner of Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 win the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400?

14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 2000 PTS
Again, the nickname says it all. Would like to change that to “Champ” if he can.

17. RYAN NEWMAN – 633 PTS
Who is considered Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago? Ask Newman; he might have an answer.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 633 PTS
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again next season.

19. TREVOR BAYNE – 586 PTS
Unlike some, Bayne is determined to leave any at-track tantrums to his toddler.

20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 583 PTS
Racing in Chicago, but might have more interest in how the Bears do Monday against the Eagles.

September 14, 2016
The View from My Recliner – Thoughts from Daytona

Let it be known that I hate restrictor plate racing.

Between the XFINITY and Cup races, it was pile up after pile up. If you’re a fan, you might as well save the money, go to the County Fair and go see the demolition derby.

If I am a car owner, I would really think hard about even entering my car into a race at Daytona and Talladega. You might as well consider that car a known loss and be surprised if the car survives. The investment for four restrictor plate races isn’t worth it.

It was great to see Roger Penske in victory lane celebrating the 100th victory for Team Penske. The Captain has been the center of Indy Car racing for years and in the past 20 plus years, has been a force in NASCAR. He has his team poised to be in contention for years to come with younger drivers like Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano driving the Penske cars and Ryan Blaney driving for the Wood Brothers. The three drivers are lined up with three crew chiefs in Paul Wolfe, Todd Gordon and Jeremy Bullins which will add to team chemistry and continuity.

Tony Stewart made it into the top-30 in points even though he wrecked out of Daytona. Look for Stewart to go hard for another win to solidify his spot in the Chase. I have the feeling Smoke will be a big factor at Indy. He was part of the tire test and would love to get his 50th Cup win at home.

Kudos to Ryan Newman who called out NASCAR in the drivers meeting. I can see a fine coming, but his comments were on target. With the way the XFINITY race ended on Friday night, Newman calling into question how NASCAR officiated the race was on the money.

Right now, there have been 11 winners in the Cup series. The five who are in on points right now are Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Ryan Blaney. After Richmond, unless someone like A.J. Allmendinger grabs a win at The Glen, the only driver in this group I don’t see in the Chase is Austin Dillon. The Slugger Labbe-led team hasn’t been consistent lately and I could see them dropping out of the Chase race and their spot taken by Jamie McMurray on points or Kyle Larson with a win.

Kentucky will be interesting to see if it is a follow the leader like most re-paves turn out to be.

Enjoy the racing this week and that is the View from My Recliner.

July 3, 2016
The Final Word – The Countdown to the New Season is Down to Single Digits

The countdown has begun to the start of a new season, with less than ten days to go before the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona. A new campaign, some new teams and some new expectations.

Stewart-Haas had a year of mixed results in 2014. Kevin Harvick has his crown, but I think if you claim one championship you might like to claim another. Hey, it works for Jimmie Johnson. His boss, Tony Stewart, has three, but just having a year without the drama would be a Godsend. Kurt Busch won a race, which placed him in the Chase, but he actually was not even as good as Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, or Brian Vickers over the course of the season. He needs to show this year as to why Gene Haas spent the big money to bring him into the stable.

Danica Patrick must do well. I hear that, I believe that should be so, but I am not so convinced the bloom is off the rose just yet. With the big money funding, a solid organization behind her, and the media attention she gets, I do not believe she needs to be anything more than the novelty she already is. Being the best female driver in NASCAR history might still be enough, but results better than those of, say, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. should be expected as the soon-to-be 33-year-old embarks on her third full season.

Kasey Kahne turns 35 this spring and probably is considered the little guy at the big boys table at Hendrick by some. Seventeen wins over his career, including six in the past four years, argues otherwise. The only reason Kahne is not more front and center is due to having teammates who have either won the title multiple times or who happens to be the sports most popular performer. Even Harvick and Stewart would be considered fourth on the depth chart on this outfit.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a new crew chief. After matching his win totals of the previous nine seasons in 2014, Junior has Greg Ives on the box after Steve Letarte left for the broadcast booth. The 40-year-old needs to repeat what he did in 2014, as 23 Cup wins, 23 more on the junior circuit, two Daytona 500 wins, five Talladega celebrations, and a dozen straight Most Popular Driver of the Year nods might not be enough to make the Hall…in 2030.

2015 marks the final full-time season for Jeff Gordon. You better enjoy it, as he will not be eligible for the Hall of Fame until at least 2023. That would mark 30 years since he began his career, which is one qualification. If he has to wait until he is 55, that would be in 2027. Gone is the former three years in retirement qualification, as of this year. This alone causes me to expect more tinkering to the qualification rules between now and then.

Trevor Bayne has a Daytona 500 to his credit, and not much else over the past four seasons. He leaves his part-time job driving for the Wood Brothers to a full-time gig with Roush Fenway. Bayne turns 24 the day they run the Duels at Daytona, with hopes of taking Mark Martin’s old No. 6 ride back to the front. The question is, does he and teammates Greg Biffle and Stenhouse represent an organization on the rise?

Bayne takes the place of Carl Edwards, who hopes to realize that first championship with his move. Twice he has been the season’s runner-up, as the 35-year-old seeks some greener grass on Joe Gibbs’ side of the fence. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth are a pretty good trio of teammates to roll with. Without question, one of NASCAR’s Big Three organizations, along with Hendrick and Stewart-Haas.

Or should that be Big Four? Penske is just a two car outfit, but with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano on the reins their wagons can make something happen. Both finished amongst the season’s Top Five, combining for 11 victories last year. Yes, Big Four is more like it.

Is there anyone to make it a Big Five? Childress has youth in Austin Dillon, with brother Ty waiting in the wings. They have experience in Ryan Newman, who was just one point behind Harvick when the smoke cleared at Homestead last November. Then there is Paul Menard, who has yet to crack the season’s Top Fifteen in his career, the past four with Childress. On the positive side, he does come complete with a sponsor. Is that enough?

Michael Waltrip’s crew once was considered a top flight team, until the wings came off. Martin Truex Jr. found himself with Furniture Row, where their gains with Kurt Busch disappeared with his replacement. Brian Vickers is on the mend with a heart issue, so he will require a temporary replacement. As for Clint Bowyer, Captain Skid dropped to 19th in the season rankings after being the runner-up in 2012 and seventh the season after. Bowyer is locked in for another three years, but will they be the best of times, or the worst of times?

Ganassi has 22-year old Kyle Larson, who just missed the Chase in his rookie season, along with veteran Jamie McMurray. Am I the only one who thinks this team should have been, and should be, more successful? McMurray has only seven wins over 13 seasons, but where he won is impressive. Two came at Daytona, including the 500 in 2010, two at Talladega, two at Charlotte, as well as the Brickyard 400. Not enough to make one a contender, but certainly one who gets remembered.

You cannot forget Petty, if only for the guy the outfit is named after. Aric Almirola is back, after a single win got him into the Chase…for three races. That victory was just one of five the team has had over six seasons. Coming in is Sam Hornish Jr. who, in 239 NASCAR races in all three top series, has just three wins on the junior circuit. Two of them came over his last 39 races run there over the past two campaigns. Let us not forget his 19 IndyCar wins between 2001 and 2007, including the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Does that get one excited? Sadly, not much.

Maybe the biggest move comes off the track. Gone is ESPN. Thank God Almighty. FOX returns, with NBC taking over the second half of the season. Mike Joy is a good lap-by-lap announcer, while Rick Allen is even better. While he may have a few detractors, I enjoy Darrell Waltrip, along with Larry McReynolds, providing color analysis. I think Steve Letarte will be even better though, surprisingly, Jeff Burton may be the weak link until he smooths out his delivery. Still, he has a few months to work on it. All are infinitely better than the ESPN crew, and that works for me.

It all begins on Saturday, February 14th with the Sprint Unlimited from Daytona on FOX. Dare I say it, “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity.” Sorry, I just could not resist.

February 4, 2015

Kenseth Wins Nationwide Finale; Elliott and Penske Celebrate Championships

In a thrilling green-white-checkered finish, Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 20 GameStop/Rock Candy Toyota, held both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson at bay to win the 20th annual Ford EcoBoost 300.

This was Kenseth’s first win of the 2014 Nationwide Series season and his second victory in 13 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Well, we kept getting those restarts at the end of the race, and the first couple got away okay,” Kenseth said. “I felt good about it.”

“We had a really good car tonight, especially on a short- to mid-range run, and that kind of fell into our hands except for the last two or three cautions we didn’t need, but it kind of worked out where we got in the front and had the speed on the front side of the run where we needed it.”

”It’s been a long time since I’ve won a race in anything.”

Following closely behind race winner Kenseth, with what has become known as the ‘Kyle and Kyle show’, Busch and Larson finished second and third respectively. This was Busch’s seventh top-10 finish in eight races and Larson’s seventh top-10 finish in just two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Yeah, we had a strong car,” Kyle Busch said. “Somewhere in the middle part of the race we started falling behind a little farther than I wanted to, just ill handling, being loose, tight, loose, and everything going on. But Adam made some great race calls and some good adjustments to get our car handling a little bit better, to get ourselves farther up toward the front. The 20 was kind of off there early on in the race, but there at the end he really came on strong and the 42 was really good.”

“So it was kind of a race amongst us three, I thought, and that’s kind of what it came down to there at the end,” Busch continued. “All in all, can’t be prouder of my team, Adam Stevens and Curtis and everyone that works so hard on the Monster Energy 54 at Joe Gibbs Racing, all the guys at the shop.”

“We did our part and we had some great races, and we did have a successful year, so nothing to hang our hats about, but there’s one other guy or team out there that was a little bit better than us.”

“Yeah, we were able to lead a lot of laps today, a lot more than I’ve probably ever led in my career,” Kyle Larson said. “That was fun. I had good restarts up there until the last 50 laps or so, and then I finally got a good one underneath Matt, was able to get to the lead, and was about 15 feet short of the win.”

“Almost had second, but Kyle was able to squeeze around me,” Larson continued. “I probably could have shut the door on him, but we weren’t going to win, so there was no point in maybe tearing up two cars. Disappointed, super disappointed. Really close to a win today.”

The Homestead finale race also officially crowned Chase Elliott as the Nationwide Series champion, an honor he had clinched last weekend. In spite of finishing 17th in the last race of the season, Elliott still made history as the youngest champ in NASCAR history.

“I know it was ugly,” Elliott said. “We didn’t have a very good run, but we’ll take it.”

The title was not just special for Chase Elliott and his family, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott and wife Cindy, but was also the first ever for the team owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., his sister Kelly and Rick Hendrick.

Roger Penske also clinched a championship, that of the Nationwide owner’s title. He did so with six wins and not just with one, but five different drivers, in the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang.

“It was a great day,” Penske said. “I thought that race would never get over. I think we had a green-white-checker and all we had to do was finish 25th, but you never know with all the action up front.”

“Brad (KeselowskI) ran a great race and when you think about five different drivers it’s really a credit to Jeremy Bullins and the job he’s done in preparing the car for different drivers and with six wins.”

“So, to me, this was a team effort at Team Penske,” Penske continued. “Everyone did so much to make this happen and obviously it didn’t come down until the last lap there that we knew we had it.”

With the final race in the books, NASCAR also bid a fond adieu to Nationwide, who has ended their title sponsorship, turning the reigns over to Xfinity.

“We have truly enjoyed our time as the series sponsor and are grateful for the relationships we’ve made with the drivers, teams, owners, and fans,” Jim McCoy, director of sports marketing for Nationwide Insurance, said.

The full race and points results are as follows:

2014 NNS Ford EcoBoost 300 Race Results

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Lap	Pts	BPts	Status	TLd	LLd
1	3	20	Matt Kenseth(i)	GameStop/Rock Candy Toyota	206	0		Running	3	52
2	6	54	Kyle Busch(i)	Monster Energy Toyota	206	0		Running	2	5
3	2	42	Kyle Larson(i)	Cartwheel by Target Chevrolet	206	0		Running	5	111
4	5	12	Ryan Blaney(i)	Discount Tire Ford	206	0		Running	1	24
5	10	60	Chris Buescher #	Humalog Ford	206	39		Running
6	15	7	Regan Smith	TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet	206	38		Running
7	21	3	Ty Dillon #	WESCO Chevrolet	206	37		Running
8	1	22	Brad Keselowski(i)	Hertz Ford	206	0		Running	1	5
9	4	11	Elliott Sadler	OneMain Financial Toyota	206	35		Running
10	7	2	Brian Scott	Shore Lodge Chevrolet	206	34		Running
11	13	6	Trevor Bayne	AdvoCare Ford	206	34	1	Running	1	3
12	31	33	Paul Menard(i)	Alert Today Florida/Boy Scouts of America Chevrolet	206	0		Running	3
13	20	51	Jeremy Clements	All South Electric/Repairable Vehicles Chevrolet	206	32	1	Running	1	1
14	25	10	Ross Chastain(i)	watermelon.org Toyota	206	0		Running
15	30	93	TJ Bell(i)	Dedicated to Electrical Linemen Dodge	206	0		Running
16	17	28	JJ Yeley	Texas 28 Spirits Stage Toyota	206	28		Running
17	14	9	Chase Elliott #	NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet	206	28	1	Running	1	1
18	24	99	James Buescher	Rheem Toyota	206	26		Running
19	9	31	Dylan Kwasniewski #	Rockstar/AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet	206	25		Running
20	19	43	Dakoda Armstrong #	WinField Ford	206	24		Running
21	28	4	Jeffrey Earnhardt	GCL/Polyglass Chevrolet	206	23		Running
22	22	44	Blake Koch	Celsius Flo Fusion Toyota	206	23	1	Running	1	1
23	18	19	Mike Bliss	Tweaker Energy Shot Toyota	206	21		Running
24	35	26	Jake Crum(i)	MyFreedomSmokes.com Chevrolet	206	0		Running
25	12	5	Josh Berry	Ragu Chevrolet	206	19		Running
26	27	14	Eric McClure	Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota	206	18		Running
27	11	16	Ryan Reed #	ADA Drive to Stop Diabetes/Lilly Diabetes Ford	206	17		Running
28	33	36	Ryan Preece	Accell Construction/East West Marine Chevrolet	206	16		Running
29	8	62	Brendan Gaughan	South Point Chevrolet	205	15		Running
30	29	55	David Starr	Niece Equipment Chevrolet	205	14		Running
31	40	17	Tanner Berryhill #	New Gulf Resources Toyota	204	13		Running
32	37	23	Carlos Contreras	Circle K Chevrolet	203	12		Running
33	26	25	John Wes Townley(i)	Zaxby’s Toyota	201	0		Running
34	39	87	Milka Duno	CanTV Toyota	201	10		Running
35	23	1	Landon Cassill	Flex Seal Chevrolet	190	9		Engine
36	32	39	Ryan Sieg #	Huntinator Chevrolet	179	8		Suspension
37	16	98	Corey LaJoie(i)	Medallion Financial/Smithfield Ford	116	0		Accident
38	36	40	Matt DiBenedetto	Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet	57	6		Transmission
39	38	52	Joey Gase	FindDieselEngines.com Chevrolet	54	5		Engine
40	34	91	Jeff Green	SupportMilitary.org Toyota	3	4		Vibration

# = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Unofficial Point Standings Final

Pos	Driver	BPts	Points	Ldr	Nxt	Starts	Poles	Wins	T5s	T10s	DNF	PPos	G/L
1	Chase Elliott #	26	1213	0	0	33	2	3	16	26	0	1	0
2	Regan Smith	13	1171	-42	-42	33	0	1	7	26	0	2	0
3	Elliott Sadler	13	1154	-59	-17	33	1	1	7	25	1	4	1
4	Brian Scott	10	1154	-59	0	33	3	0	6	23	1	3	-1
5	Ty Dillon #	11	1148	-65	-6	33	3	1	7	24	1	5	0
6	Trevor Bayne	7	1086	-127	-62	33	1	0	5	21	3	6	0
7	Chris Buescher #	9	1014	-199	-72	32	0	1	5	14	1	7	0
8	Brendan Gaughan	14	954	-259	-60	33	0	2	2	7	2	8	0
9	Ryan Reed #	1	889	-324	-65	33	0	0	1	1	2	9	0
10	James Buescher	3	868	-345	-21	33	0	0	0	2	1	11	1
11	Dylan Kwasniewski #	0	867	-346	-1	33	1	0	0	3	4	10	-1
12	Landon Cassill	0	800	-413	-67	33	0	0	0	3	7	12	0
13	Dakoda Armstrong #	2	788	-425	-12	33	1	0	0	3	1	13	0
14	Mike Bliss	1	779	-434	-9	33	0	0	0	1	4	14	0
15	Jeremy Clements	8	757	-456	-22	33	0	0	0	2	2	15	0
16	Ryan Sieg #	1	682	-531	-75	33	0	0	1	2	5	16	0
17	Jj Yeley	2	651	-562	-31	30	0	0	1	2	5	17	0
18	Jeffrey Earnhardt	1	586	-627	-65	33	0	0	0	0	9	18	0
19	Eric McClure	0	521	-692	-65	28	0	0	0	0	4	19	0
20	Joey Gase	1	482	-731	-39	33	0	0	0	0	11	20	0
21	Matt Dibenedetto	0	369	-844	-113	29	0	0	0	0	17	22	1
22	Tanner Berryhill #	1	365	-848	-4	29	0	0	0	0	14	23	1
23	Derrike Cope	0	364	-849	-1	28	0	0	0	0	12	21	-2
24	Blake Koch	2	317	-896	-47	28	0	0	0	0	18	25	1
25	Jamie Dick	1	314	-899	-3	21	0	0	0	0	7	24	-1
26	David Starr	2	293	-920	-21	14	0	0	0	1	1	26	0
27	Sam Hornish Jr.	10	242	-971	-51	8	2	1	4	4	3	27	0
28	Mike Wallace	1	229	-984	-13	11	0	0	0	1	2	28	0
29	Chad Boat	1	227	-986	-2	14	0	0	0	0	6	29	0
30	Carlos Contreras	0	204	-1009	-23	14	0	0	0	0	5	30	0
31	Jeff Green	0	172	-1041	-32	20	0	0	0	0	16	31	0
32	Kevin Swindell	0	157	-1056	-15	10	0	0	0	0	4	32	0
33	Mike Harmon	0	153	-1060	-4	16	0	0	0	0	13	33	0
34	Kevin Lepage	0	137	-1076	-16	14	0	0	0	0	10	34	0
35	Tommy Joe Martins	0	124	-1089	-13	11	0	0	0	0	8	35	0
36	Josh Reaume	0	116	-1097	-8	11	0	0	0	0	8	36	0
37	Ryan Ellis	0	104	-1109	-12	12	0	0	0	0	10	37	0
38	Carl Long	0	104	-1109	0	16	0	0	0	0	16	38	0
39	Alex Tagliani	1	82	-1131	-22	2	1	0	2	2	0	39	0
40	Austin Theriault	0	78	-1135	-4	3	0	0	0	0	0	40	0
41	Will Kimmel III	0	74	-1139	-4	5	0	0	0	0	1	41	0
42	Robert Richardson Jr.	0	72	-1141	-2	7	0	0	0	0	4	42	0
43	Cody Ware	0	71	-1142	-1	4	0	0	0	0	1	43	0
44	Kenny Habul	0	61	-1152	-10	3	0	0	0	0	1	44	0
45	Justin Marks	0	58	-1155	-3	2	0	0	0	1	0	45	0
46	Daniel Suarez Garza	0	54	-1159	-4	2	0	0	0	0	0	46	0
47	Morgan Shepherd	0	54	-1159	0	8	0	0	0	0	8	47	0
48	Kelly Admiraal	0	53	-1160	-1	3	0	0	0	0	1	48	0
49	Martin Roy	0	53	-1160	0	5	0	0	0	0	3	49	0
50	Josh Berry	0	51	-1162	-2	2	0	0	0	0	0	59	9
51	Stanton Barrett	0	49	-1164	-2	3	0	0	0	0	2	50	-1
52	Kevin O’connell	0	48	-1165	-1	2	0	0	1	1	1	51	-1
53	Ryan Preece	0	46	-1167	-2	2	0	0	0	0	0	61	8
54	Ruben Garcia Mateos	0	41	-1172	-5	3	0	0	0	0	1	52	-2
55	Harrison Rhodes	0	40	-1173	-1	6	0	0	0	0	6	53	-2
56	Daryl Harr	0	39	-1174	-1	3	0	0	0	0	1	54	-2
57	Andy Lally	0	37	-1176	-2	1	0	0	0	1	0	55	-2
58	Hermie Sadler III	0	37	-1176	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	56	-2
59	Bobby Reuse	0	35	-1178	-2	2	0	0	0	0	1	57	-2
60	Hal Martin	0	34	-1179	-1	2	0	0	0	0	0	58	-2
61	Scott Lagasse Jr.	0	31	-1182	-3	2	0	0	0	0	0	60	-1
62	Matt Frahm	0	28	-1185	-3	3	0	0	0	0	2	62	0
63	Tim Cowen	0	26	-1187	-2	1	0	0	0	0	0	63	0
64	Paulie Harraka	0	25	-1188	-1	1	0	0	0	0	0	64	0
65	Kenny Wallace	0	25	-1188	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	65	0
66	Jason White	0	25	-1188	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	66	0
67	Ryan Gifford	0	24	-1189	-1	1	0	0	0	0	0	67	0
68	Bobby Gerhart	0	19	-1194	-5	2	0	0	0	0	1	68	0
69	Mackena Bell	0	15	-1198	-4	1	0	0	0	0	0	69	0
70	John Jackson	0	15	-1198	0	4	0	0	0	0	4	70	0
71	Matthew Carter	0	15	-1198	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	71	0
72	Roger Reuse	0	14	-1199	-1	2	0	0	0	0	1	72	0
73	Tim Schendel	0	14	-1199	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	73	0
74	Milka Duno	0	14	-1199	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	76	2
75	Kyle Fowler	0	12	-1201	-2	1	0	0	0	0	0	74	-1
76	Richard Harriman	0	12	-1201	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	75	-1
77	Kyle Busch(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	26	7	7	25	25	0	77	0
78	Brad Keselowski(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	11	5	5	10	11	0	78	0
79	Kevin Harvick(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	15	1	4	12	15	0	79	0
80	Kyle Larson(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	28	1	2	14	21	2	80	0
81	Ryan Blaney(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	14	1	1	10	13	0	81	0
82	Matt Kenseth(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	19	0	1	10	15	1	87	5
83	Paul Menard(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	8	0	1	3	5	0	82	-1
84	Kasey Kahne(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	3	0	1	2	2	1	83	-1
85	Marcos Ambrose(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	1	1	1	0	84	-1
86	Joey Logano(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	10	3	0	8	9	0	85	-1
87	Michael McDowell(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	3	0	0	1	3	0	86	-1
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	4	0	0	3	3	0	88	0
89	David Ragan(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	6	0	0	1	2	0	89	0
90	Erik Jones(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	3	0	0	0	3	0	90	0
91	Cale Conley(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	11	0	0	0	1	2	91	0
92	Joe Nemechek(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	6	0	0	0	1	0	92	0
93	Darrell Wallace Jr.(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	1	0	93	0
94	Austin Dillon(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	1	0	94	0
95	Justin Boston(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	1	0	95	0
96	Ross Chastain(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	7	0	0	0	1	0	96	0
97	Alex Bowman(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	3	0	0	0	0	0	97	0
98	Matt Crafton(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	0	0	98	0
99	Aric Almirola(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	0	0	99	0
100	John Wes Townley(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	11	0	0	0	0	2	100	0
101	Chase Pistone(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	3	0	0	0	0	0	101	0
102	Johnny Sauter(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	3	0	0	0	0	0	102	0
103	Josh Wise(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	17	0	0	0	0	6	103	0
104	Tj Bell(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	0	1	117	13
105	Jeb Burton(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	0	0	104	-1
106	Corey Lajoie(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	5	0	0	0	0	3	105	-1
107	Brennan Newberry(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	4	0	0	0	0	1	106	-1
108	Danica Patrick(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	0	0	107	-1
109	Tomy Drissi(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	0	0	108	-1
110	Timmy Hill(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	7	0	0	0	0	4	109	-1
111	Jake Crum(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	4	0	0	0	0	1	111	0
112	Jennifer Jo Cobb(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	0	0	110	-2
113	Todd Bodine(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	0	1	112	-1
114	Chris Cockrum(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	0	0	113	-1
115	Caleb Roark(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	0	1	114	-1
116	Denny Hamlin(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	0	1	115	-1
117	Derek White(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	2	0	0	0	0	2	116	-1
118	Jimmy Weller(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	1	0	0	0	0	1	118	0
119	Willie Allen(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	0	0	0	0	0	0	119	0
120	Benny Gordon	0	0	-1213	-12	0	0	0	0	0	0	120	0
121	Clay Greenfield(I)	0	0	-1213	-12	0	0	0	0	0	0	169	48

BPts – Bonus Points, -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, PPos = Previous Position, G/L = Points standing gain/loss, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCAR Media/NASCAR Statistics

November 15, 2014

Roush Fenway Gets Another Hit

Things are not rosy at Roush Fenway Racing. Lately, they’ve lost their top driver to apparently Joe Gibbs Racing, and today they lost 3M as a primary sponsor on the No. 16 Ford of Greg Biffle. The performance has been putrid at best all year even though Carl Edwards has two wins, but Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have not had the performance that a top team should have. That is cruel, but fact. Biffle had a good day at Pocono last week, but that’s been pretty much it for this season. Stenhouse is a former Nationwide Series champion, but it has not transferred to the Cup series. It has to be the cars, and that’s a really big problem for RFR.

Stealing sponsors is nothing new, but Gibbs and Hendrick are very good at it. It’s kind of like the rich get richer is true. Yeah, it is business, as they like to say, but there seems to be a big target on RFR and those who are running better have determined to make sure they don’t come back to prominence. Baseball does it all the time at the trade deadline, of course. Teams trade players to non-contenders and never to contenders. At the waiver deadline, teams claim players so that other teams cannot get them. It’s just business.

That said, you have to image the mood over at Roush Fenway—Ford’s top team for years. Roger Penske, the gentleman he is, said that he would never take a driver or sponsor from a fellow Ford team. In fact, Penske has a kept a professional attitude toward all teams. For some reason, non-Ford teams seem to like to pick on Jack Roush. He’s an easy target now. It’s easy to pick on the guy who is down. It happens. Now, it’s up to Roush. If he gets his teams back to being competitive, things might turn around, but teams must always remember that if you stumble, there are two giants waiting to grab your drivers and sponsors.

RFR has had more success than either Gibbs or especially Richard Childress Racing in 2014; RCR has no wins. That may change now as a down on their luck organization is faced with a lame duck driver, minimal sponsorship, and a down year. It would be good if they could rise like the Phoenix and make some noise, but I don’t see it and that is bad for the sport.

August 12, 2014
The Final Word – Keselowski Owns New Hampshire, Logano and Johnson Got Owned

You sure could not beat the car that had Brad Keselowski behind the wheel Sunday in New Hampshire. And nobody did. He might have loaned out the lead from time to time to the likes of Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer, but make no mistake about this one. The 30-year old Michigan driver owned this race as the former champion recorded his 13th Cup victory. With his third of the season, his moves atop the standings, 36 points up on Jimmie Johnson.

To be honest, this was not one of the more visually stimulating events we have seen. It did provide a few surprises, though. Just ask Johnson. He might have three wins of his own, but he just picked up a pair of points at Loudon. First, a tire went flat, then its replacement blew out to send Six Time into the wall. That was all she wrote before five percent of the race was run.

Morgan Shepherd provided a surprise of his own. Just ask Joey Logano. Fifteen laps down, the 72-year-old Shepherd slipped up to clip the 24 year old, who found the wall himself to end his day in 40th. The lad, who had been running second at the time, was not terribly understanding, wondering how the slowest guy on the track could eliminate him in such a fashion. As there was no camera shot that showed the event as it unfolded, we are left hearing arguments on both sides.

We do know Shepherd was running above minimum speed. We know the driver who experienced the bulk of his Cup career from 1981 to mid 1990s has passed all the requirements needed to satisfy NASCAR that be belongs out on the track. It would appear his age was not a factor, just the quality of his ride that had trouble staying at the bottom. As for his being a friend of Logano’s team owner, Roger Penske, I think that ends the discussion right there.

Are there more commercials or have we just become too impatient these days to sit through them? TNT had enough of them, and while I see the Canadian sponsors rather than what is seen in the U.S.A., most are not much to look at, especially for the tenth time in three or four hours. Thankfully, they invented the PVR/DVR, and as I do not watch the race live they last as long as it takes for me to hit the 30-second jump button six times. I might wear that button out in the upcoming weeks.

Even though the work of Adam, Wally, and Kyle was not enough to keep me glued to this one, they are the best crew in NASCAR. Not even FOX is close. ESPN? Damn near unwatchable, as they will illustrate when action resumes in Indianapolis in a couple of weeks. As much as it saddens me to see TNT’s 32-year run come to an end, I look forward to seeing Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte on NBC next season, as long as it signals the removal of Allen, Rusty, and Brad.

On the other hand, a win means inclusion in the Chase if you are still without one going into the seven race run from Indy to Richmond. If we have less than five first-time winners in that span, at least one driver will make it on points. Probably more. Eleven have their victories, two (Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman) do not need to worry about that just yet, but there are 19 others who can punch a ticket to the Promised Land by taking a checkered flag. For more than half of them, that stands as probably their only chance for an invite to the dance.

SWEET SIXTEEN
1 – Brad Keselowski – 3 Wins – 634 Points
2 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 598
3 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 2 – 658
4 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 574
5 – Joey Logano – 2 – 551
6 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 528
7 – Jeff Gordon – 1 – 670
8 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 567
9 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 530
10 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 473
11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 440
12 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 621
13 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 573
14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 548
15 – Paul Menard – 0 – 541
16 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 524

CONTENTERS & PRETENDERS
17 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 524 Points
18 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 519
19 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 515
20 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 507
21 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 502
22 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 489
23 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 475
24 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 446
25 – Casey Mears – 0 – 444
26 – A.J. Allmendinger – 0 – 440
27 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 380
28 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 377
29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 326
30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 311
31 – David Gilliland – 0 – 276
32 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 270

July 14, 2014
He’s Back….Juan Pablo Montoya is Back in NASCAR

Juan Pablo Montoya, whose contract was not renewed by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing last year in favor of rookie Kyle Larson, will make his return back to NASCAR with Team Penske for two races this year.

Montoya will add the NASCAR Cup starts at Michigan and the Brickyard at Indy to his Verizon IndyCar Series full-time schedule. The 38 year old Columbian will pilot the No. 12 SKF Ford at Michigan International Speedway on June 15th and the sponsor-to-be-named No. 12 car for the Brickyard 400 on July 27^th.

Greg Erwin, a veteran NASCAR crew chief, will be atop the pit box of Montoya for both races.

“Juan is a proven winner in multiple racing disciplines and he is one of the most versatile racecar drivers competing today,” Roger Penske, team owner, said. “Michigan and Indianapolis are two important races for Team Penske. We know Juan has the ability to race for wins in both of those events while still focusing on his full-time program in the Verizon IndyCar Series.”

Juan Pablo Montoya is also back on the NASCAR circuit with one of the most successful teams to date. Team Penske, whose two drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have both visited Victory Lane this year, will no doubt welcome their newest teammate to the fold.

“This opportunity is pretty unique,” Montoya said. “This year, it will be nice to be in a Penske car because they are so competitive week in and week out. Both Keselowski and Logano are running up front.”

One place that Montoya really wants to go back to is the Brickyard, where he has come so close to winning in a stock car. JPM has mastered the Indianapolis Motor Speedway having won the Indy 500 in 2000.

“It’s one of those places where I feel like I got robbed a few times,” Montoya said. “To be able to come here and be able to close that deal will be really, really nice.”

Montoya is also back as he is on a mission to get take team owner Roger Penske to Victory Lane for the first time ever at the Brickyard.

“It’s hard to believe, but Roger Penske has never won the Brickyard 400,” JPM said. “I think that Brad, Joey and I will give Roger and Team Penske a great opportunity to check that off the list and we should be strong at Michigan as well.”

Montoya is also back with a vengeance to attempt something that no one else has done, winning three feature races at Indy in the same season. He is scheduled for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 10^th, the Indy 500 a week later, and then the Brickyard 40 in July. So, if JPM qualifies for each one, he would be the first to do so.

“Three chances gives me a better chance of winning one of them now,” Montoya said.

So, just how will Montoya get back in shape to get back on the NASCAR Cup tracks?

“I had a chance to test a car last week at Nashville and I felt like it was a good test,” Montoya said. “I was very happy that I got up to speed very easy. Within five laps I was comfortable in the car.”

“I think running Michigan and Indy are two tracks where running open wheel helps you, especially Michigan, which is a lot like an open-wheel car because you don’t slow down much but use momentum and a lot of high speed.”

“To just run the Brickyard would be a pretty big ask of our team and of Juan, without having spent much time in our cars or with having been out of a Cup car for a while,” Tim Cindric, Team Penske President said. “So, we felt like we needed to give him another shot at Michigan prior to the Brickyard so he could get ready for Indy.”

While Montoya has been enjoying being back in the IndyCar Series, where he is 11^th in the point standings currently, he is equally thrilled about this new opportunity back in his old stomping ground of NASCAR where he spent six year.

“It will be fun to get back behind the wheel of that Cup car,” Montoya said simply.

April 30, 2014

The Final Word – Earnhardt and Keselowski rule Cup, Cup guys rule Nationwide and SHR is run out of Vegas

Three races in, and the story of the 2014 Cup season is the success of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He wins at Daytona, finishes second in Phoenix, and a hiccup in his fuel pick up was all that kept him from victory at Las Vegas. That and Brad Keselowski. Still, take a gamble, have it turn sour, and still come home second is not all that bad.

As for Brad, he joins Junior and Kevin Harvick atop the standings with a win apiece. He was in the front row when it started, again, and saw his season output now read as an almost as sizzling third, to third, to first. It would almost seem that this season’s early winners are also the most charmed, or simply the best out there. Almost.

That brings up to Kevin Harvick. His Phoenix victory came off a 13th place result at Daytona, which led into a 41st place conclusion in Las Vegas. Talk about rolling craps, and I’m not even referring to the dice game. Among the Stewart-Haas quartet, Harvick was the lone bright spot, even led for 23 laps. Then he broke his left front wheel hub and that made driving just a bit difficult. It is much easier when all the wheels on the car go round and round, and one did not really want to.

You know your operation had a bad day when Danica Patrick, at 21st, was your best finisher. SHR saw Kurt Busch come home 26th three laps down. As for Tony Stewart, he was four off and 33rd. Even Patrick had a better car than these two right out of the gate. Hell, you probably have a better contender sitting in your driveway right now.

Life has been good for both Hendrick and Penske. While Keselowski was winning, team mate Joey Logano was fourth, just as he was last week, to go with an 11th at Daytona. Junior’s trophied mates also have been hot to start. Jimmie Johnson matched his Phoenix finish by finishing sixth, to go with Daytona’s fifth place result. Jeff Gordon went from fourth, to fifth, to “slumping” to ninth at Las Vegas. Still, it is early and there are others in the neighborhood who hope to raise some arguments of their own as they head to Bristol.

Regan Smith continues to lead the Nationwide ladder. After winning at Daytona, he has come up with Top Tens the past two events. That is good. That makes him relevant. That should give him TV time. So, does anyone give a damn that the past two events have been won by Cup drivers Kyle Busch and Keselowski? I mean, I give his crew credit for getting his car back in contention on Sunday, but it is hard to be impressed when a former Cup champion kicks ass against an under-funded, less experienced field. Cup drivers took five of the six top spots. Only Keselowski deserved any face time, and I am not even sure about that.

If they wanted to talk to the relevant guys who took part on Saturday, you can give Keselowski a moment to celebrate his win, then move on to the fifth place Chase Elliott, Brian Scott in seventh, Trevor Bayne in eighth, and the over-all leader in Smith. You know, those who are actually running for a championship, those who are trying to work their way up, not just slumming to make the track owners and some sponsors happy.

Those who matter would include…

	Driver	Races	Win	T5	T10	Points	Diff
1	Regan Smith	3	1	1	3	117	—
2	Trevor Bayne	3	0	1	3	114	-3
3	Elliott Sadler	3	0	1	2	108	-9
4	Ty Dillon	3	0	0	2	105	-12
5	Chase Elliott	3	0	1	2	103	-14

In short, let the Cup guys run but if they do not win, they do not matter. Put the focus on those in Nationwide who do. Just a thought.

Bristol is next up on the calendar for this weekend. Two springs ago Elliott Sadler won the Nationwide race there. Joey Logano won it that fall. Kyle Busch has won five of the past seven, including season sweeps in 2011 and last season. Whoop-de-bloody-do.

Kyle has won four of the past ten Cup races there, as well, though none of the past five. Matt Kenseth hopes to repeat from the fall, Kasey Kahne from last spring, Denny Hamlin from before that, and Keselowski had back-to-backs before being shut out these past three. Usually the winner at Bristol is someone who matters, someone with title thoughts on his mind. More than likely, he will come from our sweet 16…

	Driver	Races	Win	T5	T10	Points	Diff
1	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	3	1	3	3	133	—
2	Brad Keselowski	3	1	3	3	132	-1
3	Kevin Harvick	3	1	1	1	83	-50
4	Jimmie Johnson	3	0	1	3	117	-16
5	Joey Logano	3	0	2	2	116	-17
6	Jeff Gordon	3	0	2	3	115	-18
7	Matt Kenseth	3	0	0	2	105	-28
8	Carl Edwards	3	0	1	2	105	-28
9	Denny Hamlin	3	0	1	1	101	-32
10	Ryan Newman	3	0	0	2	97	-36
11	Kyle Busch	3	0	0	1	95	-38
12	Jamie McMurray	3	0	0	1	93	-40
13	Greg Biffle	3	0	0	1	86	-47
13	Austin Dillon	3	0	0	1	84	-49
15	Kasey Kahne	3	0	0	1	83	-50
16	Casey Mears	3	0	0	1	80	-53

March 10, 2014

NASCAR BTS: Jim Beichner Embracing New Role as Team Penske Athletic Director

With an eye to increasing that ever important fitness level for drivers and crew alike, Team Penske recently announced the hiring of Jim Beichner as their new Athletic Director. And Beichner could not be more excited as he embraces his new role in the sport.

“It’s a completely new role for me,” Beichner said. “While I’m just learning about the responsibilities, what I can say is that I work with great people.”

“I work for Roger Penske and the Team Penske so it’s an exciting, great new opportunity for me.”

Beichner has certainly had quite the journey to his new position, from race fan as a youngster to wrestling coach as an adult and throughout much of his career.

“I’m originally from western New York,” Beichner said. “I grew up on a couple hundred acre farm just outside of Jamestown, New York, where Lucille Ball was born and raised.”

“I was a race fan and my family was involved with all kinds of different forms of racing, from stock cars, motorcycles and whatever has an engine attached to it,” Beichner continued. “So, I grew up around the sport.”

While Beichner was a race fan, he fell in love with another sport, wrestling, which he has been involved in throughout his life. And while he loved the world of coaching, he augmented his skills in the administrative area at Clarion University, where he earned a degree in Business Administration and Marketing, as well as the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Buffalo where he coached.

“While at the University of Buffalo, I took on as many administrative duties as I could,” Beichner said. “I was Director of Compliance at the University of Buffalo and then got involved with student housing and some other administrative activities.”

“So, the University of Buffalo afforded me opportunities to not just be a coach, of which I’m very appreciative,” Beichner continued. “I knew that I wasn’t going to retire a coach. Somewhere down the line I wanted to be a manger of people and I’m very fortunate that Roger Penske and his group picked me to do this.”

Beichner did not have an inside track on the position. In fact, he saw the job posting like so many other regular job-seekers.

“I saw the job posting and the more I read it, it sounded like me is the best way I can explain it,” Beichner said. “As I read the posting, I said to myself, ‘Jim, that sounds like you.’ All the things that they were looking for in an AD just spoke to me.”

In his new AD role, Beichner is responsible for supervising the pit crews, including the coaches, the strength coach, others in the shop that work with the pit crew.

“So, I’m the manager of people and I feel like that’s one of my strengths,” Beichner said. “I can cross boundaries and relate to just about anybody. Also, I’m a fair and honest person and that’s what they get from me.”

While Beichner is thrilled with his new role and the people with whom he works, Beichner is also excited about the facilities in which he and his staff have the privilege to work.

“I can tell you, our facility is beautiful,” Beichner said. “We have state-of-the art equipment so I couldn’t ask for a better place to be than working.”

While Beichner has been used to training Division I wrestlers who have a certain mentality that they will do whatever they need to get the job done, he readily admits that those he is training at Team Penske demonstrate the same attitude and commitment.

“I see, hear and feel the same dedication with my pit crew members here at Team Penske,” Beichner said. “I’m very impressed with the fact that as a new person coming in with new ideas, which I’ve shared with the coaches, and everybody has bought in and is working hard.”

“I’m very impressed with their attitude,” Beichner continued. “It’s really a great crew to work with. Our coaches are top notch and our athletes are top notch.”

“Our administration is great and through the changes that we are doing, they have bonded in a way that I had hoped they would respond.”

While Team Penske is involved with NASCAR, they are also involved in other forms of motorsports including the IndyCar Series. Given that, Beichner may be called upon to expand his work from just focusing on the world of stock car racing to open wheel racing as well.

“I do what my bosses ask me to do,” Beichner said. “When they ask me to get involved in Indy, as far as their pit crews are concerned, then I get involved.”

“Whatever they want or need me to do, I’m the kind of person that is a company guy,” Beichner continued. ‘Nothing is out of bounds for me. If they ask me to do whatever, I will do that thing that they are asking me to do so I can achieve our goals and help them achieve their goals.”

All of the new changes and challenges excite Beichner but what he is most excited about is getting to the race track to see the fruits of his labors. And he intends to be at the Daytona 500 to kick off the race season in celebration of his new responsibilities.

“I’m really excited about race days,” Beichner said. “That’s probably what everybody would be excited about.”

“I want to see our guys compete at the highest level and I want to see them do great,” Beichner continued. “I believe they are prepared very well and each one of those guys has a good reason to feel excited about race days. I’m excited about getting to those tracks and being out there and watching our guys perform.”

Although Beichner has had quite a career in sports, from wrestling to NASCAR, he admits that he is simply in awe of his new opportunity with Team Penske.

“You’re working for Roger Penske, a legend in motorsports,” Beichner said. “Where else would you rather be if you are a fan of racing than with Roger Penske and Team Penske?”

“I don’t know what else to say,” Beichner continued. “This is where I’d rather be to help them ultimately to achieve their goals.”

“I’m excited to see our Team Penske drivers, Keselowski, Logano and Blaney, out there as a team and I hope we help them achieve more victories than they already have,” Beichner said. “That’s what I’m excited about ultimately is to see those guys win races.”

‘I can’t speak highly enough of Team Penske, Roger Penske and this organization,” Beichner said. “And I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this opportunity.”

February 21, 2014