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2008 OPeR Award: Best Race of the Year

I think NASCAR fans forgot how good the 2008 Daytona 500 was.

We live blogged the race at the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog - and had a blast - and the whole thing went incredibly fast.

There was drama - Jeff Gordon went out early, the Toyotas were in the mix right to the last lap in their first Sprint Cup race and Ryan Newman took the checkered flag for Roger Penske.

It was a long time ago. But a worthy OPeR winner.

Time to Hand Out Our OPeR Awards

As has been our tradition ON PIT ROW; the end of the year is time to pass out our own, sometimes offbeat, NASCAR awards.

Most people who cover NASCAR on at least a semi regular basis tend to give their opinions as to who deserves the accolades for their participation in the past season.  While Charlie and I do the usual Best Driver, Best Crew Chief type awards we like to venture a little further into the stories of 2008.

The offbeat tends to become normal in a thirty-six week points season in NASCAR world.  From totally undrivable tires at Indianapolis to Carl Edwards’ video game wall move at Kansas, there is plenty to remember in this season gone by.

Please give us your award winners for the following catagories and we may use your answers on this Tuesdays show.

Best and Worst Driver

Best and Worst Crew Chief

Best and Worst Owner

Best and Worst Team

Best and Worst Post Race Interview

Worst attempt at “Adjusting the Rules”

Best and Worst Junior High School-like Drama

Best and Worst Radio/TV Personality

Best and Worst NASCAR Network

Best Guest to Appear ON PIT ROW

Don’t be afraid to go a little “off center” with your answers.  Leave us a comment and we may use it on this weeks show or give us a call with your winners on Tuesday from 5-7pm ET, toll free at 877-502-8255.

photo credit:  Icon Sports Media

Max Papis’ Geico Racing Teleconference Podcast

I’m a Max Papis fan. Have been since I watched him storm through the pits at the Dayton 24 Hours in 1996 at 200 mph. Mad Max.

You already know that Max has been named by Germain Racing as their driver for at least 18 2009 Sprint Cup races in the team’s Geico Toyota Camry.

I had the opportunity to moderate a web-teleconference interview with Max, for Geico’s PR folks. Callers were invited by Geico and they included some sharp guys that OnPitRow.com readers will recognize. The Catfish himself, ,Matt Mercer, Thunder Lounge commander Luke and Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie’s own Chris Leone.

I have broken it up into three parts. Here’s part one.

geicopod2-part1

Roush Fenway Fords Enjoy November Sun in Homestead

While only winning the championship in 2004, the Roush Fenway Fords are dominant at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Greg Biffle won this race three years running and Matt Kenseth capped off the season one year ago with a win. To add to the fun for the Cat in the Hat, Carl Edwards has a very good record here and David Ragan has a top 10 in his first start here last year. For Roush, those are good odds.

The championship is obviously the big story at Homestead, but every year the margin of victory is getting larger. From the incredible drama of Kurt Busch’s 2004 season to Tony Stewart’s and Jimmie Johnson’s solid if unspectacular runs in the years following, the championship chase is still must-watch television and the redesigned Homestead track deserves a lot of the credit. This year almost certainly promises to see Johnson do what only Cale Yarborough has done in NASCAR’s top series unless something freakish happens to the normally unflappable #48 team.

Paging David Gilliland, remember where your engines come from… anyway, lets get a look at the numbers.

The winners:
2007 – Matt Kenseth
2006 – Greg Biffle
2005 – Greg Biffle
2004 – Greg Biffle

Champs finish:
2007 – Jimmie Johnson – 7th
2006 – Jimmie Johnson – 9th
2005 – Tony Stewart – 15th
2004 – Kurt Busch – 5th

Let’s see, let me find a Roush Fenway driver that has had the best season this and won on similar 1.5 mile tracks… oh yeah, if you’re not anticipating Carl Edwards leading nearly every lap and winning this thing Sunday night, I’ll take whatever odds there are for the race. Aside from Edwards, Biffle does have a track record of winning here and could easily do it again.

The two sleepers I’ve pegged for this race are Ragan and Jamie McMurray. Both drivers have performed admirably in the final stretch of the year. The season finale always produces surprises, it should be interesting to see what happens this year. Among the one-off entrants are Brad Keselowski and Mark Martin, and the end of A.J. Allmendinger’s run in the #10.

Finally, it’s been a pleasure to write this weekly column for On Pit Row. I want to thank Steve and Charlie for all of their hard work and I look forward to continuing my contributions to the Bench Racing blog. Journey provides the season finale with the classic karaoke song Don’t Stop Believin’. YouTube is your friend. This won’t be like the Sopranos finale when the music just stops before the

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Happy Halloween Fantasy Racers

With three races to go in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, I’m wondering if any of you fantasy racing fans are starting to get early withdrawl simptoms.

Since becoming involved with the Fantasy Players Network, OnPitRow.com has paid more attention to NASCAR fantasy gaming than we ever did before. These special, daily posts centered on the Chase to the Sprint Cup are part of that increased focus. We hope you’ve enjoyed and gotten some value from them.

The writers involved - Matt Mercer, Chris Leone and Luke Poland along with  Steve and I have put a lot of time and thought into the content. Personally, I feel priveledged to be part of it. These guys are good.

I also want to thank Darren of One Bad Wheel for giving ON PIT ROW the opportunity to be a partial sponsor for his great Champs, Chumps and Sleepers game. It’s a great game and I continue to absolutely suck at it. But so does Steve, so we at least have a bragging rights battle between the two of us - kind of a Fast Lap for fantasy racing picks.

So keep that all in mind if you consider paying any serious attention to the NASCAR fantasy racing winners that either of us suggest. If you are thinking of doing any actual NASCAR betting you may be better served by finding actual NASCAR odds at a service that is involved in online wagering or something. We, most assuredly, are not.

Thanks for reading our Fantasy NASCAR thoughts here at OnPitRow.com and at the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. And here’s a tip; check out Scott Engle’s race previews at RotoExperts.com.

Photo credit: NASCAR.com

Heading for the (Irish) Hills

As Steve, Charlie and I prepare for our quest to MIS tommorrow and I was planning my picture taking agenda, I recalled some unforseeable events from last year that made the experience exceptional. My photo op with Richard Petty comes to mind (he wanted to be shot in profile), turning around to almost be run down by Mark Martin heading… somewhere…and who can forget Steve’s ‘Little Tiff’ with Jeff Gordon (I know he never will). Can’t wait to see what tommorrow will bring.

Photo: Beth Anne Heisler On Pit Row

Try our “Rattles from the Catch Can” Quiz and Win Stuff

Do you think you are up on the latest from the NASCAR internet?  Take a shot at our first ever quiz.  We’re calling it Rattles from the Catch Can.  The plan is to take the names of all those who get perfect scores - seven for seven - and that would be 7 correct answers for you contest lawyers out there, and we will pick a winner.  The big winner will get, let’s see…

• DVD “The Daytona 500 - 50 years of the Great American Race”
• ARCA RE/MAX Series official hat
• Crown Royal-Dan Lowry 400 # 26 Jamie McMurray hat
• Boris Said - No Fear Racing T-shirt - great shirt!
• 1 set of “ON PIT ROW”/ “INSIDE ARCA” Mardi Gras beads

All you have to do is play - and keep playing ’till you get it right! Make sure that you enter your email address at the end.  It’s how we validate your score.

If you want to feature this contest on your blog or site by all means be our guest.  And let us know what you think of our first “Rattles from the Catch Can”.

Talladega Sunrise Part 2

Race Day. Up at 5:00am. Shower. Breakfast. Coffee, eggs, grits, ham with red eye gravy. I arrive at the track at 7:00am. We meet in the Media center coffee, doughnuts and cookies are available for the drivers and friends and family who have come along for support.

Check-in includes showing the confirmation letter and signing a one page release form. I have no clue what I really signed, I could’ve been giving away all my worldly possessions to some freaky cult. Aside from the check-in tables, there were about 20 rows of chairs in the room facing an approximately 52” flat screen TV on which they were running a DVD overview/ad for the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure.

At 7:30am they asked us to have a seat. The future drivers were easy to spot -they sort of had that deer-in-the-headlights stare. I was strangely calm. When they started the class, I listened intently to how to find my line, when to shift, how to pass (there would be five other drivers on the track) and most importantly how to avoid kissing the wall. Each driver also would have an in-car instructor. He would be there to give me hand signals on how to drive and maybe a nudge or two to keep me in line. I studied the chart that had the hand signals on it that I would be receiving while on the track. Thumb left; move down; Thumb right: move up; Thumb up: Speed up; Thumb down: Slow down; Fist: Brake; One finger: Shift into first; Two fingers: Shift into second; Three fingers: Shift into third etc. After the class, everyone headed to the pits and were given a ride in the dualies to get the feel for the track. When you are down on the apron, Talladega looks like a wall. My first thought while riding around the apron was ‘No way I’m gonna be driving up there!’ Next my instructor drove up on the 33deg bank and stopped the truck dead. He wanted to show that it would not fall off the steep bank. I, however, had to hang on to the hand strap to keep from ending up in the instructor’s lap. I attentively watched how he moved on the track and got the feel for how to follow the line.

Afterwards, I headed over to the pit area to be fitted for a fire suit and helmet. Then, I went to a table that asked the one and only question of the day : “How tall are you?” I am apparently the same height as Joe Nemecheck because I was assigned to his car. The day was overcast and drizzly and there was a wet spot on the track that needed to be dried so
we were delayed until it was cleaned up. In the meantime, the instructors took all the friends and family members for rides around the track in the dualies. Finally, the time had come. I donned my skull cap and helmet and climbed into Joe’s car and the instructor told me to push the clutch all the way to the floor to make sure I could reach. Then the pit crew
strapped me in (although the guy in charge of connecting the buckle across my crotch was hesitant to reach down and latch me in.) ‘Uh I gotta ….’ He said, and gestured towards my nether regions. I chuckled and replied ‘Strap ‘er in!’ He gave the device one last pull and reached over and turned the ignition on. The car rumbled to a start. The pit crew walked
around the car giving it a final once over then gave the ‘O.K’ to move out.

The next thing I saw, was my instructor’s index finger in my peripheral vision (The sign to shift into first) I was on my way. I drove around the apron gaining speed ; Thumb right; up I went. The Thumbs up: Oh man! Here I go! I pushed my foot down and felt the car speed up. 100mph. I watched the wall coming at me as I constantly guided the wheel left. 120mph.

Lap2: The wall seemed to always be directly in front of me. Keep steering left. At that moment, I was totally convinced that I would hit the wall soon. I felt the icy coldness that turns into paralyzing fear. ‘OMG!’ I thought, ‘I can’t do this! Get me the Hell off this track before I kill myself!’ But then, I remembered that icy road in Kentucky and all the fear melted away. The instructor gave the wheel a little nudge and I focused on my line.

Lap 3: I settled in and started to get the hang of where to move the car. 150mph.

Lap 4: Thumb Left. My car is merrily moving up the track where it wants to be and now I have to move it down to pass someone. Slight nudge. ‘O.K! O.K! I’m moving! Whew! That’s over!’ I’m thinking, ‘I’m nervous out here with five other drivers, I can’t imagine what it would be like with 43 cars out here. Wow.’ I consider the fact that in most sports the participant is pretty confident that they will walk away after it’s over. A race car driver knows there is always a chance they won’t.

Lap 5: Thumb Up. I push down on the accelerator. At this point, the lines on the track appear like dots. Very focused. My instructor gives a nudge to the right on the wheel. I am suddenly right up against the wall. You know - where they said not to go. WTF? Then…

Lap 6: Thumb Up Going faster. Thinking about the speed. The car in it’s line. Checkered Flag. 163mph. Thumb Left. I veer down onto the apron. Thumb Down. I take my foot off the accelerator and feel the car coast.

Turning into the pits. Hard Fist: I put my foot on the brake and come to a stop just barely missing a flustered pit crew member. I’m laughing. My instructor is laughing. He says, “It’s not as easy as it looks!” I reply, “Oh Hell No!”

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - ON PIT ROW

Nationwide Series In Mexico Does Not Disappoint

Kyle Busch outlasted Marcos Ambrose and Scott Pruett to win NASCAR’s south of the border showdown.

Rowdy has made the 2008 NASCAR seasons; Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck, look easy. As Charlie wrote earlier in “Is Kyle Busch the best driver in NASCAR..” The Shrub has been having an unbelievable season so far.

Ambrose and Boris Said had a run in early in the race on Sunday. Said was mad enough to let everyone know his displeasure with Ambrose:

“Just cheap-shotted me and took me out, He hooked my left rear in turn one. He had me sideways for a while and then just turned me around. … I’m not going to cry about it, but I’m going to go apologize to his crew chief because it’s going to cost him a car.”

This type of controversy has become standard when the Nationwide Series moves across the border, whether its north or south.

Rowdy’s win in Mexico City leads to this weeks BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Kyle Busch leads the Nationwide and Truck Series and is second in Sprint Cup. Is he now the best driver in NASCAR?

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Listen to the best of the NASCAR web today ON PIT ROW

Join Steve and me for the live steaming broadcast of ON PIT ROW today at 5:00 pm EDT and hear the voices of some of your favorite NASCAR bloggers live. We’re bringing together seven of the most influential, knowledgeable and opinionated writers from the NASCAR Internet community to kick around a few issues of importance to NASCAR Nation in early 2008.

Here’s the line up:

• Jay Adamski - better known as Jayski, the guy who kicked this NASCAR net thing off
• Luke Poland - webmaster of the Thunder Lounge - the best community in NASCAR
• Darren Fauth - of One Bad Wheel and developer of Champs, Chumps and Sleepers
• Tall Glass of Milk - Drink This, Answer This and the NASCAR Fanhouse at AOL
• Bob Ellis - NASCAR Ranting and Raving’s author and north of the border standout
• Marc Boland - The head of Full Throttle’s Half Vast staff calls from the Phillipines
• Bram Hume -Still the Scottish Racer and author of the great Backstretch Motorsports site

So if all connections go as planned, today will be our first “spanning the NASCAR net” special, brought to you by “Seven Post Magazine” and Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie. We hope you have as much fun with it as we will.

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