NASCAR

Two Laps Down: Aussie Makes Standings Go OY!! OY!! OY!!

Because everything’s upside-down in Aussie-land - Scotty Wazz (from the Face Off Hockey Show) and I share our views on NASCAR each week in Two Laps Down. Here is the e-mail transcript of our latest conversation:

—–Original Message—–

From: Wazzman
Sent: Monday, August 15th, 2011
To: Todd B
Subject: Aussie Makes Standings Go OY!! OY!! OY!!

Wow, TB,

That race was pretty much all you wanted a road-race to be. A lot of action, a lot of good racing, and a first-time winner to cloud the point standings even more than it already was, as Marcos Ambrose gets his first Sprint Cup win of his career and potentially puts him in Wild Card contention.

However, before we get to the race– there were a LOT of hard hits, from Kurt Busch’s blown tire to Denny Hamlin’s stuck throttle to that crazy ending with David Ragan and David Reutimann taking a couple hits, and Reutimann actually flipping on his roof. While all of these guys luckily walked away, these were pretty nail-biting hits to see. Ragan and Reutimann even said this is a track that needs better safety precautions. Do you think NASCAR or even Watkins Glen will do anything to make things safer or is this as good as it’s going to get?? Plus, that last crash got tempers heated, as Boris Said and Greg Biffle got into a shouting match and had the big Said trying to go after Biffle. Said is the guy who hooked the #6 and started that calamity that happened with Rootie. Then Said runs smack about Biffle, saying Biff needs a whoopin’. Odds that Said won’t be racing in NASCAR with comments like that??

But, to the race, Marcos Ambrose was at the front of the pack for a good amount of race, even though Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski were up there, too– did you think there was really any doubt at all?? Ambrose had a solid car all weekend and you knew he was going to be hungry for this one, as it was probably his only true chance to get a big win. But, on Keselowski; for a guy on a bum ankle having to use the clutch so often– how gutsy was this second place finish and was it a little better than his win last week?? One guy who really did come out of nowhere this weekend was Martin Truex, Jr., who’s really hungry for a win. However, with the season Truex has had– the fourth place finish won’t be one to look down upon. Plus, Jeff Burton getting his FIRST top-ten of the year seems pretty insane to me, but it’s that kind of year for that #31 team.

So what does this all do to the points?? Well, Kyle Busch is at the top– that’s for sure, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart swap spots, and it seems those two are pretty clear of 11th. Keselowski and Hamlin are still in the Wild Card position and it seems for now– all is staying sane. For me, though– I think this could hurt Stewart the most– as he didn’t finish the race and may have to get over this mental hump and lost opportunity, which, this late in the season, could be a little rough going forward.

Since you’ll probably have a LOT to say about this, I’ll yield the floor….but not before some Gas-N-Go:

-Big news from Toyota as the Joe Gibbs Racing engine shop will team up with Toyota’s engine shop to build a super engine. How much more desirable does this make Toyota for teams without a manufacturer??

-More big news with JGR, signing Ryan Truex to a 10-race deal for their #20 Nationwide entry, pending on sponsorship. This is the second MWR driver to leave due to lack of sponsorship– and yet NASCAR doesn’t see a problem in the lower ranks??

-Kurt Busch said that he’s in Jimmie Johnson’s head after the Pocono incident– how much do you believe him??

-Rumor has it that Todd Berrier could be jumping from the Richard Childress Racing contingent to the Michael Waltrip Racing contingent– pretty big for MWR, dont’cha think??

-A crazy note for drivers who went “to the back” for the race, as Michael McDowell got sent to the back….for missing the driver introductions?? Really??

Alright, TB– wind this down for us: How crazy is it now that Ambrose has this win?? Is there something to make The Glen safer and will the track put the money out for it?? What’s up with MWR’s Nationwide drivers always jumping ship??

~SW

—–Original Message—–

From: TB
Sent: Monday, August 15th, 2011
To: SW
Subject: RE: Aussie Makes Standings Go OY!! OY!! OY!!

That’s what I’m talkin’ about, Wazz,

It figures – we finally get one of those road-course races that has a little bit of everything…and hardly anybody sees it because it happens on a Monday. I wasn’t sure how it was all going to play out, though – I knew Marcos had the best car, but I didn’t know if he was going to be able to get around Kyle – and when the flag dropped on the green-white-checkered finish and Kyle jumped out to a great restart, I thought Ambrose was going to miss out on a win again until the Shrub over-drove it into turn one – then it was all over. Kudos to Marcos not only for getting the win, but for the sweet bump-and-run move he put on Keselowski – it looked like they were on the last lap at Bristol instead of The Glen.

You gotta feel good for Marcos, though – after that debacle last year at Sonoma it was good to finally see him get the win, and for Petty, too – who has had their fair share of craziness the past year.

And you’ve got a point about Keselowski – I was mighty impressed that he not only kept up Monday, but ran near the front, too. Running second at a Road Course with a fractured ankle is a hell of a lot harder than winning at Pocono with the same injury – whether there is shifting at Pocono or not. I still think the win is a bigger deal, but to back it up with a second at a road course is a monumental two-week effort that should just about lock him in the Chase.

And speaking of the Chase – who would have ever thought it would take two wins to get a Wild Card spot?? We’ve got Keselowski in the first spot, and then there are four more guys between 11th and 23rd that have a win – the only way for one of those to guarantee a spot in the Chase is to get a second win, and for drivers like Bowyer and Biffle – they have zero chance without winning at least one race, maybe two. It’s crazy – five first-time winners and 15 different drivers in victory lane this season – can you remember the last time things were so spread out?? (The record is 19 different winners, I think).

Of course – the flip-side is that Dale Junior and Tony Stewart are still sitting there in 9th and 10th without a win. They are in an okay spot, but both Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin are still within 35 points, so if either has a DNF and falls out of the top-10, they are done. Of course, if Hamlin gets into the top-10, then that opens up another wild card spot which would currently go to Paul Menard…I still think this point system/wild card thing is pretty fun, hopefully it will stay that way.

And I couldn’t believe when they said this was Jeff Burton’s first top-10 of the season – I actually had to go look up his stats. Crazy…although the Crew Chief change seems to have produced some quick results. If the Chase started today, though, only one RCR car would be in. What’s harder to believe – that only one RCR car may make the Chase, or that both Penske cars are in??

Oh, and with all of those wrecks – something has to be done. The Glen paved a few of the run-offs that used to be gravel, and that is fine – but as we saw with Denny Hamlin, if they are going to take out the gravel, they need to put in safer barriers. That last wreck was avoidable, too – they shouldn’t have a wall jutting out like that – there are safer ways to make a break in the wall. I think you’ve pretty much got to have safer barriers at the end of high-speed corners, even on the road course.

And before I throw it back to you – I don’t know what the repercussions might be, but I thought the Boris Said rant was fantastic. These guys were racing mid-pack (although Biff was a couple of laps down), and that’s how bad they wanted to move up a spot or two. I know there is some history there that prompted the garage ‘meeting’, but it isn’t often we see Cup guys saying what they really think like that. That may have been the first time Boris was ever mad on TV.

Gas-n-Go:

- That Toyota thing is big. It is basically a complete factory engine effort now, with the technical advice of JGR. If I’m running a small team, it would be pretty damn tempting to make a switch knowing I’m getting similar equipment to Kyle and Hamlin.

- Is MWR the Montreal Expos of NASCAR?!?! They keep finding and developing this talent – Trevor Bayne and now Ryan Truex – and then ship them off to someone else to become successful. Why aren’t sponsors getting on these kids?? It’s not like MWR is an unknown team – they’ve got one of the most marketable owners in the sport.

- Kurt Busch…heh heh. I remember when Denny Hamlin thought he was in Jimmie Johnson’s head…we all saw how that one worked out.

- Berrier would be a great get for MWR – not only would it give the Cup program a boost, but it might free up some talent to shift to the Nationwide series so they stop losing all that talent to other organizations.

- They sent McDowell to the back for missing intros?? That might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. What are they going to do next – send someone to the back for not signing enough autographs before the race?

Ok, Wazz - back to you: What’s up with all these different winners and taking two wins to make the Chase? Shouldn’t every track have safer barriers, at least in the high-speed corners? How upside-down will the Cup series be with two Penske cars in the Chase, but only one RCR ride? And are things just going to get crazier as we head towards Richmond?

TB

—–Original Message—–

From: Wazzman
Sent: Monday, August 15th, 2011
To: Todd B
Subject: RE: Aussie Makes Standings Go OY!! OY!! OY!!

Funny you say that, TB,

But I was expecting a lot more bumping, especially through the “bus stop” turn; but you didn’t see too much until the last laps. You have to wonder how much the rain played a factor into it. We saw with all the pit strategy, it seemed that guys pitted early wondering if we’d get the full race in or just a half of it. That was another side bar to watch this race– who was pitting and at what point. But Ambrose showed how you can put a bump on someone and not have it go horribly wrong like with what Said did back in the pack.

The Ambrose story is not only sweet for Ambrose– but the Richard Petty Motorsports contingent; who really didn’t know if they’d be able to run this year. It’s the first win of the season for them and it kind of sticks it to Kasey Kahne a bit by showing that they can win without him in the driver’s seat.

Yet, I’m still shocked at the amount of first-time winners we have going on. It makes me wonder why this year is so different. We’ve had it all– big teams to small teams, drivers on the bubble and drivers taking their first real shot at racing. If nothing else is taken away from this season, it’s the fact that the competitive nature is back in NASCAR and it’s a good thing for the sport. You also have to wonder if we’re reaching a point were you’re seeing a lot of the other drivers not take the big risk to go for the win due to the points meaning so much at this juncture. They could go for the win and risk blowing up or stay back in the pack and get the points and live to fight another day. There’s a lot of outside factors, but damn– it’s sure fun.

That brings me to the Chase and as things finally got settled after the big wreck, Junior is in ninth and 36 points ahead of 11th place, while Tony Stewart is 10th and 25 points clear. Keselowski and his two wins should be locked in, while Hamlin is only up 26 points on Paul Menard, who is the only other guy with a in in the top-20 to race for the points. The last four races have two wide-open tracks in Michigan and Atlanta, with Bristol and Richmond– short track that could do damage– between them….for the first time in a while, this late in the season; I’m feeling a little bit of dramatics coming on and it’s a helluva feeling.

But when you point out the Penske guys, it makes me wonder if we’ve had this whole thing wrong and Dodge could be worth something after all. They’re the only team out there with the Ram on the hood and next thing you know– they’re showing how it’s supposed to be done. Still, this could just be a flash-in-the-pan thing, you think that the team will still consider options about other manufacturers or will they stay with who brought ‘em??

When it comes to The Glen, I’m surprised there aren’t more wrecks. The “S’s” are very tight and it seems the track as a whole is very narrow, which would leave a lot of beating and banging to be done and the fact that the big wreck at the end was the only true wreck we saw surprised me. But, at the same time– how this track wasn’t the FIRST to put a Safer barrier on is beyond me. You’d think this place and Sonoma would have done it prior since (and I play into the whole stereotype) most of these guys don’t often turn right. You’d probably want the track to be a little more safe if you know guys aren’t used to the terrain.You can bet the track will get beat up for this and almost force them to do this, even if it costs them a lot. They don’t want to lose this race because it is an attraction; but there’s other road courses to be had at NASCAR’s disposal.

As for Said’s rant, it was definitely a nice change of pace, but he could have stepped over the bounds about hunting him down at his house to give him a black-eye. He did make a good point, though, that the Biff did hide behind his massively massive crew as Said was coming after him. That’s a bit of a cop-out move if you’re going to start picking fights and stuff; but it is what it is. We won’t see Said and Biffle on a course again until Sonoma; but memories are longer nowadays, which should be even more fun to watch.

G-n-G

-I think not only would small teams like this, but I think MWR should be happy since they can get a little extra power in their engines and should be able to bounce back from their pretty dismal season thus far.

-Though I wouldn’t say MWR’s Nationwide side are the Expos, but their getting there. The funny thing is the fact that they have so many marketable parts at MWR and they could maybe try and sell Travis Pastrana in on a deal as well– but I guess companies would rather have a bigger name for about the same price so they at least know they’ll be talked about. But that raises the paradox of how does a driver get big if he doesn’t have backing??

-My thing about Kurt Busch that’s different with Hamlin is that Kurt seems like a guy who could play head games. He did it with Jimmy Spencer for so long, while Hamlin seems more even-mannered. It doesn’t mean Kurt is in Jimmie’s head– but he could have more of an effect.

-It’s odd how RCR is losing a guy like Berrier and may only have one guy going into the Chase. Is this organization finally starting to see some cracks??

-Actually, the next fine is double dipping a chip during a meet-and-greet session.

Take us home, TB– and don’t forget to turn right: How much better are you now that there’s drama around the points’ chase?? If The Glen doesn’t fix themselves, where could you see another road race?? If you gave Biffle one of those attack dog protective suits– would he even have a chance against Big Boris??

~SW

—–Original Message—–

From: Todd
Sent: Monday, August 15th, 2011
To: Wazz
Subject: RE: Aussie Makes Standings Go OY!! OY!! OY!!

Think of this, Wazz,

Looking at your points breakdown for those guys fighting to get a wild card spot – it is actually possible right now that Paul Menard might be able to race his way past Denny Hamlin into the Chase – in what alternate universe did anyone think that was a serious possibility?

But that is the cool thing about the Chase format this year, and the cool part about having so many different winners – all of the sudden, people that you never thought could make the Chase have a chance. So far, it has worked out great – I know earlier in the year we were worried that an undeserving driver might win their way in and bump a real contender out, but at this point it looks like whoever finally makes it in will have earned their spot.

And those two Dodge guys certainly fit that bill – they will make the Chase in different ways, but they both put up for NASCAR’s smallest manufacturer. Winning makes everything better, and now that Dodge has three victories – I’d imagine they are turning a few heads in the garage. I’m not sure if any medium-sized teams would seriously consider a switch, but it sure would be nice to see a few more cars out there with a ram on the hood to balance the field.

Oh – and you make a really good point about Kurt Busch being good at the mind games. We all remember Jimmie Spencer decking him, but nobody really thinks about the fact that the reason Spence was so mad is because Kurt did such a great job of pushing his buttons. That could be a valuable asset in the Chase.

I definitely think Watkins Glen will have safer barriers in the high-speed sections next year, but in a world where there was another Cup series road course – I think Montreal would be the best business move. That place would be friggin’ packed with fans. Would it be my fist choice? No – I’d take Laguna Seca, which would be the wildest, craziest NASCAR race anybody has ever seen…but that would never happen.

And I think the Biff is probably pretty tough, but Boris is a big dude, and I’d bet he’s been in a few scraps in his day. My money is on the wild-n-crazy hair.

Oh, and small news flash for next week: another female driver – Maryeve Dufault – is going to try the Nationwide series. Just for one race a tMontreal (she’s Canadian, if the name didn’t give it away already), and unlike Danica – who was a race car driver that they turned into a model – Maryeve has a head start…she already is a model. Go Canada!

So, what have we learned:

- Marcos Ambrose winning isn’t just a good story after the Sonoma debacle last year – it is a huge boost for Petty Motorsports, who almost didn’t exist this season.

- Five first-time winners and 15 total winners in 2011? The Cup series is more competitive than ever.

- It’s a pretty safe bet we’ll see safer barriers at Watkins Glen next year…and Sonoma, too.

- If the Wild Card competition stays the same, things are going to get pretty exciting heading to Richmond

- If you’re in the garage and looking for a fight, it’s probably advisable to have Boris Said on your side. Or better yet – Jimmie Spencer.

- NASCAR has to look at MWR’s Nationwide situation and see a problem with the series. Heck, who are we kidding – NASCAR will probably never acknowledge they need to do something to help.

- Unless you like starting in the back, make sure you’re at driver intros on time. And sign enough autographs. And for the love of Pete – don’t double-dip!

Next week – Motor City Madness in Michigan

TB