Track Trash – Home-instead

Another loooong year of stock car racing is behind us. Jr. was right. Unlike the NFL, this sport does not leave you wishing for more. It leaves you dragged out and wanting a long siesta during the winter……

TEI Merger: Another merger for TEI (the second within this racing year), bringing in two more numbers they have at their disposal. Make no mistake about it…in essence they are buying more sponsors via the merger (a pretty stupid business plan). Perhaps the only positive thing this will do is to place AssiGanassi at the track each weekend, thereby giving the teams a real ‘owner’ they can see and hear. The downside, of course, is that Felix Sabates comes along with the package. Remember that AssiGanassi also has other racing ownership responsibilities (IRL), so he might not be there every weekend (thus the concern about Los Felix and his wagging tongue).

The reason: TEI was literally forced to merge with someone. The bottom line is this: Bass Pro Shops’ contract requires TEI to field a minimum of three teams and if it fails to do so, the sponsor could walk. Thus, a few lines in a contract can change the destiny of an organization. This explains why the announcement was made; yet the details are far from being finalized. The ‘details’ could take a long time to sort out, and like the Bass Pro Shops agreement, a few words or lines in the contract can change everything.

Untested: What with NA$CAR banning all testing at sanctioned tracks, this puts the old whammy on that pheeenom Joey Longanano, and could dramatically extend his learning curve. Thus, instead of being a diamond in the rough in ’09, he could just turn out to be a lump of coal. So the testing ban could save the teams a lot of money, but at the same time it could shatter a promising career. Look for Joey to get a lot of seat time in the Busch League. And look for the Cup teams to cheat and send their cars to Kentucky and elsewhere to practice. But in the end, it all boils down to the availability of tires……

Entrance exam: One quick thought. If rookies can’t test at sanctioned tracks, how the heck is NA$CAR gonna know if rookies are good enough to run at Daytona and Talladega ?? In the past, they’ve had to ‘pre-qualify’, but that option doesn’t appear to be available any more.

Truckin’: The truck series Championship was determined at the very end of the season…..the last 5 laps of the season, and the second place finisher was 7 measly points behind the Champ. Cup fans deserve the same dynamics. It just proves that we don’t need no stinkin’ Playoff to generate the excitement. But Brian the Brain thinks that the Playoffs can hold some viewers who might otherwise be tempted to visit an adjoining NFL channel. It doesn’t work that way, Brain(less). You need excitement and drama to hold the viewers.

Bud Shutout: I’m sorry, but the new Bud Shootout formulation stinks, and it’s making a mockery of the whole sport. By taking the top 5 teams of each car manufacturer, it’s eliminating many big time drivers, and including many dogs. The last straw is the potential movement of Pablo to a Chevy, and putting RoboGordo in the 5th Dodge (if he stays with Dodge). This is going so far down the totem pole that it’s making the whole Shootout look ridiculous. My point is that prior to this race, Robo was 32nd in Points, so they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel when they go that low. How about “number of top 10 finishes”, or some other more realistic value ?? So what if the qualifying teams are skewed more toward Ford or Chevy, and may not have any Dodges?? So what ?? Let’s put the best teams on the track for the Shootout. Otherwise, they might as well run Bandeleros in a 300 mile race at Daytuna. Now, THAT would be interesting.

Da FINAL Race: Pre-race, the TV analysts were saying that to win 3 Championships is a DYNASTY. Maybe in some other sport like the NFL, but not necessarily in NA$CAR. Yes, it’s a tremendous effort, but DYNASTY ?? Even if The Old Man (Earnhardt) were in a similar situation, I couldn’t buy it. Now, win four or five and that might be a dynasty. In his final JGR interview, Tony got choked up. All the emotions started to flow, and I’m sure he was holding back a few wet drops near his eyes.

Gordo: Goose egg. Dhump the whale………..

Kudos: Super kudos to da Flipster for never giving up. He did the best he could, but he needed JJ to have a calamity (which never happened). To JamieMac for another solid finish, and it’s too bad he’s gonna get a new crew chief in ’09. To TravisCupful for a surprise top 10. To CaseOfMears for a solid (final) ride in the 5 car. To AJ for an 11th place finish, an outstanding final few races for this driver.

Championship remarks: OK, it was a fantastic ride for the 48 team this year, capped off by their 3-peat. Yes, JJ did 3 in a row, but remember that he was not the first driver to do it. Cale Yarborough did it years ago. Yes, it’s a great honor, but it was really not record book material. Record tying, yes, but record making, no. However, das Knaus DOES justify being in the record book, because he was the first crew chief to 3-peat. And this says volumes about how this team was able to accomplish all that they have in the past 3 years. Unfortunately, though, they just won the Championship for 2008, and yes, they only get to hold it for another 45 days. Then it’ll be 2009, and the clock starts ticking again…….

Finally: Kudos to all you 48 fans. You stuck by JJ even though he was the odds-on favorite to be at the top of the heap. And even though he is the only driver in the pits to have zero, and I mean ZERO, personality. Unfortunately, this will cost him dearly in being able to cash in on his feat. Yes, he’s gonna make a chunk of change, but not nearly as much as if he were able to bond with his fans. Sorry to end on a sour note, but my fingers made me do it……

Heaps of 3’s all over yer local Office Depot store,
Racing Maniac #3