Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Lenox 301

Mopping up from a wet finish, here's this week's teenage wasteland edition of Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes. They're Logano-rific!

No. No. No. Rain Tires. No.

Because this is the third time in 2009 that a Sprint Cup race has been halted by rain [congrats, Lincoln Log-ano!], the thoughts of "Why can't NASCAR use rain tires?" are creeping back again.

Well, you want the answer? It's way too simple: the racing would plain suck.

Apologies for breaking out the Kyle Busch lingo on that one, but if you just look back to NASCAR's one attempt at running at rain race in its history during last year's Nationwide Series event at Montreal, you'd know that it just wouldn't work on an oval.

Not only do teams have trouble keeping the inside windows from fogging up and getting a windshield wiper to actually adhere to a windshield at speeds above 100 mph, but the racing would dramatically change as soon as the track got wet and drivers were tip-toeing around an oval on grooved rain tires.

In all likelihood, your race winner on Sunday wouldn't have been Jeff Gordon or Kurt Busch, and instead, an obscure name -- like, gasp, Joey Logano! -- could have found victory lane with the amount of carnage the leaders would have produced.

Just accept it, please. Rain tires don't work. Better scheduling on NASCAR's part [by season, race start time and track lights] does.

Speaking of the Shrubinator himself...

Boy did Kyle Busch take some slack for the wreck that he caused -- don't let Kyle Petty tell you any differently -- on the frontstretch during a restart of Sunday's race. Just read some of these quotes:

"I guess everybody just learns to expect Kyle doing something stupid. Stupid is forever," -- Brian Vickers

"I guess Kyle just decided he didn't want to lift, so I was just an innocent victim today. Someone spun the tires and our lane didn't go. Kyle just lost his head like he usually does when something bad happens." -- Martin Truex Jr.

To his credit, for once, Busch did take the blame for the wreck as he should have. I realize that Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun his tires, but had Busch tried not to make it three-wide, there would have been no wreck, and Brian Vickers wouldn't have been able to throw any more verbal barbs at New Hampshire.

Scott Speed, it turns out, was pleasantly surprised that he didn't get blamed for that wreck, too. Grin.

Did you catch the finish of that Modified race?

Carl Edwards made note of it before Saturday's Nationwide Series race, and ESPN eventually showed the replay of the finish of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series race. The short end of it is that Donny Lia won it after four cars battled and two nearly ended up flipping coming to the checkered flag.

You can see the photo over on From the Marbles, and you can catch an amateur video here.

It's totally worth it.

Just to make a quick note

Dale Earnhardt Jr. did, in fact, drive his No. 88 into a competitive role during Sunday's race. From what I can tell, the biggest difference has been how he is being coached more to tell crew chief Lance McGrew what the car is doing instead of what changes they need.

Some may say that's a knock on Junior's driving ability, but just listen to his teammates and you'll find that each of them just say what the car is doing before the crew chief decides on the plan of action.

Really, it's just like other sports -- the right coach [or in NASCAR, the crew chief] can meld a team of individuals into a winning combination, and that's what seems to be happening here, one step at a time.

Earnhardt finished 13th.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-30-2009 @ 8:47AM

Kim said...

Okay, Geoffrey....point taken about rain tires and racing in the rain.

As for the schedule, I was just complaining about it on the other blog page about the race. First, it is absolutely stupid how NASCAR sets up their scheduling of races in the first place. They talk about needing to save money. First step: Start the racing schedule in the south & run those tracks, move toward the west, then north and midwest, move to the east, and end up back in the south again. Talk about saving money! Going from California one weekend to New Hampshire the next is absolute ignorance and a total waste of money!

Onto Earnhardt Jr....coudn't agree with your sentiments more. He has definitely slowly improved since the crew chief switch and in fact it's nice to see that you said almost word for word what I have been saying about the Jr. & Eury combination for a year in a half. Eury can't set up the car right if Jr. doesn't report properly what the car is doing. I also don't believe Eury Jr. knew how to set the car up properly regardless. It is clear that all Jr. needs to do is focus on driving, report what the car is doing and Lance McGrew (sp?) will figure the rest out. Now, if we could just get Jr. to quit missing his pit stalls, although I believe he is improving in that regard as well. :-)

Kim

6-30-2009 @ 11:12AM

illsell4u said...

I am not 100% certain but I think they haul everything back to their shops after every race as it is. So if they had two races in a row out west that would mean 4 cross country trips in two weeks. Unless of course they decided to just resupply and keep everything they have out west. Keep in mind, different tracks mean different cars. It is not like some of these teams can take 4 cars with them at a time. For some teams taking two is hard enough. So even keeping most stuff out west and resupplying would be difficult at best.
I understand looking at the weather data and trying to play the odds based on when are the dry seasons but there are still going to be rain events. No matter which of the many options there are someone is not going to like it. End the race? many don't like it. Finish on rain tires in a much slower parade? many don't like it. finish the race the next day? many don't like it.
It is sad but unless someone actually has something the majority of fans would like it is probably best to keep it like it is. Even though I personally would like it changed I understand why people would not like my idea. Since it makes sense to keep it like it is, look for Nascar to change it something worse next week.
mbl

6-30-2009 @ 11:43AM

Rain Rain said...

Well, you want the answer? It's way too simple: the racing would plain suck.----- So all the people that have a bumper sticker saying "The worst day racing is better than the best day at work" are all lying? I don't care if the racing would suck INITIALLY. I'm sure they would be able to develop better tires, changes to the cars etc. But to just stick to the same 'ol thing makes no sense. Maybe attach special spoilers with extreme downforce along with developing better tires, require a very low rpm rev chip, who knows. But to say it can't be done because this is how we've always done it so..... Of course it can't if nobody ever tries. Tires on your street car used to be terrible in the rain, they are now very safe due to development. At least the race would be won by finishing the last lap instead of holding an umbrella doing a rain dance. To watch a race end this way, even though it's in the rules, is like making out with your mom!

6-30-2009 @ 8:45PM

Ron said...

You are absolutely right Geoffrey and there is no magic fix to this situation that will please everyone. There never is. It's just not gonna happen. Something else that is not gonna happen is rain tires on a 3400 lb race car. It's not a matter of choice but a matter of physics as in g-forces. There is no plausible way to put that heavy of a car into a wet track turn at 100 + mph or much less, and expect it to stick no matter what magic tires (that some seem to think are available) are used. It's a major chore to get these cars through the turns with race tires on a dry track for pete's sake. And that's only one problem with rain tires. Geoffrey named some others. Has anyone ever heard a cup driver suggest putting rain tires on these cup cars? Of course not. Maybe because it's a bad idea all around.

6-30-2009 @ 9:41PM

100 MPH into a wet curve??????? I was thinking more like 65!!!
Magic tires? That was funny. I can hear Forest Gump right now. "Jeff Gordon, you've got magic tires." LOL Too funny.

7-01-2009 @ 12:31AM

Hey Kimi, I would love to give you all the credit for what you claim to have been saying for a year and a half about Tony Jr but the fact is so was everybody else. In fact I said (as did many many others)when he announced that Tony Jr was coming along it was a bad deal. I'm not saying Tony Jr is incompetent I just think Dale Jr should have started from scratch to begin with without dragging bad habits along with him from DEI. I never saw a click between those two since Tony Jr took over the job and I think Jr brought Tony Jr along because he thought it would give him (Dale Jr)more of a say as to what to do during the race kind of in a co-crewchief/driver role. Obviously, if I'm correct, that was a major mistake and I truly believe we are now seeing the proof of that by what we are seeing on the track. I have been impressed with the ability of the 88 team to hold position or advance, something they had a big problem with in the past and they seem to have a totally different look. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. There will be ups and downs but this has the look of something that could work out very well. Probably too little too late for this year as far as the chase is concerned but still plenty of time this year for this team to come together and end this year on a high note.

As far as Jr missing his pit stall... that happens now and then to some drivers over the course of a year. It's a chaotic place. The only difference is when Jr does it, it becomes National news and fodder for those who wish to use it.

7-01-2009 @ 9:15AM

Hi Ron!

You are correct! I didn't mean to take full credit for something that others were saying. There were only a few of us that were consistent in saying that Tony Jr. following Earnhardt to Hendrick was a mistake. You, me, Mike, CJ & Anna were the ones I can think of that were most vocal in our disagreement with the decision. I think even Brad came around and began to agree, too. :-)

It's all the others. The "fans" that just couldn't see the light so to speak that I was referring to. It was nice to have a Fanhouse writer that I know is a fan of Earnhardt Jr. echo our sentiments, (Yes, Geoffrey....just called you out on who your favorite driver is!).

The sad thing though is that Jr. seems to be even more unhappy about the situation of crew chief changes than Eury Jr. was. It seems like each week when interviewed, he's down in the dumps and doesn't say much positive like he always used to. I understand he is close with his cousin, but I think even Eury Jr. knew it was time to move on. Hopefully Earnhardt in time will come to the understanding that Rick Hendrick truly is looking out for Jr's best interests in trying to make the most popular driver in NASCAR more competetive again.

Jr. ran in the top five consistently most of last weekend's New Hampshire race and if I saw correctly, only finished where he did due to a late pit stop that he had to take for gas. Had he stayed out like Logano did, he might have been declared the winner or definitely would have finished in the top five. It was a shame he ended up where he did, because he had been competetive and consistent all day and was running the best race he had run in some time. Hopefully this weekend he can do the same with more success.

Kim

7-01-2009 @ 9:22AM

Hey Mike,

I hadn't thought about where the team shops were located. You are correct though, aren't most located in Charlott? I guess if they have to travel all the way back to their shops after each week then my idea of staying on the road and working a schedule that makes sense instead of driving from one end of the country to the other, is blown out of the water.

I am sure you are correct especially with the smaller teams, i.e. being able to afford to stay out on the road instead of heading back to the shop. I am sure though that the more dominant teams such as Hendrick, Gibbs & Roush wouldn't necessarily need to head back to headquarters after each race. It is an interesting thought though, don't you think? I have never understood the schedule of how they set up the races and think it seems least economical. But perhaps there are other issues as to why. Is there anyone smarter than I (I am sure there is), that would know the answer to this?

Kim

7-01-2009 @ 10:04AM

Well I would not exactly say I thought taking Eury Jr was a mistake. However, from what I am hearing of jr's fans, the ones that listen to his in car audio, it seems like perhaps there was a "familiarity" issue. That and perhaps Jr tried to have too much input in what the changes needed to the car were. Some drivers do tell the crew chief exactly what changes they want and if they are qualified to do so that works. MAYBE Jr was doing that and was not really qualified and Tony Jr just did not have the stones to tell his cousin he was wrong in his suggestions.
I have missed large segments of the races the last 4-6 weeks. In the portions of the races I have seen I did not witness any improvements in Jr's driving until the past two weeks. I believe in the road course towards the end he was making advancements which is unusual for Jr on a road course and this week at one point I saw he was suddenly in 13th place and moving forward fast. Not sure how close he got to the front, I had to miss about 45 minutes of the race at that point. I do know he is still in the same place in points he was in when they changed crew chief.
Anyone that was expecting INSTANT change is a fool. If in fact there is real improvement going on, the new crew chief has finally figured out what the problem was. It still does not explain why that team ran so well last year with the same people as the first half of this year. I try to look at the overall trend as opposed to one race. There are too many bad things that can happen in one race. Happy days are ahead for the Jr fans though with a restrictor plate race coming up, yuk. Saturday is the ONLY day I do not have plans from Friday to Monday. Maybe I will finally get to see a whole race this week. Or at least get to watch a train go round and round.
mbl

7-01-2009 @ 10:34AM

Kim you must have missed the interview with Jr last week. He was very upbeat and was giving his team very appreciative thanks with a big smile. Very happy guy.

Mike there have been inprovements in the 88 team since Lance came on board. If I didn't see it I wouldn't say it and I'm no fool. At this point it will be very difficult for him to gain much in points unless some of the top 15 drivers start having big problems. If thats all you're looking at you won't see much change.

7-01-2009 @ 10:53AM

INCREDIBLE ONE said...

Anyone so ignorant to even ask about rain tires on ovals shouldn't call themselves a race fan. This is something a person with no knowledge of racing would ask, not a true racing fan. It is physically impossible to run stock cars on oval using rain tires in the rain. But knowing the current group of idiots in charge of NASCAR i figure they will try it. Big Big is spinning in his grave thanks to his grandson and the idiot Helton.

7-01-2009 @ 10:56AM

Opps typo make that Big Bill not Big Big

7-01-2009 @ 12:44PM

Ha, I know my ADD gets the better of me sometimes. Let me try harder this time.
1. Anyone that was expecting INSTANT change is a fool.
2. In the portions of the races I have seen I did not witness any improvements in Jr's driving until the past two weeks. **meaning there has been improvement in at least the past two weeks.**
3. If in fact there is real improvement going on, the new crew chief has finally figured out what the problem was.
4. Happy days are ahead for the Jr fans though with a restrictor plate race coming up
5. I try to look at the overall trend as opposed to one race. There are too many bad things that can happen in one race.

I feel like I did say he was improving. I am sorry it was just all over the board. LOL. I can only be so nice you know. Maybe I just expect too much from my guy and cannot see it or give credit to others. My fav is still in second place and has a PLETHORA of top five finishes and I am still not happy.
mbl
Word of the day used for you Brad.

7-01-2009 @ 5:03PM

nzcr14 said...

WEEEELLL MIKE
if it makes you feel any better, STEWART has a SUPER PLETHORA OF TOP 5;as matter of fact except couple top10, the all season he is been finishing top 5 BUT HE IS ONLT 60 POINTS ahead of JG.
60 points are at risk to get catched on and even overpassed in 1 race if TONY hits a bad day.
of course none will matter at chase time.THAT'S WHEN I MOSTLY WANT TO SEE STEWART finishing top5/3
actually,that when i want to see TONY ADDING WINS TOO,EXSPECIALLY WINS.Those poor 10 more points for winningva race might come very meaningfull at the end (homestead or before).I HOPE STEWART PUT HIS MIND 100% TOWARDS THE WIN THAN AND does not repeat his wins give aways again as i think he has been doing.I want to see old typical tony in the chase
where he WINS regardless of other drivers needs.

JUNIOR CREW CHIEF SWITCH IS SURE SHOWING SOME IMPROVEMENTS,but i think it's too early to CHEER YET.THINGS could change for better or back to worse.
We were calling for THE FARMER BOY ST.LETARGY HEAD TOO,but him and JG proved as wrong so far.THE PLETHORA OF TOP 5's shows it.60 points only behiund stewart also shows it.
what can i say other than lets FIRE STEVE LETARGO AT THE NEXT GORDON DOWNTREND and next slow pit performance of his crew.
On another subject,we been seeing new posters like,
aosamadoped-demzrdopes-halfbaked-stalin 47-general motor of china- import gm-HI THERE- welcome dawn-WELCOME DON- all DRIVE BY'S except few STAY OVER.
Just few days ago i saw ANEW 1; OBAMAMARXIST, LMAO.
And now at last here is the INCREDIBLE ONE.
Wonder who can that be? lol,these pages are becoming really INCREDIBLE.
works for me...