Motorsports FanHouse

Allmendinger, Mayfield, Riggs and Smith Earn Starting Spots in Daytona 500

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:16:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Regan Smith, Sprint Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon, Thursday afternoon's Gatorade Duels at Daytona was a nervous affair because they didn't want to hurt their race cars for Sunday's Daytona 500.

But for four other drivers, just finishing the race high enough in the running order was downright breathtaking.

And for one driver, the feat of qualifying for the Daytona 500 was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
A.J. Allmendinger, Jeremy Mayfield, Scott Riggs and Regan Smith were the four drivers who earned a starting spot in Sunday's Daytona 500 -- the season-opener of the NASCAR season that also doubles as the sport's biggest race -- after finishing just ahead of enough other previously unqualified drivers.

Jeremy Mayfield and A.J. Allmendinger -- they both qualified by way of their finish in the second race of the Duels -- were both incredibly emotional after the race thanks to the long odds they overcame. Allmendinger had to put on his sunglasses following a 10th-place finish secured his 20th-place Sunday start to cover up a few flowing tears.

"For me, you know, it's amazing," said Allmendinger. "There's so many emotions that run through. I've been so nervous over the last couple of days 'cause I've been in this position the last two years, but I really felt like this I deserved to be in the race -- that this team deserved to be in the race."

Allmendinger was overcoming long odds after learning just last week that his No. 44 -- a car he can only race for 10 races as of now in 2009 thanks to a lack of sponsorship -- wouldn't be automatically qualified under NASCAR's Top-35 rule that guarantees last season's Top 35 teams in owner points a spot in the first five races of 2009. The Richard Petty Motorsports team lost its guarantee after the sale of car numbers and their owner points shifted the standings.

Mayfield, on the other hand, was attempting to make the race with a team he put together "23 days ago" (his count) and a team of 15-20 total employees who had yet to recieve a paycheck. Yeah, the $200k+ the team will earn just for starting the race was a little needed.

His No. 41 All-Sport Toyota used a two-tire stop late in the race to earn some much needed track position, and the Owensboro, Ky.-native scored a 9th-place finish.

"We figured we got to make a run for the Daytona 500, got to gamble sometime. It was a gamble being here," said Mayfield. "Another gamble wasn't going to hurt us. We did that. It paid off for us."

"You just can't imagine the pressure that's on a driver and a team to do what we did today. To be out there, sliding around, running for your life," said the driver-owner. "[After the race] I couldn't even talk on the [in-car] radio."

Scott Riggs and Regan Smith were in equally stressful positions, but both secured spots in the "Great American Race."

Riggs, driving for the newly-formed and impressively small Tommy Baldwin Racing, took his unsponsored ride that was formed just six weeks ago to an eighth-place finish that earned him the 17th-starting spot in Sunday's race.

"This is grass-roots right now for us. I mean, you go to the shop, it's a lot of guys are just volunteers, passionate about racing," said Riggs. "They put their heart and soul into it from faith in Tommy, the whole organization. To be able to scrap something together from a month and a half ago to nothing, to be able to put something together, come here, run good, be pretty strong in the pack, get ourselves in the race, it speaks volumes for us."

Smith came to Daytona in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team that, as of just a few months, had planned to stop racing in 2009. Now, they're in the Daytona 500 -- thanks mainly to Tony Stewart's second-place effort in the same race.

Allmendinger, Mayfield, Riggs and Smith Earn Starting Spots in Daytona 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 from '08: Tony Stewart's Talladega Gift

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Regan Smith, Tony Stewart, NASCAR Videos, Sprint Cup

With NASCAR's awards banquet on Friday, Dec. 5 (stop by for the live blog!), here's a look at 10 from '08 -- 10 of the NASCAR season's best moments.

It's a rare feat in NASCAR racing to actually cross the finish line first with the checkered flag waving and not be awarded the race winner's trophy.

A rare feat, of course, until you toss in a set of rules that don't even get the judgment-call benefit of the doubt like a foul in basketball or a strike in baseball.

But that's exactly what happened to Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s rookie driver Regan Smith in October at Talladega Superspeedway. Smith, driving the No. 01, passed Tony Stewart while driving under the painted yellow line 300 yards from the finish, but was declared to have finished 17th while Stewart celebrated his lone win of 2008.

Whaaaaa?

NASCAR has somewhat enforced a rule for many years to curb dangerous passes out of the groove at its two restrictor plate tracks -- Daytona and Talladega -- by saying a car must yield a gained position or it will be forced to make a pit stop if a driver advances position while below the "out of bounds," or yellow, line.

There's no argument that Smith didn't go under the line (you can watch the video for yourself in a moment) but there is a solid argument that NASCAR's discretion in making the call is entirely too flawed.

Exceptions to the rule have often been made in the past for a car getting forced by the car that is getting passed after starting to make a legitimate move (see: Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2003) and drivers have often received a warning for an infraction before a penalty is given. And, prior to Talladega in October, most drivers knew the unwritten rule that anything goes with the checkered flag waving the air.

That all went out the window for Regan Smith.

Was it because it was Regan Smith, a nobody who wouldn't be a noticeable name in newspapers the next day? Or was it because Tony Stewart had been so stymied at Talladega and in 2008 -- winless to that point in both -- was looking to leave his storied run at Joe Gibbs Racing with a 'W' in his pocket?

Whatever it was, it still doesn't seem fair to me, but it was definitely one of NASCAR season's most memorable moments.

10 from '08: Tony Stewart's Talladega Gift originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LFL: Regan Smith Won 'Dega, Says Dale Jr.

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Regan Smith, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Talladega Superspeedway, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is at the track in Concord, N.C. for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 in full fan mode. He's hoping to avoid Kevin Harvick's motor coach driver from his location in the Ford Grandstand, Section I.

Regan Smith may drive for the race team that Dale Earnhardt Jr. left in 2007, but that didn't keep the now-Hendrick Motorsports driver from taking Smith's side after last week's controversial finish at Talladega Superspeedway.

Smith, a rookie in the Sprint Cup series, was denied his first-career win after NASCAR declared his last-lap pass underneath Tony Stewart illegal and gave Stewart the win despite getting beat by Smith to the finish line.

I was thoroughly against the ruling, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his support of Smith clear and questioned NASCAR's judgment on Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"In my opinion, the 01 (Smith) was forced below the line," Earnhardt Jr. said on Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"The two did make contact - (Smith) was on the inside of Tony and he had no choice other than to move away from Tony and that sends him below the line and in my opinion, the 01 wins the race. I feel like Tony did what he had to do. In the car, everyone would have done what Tony did, everyone would have done what the 01 did. Neither one of them were wrong or right.

"What's curious is when are you forced? Show me some video. I want to know what's forced and what's not. I felt like that was being forced."

And can you argue with Earnhardt Jr.? His statement further exemplifies how confused drivers were on NASCAR's rule, and how they remain to be confused now even after NASCAR tried to clarify the rule this week.

Earnhardt Jr. especially took exception to the now-apparent policy of NASCAR saying that Smith should have either backed off and not gone for the win or tried to wreck Stewart.

"[Smith] can't sit there and hold his line," said Earnhardt Jr., who left DEI at the end of 2007 to compete for Hendrick Motorsports. "He's going to wreck Tony and probably wreck himself. That's ridiculous to expect someone to be that bull-headed about a situation like that and put everybody in jeopardy just to not be accused of passing below the line."

Ridiculous it is, Mr. Earnhardt.

A black and white playbook isn't a possibility in NASCAR, but something with much less gray with the current one is very possible.

LFL: Regan Smith Won 'Dega, Says Dale Jr. originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR's Inconsistency Helped Tony Stewart, Hurt Regan Smith

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:52:00 EST

Filed under: Regan Smith, Tony Stewart, Sprint Cup

NASCAR fans got a pretty doggone good show Sunday afternoon at Talladega -- especially if you're a fan of edge-of-your-seat-for-500-miles action.

But more than the action, what the fans at the track and the ones at home were ultimately left with was a big, big question.

When in the world is NASCAR going to find a consistent, plausible rule book?

I'll state it bluntly: Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s rookie driver Regan Smith got screwed on the final lap of the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway after NASCAR handed Tony Stewart the win -- his first of 2008. Smith, they said, broke the out-of-bounds rule by making a pass of Stewart under the yellow line just before the start/finish line.

Smith crossed the start/finish first and had seemingly handed Stewart a seventh-career 2nd-place finish at the Alabama track.

Smith deserved to be doing burnouts.

He deserved to be celebrating an improbable win in victory lane.

And, most of all, he did not deserve to be getting penalized for something a well-known driver got away with en route to a victory at the same track in 2003.

His name? Dale Earnhardt Jr.
In that event -- the April spring race at the 2.66-mile, high-banked, extremely fast track 30 minutes east of Birmingham -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a pass under the supposed out-of-bounds line around Matt Kenseth with five laps to go as the field drove through turn three.

Earnhardt Jr. would go on to win the race, and didn't face any sanction from NASCAR despite the fact that multiple teams lined up at the NASCAR official's hauler after the race demanding an answer for why his move wasn't illegal despite pre-race warnings of penalties for such tactics.

The win stood while the rest of the sport steamed.

And Sunday, the same rule came in to question, despite the fact Smith's move looked much more legitimate than Earnhardt Jr.'s move in 2003 that didn't garner a penalty. Naturally, that left Smith -- the driver competing for the rookie of the year title who has gotten next to zero publicity in 2008 -- with a question of why his move was so wrong.

"I was told the rule is that if you're forced down there you're the winner and on the last lap anything goes," said Smith.

And even if Smith was told that, it's sure hard to know for sure thanks to NASCAR feeling a complete unwillingness to ever publish a rule book for the general public to look over -- though it would be difficult to keep certain pages updated; certain pages that the sport seems to pencil in as things go along.

All of the rules governing the out-of-bounds line are stated in a pre-race drivers meeting, and NASCAR has had problems answering to all of the possibilities the rule creates since it came in effect a few years ago.

Even so, I don't see how Smith's move can be determined to be illegal because of the way he so craftily got to the inside of Stewart.

Smith made a swerve to the high side of the track, causing Stewart to swerve as well, and then darted for the bottom of the track where he pulled alongside Stewart's rear fender. Stewart then swerved again, clipping the nose of Smith's car and forcing him under the yellow line, but not stalling Smith's momentum as the No. 01 slid past Stewart's No. 20 at the line.

Shouldn't Smith be allowed to hold his position? Or should Smith, as he pondered after the race in an interview, hold his spot and cause Stewart to crash?

Well, in this case, it seems like NASCAR would have rather torn up a race car (Stewart's) instead of seeing a gutsy finish.

In the open-wheel IRL IndyCar Series, league rules specifically state that a driver has one move to block a car coming behind him, and that if that trailing car makes another move, the lead car will be penalized for excessive blocking if another move is made because of the danger it presents.

I don't see how such a rule wouldn't make sense for NASCAR to adopt, especially if it stated that at Talladega and Daytona -- where the out-of-bounds rules are in effect -- a driver could hold his position and get driven below the yellow line by the other car but continue to pass a car.

It's not right for a lead driver to simply be able to push a car down the track to prevent a pass.

Otherwise, NASCAR is simply setting itself up for way too much inconsistency and relying too heavily on judgment calls, when drivers should be able to settle a finish of the race on their own.

To me, there's nothing that happened during Sunday's finish that says that Smith's move was dangerous -- rather I thought Stewart's egregious blocking was the more dangerous component of the ending, but yet, he wasn't the one penalized.

Regan Smith got the extremely raw end of the Sunday's Talladega finish and you certainly can't help but feel bad for the guy that tried to go for the win and succeeded, only to have it taken away due to patsy call that has -- for far too long -- been the subject of way of too much inconsistency.

Let's hope NASCAR takes some notes from this.

NASCAR's Inconsistency Helped Tony Stewart, Hurt Regan Smith originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASCAR Gives Tony Stewart Talladega Win

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:59:00 EST

Filed under: Regan Smith, Tony Stewart, Talladega Superspeedway

Rookie driver Regan Smith crossed the start/finish line in first place at the end of Sunday's Amp Energy Drink 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but it was Tony Stewart who was celebrating his first 2008 Sprint Cup series win in victory lane.

NASCAR awarded Stewart the win after the powers-that-be decided that Smith's move under Stewart as the field came through the tri-oval for the final time was illegal.

For Stewart, it was the best of times as he celebrated a win at a track he's never won at in Sprint Cup competition despite finishing second six times at the track, but for Smith, it was a heartbreaking defeat that left him with plenty of questions -- as well as everyone that watched the race.

Smith got a run on Stewart as they came to the checkered flag of the 188-lap race, faked high, then dove low under Stewart. Stewart chopped down, made contact with Smith, and sent Smith's No. 01 Dale Earnhardt Inc. car under the yellow line that NASCAR has determined is out-of-bounds at Talladega.

The move didn't stop Smith's momentum and he drove by Stewart's No. 20 Toyota to cross the line first -- presumably scoring the biggest upset of a win in years for NASCAR's top division.

But it wasn't to be, and Smith was scored after the race as the first car one lap down in 18th position thanks to NASCAR penalizing him for trying for the win.

The controversial finish will likely be debated for much of the coming week, and I'd expect Dale Earnhardt Inc. to file an appeal of the finish -- though it's hard to win an appeal against a sport that officiates its races on Sunday and runs the business side of it on Monday.

The rest of the 500-miler's Top-5 finishers included -- or Top-6 depending on if Smith's penalty holds -- Paul Menard, David Ragan, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer.

The ending, though, was fitting for a long, crazy day at the Alabama track known for its big wrecks and close finishes after two wrecks each collected over 10 cars -- including many contenders for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Point leader Jimmie Johnson, Stewart, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer appeared to leave the wild card track as the least unscathed of the championship contenders.

Johnson still holds on to the point lead in the Chase by some 68 points over Carl Edwards and 73 over Greg Biffle -- both of whom were caught up in a big wreck with 14 laps to go. Jeff Burton remained fourth and Clint Bowyer jumped two spots to 5th.

Stewart's win catapulted the No. 20 four spots to 7th in the standings, though he's still 199 points from the lead.

NASCAR Gives Tony Stewart Talladega Win originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Regan Smith Not Getting Shafted by DEI

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:40:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Inc., Nextel Cup, Regan Smith

When the ~~DEI takeover~~ merger of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing happened at the end of July, Regan Smith had just secured a Cup ride for the remainder of the season in a Ginn Chevrolet.

Abruptly, those plans were halted and Smith was essentially taken out of a job he hadn't even gotten a chance at yet. Granted somewhere around 70 Ginn Racing employees did lose their jobs in the process, it still had to be a blow to the driver who had already lost his Busch ride despite his best start ever in the series.

Thursday, though, came word of good news for the New York-born driver. DEI and Smith have a verbal agreement for a ride in the No. 01 car for 2008.

Regan Smith was finalizing a deal Thursday to drive the No. 01 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. next season.

Smith has verbally agreed to a one-year contract that includes a team option for two more seasons. The deal is expected to be announced next weekend at Richmond International Raceway, where DEI is planning to announce its entire 2008 lineup.

A one-year deal with a second-year option is better than nothing, right?

Hopefully DEI can give Smith equipment that he has a fighting shot with, and not the same stuff that Paul Menard currently pilots.

Regan Smith Not Getting Shafted by DEI originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ginn's Apparent Departure Not Too Surprising

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:50:00 EST

Filed under: Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Nextel Cup, NASCAR Silly Season, Sterling Marlin, Regan Smith, Ginn Racing

When Bobby Ginn bought MB2 Motorsports last season, the move was heralded as a way for the small team to compete with NASCAR Nextel Cup's big teams.

After all, Ginn was known as a real estate mogul with some deep pockets, and the guy promised to do everything possible to get into victory lane .

The season started incredibly for the new owner. He had already landed Ford-forever driver Mark Martin to pilot his No. 01 Chevy and he was inches from having a Daytona 500 victory.

His way of handling his operation was different -- especially after booting Joe Nemechek from his stable ride that he had consistently performed in. He kept Nemechek around in a No. 13 ride, but it wasn't the same, and for Nemechek, it really was a raw deal.

Ginn did dive in head first with his pockets. Not only did he start Nemechek's team, he had to manage Sterling Marlin's No. 14 and Regan Smith would be driving full-time Busch in addition to splitting time with Martin in the No. 01.

But all of that big action has seemingly caught up with the (former?) owner who has his own blimp.

Smith's Busch series team is gone. Nemechek and Marlin have lost sponsorship and have lost their rides. And now Ginn Racing seems to be folding by itself into another resource for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

I think a key point in the merger talks is that DEI will stay DEI with the addition of Ginn's resources, leaving you to believe that Bobby Ginn is getting so tired of racing and the costs associated with it if he can't even keep his name on the building.

And that really is a shame.

A shame for Nemechek, Marlin, and Regan Smith (who doesn't seem to fit into the Ginn-DEI merger, just a week after he was named a new Cup driver for the team). A shame for the employees of Ginn Racing who thought they had a good opportunity to work with a new, competitive race team pre-2007. And a shame for Jay Frye, the guy who sold his owning interest in MB2 to Ginn.

Did Ginn have the right intentions? Sure.

But intentions doesn't make you innocent in a court of law, or when you knock somebody out of a job. It all goes down as a failure.

Obviously, though, Ginn didn't seem to understand that he couldn't just run cars with his resort names on them and expect to make a nice return. Sponsorship didn't happen for the team's non-Martin cars, despite having success in Busch Series and quality drivers in the Cup Series.

Something wasn't right at Ginn Racing, and it's hard to put a finger on what. It is easy, though, to say that the new owner had something to do with it because MB2 was an organization that managed to make ends meet for a long time.

Ginn has blamed the financial problems on growing too fast, and yeah, that's right.

But you've gotta believe inexperience was a heavy factor, too.

Ginn's Apparent Departure Not Too Surprising originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rubbin' is Racin': Fans v. Ginn Racing

tallglassofmilk — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 01:33:00 EST

Filed under: Joe Nemechek, NASCAR Sponsors, Sterling Marlin, Regan Smith, Ginn Racing

Ginn Racing's decision to cut veterans Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin was "sponsor driven." I suspect that the majority of fans accept that. That doesn't mean we to have to like it. And we don't:

Both Marlin and Nemechek are among the most popular drivers in the Nextel Cup garage. When word of their firings became public yesterday, internet message boards lit up with comments critical of Ginn Racing. Ginn's own Fan Forum was shut down late Tuesday, after fans clogged it with scathing criticism of the team.

Where is the respect for our elders?
It's hard not to be critical of a team firing two veteran drivers maintaining position in the top 35 in owner points in the middle of the season. But the move is far from surprising--with change in ownership usually comes a change in key personnel.

Bobby Ginn could have fired Marlin and Nemechek when he first took majority interest in MB2 Motorsports. Apparently, it took him a year to determine that the future of his company lies not in experience of aging leftovers, but in the promise of youth.

The team is at least grateful:

"We appreciate everything that Joe and Sterling have done for us. They have been a class act."

Whoop dee doo.

Is Ginn a class act?
NASCAR fans aren't the only ones mad at Ginn. Investors of Ginn's real estate ventures have filed a class action lawsuit alleging they were misled and defrauded in property purchases:

[The lot owners] say they are entitled to and they are demanding rescission of the contracts and that Ginn repurchase the properties and reimburse them for all carrying costs.

The plaintiffs believe all Ginn affiliated entities were set up and run for the exclusive purpose of raising money from unsuspecting purchasers, like plaintiffs, for the benefit of Ginn and its affiliates.

The suit further alleges that Ginn created a complicated maze of companies to be used in marketing, soliciting and promoting properties to potential purchaser in order to avoid scrutiny of U.S. regulators.

According to the suit, Ginn, at the same time, perpetuated a "ponzi scheme" in which returns to investors were not financed through the success of the underlying business venture, but were taken from principal sums of newly attracted purchasers such as plaintiffs.

These are just allegations, of course, but it's not just one person saying it ... it's 99 of them saying they've been had. I've suddenly become quite skeptical of the way Ginn does business. What about you?

NASCAR has sold out
Regardless of Ginn's business practices, the inability to secure sponsorship for Nemechek and Marlin underscores a bigger issue of how dependent upon marketing the sport has become. But we knew that already. Oftentimes the NASCAR community benefits from the emphasis on marketing. Not this time. Or so it seems today. The future is still bright for Regan Smith and Aric Almirola.

What others are thinking
Ginn decision a shame
Kyle Petty and Harry Gant's 2 Cents about Ginn Racing
You have to feel for Marlin and Nemechek
Change is hard, if inevitable

Previously on Fanhouse
Almirola Bails on Gibbs, Headed to Ginn
DEI Ginn Merger 2007 and Beyond
Ginn Racing Downsizing to One Cup Team?

Rubbin' is Racin': Fans v. Ginn Racing originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 21 Jul 2007 01:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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