NASCAR news, facts & rumors
Tony Stewart opens his mouth and says what’s on his mind. What?s the big surprise? I?d be surprised if Stewart did not make a controversial statement.
When he was hired to do a talk radio show, the higher-ups had to know how outspoken Stewart is. Someone once called him the Rosie O?Donnell of NASCAR. The surprising thing is how quickly Stewart recanted his statements after meeting with the NASCAR officials. It just goes to show how much influence and power NASCAR has.
? Jeff Gordon continues his winning ways, and Earnhardt fans continue to be idiots. After passing up Dale Earnhardt with his 77th win, fans at Talladega pelted the track with beer cans and other debris. True to their warning, Talladega personnel identified 14 of the hundreds of idiots and arrested them for being idiots. They are charged with disorderly conduct.
Talladega officials have banned them from purchasing tickets to the Talladega track for life. Las Vegas has also banned them from purchasing tickets for their track. Will others follow, and how do you enforce it? And is banning coolers the next step? Stay tuned.
? The restrictor plate race at Talladega last weekend was the 78th plate race since the beginning of the 1988 season. Going into the race, only three drivers had raced in every one of them. They were Mark Martin, Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip. None of them were in the field last weekend. Martin took the weekend off and Schrader and Waltrip didn?t qualify.
? Dale Jarrett, who drives for Michael Waltrip Racing, used his final champions provisional to qualify for Talladega. He will have to make the field on speed unless he advances into the top 35. Jarrett failed to qualify for the Richmond race last night and he will be without crew chief Matt Borland. Waltrip Racing and Borland parted ways Thursday. Derrick Finley will be the interim crew chief for Jarrett.
? Michael Waltrip missed his ninth straight start last night at Richmond in his NAPA Toyota. ?A hundredth of a second every week has really defined who we are as a team,? Waltrip said. ?It?s a tough deal, but I spent the week with my team and with NAPA, and we?re working really hard to go in a better direction.?
I didn?t think Toyota would wow us right off the bat, but this is getting worrisome for the automaker. Only half its teams qualified for the race last night and as of Talladega, no Toyota has come close to finishing well, let alone winning a race. How long can Toyota put up with mediocrity before making some drastic changes?
? NASCAR is considering changing its qualifying procedures in response to complaints about the restrictive system. Because NASCAR assures a spot to the top 35 drivers in points, only eight positions are actually up for grabs. The policy has crippled several drivers this season, particularly No. 55 Michael Waltrip, who missed his ninth consecutive race Saturday.
?We?re looking at a lot of different scenarios,? competition director Robin Pemberton said. ?There are things that we?re looking at and we?re listening to the competitors.?
Art Larson Sr., has been following racing for over 40 years. He can be reached at [email protected].