The Long And Winding Road
An Opinion
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June 22, 2006
By C.C. Bell
NASCAR heads west to the wine country this weekend which may strike some as ironic as they watch the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet of Denny Hamlin compete with the #26 Crown Royal Ford of Jamie McMurray. Either way, as road courses go, this is one of my favorites.
As he has done all along, when Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. purchased the property in the late ‘90's, he immediately sank millions of dollars into renovating and upgrading the facility making it one of the premier road course venues in the country. But without the technological advancements in television coverage we’d probably still only be seeing a fraction of the action that we are treated to each time NASCAR races at Sear’s Point.
Over the years, the 2.5 mile course had been altered and redesigned to it’s now 1.99 mile distance. Though average speeds are less than 100mph, there is more emphasis on driver talent, not to mention transmissions and brakes. And as usual, a change or two in the driver roster.
While a few NASCAR regulars have a natural affinity for road course racing, the majority do not and tend to find themselves literally going back to school which is exactly what Dale Earnhardt did. It was a decision that won him a victory at Infinion in 1995. And this years race will be no different. The usual “ringer” suspects such as Ron Fellows, Boris Said, and Scott Pruett are all listed on the entry list. Fellows will replace Travis Kvapil in the #32 Tide car of PPI Motorsports and Pruett will fill in for David Stremme in the #40 Lonestar Steakhouse Dodge owned by Felix Sabates out of Ganassi Racing. Kvapil is listed as replacing Kenny Wallace in the #78 Furniture Row Chevy.
P.J. Jones is entered in the #4 Chevy of Morgan-McClure subbing for Scott Wimmer, Chris Cook will race the #49 BAM Racing entry in place of Kevin Lepage, Brian Simo takes over for Chad Chaffin in the #61 Furniture Row Chevy and Boris Said will attempt to qualify Mark Simo’s #60 Sobe-No Fear Ford. Terry Labonte apparently will fill in for Tony Raines in the #96 DLP Chevy for Hall of Fame Motorsports.
Where once road course “ringers” were tapped because of their skill at driving road courses, a glance at this years list floats another, possibly vital reason for driver substituions. With the exception of #96 DLP Chevy, those listed as taking over for Cup regulars will be piloting cars currently out of the sacred “35" in owner’s points.
Although a few drivers with open wheel and road course experience have raced at Infinion since NASCAR added the track to it’s schedule, the phenomena of road course “ringers” didn’t really take hold until the year 2000. Of those who regularly fill in for Cup drivers, only Scott Pruett has managed a top five finish. But then, Pruett probably also has more stock car experience than the others. Boris Said, who has added to his stock car resume the past couple of years has two sixth place finishes followed by Fellows with a seventh and eighth place finishes and Brian Simo placed tenth in last years race.
So what’s my point? My point is, what’s the point. I suppose based on Ron Fellows statistics he could possibly finish well enough to earn enough points to elevate the #32 Tide Chevy of Cal Wells into the top 35 since currently the #32 is in 36th place in owner’s points and maybe, just maybe, Scott Pruett could finish well enough to bring the #40 Coors Light Dodge up a few notches as well, But it would be a real stretch for both. All the other contenders would have to win the race while everyone else fell out of the race. Kind of gives a new appreciation for that now well worn argument about Buschwackers, huh?
My guess is, the Cup guys aren’t particularly worried. Since the series began at Infinion in 1989, not one road course “ringer” has won. Ricky Rudd won the inaugural race in 1989 and again in 2002. Rusty Wallace also has two victories as does Ernie Irvan and Tony Stewart. Davey Allison, Geoffrey Bodine, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Robby Gordon each have one victory. The driver who is looking forward to Infinion’s twisted personality the most is also the driver with the most victories. Jeff Gordon.
Though Gordon struggled last year and continues to have consistancy problems this year, he is without a doubt the odds on favorite to win at Infinion. If he doesn’t it could very well point to wherever the weakness in this teams really is. And Gordon will have his hands full with Tony Stewart. Other than experiencing a mean streak of bad luck in the past few races, the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet has been one of the most consistent teams in the history of the sport which is what the #24 team hasn’t been. It should be interesting to see who comes out on top.
So bring out the wine and cheese, we’re going to sunny California. And if this race rains out, I’m going to smack a weatherman.
Discuss this and other racing matters in the Prodigys@Speed Forum
You can contact C.C. Bell at.. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By C.C. Bell
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.
Kat really likes this lady, and she knows her stuff!
An Opinion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 22, 2006
By C.C. Bell
NASCAR heads west to the wine country this weekend which may strike some as ironic as they watch the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet of Denny Hamlin compete with the #26 Crown Royal Ford of Jamie McMurray. Either way, as road courses go, this is one of my favorites.
As he has done all along, when Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. purchased the property in the late ‘90's, he immediately sank millions of dollars into renovating and upgrading the facility making it one of the premier road course venues in the country. But without the technological advancements in television coverage we’d probably still only be seeing a fraction of the action that we are treated to each time NASCAR races at Sear’s Point.
Over the years, the 2.5 mile course had been altered and redesigned to it’s now 1.99 mile distance. Though average speeds are less than 100mph, there is more emphasis on driver talent, not to mention transmissions and brakes. And as usual, a change or two in the driver roster.
While a few NASCAR regulars have a natural affinity for road course racing, the majority do not and tend to find themselves literally going back to school which is exactly what Dale Earnhardt did. It was a decision that won him a victory at Infinion in 1995. And this years race will be no different. The usual “ringer” suspects such as Ron Fellows, Boris Said, and Scott Pruett are all listed on the entry list. Fellows will replace Travis Kvapil in the #32 Tide car of PPI Motorsports and Pruett will fill in for David Stremme in the #40 Lonestar Steakhouse Dodge owned by Felix Sabates out of Ganassi Racing. Kvapil is listed as replacing Kenny Wallace in the #78 Furniture Row Chevy.
P.J. Jones is entered in the #4 Chevy of Morgan-McClure subbing for Scott Wimmer, Chris Cook will race the #49 BAM Racing entry in place of Kevin Lepage, Brian Simo takes over for Chad Chaffin in the #61 Furniture Row Chevy and Boris Said will attempt to qualify Mark Simo’s #60 Sobe-No Fear Ford. Terry Labonte apparently will fill in for Tony Raines in the #96 DLP Chevy for Hall of Fame Motorsports.
Where once road course “ringers” were tapped because of their skill at driving road courses, a glance at this years list floats another, possibly vital reason for driver substituions. With the exception of #96 DLP Chevy, those listed as taking over for Cup regulars will be piloting cars currently out of the sacred “35" in owner’s points.
Although a few drivers with open wheel and road course experience have raced at Infinion since NASCAR added the track to it’s schedule, the phenomena of road course “ringers” didn’t really take hold until the year 2000. Of those who regularly fill in for Cup drivers, only Scott Pruett has managed a top five finish. But then, Pruett probably also has more stock car experience than the others. Boris Said, who has added to his stock car resume the past couple of years has two sixth place finishes followed by Fellows with a seventh and eighth place finishes and Brian Simo placed tenth in last years race.
So what’s my point? My point is, what’s the point. I suppose based on Ron Fellows statistics he could possibly finish well enough to earn enough points to elevate the #32 Tide Chevy of Cal Wells into the top 35 since currently the #32 is in 36th place in owner’s points and maybe, just maybe, Scott Pruett could finish well enough to bring the #40 Coors Light Dodge up a few notches as well, But it would be a real stretch for both. All the other contenders would have to win the race while everyone else fell out of the race. Kind of gives a new appreciation for that now well worn argument about Buschwackers, huh?
My guess is, the Cup guys aren’t particularly worried. Since the series began at Infinion in 1989, not one road course “ringer” has won. Ricky Rudd won the inaugural race in 1989 and again in 2002. Rusty Wallace also has two victories as does Ernie Irvan and Tony Stewart. Davey Allison, Geoffrey Bodine, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Robby Gordon each have one victory. The driver who is looking forward to Infinion’s twisted personality the most is also the driver with the most victories. Jeff Gordon.
Though Gordon struggled last year and continues to have consistancy problems this year, he is without a doubt the odds on favorite to win at Infinion. If he doesn’t it could very well point to wherever the weakness in this teams really is. And Gordon will have his hands full with Tony Stewart. Other than experiencing a mean streak of bad luck in the past few races, the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet has been one of the most consistent teams in the history of the sport which is what the #24 team hasn’t been. It should be interesting to see who comes out on top.
So bring out the wine and cheese, we’re going to sunny California. And if this race rains out, I’m going to smack a weatherman.
Discuss this and other racing matters in the Prodigys@Speed Forum
You can contact C.C. Bell at.. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By C.C. Bell
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.
Kat really likes this lady, and she knows her stuff!
