It Wasn't On Fire When I Started the Race?!?

Originally Posted on foxsports.com on April 3, 2007.

The first two "Car of Tomorrow" races have something in common. 

Yes, both were won by Hendrick Motorsport drivers.   And, Yes, both were Chevys.

The answer is that two cars had fires within the car while the drivers were running the race.  At Bristol, Matt Kenseth had "smoldering foam" problems, and more spectacularly, at Martinsville, Kevin Harvick had a fire.

Nascar has maintained that the foam installed in the doors was not the cause of the fire at Bristol, and alleged that the Roush team had improperly installed the foam in the door.  Roush Racing denied the foam was improperly installed.  Nascar maintained the foam was NOT flammable.  Nascar suggested Roush Racing add a heat shield to the foam to prevent future "smoldering foam" issues.

Then at Martinsville, Harvick had his problems - with a heat shield on the foam in place.  The Foam that wasn't Flammable shot out flames large enough to toast marshmellows for the entire crowd in the stands. 

Today, Nascar announced that it was allowing teams to modify the foam in the doors.  Teams can eliminate part of the foam in the right door, hopefully moving the foam off the exhaust pipe area will limit the flammability of the foam.

Other teams had problems at Bristol that Nascar traced to the exhaust pipes.  However, it appeared at Martinsville that the teams had corrected that problem.

Drivers are voicing concern that the foam released toxins that has or could affected their health, at least temporarily. 

Interestingly, Nascar appears to be relying on the foam manufacturer for the testing on the toxicity, and the manufacturer hasn't tested it under race conditions.

Perhaps before the next COT race, these questions about the foam should be answered.

Information from:  Lee Spencer, "Drivers seek answers for fires in COT" on foxsports.com; "Biffle:  Nascar needs to figure out foam problems" on scenedaily.com; related articles on espn.com and jayski.com. 

Racing Recap: Bristol & a Pair of Rookie Winners

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on August 27, 2006.

Bashing at Bristol, Hounding the Champion in Hungry, and Rookie Sensations at Sonoma and the Turkish Grand Prix.  What a weekend for race fans!

Bristol

Matt Kenseth swept the Bristol weekend, winning both the Busch series race and the Nextel Cup race.  As anticipated, the race shook up the standings - with Mark Martin taking the biggest hit in the points, ending up in 10th from 4th.  Tony Stewart also suffered a loss of positions in the standings, falling from 5th to 8th.  Junior rallied up a position, to 9th.  Kasey Kahne, despite a good run, is still 90 points behind the 10th spot.  If Kahne is shut out of the Chase, there will not be  a Dodge in the race for the Championship.

Kenseth's win, his second in a row, shows that his team is on a roll.  While Johnson is doing well, he isn't burning up the track like Kenseth is right now.  We'll see what happens once the final 10 races get here.

Elliott Sadler's move seems to be panning out - at least as far as qualifying goes.  He didn't have a good time at Bristol, being involved in a couple of crashes.  However, he kept the car in the top 35 of owner points, which means he does not have to qualify on speed next week.

If there is any justice in the world, Jeff Burton will win a race this year.  How many races has he sat on the pole, lead the most laps, and not finished in the top 5?  It looks like both he and Harvick will be in the Chase, but Burton is due to win one.  Soon.

On the Busch side, Kevin Harvick has a 500 point lead over second place.  In other words, he could miss 2 races and still have the lead.

Turkish Grand Prix

Felipe Massa ran away with the race from the pole.  It was his first Formula One win - and probably solidifies his return to the seat next year.  The real race was for second in this one, with Michael Schumacher hounding Fernando Alonzo over the final 10 laps.  At times, Schumacher and Alonzo were running as close as the cars at Bristol.  On a road course.  At over 200 mph.  At stake was more than 2nd place, as Alonzo leads the Championship Points.  Additionally, Renault and Ferrari are in a dead heat for Manufacturer honors.  This Championship race is going to get very interesting...

Sonoma

Marco Andretti won the IRL race at Infineon today, becoming the youngest IRL winner ever.  Andretti won on fuel-mileage strategy, running over 30 laps on his last tank of gas.  Suffice it to say that the rest of the field could barely manage 28 laps before refueling.  Andretti has done what Danica could not - winning in his rookie season.  But then again, he's definitely got the genes to do it.  Both his father, Michael, and grandfather, Mario, were on hand to help him celebrate (and since Marco is a bit too young to drink champagne, he'll need the help).

 

Will Fine Motivate Gordon? Or Kenseth?

Originally Posted on March 30, 2006 on Foxsports.com

At the final laps of the Bristol race last weekend, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon had a dust up.  At the end, Kenseth spun Gordon out of 3rd place.  Gordon finished the race as the last car on the lead lap in 21st place. 

After the cars were parked on pit road, Kenseth approached Gordon with up-turned palms - to apologize Kenseth said later.  Gordon, still in his helmet, shoved Kenseth.  Nascar fined him $10,000 for the shove.  Kenseth also appologized to his team for losing another race.  Kenseth has been leading in the closing laps of the race twice this year, but hasn't been able to close the deal.

The series heads to another short track this weekend - Martinsville.  Gordon swept both races last year.  The question is whether Gordon goes in with the most motivation or if Kenseth has the momentum to win.

Both drivers have, or will, claim to put Bristol behind them.  But is that really human nature?  And is it really wise to do so when it could motivate their teams?  Why not use that angst over lower finishes than they could have had?

Kenseth was bumped out of the lead by Kurt Busch, the eventual winner, after he was held up by Dale Jarrett.  Kenseth has led laps and has run well.  He's run well enough to be in 1st in the drivers' standings.

Gordon was spun out of his spot by Kenseth.  Gordon has been struggling with some of the tracks and his car, but appears to be on the verge of putting it all together - consistantly.  He is in the top 10 in points. 

But both could use something to truly elevate their game.  Kenseth is running hot now, but was horribly inconsistant last year and had to dig his way out of a points hole before the chase.  Gordon had major problems and turnover on his team last year, even though he won 4 races.

Maybe their Bristol Bash can be the spark that really starts their season on fire.

Confessions of a Racing Junkie Part I

Originally Posted at foxsports.com on December 14, 2005.

It started innocently enough.  After I finally finished my education, I was traveling across country with my Dad, and we stopped in Indianapolis (where else) to visit my aunt & uncle.  My uncle offered me the first seductive hit of racing by "forcing" us to watch a nascar race.  I don't recall seeing stock cars race before.  I suppose I knew it existed, but it had never registered on my radar.  Traditional stick & ball sports were my experience - both watching and playing.  However, my uncle's enthusiasm for this motor sport thing was catching.  And after that first hit, I remember thinking "I could learn to really like that."

Several months later I had my first memorable encounter with a nascar junkie.  He had all the trappings of a true nascar fan.  He owed numerous die cast cars, T-shirts, neon signs and other assorted junk.  I don't think he could decide which beer company to support, so he bought racing stuff from them all.  To top it off, he couldn't stop explaining the Daytona 500 qualification process to me and my co-worker.  We thought he was a scary  - so we set a new land speed record cleaning his house and bolted.

Shortly thereafter, I moved to a new town.  And, in the secret confines of my apartment, I began regularly taking hits of nascar races.  On Saturdays, I watched Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth battle it out for the Busch series championship.  But on Sundays, I avoided the racing scene - everyone would be talking football, basketball or baseball  - and I didn't want them to know about this new habit I had picked up.