Drivers Ponder Speedometer in Cars

Unlike a driver nabbed going 70 mph in a 55 zone, Juan Pablo Montoya couldn’t talk his way out his speeding ticket.

Not when NASCAR‘s the traffic cop.

Busted at the Brickyard for speeding on the final pit stop, the penalty cost Montoya his shot at winning on the historic track.

Perhaps the result would have been different if Montoya had a speedometer instead of relying on a tachometer that monitors engine RPMs. Or maybe he would finished 11th anyway.

Still, some drivers would like a speedometer added to their cars, or have NASCAR’s electronic timing system that records the pit row speeds refined to cut down on possible error.

“I have wondered why we don’t have speedometers,” veteran driver Mark Martin said Friday. “The tachs are not quite as accurate as a speedometer might be. But the system works. It’s just really devastating when you have one of the races of your life slip through your fingers.”

Montoya led 116 laps and was on the brink of his first Indy stock car victory to go with his Indianapolis 500 win when he was flagged for speeding. NASCAR allows a 5 mph cushion on pit road, where the speed limit Sunday was 55 mph.

Montoya was caught driving 60.06 mph in one spot and 60.11 in another.

“We checked ourselves after the race. It seemed OK, and everything seemed to be in the right place,” Montoya said. “For some reason, they said we were speeding, and that’s what it is.”

Could NASCAR make the switch from RPM to mph on the dash? Not so fast.

Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said the tachometer was the most reliable factor in determining pit row speeds.

“They get multiple usages out of a tachometer as an engine meter as well, without having to bother with the expense and the troubles of adding another piece of equipment to the car,” Darby said at Pocono Raceway. “The tachometers today are so sophisticated that teams can actually program their pit road speed into the tachometer.”

Most teams have even added a lighting system to the tachometer. A green light means a driver’s speed is in the clear, yellow signifies he is pushing the limit and red means the speed is over the limit.

“In NASCAR’s defense, the system that they have, you can’t dispute it,” four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. “I would dispute the person that feels like they’re in the wrong, because their system is very accurate.”

There have been 75 speeding violations in 20 Cup races this season, Darby said. NASCAR does not warn teams when they’re on the edge of speeding or give them a chance to plead their case. Speed once coming in or out of the pits, and a penalty is instantly assessed.

“The teams know exactly where they’re supposed to be,” Darby said. “They know where the threshold is.”

Darby also said there are no plans to reveal pit road speeds to fans or the rest of the field during a race.

“If you have put your combination together and you’re real confident in your driver and you’ve got him set to where you think he can run 3½ miles over all day long without getting caught, that’s their business,” he said. “We shouldn’t display that to the other 42 competitors to let them figure out how they did it.”

NASCAR switched from a stopwatch system to electric timing in 2005 to provide a more legitimate way of assessing pit road speeders.

“It’s way better than it has been, way better than guys up there with stopwatches,” Carl Edwards said. “There’s enough moving parts there and potential for error that can be improved, and I think NASCAR will improve it.”

Montoya’s penalty baffled some of the top 12 drivers in the points standings who wondered why he risked a penalty when he had such a commanding lead.

“There’s no sense of pushing it that close if you have that big a cushion on the track,” Kurt Busch said.

Gordon, who was punished for speeding once earlier this season, said he trusted NASCAR makes the right call.

“What they’ve got is very accurate. What we’ve got is 90 percent accurate,” Gordon said. “It would be nice for us to find something that works a little better. As long as the gas pedal is our control unit, it’s going to be consistent.”

Montoya, 10th in the race for the Chase for the championship, is done griping about his lost victory.

“Who cares? I moved on,” he said.

MY WORD: It’s about time you whining, sniveling little bitch.

Lowes Motor Speedway History?

Smith expects Lowe’s to leave Charlotte

Lowe’s appears to be on its way out as the title sponsor of Speedway Motorsports Inc.’s Charlotte-area track.

SMI owner Bruton Smith said Saturday he expects the home improvement chain to end its 11-year sponsorship of the 1.5-mile oval at the end of the season.

“I think we’ll miss them,” Smith said.

The Sports Business Journal reported Friday that Lowe’s would not renew its title sponsorship agreement with SMI due to financial concerns. The report cited industry sources as saying SMI was asking for a significant bump over the current deal, estimated to be around $3.5 million a year.

“Sometimes you’re negotiating and maybe you ask too much but I don’t know,” Smith said.

Smith directed questions on the details to his son, SMI president and CEO Marcus Smith.

Marcus Smith said Friday that SMI and Lowe’s were still negotiating and he was “confident” something would be completed soon.

His father was a bit more pessimistic but stressed SMI would continue to work with Lowe’s in the future.

“They will still be with Speedway Motorsports along the way, so that’s good,” Bruton Smith said.

Bruton Smith expects the track to work to find a new title sponsor if Lowe’s leaves. If a new sponsor can’t be found, the track’s name will revert back to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I think race fans will like that better,” Smith said. “We caught heck over that. We shouldn’t have. It was a good business decision.”

The track currently hosts several NASCAR events each year, including a pair of Sprint Cup races and the series’ All-Star event.

Lowe’s also is the title sponsor of the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. The deal with Johnson expires at the end of next year, and Johnson called his relationship with the company “great” on Friday.

MY WORD

Lowes Motor Speedway

Burton Smith is a son of a bitch and the biggest bastard who has ever been a track owner.

Why in the hell would you raise the cost of a corporate sponsor particularly during an economic crisis is beyond me, other than being a greedy prick.

I guarantee there is no way Lowes will pay the increase, which means there goes the name Lowes Motor Speedway, a company that has forked out millions of money on and for this track as well as maintaining it.

The name will as mentioned in this blog more than likely revert back to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Now to you who think or feel big deal or who cares, think about this. Burton Smith owns the following tracks: Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Lowes Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.

So if Lowes doesn’t  renew that contract just who do you think will pay for that loss of money at LMS. We the fans will. Not only in Charlotte, but the cost of tickets will rise at all of Burton Smith’s tracks, however you in Charlotte will take the bigger hit.

Now what impact will it have? Think about it, once again in and or with this economy a lot less fans will buy tickets. Many can’t or won’t pay prices at that tracks now and how mnay of those that can for now will pay for that increase, hmm? A lot less than you think will. It will have an impact on NASCAR as a whole people, it’s all connected.

If you think I’m off my rocker have you forgotten about the whole Kentucky Speedway deal? Where they built a track thinking if they did so they automatically qualified for a cup date, and oh yeah who bought Kentucky Speedway, it’s not that hard, don’t hurt yourselves…BURTON SMITH! What is the sum being sued for…over 200 Million…what else do they want in this lawsuit…the France family to sell off NASCAR and/or most of its tracks, and for new criteria to be created for the awarding of Sprint Cup race dates.

So they want an end to NASCAR if you ask me, so let’s just destroy the sport since we can’t get a cup date. My answer: FUCK YOU KENTUCKY and BURTON SMITH!

Rain delays Monday’s White House event for NASCAR

WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House meeting between No. 44 and No. 48 will have to wait a few weeks, thanks to turf problems elsewhere.

Three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was among a group of NASCAR drivers who were to be honored by President Barack Obama at the White House Monday. But steady rain postponed Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania and that event was rescheduled for Monday.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the meeting with Obama has been rescheduled for Aug. 19.

Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was going to be parked at the White House.

Johnson Overcomes Setback

Monday’s rain delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Pocono Raceway was full of setbacks for Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson.

Jimmie Johnson's pit crew works on his car during the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania

But as he does so often, the defending three-time Cup champion found a way to bounce back.

Johnson fell three laps down in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 only to get all three back courtesy of the free pass and finish 13th, on the lead lap.

“We dealt with a lot today,” Johnson said. “I have to thank my guys for working so hard and troubleshooting some different things. … We were three laps down and able to get some cautions there at the end. For a while there I thought we would get a top-10, but I pounded the wall off [Turn] 2 and tore up the right side of the car and lost a couple of spots. Just a lot of fight in this race team. I’m very proud of them.”

Johnson led the race’s opening 22 laps and continued to have one of the fastest cars on the track before coming to pit road for an unscheduled green-flag stop just past the midway point of the 200-lap race.

The team first worked to see if Johnson’s car had a plug-wire issue, but after making a change that turned out to not be the case. The team later changed the carburetor and a spark plug on subsequent stops, losing significant time during the visits to pit road as the group attempted to diagnose the problem.

The spark plugs ultimately appeared to be the source of what ailed Johnson, as he immediately began moving forward again once some of those had been replaced.

“I assume it was a spark-plug issue,” Johnson said. “That’s the last thing we started changing. The car started running better, so it’s just crazy how sometimes a little part like that can go wrong. I know our guys will lookclosely at it to make sure that something like that doesn’t happen again. I’m just so proud of the fight this race team has.

“For us to come back from three laps down and get back on the lead lap and salvage a 13th-place finish means a lot to me. I think we are going in the right direction, and it shows to me what my team is capable of and I know what I’m capable of going into the Chase [For The Sprint Cup].”

Johnson got back on the lead lap under the race’s ninth caution with under 30 laps to go and lined up 25th for the final restart with 13 to go. He gained eight positions on the first lap under green.

Although Johnson failed pick off many more spots, he was still pleased with his team’s ability to make the most of a tough situation.

Teammate Jeff Gordon was among those who took notice of the group’s effort.

“These guys, you can never count them out and that’s what makes them a championship-caliber team, and Jimmie’s a great driver,” Gordon said. “So, it’s unfortunate that they had a car that was probably capable of winning, or at least battling up there for the win, that it kind of took them out of it there. But they fought back and still had a pretty decent day out of it.”

MY WORD

Yesterday’s  performance was incredible by Jimmie and his crew. To end up 13th after being 3 laps down at one point is just incredible. Sure luck had a little bit to do with it but the way his team pulled together and didn’t give up is a testament to the dedication of this team. They could have pulled it into the garage but instead they used the time cautions gave to systematically check one thing after another until they finally found the likely culprit of a bad spark plug or plugs. When it first happened I was so mad I felt like not watching the rest of the race but I’m sure glad I did because the last 20 laps made my day.

When Johnson made it back to the lead lap and quickly moved from 25th to 10th and one point and finished out with a solid 13th keeping his place of 2nd in the points when it could have been a disastrous day.

This just shows what an AWESOME job the team does as a whole….from driver to crew to chief!! Even the way Chad had the crew “fix” their pit area; shows they are 100% in it and that’s why they are champions!!!! (Hope the guy that fell changing the tire is ok)

Today increased my confidence that my favorite driver will hopefully be heading for championship number 4!

HMS Point Standings after Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.

2nd-Jimmie Johnson-48
3rd-Jeff Gordon-24
10th-Mark Martin-5
23rd-Dale Earnhardt Jr.-88

HMS Results-Sunoco Red Cross Pennslyvania 500.

7th-Mark Martin-5
9th-Jeff Gordon-24
13th-Jimmie Johnson-48
28th-Dale Earnhardt Jr.-88

Denny Hamlin wins Pocono but at what cost?

Denny Hamlin may have gained a few fans Monday, but he no doubt garnered some enemies on the track as well.

Chief among them was David Reutimann who saw his hopes to make this years Chase for the Sprint Cup take a serious hit caused by a tangle with Hamlin.

During Hamlin’s relentless pursuit of the win in Monday’s rescheduled Pennsylvania 500, he was fighting his way back through traffic when on lap 174 he got behind Reutimann pushing his Toyota hard enough to spin Reutimann around and into his Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Marcos Ambrose.

“I got to him coming off turn one. I drove into turn two, got to him, nudged him actually in the middle of the corner. I let go of him,” Hamlin said. He pulled away about a car length, but then he slammed on the brakes obviously to let me know he was upset.”

I plowed him off of two really hard. I said, ‘Man, all right, I understand, I get it.’ In turn three, I got to him again. He got really loose off four. When I got to him and pushed him, I was hoping he was just going to come off the corner, straighten up, I was going to push him down the straightaway. Instead, kept my throttle on him, and when I did I spun him into his teammate.

It was a lot of emotion. I got guys in my mirror that I know I got to race for the win. I’m racing for a win on a particular weekend where it means more than any other weekend. I think emotion was probably part of it. But I got to make it up to those guys somehow, cut them some breaks on the track or something.”

Hamlin went on to win, Reutimann finished 29th while Ambrose finished 34th.

Perhaps the worst news for Reutimann though is the point’s loss. He came into the day in 13th place with a legitimate shot to make the top 12 and earn a spot in the Chase for the Championship. He lost three spots and is now 16th.

“Not sure what happened there,” Ambrose said. “We were running in the top-10 and all of a sudden David (Reutimann) got turned by the 11 (Denny Hamlin) car and I had nowhere to go. That pretty much ended our day.”

MY WORD

Denny Hamlin did not want to be at Pocono. His grandmother died and he was very emotional. Now here’s here’s where I sound like a cold heartless bastard. SUCK IT UP! Denny many of us aren’t where we want to be, or have to do something and can’t be where we want and or are needed; and yes I do inculde when a family member has died.

I was serving my country in a far away land and couldn’t go home for the funeral. I didn’t want to be where I was, but there I was. I had a job to do. I couldn’t be where I wanted to be, however nonetheless there I was. There are plenty of individuals both military and civilian who face this issue and or others like it. You are not an exception nor special because of it or the issue.

I had a lot of respect for you and in fact your one of my top ten drivers, however due to how you decided to race due to the fact you were where you didn’t want to be and decided to run over people and didn’t give one shit about it or how you won has made me decide to drop you from said list. I lost all respect for you when you went out there and decided to be an asshole and do anything to anyone to win just because you HAD to be there, like millions of us have to do day in and day out.

I am ashamed of you Denny and I’m sorry but I don’t feel your loss excuses your tactics used to win a race.