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closeWho's getting favorable treatment?
DAVID POOLE
Thursday, Mar. 15, 2007
Observations
• It is unbelievable how hard NASCAR fans look to find evidence that a driver is getting favorable treatment. When a tire rolled from Jimmie Johnson's pit stall on the final stop at Las Vegas, a NASCAR official stopped it and a crew member came to get it. That happens on virtually every pit stop. NASCAR officials are there to ensure safety as well as to look for violations, and it's not safe to have tires rolling loose. Johnson stayed in his pit box until the tire was under control and lost two positions on the track as a result. Nobody else would have been penalized under those circumstances. Johnson got no special treatment, and no call was the right call.
• Tony Stewart was among several drivers who said competitors ought to be consulted when tracks consider changes like the ones made at Las Vegas. Boy, is that a bad idea. If drivers built the tracks, you'd have 25 Michigan International Speedways and, maybe, 25 fans, total, across the country. Tracks should be built for the fans. They pay to get in to watch drivers, who get paid to race and meet the challenges put before them.
• You wonder if the people who run International Speedway Corp. tracks are embarrassed when they see how much money Speedway Motorsports Inc. spends to upgrade its facilities. Actually, it's more accurate to say you wonder how they could not be embarrassed by that.
Elevator
EASTERN TIME ZONE
Barring weather complications in Atlanta, a Nextel Cup race could end before dark in Charlotte on Sunday.
ROBBY GORDON
He's 14th in points after three races, but Ward Burton and Casey Mears didn't like the way Gordon raced them last weekend.
TOYOTA
You had to expect first-year hurdles, but without Dale Jarrett's former champion's provisional, six of seven Camrys would have failed to make the Las Vegas field.
ROOKIES
David Ragan is leading the rookie standings and has the only top-10 finish, a fifth at Daytona, among the candidates.
By the Numbers
1,421
Races since all the top-10 starters failed to finish in the top 10, as happened Sunday at Las Vegas. The last time that happened, according to LTPicks.com, was July 4, 1965, at Daytona.
47
Percentage by which the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 outdrew the NCAA men's basketball tournament selection show in the television ratings. The race got a 6.3 rating for Fox. The selection show got a 4.3 on CBS. It's the third straight year the Las Vegas race has beaten the selection show in the ratings.
60
Forecast chance of rain Friday at Atlanta, meaning some potentially anxious moments for teams needing to make the field through qualifying. Time trials are scheduled for 7 p.m., however, and the weather is expected to get better as the day goes on. : Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, 2 p.m.
Notes and News
Marlin looking for a change in fortunes
Sterling Marlin seemed ready to break a string of bad luck Sunday, having run in the top 10 pretty much all afternoon in the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400.
But 16 laps from the end, Marlin's No. 14 Chevrolet lost power. The motor was gone, and with it Marlin's chances for a good finish. He wound up 34th.
"You can't always blame things on bad luck, but we've had our share of it since the end of last year," Marlin said.
In his past eight starts, Marlin has encountered some difficulty.
It started at Martinsville, Va., in October, when he was black-flagged and ordered to have something dangling from his car's rear bumper removed. When he pitted, nothing could be found.
He was in a wreck with 16 laps left at Atlanta, got wrecked again the next two weeks at Texas and Phoenix and finished the year with an engine failure at Homestead (Fla.). He had a shot at a top-10 in Daytona this year, but got caught in the last-lap crash and wrecked as he took the checkered flag in 17th. He then cut a tire and crashed at California.
McMurray looks to build on top-10
Jamie McMurray's10th-place finish at Las Vegas was his best finish in 16 races in the No. 26 Ford for Roush Racing."When things are going bad, you just have to keep your head up," McMurray said. "It's harder to do than what you would think, but you just always try to find a positive out of everything that's happened. A lot of times, in our sport, things are out of your control, and there's not a lot you can do about it, so you can't get beat up over that."
For Jarrett, it's all about improving
Dale Jarrett's average finish in 38 Nextel Cup starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway is 13.9, the second-best success rate for the former Cup champion. His average of 13.5 in 13 tries at Indianapolis is the only one better.
Jarrett, however, is off to a slow start in Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 44 Toyota. He's used provisionals to start all three races and is looking for a top-20 finish.
"We know the biggest thing is we have to go back and work on our bodies," Jarrett said. "We've got to get some more downforce in these cars. We are just not capable of doing the things that these other guys are doing with their cars."
Darlington: Oh, say, can you sing?
Darlington Raceway is looking for a talented fan to sing the national anthem before the U.S. Auto Club's Silver Crown series race at the South Carolina track May 10.Candidates must submit an audition CD or cassette by mail or an MP3 file by e-mail before March 30. Mail submissions to Darlington Raceway, Attention: Cathy Elliott, P.O. Box 500, Darlington, S.C. 29540, or e-mail to celliott@darlingtonraceway.com.
Three finalists will be chosen to come to Darlington for its media day April 11. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The finalists will perform, and Nextel Cup driver Kasey Kahne will choose the winner.
This and that
• Laura Lorene Myers, the widow of NASCAR pioneer Bobby Myers and mother of longtime Richard Childress Racing crewman Danny "Chocolate"Myers, died this week in Lexington, N.C. She was 76.
• Thirteen tracks in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series will open their seasons in March, including Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, and Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C. this weekend. Hickory Motor Speedway and Concord Motorsport Park will get going March 24.
• Jeff Gordon, Dave Blaney and Reed Sorenson tested tires at Darlington on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Sorenson's teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, took his first laps on the track in Sorenson's car. Nextel Cup Series director John Darby said there is no problem with Montoya getting a partial test because Goodyear controls tire tests.
