Daily NASCAR

Just less than a month after NASCAR veteran Larry Carter joined Robby Gordon Motorsports as a “consultant” we are hearing he has been named crew chief of the #7 team. Carter would take over the spot from Iain Watt who has been in the position since January.

Gordon and his team have struggled this season, averaging just a 34th place finish. On top of that they are in a precarious owner points situation. With one race to go before this season’s points take effect, Gordon sits 38th. Given his average qualifying position (38.8), without the guaranteed starting spot he runs the risk of not making races.

That struggle with performance coupled with RGM’s history of crew chief longevity (or lack thereof) make this move less than surprising.

Over the last few seasons Robby Gordon has had a staggering number of guys on top of the box. Since 2005 Doug Richert, Peter Sospenzo, Kirk Almquist, Frank Kerr, Gene Nead, Walter Giles, Bob Temple and Greg Erwin (in no particular order) have all come and gone.

Many throughout the sport have their opinions about the organization and the reasons for the high turnover. Gordon’s demeanor has been blamed, as has his unrelenting control over the team. Beyond second hand information though I unfortunately can’t give a comprehensive explanation.

Obviously Gordon has a drive and passion for racing that few others around the world of motorsports have. That said, his Cup operation has problems. There is absolutely no reason why any team should go through the number of crew chiefs his has gone through. All of the guys who have held the position are competent team managers (most have wins, one has a championship) so you’d think one of them would have clicked.

At this point the team would be well served to do some self reflection. Without some changes in the very near future I would be willing to bet Larry Carter and Iain Watt won’t be the last guys to hold the title of crew chief at Robby Gordon Motorsports.

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A year after replacing Tony Stewart in the No. 20 car for Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano has made a successful transition to Sprint Cup racing with a win at New Hampshire last season. Now, at 19, many are looking for Logano to improve in the points standings as well. (Photo: John Clark/NASCAR This Week)

Season No. 2 could be a breakout year for Joey Logano, who won’t turn 20 until May 24. The 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year has finished fifth and sixth in the past two races.

Don’t look now, but Logano, a Middletown, Conn., native, is eighth in the Sprint Cup point standings, ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch (12th) and Denny Hamlin (22nd).

"I feel more excited to come to the race tracks is what it comes down to," said Logano. "Last year it was, ‘oh, boy, California, we stunk there last time.’ I don’t know if I want to go there. Now, you look at these places, and you’re excited to go back to the track because you think you’re going to have a good race car.

"I’m more pumped up about coming to the race track. I think that’s the biggest deal, me knowing what I want. It’s the biggest (learning) curve I’ve ever taken …"

Logano was still in grade school when Mark Martin began telling whoever would listen that the kid was going to be a star. One hears such stories quite often in NASCAR, but most fall short of such heady forecasts. Logano, so far, has passed every test on his way to the top.

Logano’s one Sprint Cup victory - New Hampshire Motor Speedway, June 26, 2009 - was something of an anomaly, greatly aided by a timely rain shower that cut the race short. He wound up finishing 20th in the point standings, with the victory, three top-five finishes and seven top 10s.

It’s obvious: Logano is starting to "get it."

"It’s a gradual deal," he said. "It’s not like a light switch. I remember last year at this point. Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin) were telling me something, or Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) was telling me something, and I couldn’t make sense of it in my mind.

As I kept going with time, and kept thinking about what they said to me when I was on the race track, I’d think about it and then, eventually, I made sense of it."

Early results this year have raised the bar on expectations.

"I think it’s cool," said Logano. "I’m excited. Eighth in points … and last year I would have been happy with 20th in points at this point in the season.

"I wished they’d start the Chase now, but we have a long way to go."

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Start-and-park teams were the talk of the week after NASCAR confiscated the #66 Prism Motorsports car for a post-race inspection. The sanctioning body inspected the car in the garage at Las Vegas to allow the team to qualify for Sunday’s race. In sponsorship news, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing picked up McDonald’s for 11 races this season with Jamie McMurray. The team said the deal had been in the works for some time. And finally, legendary NASCAR crew chief J.C. ‘Suitcase Jake’ Elder died this week at 73. Elder, who worked and won with some of the sport’s most prolific drivers, had been in failing health since a stroke in 2006. This is the NASCAR week that was February 21 to 27, 2010.

Pennzoil launches new product, but is Kevin Harvick, Richard Childress Racing part of its NASCAR future?

Remembering the brilliance of ‘Suitcase Jake’

KHI reaches back in time with West Coast pipeline

What have you done for me lately?

Questions arise over start-and-park cars

Vintage Insiders

Moonlighting

The Race Track Gourmet

**Remember if you have a NASCAR blog or website and would like a recent article you wrote featured in this section email me and you could be part of next week’s NASCAR Week That Was. Please only send stuff you have written.**

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It was announced Wednesday that effective immediately, Todd Parrott would be replacing Drew Blickensderfer as crew chief for Matt Kenseth.  The Crown Royal team finished eighth at Daytona, and I think the move has surprised some fans and maybe even some media folks.  But with what happened last season, and what it took the 17 team to finish eighth at Daytona, the move might not be so shocking.

It’s been well documented that Kenseth and Blickensderfer got off to one hell of a start in 2009.  In their first two races together, the duo scored two wins; Daytona and California.  After those first two though, the team struggled for most of the rest of the season and failed to make the Chase.  It was the first time in the Chase era that Kenseth wasn’t a part of NASCAR’s playoffs.

Fast forward to the 2010 season and this weekend’s Daytona 500.  In the race he’d won just one year earlier, Kenseth struggled mightily with the handling of his car.  He did however manage to bring home a top ten finish with the aid of a few green-white-checkered restarts and some good pit crew work.  But, as they say, it was no picnic.

Over the course of the race, the 17 team made a number of changes to the car to help the handling including wedge adjustments, air pressure, track bar, a shim change, spring rubbers, and finally, a shock change!  Not exactly how you hope one of these races goes.

In the Cup Series, especially for a team that expects to contend for the Championship every year, the setup of the car has got to be pretty close when the green flag drops.  To make that many changes during the race, including two new front shocks is not good.  By the time Sunday rolls around, the setup should only require small tweaks to keep up with the changing conditions during the race.  Wholesale changes, like those that it took to get the Crown Royal Ford competitive, make Blickensderfer look incompetent.

I believe last year’s performances, together with how the Daytona 500 played out for Kenseth & Co. spelled the end for Blickensderfer.  It was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.”  Something tells me the meeting with Mr. Roush this week was not so pleasant.  And crew chief changes after a situation like this are not necessarily something new for “The Cat in the Hat.”

The whole thing really is a shame too, because as bad as it looks for Blickensderfer, he is not an incompetent crew chief.  You don’t win in the Nationwide Series and the Cup Series for Jack Roush if you don’t know what you’re doing.  But obviously something just wasn’t clicking between driver and crew chief and it was time to make a change.

This weekend at California Speedway
While this weekend’s stop in Fontana, CA is usually not an anticipated one for fans and the teams (see California Doesn’t Deserve A Cup Date), I think this Sunday’s Cup race will be an intriguing one to watch.

The Daytona 500 is always a bit of a crap shoot, and often, teams that might not be contenders can find a way to run well.  You can thank the restrictor plates for that.

But this race should be a fairly good litmus test for who might really be strong this year.  Plenty of teams think they’ve made the necessary changes to compete again (see RCR, RFR) and this weekend will be their first opportunity show it.

California will be the first of many speedway races that will be run this season, and it’s tracks like this that will make or break a driver’s season.  If you can’t run well at places like this, you can’t expect to finish well in the points.

Is Dale Jr. actually on the rise?  Will the down teams from last year come back?  Will Jimmie run away with a fifth straight Cup?  Sunday’s Auto Club 500 will be our first opportunity to start piecing together the puzzle that is the 2010 season.

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Working in racing is unlike anything I’ve ever done previously.  It seems like all the rules that apply to normal jobs and job searching are completely irrelevant.  Resumes aren’t as important as your reputation.  There are no job boards or websites.  Sometimes you can get hired without ever even meeting a crew chief.  What your past experience and achievements are don’t matter as much as what you can do right now, today.  And job offers are sometimes only valid for a few hours.

Movement and turnover happen in every business and industry in this country, and racing is no different.  Some guys are able to find a home and stay there for many years, while others seem to work for a new team every season.  But at some point, we all come to that crossroads.

As a young tire changer, all you are looking for is a chance.  And if you are smart, you will pit anything and everything you can.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Cup car or a go cart; or if you are making a few hundred bucks or doing it for free.  The only way to advance is to learn on the fly and make a ton of connections.  But as you move along in your career, the priorities change.  Is winning more important then money?  Can I have both?  What is best for my family?  Is there any semblance of job security with a new team (there never really is)?

And as we move along, we all get to that point where we’ve got to take a chance and make a move.  Just like anything else, sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t.  And it doesn’t matter whether you are working for a team currently and a better opportunity comes along, or if you lost your job and are mulling a few different options.  In racing, you better not mull too long.  Because if you wait and hope to maybe get more offers, or you aren’t sure what is the best path, you might get left behind.

I think for most folks, having somebody offer you a job out of the blue isn’t usually realistic.  I know before I worked in racing, nobody ever called me up one day and said “hey, you want to come to work for me?”  The only jobs I was ever offered were those I applied for.  Racing is different though.  All it takes is one phone call to change everything.

But just like every other decision in life, you’ve got to think on your feet, weigh your options, and make the best possible choice with the information you have to work with.  Beyond that, all we can do is hope for a little luck.

2010
Just as a little side note, I want to say that I’ve been blessed and am really excited to be heading out for another year in racing.  The season officially kicks off this weekend, and both myself and Journo are excited about bringing you along for the ride in 2010.  We think we offer something you can’t find anywhere else in the NASCAR media, and we will keep bringing you the best in inside information and insight.  Enjoy the races!

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