What Would Dale Sr. Think?
Monday, June 16th, 2008 Write a comment
Not long after Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first points race for Hendrick Motorsports at Michigan, I put in a call to one of my friends in High Places and asked a favor. I needed to talk to Dale Earnhardt Sr. and could he please put me in touch? Within a miraculous minute or two, the phone rang. It was Dale.
‘Dale,’ I said, ‘Thanks for calling. Did you see June Bug win that race at Michigan today driving for Hendrick Motorsports?’
There was a long pause. “Yeah, I saw it,” he said. Then you could almost see that big grin breaking out on his face. “Pretty darned good, wadn’t it? I was really proud of the way Junior and Tony Eury Jr. worked together to win it on fuel mileage. Kind of reminded me of beating Bill Elliott on the last lap at Darlington one year.”
‘But Dale,’ I said, ‘He left Dale Earnhardt Inc. and now he’s winning for Rick Hendrick, never one of your closest friends in the garage, especially back in the days when you used to hammer on Geoff Bodine.’
‘Yeah, well,” said Dale after another pause, “Whenever your son wins a race, it’s a big deal. It don’t matter who he’s driving for. A father has to be happy when a son wins a big race, especially one at Michigan on Father’s Day. Chevy really needed a win there and it will probably help sell some cars at Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet.”
‘Well jeez,’ I replied. ‘It’s not like I’m fishing for a controversial quote. I mean who’s going to believe me, anyway? It just doesn’t seem like you would cotton to the idea of Little E and his sister Kelly splitting from DEI to move to Hendrick. Pardon the expression, but as the Intimidator you’ve always been pretty black and white about such things.’
“I guess it looks like two choices,” said Dale. “But the way the situation is now, I don’t have to pick sides. I’m pulling for everybody to win, including DEI. I mean, how do you think I got admitted to this place up here, anyway?”
‘OK, OK, I get it,’ I said. ‘But you don’t mean you’re pulling for everybody literally. Jack Roush is still a peckerhead in your book, right?’
“Man,” said Dale, “You don’t get it. Once you’re up here, giving driving lessons to the Big Guy, the perspective changes. Things start rubbing off on you, and I’m not talking about fender and door paint. Some days, though, even He thinks He’s Dale Earnhardt and I have to straighten Him out about that.”
‘Speaking of getting things straight,’ I said, trying to regain the momentum, ‘Did you hear how Dale Jr. said he had you whupped at Michigan in the IROC race back in 2000 on the last lap until Rusty Wallace gave you a bump draft?’
Just then a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and landed just outside the window to my office. Funny thing, though, it didn’t affect the phone connection.
“I had his ass whupped at the finish line, didn’t I?” thundered Dale.
‘I see,’ I said, now getting warmed up. ‘As long as you’re not on the track, everything’s OK, because you’re not getting beat. Is that it?’
“What makes you think I’m not out there?” said Dale. And once again I could sense that sly grin begin to uncurl at the corners of his mouth. “I mighta even been there the day my son Kerry won at Michigan in the ARCA race back in 2001, too.”
‘Well Dale,’ I said. ‘You’ve never failed to amaze me, so I guess anything’s possible, including this phone call.’ I decided to tuck into the draft at this point. ‘So what do you think about Little E winning this year’s championship?’
“I don’t like talking about the Chase, even though Bill France Jr. and I finally worked that out once he got up here. I think Dale Jr.’s got a good chance, if Hendrick can get its act together on the Car of Tomorrow. It looks like they’ve turned the corner. Jimmy Johnson had a pretty good race at Michigan. I think Dale Jr.’s really been carrying the car a lot up until now. You can’t win the championship on fuel mileage. But if they really catch up, maybe ol’ DW’s prediction of six race victories ain’t too bad.”
‘He’s already got three if you include the two prelims from Daytona,’ I said. ‘And four if you include Brad Keselowski’s first Nationwide win for JR Motorsports. How do you think Dale Jr.’s doing as a team owner?’
“He’s getting there, ain’t he?” said Dale. “I honestly think that comment Teresa made about him having to choose between being a celebrity and a race car driver got his attention. She prayed a lot about it beforehand, so I can’t fault her for that. It’s too bad the rest of it didn’t work out. But I really couldn’t see Dale Jr. running the team and the rest of the DEI stuff better than her at this point in his life. He’s better off sticking to driving.”
‘I see,’ I replied, this time really mystified. Was I really talking to my old friend Dale? Could he be this mellow? So I gave it one more try.
‘You probably saw where Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott are hanging up their helmets. Sterling Marlin’s almost done. So I guess your career in NASCAR would be over about now. Otherwise, I’d ask you whether you could beat Junior to the championship if you were still driving for Richard Childress.’
“Well, I guess you already know who did the better job the last time we drove the same equipment, that Corvette in the Daytona 24-hour,” said Dale calmly, not missing a beat.
‘OK, OK,’ I replied, on the short end yet again in a conversation with the seven-time champion. ‘You got me there. Too bad you never had a chance to get your Corvette team together. I know how much you wanted to race at Le Mans. By the way, did you see the Le Mans race this weekend? Allan McNish was incredible when he ran that quadruple stint against the Peugeots at the start and put the Audi into the lead.’
“Did I see it?” said Dale. “I was right there on his shoulder.”
Jonathan can be reached at jonathan@jingrambooks.com.
Top 25 Break-ups In NASCAR History
Monday, May 26th, 2008 Write a CommentThe announcement of H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler’s departure as the promoter at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway rocked the NASCAR community. The less than amicable split with Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner Bruton Smith immediately became one of the most significant break-ups in the sport’s history. Here follows one writer’s opinion of the Top 25 break-ups in NASCAR.
1. Richard Petty leaves Petty Enterprises (1983) — Shortly after getting caught with an oversize engine at Charlotte, which was built by brother Maurice, “The King” left for the team of Mike Curb, where he won his 199th and 200th races.
2. David Pearson fired by the Wood Brothers (1979) — The crew chief yelled “Whoa!” and the driver thought he heard “Go!” When the wheels fell off the Purolator Mercury at the end of the Darlington pit road after Peason departed from what he thought was a two-tire stop, they also fell off a legendary combination.
3. “Humpy” Wheeler splits with Bruton Smith (2008) — Smith alienated the Charlotte community with his threat to move the Lowe’s track while insisting on installing a drag strip for an NHRA event despite a conflict with the Cabarrus County Commissioners. Wheeler, who had spent three decades cultivating the track’s relationship with the community and establishing himself as the best known promoter in American racing, was left holding the bag.
When Wheeler asked for a raise for a $1.1 million salary that is paltry compared to other major sports executives, the deal was sealed by Smith’s refusal. As president of SMI, Wheeler would also have overseen the new track purchases in New Hampshire and Kentucky — and possibly a future purchase of Pocono.
4. Tim Flock and his ulcers leave Carl Kiekhaefer (1956) — Flock’s 18 wins in 1955 remain second only to Petty’s 27 in 1967. But after four more (of his career 39 victories), an emaciated Flock declared his health couldn’t handle the demanding and blustery team owner’s regimen. He left a team that would establish a record 16 straight victories that season.
5. Curtis Turner breaks up with “Big Bill” (1961) — When Turner, in an effort to save the Charlotte Motor Speedway from financial troubles, cooked up a deal with The Teamsters, NASCAR founder Bill France suspended his license for trying to organize drivers in a union.
6. Dale Earnhardt let go by Rod Osterlund (1981) — One year after winning his first championship, Earnhardt learned the California businessman thought he was expendable. He moved to the car of Richard Childress, who retired as a driver, for the second half of the season. He moved on to Walter “Bud” Moore’s squad for two years. When Childress had sufficiently built up his team, by prior agreement Earnhardt returned and began his string of six championships in 11 seasons.
7. Jeff Gordon escapes contract with Bill Davis and Ford (1992) — When Rick Hendrick saw Gordon drive the Ford of Davis in a Busch Series event in Atlanta, he decided to sign him. Unfortunately for Davis and Ford, their contract with Gordon gave him the option to become NASCAR’s first bonus baby at Hendrick Motorsports.
8. Ed Otto sells his share of NASCAR to “Big Bill” (1964) — It made the NASCAR founder nervous when Bill Tuthill, one of four original shareholders, retired and ceded his shares to Otto. Although president, France then also owned an equal 40 percent of the shares of NASCAR. Following a period of inevitable friction, France made it clear he thought the outspoken and flamboyant Otto was a liability. Otto offered to sell his shares to the suspended Curtis Turner (the inventive promoter always had a good sense of humor), but then settled with France. Otto sold his 40 percent to him for $250,000. Otto, among other things, immediately began promoting drag races in Daytona.
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. splits with stepmother Teresa Earnhardt and DEI (2007) — The contentious relationship really blossomed when Little E almost burned up in a fiery episode aboard a Corvette in the ALMS race at Infineon Raceway in 2005. Teresa declined to allow Earnhardt Jr.’s mother Brenda to fly on the DEI company plane en route to race weekends while helping to treat the driver’s second-degree burns.
10. Darrell Waltrip buys his way out of contract with DiGard Racing (1980) — Not yet known as “Dee Dubya,” Waltrip had to pay Bill Gardner a princely sum to move to the team of Junior Johnson, where he won three championships in five seasons.
11. Dale Inman inks deal with Billy Hagan, leaves Petty Enterprises (1981) — After directing Petty to his seventh and final win at Daytona with a gas-and-go on the final pit stop, Crew Chief Inman took a better paying job at Billy Hagan’s team. With Terry Labonte at the wheel, Inman won a record eighth championship. Inman subsequently returned to Petty Enterprises and was on board when “The King” retired in 1992.
12. Bobby Allison leaves Junior Johnson (1972) — Despite winning 10 races under one of the first major commercial sponsorships — from Coca-Cola — these two fiery characters couldn’t see eye-to-eye. It would be 11 years before Allison finally won that elusive championship with DiGard, but only after finishing second twice to Waltrip and Johnson.
13. Ernie, Bill Elliott fly from Harry Melling (1992) — Melling rescued the family team and enabled the brothers to catapult to stardom. But when Peter Coors balked at a new, higher priced sponsorship, all concerned went their separate ways. Coors said he didn’t want to pay for the new, longer airplane runway behind the Elliotts’ shops in Dawsonville.
14. Andy Petree ends days of “Mr. September” (1993) — The crew chief responsible for Harry Gant’s sweep of races in September of 1991 on radial tires, Petree left Leo Jackson in favor of Richard Childress Racing. He directed Dale Earnhardt to back-to-back championships while coaching “Ironhead” on how to drive with radials.
15. Bobby Isaac leaves Talladega (1973) — The only veteran to drive in the first race at Talladega instead of joining the driver’s strike in 1969, Isaac received a gold watch from NASCAR president Bill France for his efforts. But four years later, Isaac said he heard a voice on the backstraight at Talladega telling him to get out of the car. He drove to pit lane and climbed out. His career as a NASCAR star ended not long afterwardl.
16. Kyle Busch disses Rick Hendrick (2007) — After “Shrub” wrecked his older brother Kurt in the all-star race in Charlotte, team owner Rick Hendrick had a conversation with his driver. They failed to see eye-to-eye. The result was Kyle Busch departing the team for Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick hiring Dale Earnhardt Jr.
17. Kurt Busch signs with Roger Penske, leaves Jack Roush (2005) — Following Flock, Pearson and Earnhardt, Busch became the fourth driver to split with his team owner following a championship season. Penske tried to hire Matt Kenseth first, but when that former champion elected to stay with Roush, sponsor Miller Brewing insisted on having a champion to represent its Lite brand after Rusty Wallace’s retirement. That turned out to be Busch.
18. Dave Marcis walks, wearing wingtips as usual (1978) — Angered by the sudden firing of Crew Chief Dewey Livengood, driver Dave Marcis quit his job as the driver for Osterlund Racing. That opened up the seat for a rookie named Dale Earnhardt.
19. Fireball Roberts moves to Smokey Yunick (1959) — Foreseeing the superspeedway era, Yunick hired Roberts from the Atlanta team of Frank Strickland, creating one of the sport’s legendary combinations. Fireball had become the first to win three 500-mile races in 1958 and was en route to becoming NASCAR’s first nationally recognized superstar.
20. Joe Gibbs leaves General Motors (2007) — The team owner took the money from Toyota and immediately began running up front.
21. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ends NASCAR sponsorship (2004) — The long union which helped NASCAR promote itself to major league status over the course of three decades ended inevitably with the attorneys general agreement on the advertising of tobacco products. Other major corporate departures have included tire makers Firestone and Hoosier Tires plus fuel sponsor Unocal 76.
22. Tim Richmond quits Hendrick Motorsports (1987) — Suffering from AIDS, Richmond was drummed out by his fellow drivers for erratic behavior. Hendrick Motorsports had been running a parallel program for sponsor Folger’s all season with Benny Parsons behind the wheel. Richmond, who won two races after his return from double pneumonia, dropped out before the summer was over and Parsons’s car remained as the lone entry for the sponsor.
23. Tim Richmond leaves NASCAR (1988) — In an apparent deliberate attempt to dismantle NASCAR’s new drug policy which was aimed squarely at him, Richmond loaded up on over-the-counter drugs before taking a drug test prior to the Busch Clash at Daytona. After banning him from the Busch Clash, NASCAR settled out of court for a sum of more than $500,000, according to the AP.
24. David Pearson leaves Cotton Owens (1967) — When the team owner visited his shops and found the entire team missing, an irate Owens fired everyone when they returned. The team protested that they were all at lunch. In any event, driver Pearson, who had won the championship in 1966, was among those fired that day. Pearson went on to join Holman-Moody, where he won two of his three championships.
25. Hoosier pulls out of NASCAR (1994) — When Bob Newton could not longer keep up with Goodyear’s radial assault, Hoosier Tires returned its focus to dirt tracks. Some would sayp this was one of the better break-ups in NASCAR history.
Goin’ Down To The Charlotte Crossroads
Thursday, May 15th, 2008 Write a CommentThe NASCAR schedule landed in Charlotte this week, once again a political crossroads. Scene of the sanctioning body’s first Strictly Stock race on a dirt short track in 1949, Charlotte has been home to trouble, boil and bubble on more than a few occasions since.
While trying to rescue Charlotte’s then fledgling superspeedway, Curtis Turner was banned from racing by NASCAR founder “Big Bill” France for borrowing money from The Teamsters.
Now home to the construction of the NASCAR Hall of Fame at a prominent address in downtown right next to a new office tower used by the city to help close that deal, Charlotte was once the scene of a boycott by NASCAR officials. Track owner Bruton Smith, it seems, accepted U.S. Tobacco’s offer to pay bonuses to lap leaders competing in a series where title sponsor R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was paying huge bonuses at season’s end for Winston Cup points.
More recently, Smith suggested last year that he would move the track down the road if Cabarrus County officials didn’t allow him to build a drag strip for the NHRA, a new major dilemma in Daytona. At a time when NASCAR’s popularity was sagging around the edges after hitting middle age, yet another headache in Charlotte involving Smith getting in bed with a politically incorrect group, this one a bunch of straighliners no less, was not a welcome prospect.
There have been crossroads on the Charlotte track as well if you count the firery, fatal crash of Fireball Roberts, the debut of Janet Guthrie in a stock car, or Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s “invention” of the penalty box about the time R.J. Reynolds launched its all-star race known then as The Winston.
These aformentioned events on the track scared the owners of NASCAR enough to generate a little green around the gills. Roberts’ demise signaled the need to initiate safety at any costs for the first time. Guthrie, who arrived in Charlotte at the invitation of the track owners, scared NASCAR badly. If a girl could run on superspeedways, went their rather aged thinking, how difficult would it be preceived for anybody else to do likewise? And if Earnhardt Sr. kept running Daytona 500 winners like Bill Elliott and Geoff Bodine into the wall out of spite, NASCAR would turn into a carnival act with a bloodthirsty twist.
This time the problem falls on both sides of the wheel fence.
The vehicle formerly known as the Car of Tomorrow and grudgingly called the Car of Today sits at the center of the present dilemma, a controversy which has the rather untenuous excitement of a demolition derby on a figure 8 track no matter where you’re sitting. How this deal works out will have a lot to say about a rebound in the popularity polls and whether the move to a car built entirely by NASCAR, a “strictly non-stock,” will cut the mustard. It is the product of only the second era of safety at all costs following Earnhardt Sr.’s death in Daytona, therefore an expensive investment vehicle for the sanctioning body.
H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, the renown promoter at what is now called the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, sustained the hue and cry during the test days for the COT last week. “If we don’t get back to side-by-side racing,” he said while in the garage, “we need to change these cars.” There followed shortly afterward at Darlington’s similarly sized intermediate superspeedway a game of follow the leader for most of the 500 miles. And once again tire troubles played a role as some teams discovered their chassis set-ups led to failures.
Given the importance of Charlotte to NASCAR’s over-all health and the abundance of intermediate superspeedways on the schedule, a bad race or two in Charlotte in terms of little or no overtaking or side-by-side action will not go down well. It may even become the death knell of the COT as we know it, especially if next week’s 600-mile points race becomes a litany of tire troubles following this week’s all-star race, now sponsored by Sprint.
Complicating the circumstance is the fact a team recently purchased by Toyota, which goes by the name of Joe Gibbs Racing, is cleaning house in victory lane. It’s bad enough the American auto industry is suffering at the hands of the Japanese — or so goes the line of thinking by many a NASCAR fan — without getting its clock cleaned in the all-American sport of stock car racing.
There are two key issues that have led to all the political folderal — enough agitation that NASCAR added that two-day test in Charlotte to the schedule.
One key element concerns whether the COT chassis will remain dependent on aerodynamics in cornering on the intermediate tracks. On the short tracks, mechanical grip generated by the suspension is crucial and on the major superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega aerodynamics naturally continue to rule. Will both mechanical and aero grip become crucial when it comes to who corners fastest on the intermediate tracks?
If the COT remains dependent on aerodynamic downforce for grip in the corners on these tracks, then the procession of cars without much overtaking will continue at places like Charlotte and later this summer in Chicago and Kansas City. The well known reason behind this problem pre-dates the COT. Teams prefer suspensions where the springs in front are bound up and the cars run on just the shocks. This holds the attitude of cars better in the corners when it comes to aerodynamics. But it also makes them twitchy as well as fast. Since this kind of set-up is dependent on aerodynamics, running side-by-side in the corners will remain difficult.
Who corners fastest also concerns the driver equation. The fact Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin account for seven victories this season out of nine events on tracks other than Daytona and Talladega indicates younger, hungry-for-stardom drivers are adapting more quickly to the demands of the COT. It also indicates that the teams of Gibbs and Jack Roush have figured out the new chassis better. (The Hendrick Motorsports team ran best last year in the COT’s debut season, it now appears, due to an accelerated testing schedule that caught other teams flat footed.)
The opinion here: Gibbs and Roush have caught on to the mechanical grip/aerodynamic combination needed to get maximum cornering speed and to get the job done when it comes to overtaking. Busch, for example, has catapulted through the field on several occasions prior to moving from 23rd to first at Darlington. You can’t tell this writer that he’s having trouble passing or running side-by-side. Busch’s dissing of the COT’s handling, meanwhile, sounds an awful lot like Br’er Rabbit’s complaints about the briar patch.
The fact teammate Hamlin won on the short track of Martinsville indicates the Gibbs team has got something going when it comes to mechanical grip with the COT suspension. Hamlin led 380 of 400 laps at Richmond’s short track from the pole, too, before a tire issue got him.
For its part, the Roush team runs well enough to win, place or show unless tire or engine issues crop up. The team and its drivers may be taking more chances with their Goodyears — many a team could plead guilty to under-inflating the Racing Eagles for a quick fix and making the manufacturer look bad as a result. On the other hand, the tires on the Roush Fords have survived well enough and often enough to indicate it’s more than a matter of under-inflating the right front tire to get better performance in the corners. It could well be a different approach to suspension set-up that works better in conjunction with the COT than coil-bound front springs.
There’s been some murmurs of cheating, i.e. cars that run sideways down the straights and quicker through the corners due to how the bodywork is hung. Alas, a quick eyeballing of everybody’s bumpers in the garage during the Charlotte test indicates such accusations are pots calling the kettle black.
Speaking of tires, when NASCAR made the switch from bias ply tires to radials for all races, Earnhardt Sr. and Rusty Wallace each had trouble making the transition. They preferred the tires that required delicate, tail-happy balance in the corners that played to both their set-up and driving skills. After disastrous seasons in 1992, once they found crew members who could re-direct both their driving style and set-up approach for the more hidebound radials, these two driving greats bounced back to winning championships and leading the league in victories.
It’s just a hunch, but the complaints from Wheeler may actually address a long-standing problem in Charlotte that pre-dates those bonuses from the Skoal brand for lap leaders back in the early 1980’s. There’s never been a lot of side-by-side racing in Charlotte, much less spellbinding finishes. So promoter Wheeler may once again be covering his bases. As for teams that privately complain the COT has trailerized some great driving talent, I suggest a review of the 1992 season.
All this indicates the best drivers and best teams will all get the hang of the COT before the season is out. In sum, for some drivers and teams it’s the Car of Today and for others it remains the Car of Tomorrow.
Instant Squish
Monday, May 5th, 2008 Write a CommentWhat a mixed bag at Richmond, a capitol of the confederacy of competition otherwise known as stock car racing. I was pulling for a fellow Virginian to pull off the nigh impossible perfect victory and simultaneously disdaining the ease of Toyota’s incursion into the top echelon of the Sprint Cup. Then there was the disaster of Dale Earnhardt Jr. versus Kyle Busch.
To take up the latter case first, both of the drivers involved in the late-race concussion in Turn 3 could have done better. The fans were deprived of an excellent duel between natural rivals. Instead of Chevy vs. Toyota and Little E versus the blossoming Shrub under the lights, the fans got instant squish.
My issue with this scenario concerns the good ol’ days being better. As Busch said afterwards, either driver could have given the other enough room to race, which would have produced an excellent duel for the remaining laps. Instead, Earnhardt Jr. cut down and Busch dove in too deep despite the inevitable slide up the track. (Please put on hold the “my guy” is always right; both were wrong.)
Racing fans are perennially long suffering, but particularly on this night following the demise of Hamlin’s right front tire. No lead changes is acceptable if it’s a hometown favorite in the lead or, say, Richard Petty. But after leading 380 laps, pole starter Hamlin’s dominant performance went pfsssst!
The night suddenly picked up without the dominant Camry until the center stage meltdown during hostilities in Turn 3.
The other issue with the backstraight robbery of the fans concerns the patter and banter in the TV booth. Instead of redressing these guys for, in effect, depriving the audience and grandstands of a great duel, the good ol’ boys in the booth did what ex-racers turned media mavens so often do. They swallowed their tongues. They made up for the mistakes of the current knuckleheads, offering some whipped chiffon in place of a good tongue lashing for each of the guys who should be past the learning stages of how to race in the big leagues. The ever-amiable and seemingly knowledgeable play-by-play man, meanwhile, failed to pick up the slack.
The incident and its TV coverage combined were limp. There wasn’t even enough conflict between Earnhardt Jr. and Busch on this night to bring up the hint of a blister. Had they been side-by-side for 10 laps, or exchanged the lead a few times before wrecking one another, well, that would be racing and that would be a rivalry in action.
The tired references in the booth to retribution from Junior Nation towards Busch lacked passion, because the whole incident lacked real drama. It’s as if the media coverage of Busch being moved out of Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt moving in constitutes a great story. Well, it does as long as they prove there’s something to argue about. In this case, drop them off at the nearest bus depot.
In the big picture, Busch has the goods on Little E. The latter won his first race at Daytona’s Bud Shootout and has done well in the points, generally living up to his commitment to Hendrick Motorsports, his teammates and equipment. On the other hand, Busch has been the most exciting driver in the Sprint Cup this season, bar none, en route to victories in Atlanta and Talladega. He drives with the moxy and arrogance of, well, Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Earnhardt Sr., unlike Junior, likely would have not have tried to squeeze a driver in Turn 3 while on the outside, fighting for the lead and with plenty of laps to get back by. Lots to lose, not much to win, especially if both cars have the same number of laps on their tires.
At least Toyota did not win another race in favor of Clint Bowyer’s opportunistic bolt into the lead in an Impala. Otherwise, it might have begun to look as if NASCAR’s premier league stands on the corner waiting for the biggest bunch of dollars to come along and presto! Victory lane is yours.
In effect, Toyota has bought one of the best teams in the business in Joe Gibbs Racing by paying a manufacturer budget for each of three cars to the tune of $8.3 million per car per year. That’s roughly double of what other manufacturers pay per car to their favored teams. And, it’s in cash, no strings attached.
What made JGR so formidable was the presence of Hamlin and Tony Stewart, an excellent one-two punch of youth and fired-up experience. Then, of course, Busch fell into the laps of both Gibbs and Toyota after being exiled by Rick Hendrick to make room for Little E.
Gibbs has an excellent engine program under Mark Cronquist — which doesn’t need to rely on Toyota Racing Development to be good. The team has one of the best technical directors in Jimmy Makar, a former championship-winning crew chief who quickly made the transition to the current era of engineering. The team’s simulation program, directed by Nelson Cosgrove, is cutting edge due to its reliance on the 40 percent scale wind tunnel at Penske Technologies.
Put all this together with the Car of Tomorrow’s first full season and you get an excellent performance by Joe Gibbs Racing on behalf of Toyota. In addition to winning races, this partnership has created instant rivalries among manufacturers in general and two drivers in particular. Lets hope the drivers in question can live up to it.