Was the 2007 NASCAR season
the silliest ever? There are several stories that would lead us to believe so. Michael Waltrip was caught using a fuel additive
at Daytona in February and not only failed to qualify for the race but also started the season a 100 owner points in the hole.
Mark Martin, driving
a part time schedule, skipped the fifth race of the season (as scheduled) while leading the series in driver points. Major
driver changes usually happen at the end of the year but not in 2007, all hell broke loose midseason this year. Let us recap
some of the drama.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) most
certainly led the way in sheer stupidity. In response to her top drivers’ doubts in the engine department, Teresa Earnhardt
made three major hires. All three were folks highly skilled in marketing and making a company money, not in engine building.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. countered by demanding 51% of the company as a condition of renewing his contract. The engines did not
get better and the marketing guru’s Teresa hired could not spin his demands away. As a result Jr. spun away and the
dominoes started falling. After a few weeks of speculation Jr. landed a ride with Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) for the 2008
season.
Declining to dump Casey
Mears who has never really accomplished much, HMS dumped Kyle Busch, one of the most promising young drivers in the last five
years. In the space of just a few weeks, young Mr. Busch went from being one of the hottest drivers sure to be signed by his
current team, to the hottest driver on the free market. Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) wasted no time signing this sure to be future
champion. For Gibbs it was an easy decision, dump a non performing J.J. Yeley and pick up a driver who has won and made the
Chase in every year he has driven Cup. Yeley landed a ride with Gibbs’ sister team Hall of Fame Racing (HOF) leaving
Tony Raines without a ride. While Yeley did little with nothing, Raines did much with little, yet Yeley will be driving and
Raines will be watching next year as it now stands.
Despite the fears of
the Japan
haters, Toyota did not enter Cup and dominate. In fact, Toyota
was sold a pig in a poke and had a hard time even making races. Despite being faster than many cars that DID start races,
the Toyota’s went home week after week because of the top 35 rule. No longer
do the fastest 43 on Friday race on Saturday night or Sunday. Now it is the locked in bottom dogs getting to block traffic
while faster cars go home. The German Dodges did not have that problem when they entered Cup a few years ago, which brings
up another silly point to this season. When the first Toyota actually did qualify
for a race, the broadcasters made a big deal about them being the first foreign owned make to race in NASCAR for over 40 years.
Excuse me? Did MunichGermany
become the 51st State while I was not looking? I ask because Munich is where Daimler
is headquartered and last I knew it was considered a German Company. Dodge has been owned by Daimler since 1999 (until earlier
this year when an American company bought them back) and Dodge has been competing since 1998. That would make a foreign owned
make competing every season since 1999. During that time, more Toyota’s
were made in America than Chrysler/Dodge/Jeeps were. Talk
about silly. But speaking of silly and foreign, it gets even better.
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JGR announced this year right
before the Chase started that they would be changing manufacturers in 2008. They will go from being red headed step children
for General Motors (GM) to being the cock of the walk for Toyota. Oh the horror. With all three cars locked into the top 35 JGR will certainly
make the races for Toyota next year. They also are the only team that seems to
be able to compete for a title with HMS. With Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, JGR brings 25% of this years chasers
to the track next year. If this year was silly, next year might prove to be down right ludicrous.
2006 StockCar Review.
