This week also will be the next to last night race of the year, as Charlotte has the lone night race in the Chase. It will be interesting to see the ratings for NASCAR's finale from Homestead when it goes up against a full slate of football games on a Sunday afternoon. Of course, Jimmie Johnson not having locked up the title by then will be the biggest ratings boost they could hope for.
Paint Your Wagon
Should one of NASCAR's biggest stars, and a four time champ, have this much trouble finding a new sponsor? HMS and Jeff Gordon have been rocking the Dupont colors since 1992. Now, with Wal-Mart saying no thanks, Hendrick and Gordon have resorted to begging Dupont to come on back for another year, or two. Maybe this 'Summer of Recovery' hoax just needs a little more time to catch on?
The Searchers
Meanwhile, two-time champion , Tony Stewart appears to have snagged Mobile 1 as the replacement for his Old Spice sponsorship, beginning next year. Pennzoil leaves RCR for Penske, which means that Mobile 1 has to leave Penske for somewhere. Quaker State stays with HMS, and Valvoline remains at RPM. It's oil settled then? Good.
Unforgiven
Camping World Truck Series driver, Jack Smith has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR. Smith allegedly tried to obtain controlled substances by fraudulent means three times in July of 2010. He was arrested on July 22, 2010 in Missouri, and NASCAR was informed of the arrest on July 23, 2010. NASCAR knew of the three felony counts against Smith, but waited six weeks or so to suspend him?
Richmond Rap
Dale Earnhardt Jr joins three others to lead active drivers with three wins at RIR. Woot!
Night Ranger throws down a pre-race concert on the fronstretch. Night Ranger? Really? Was Golden Earring booked?
RIR is Gibbs country! Kyle Busch averages a finish of 5.5 here, and Denny Hamlin's is 8.8. The only two current drivers with a top-10 finishing average at Richmond.
Jeff Gordon will be in the Oxymoronmobile as his Chevy is being touted as the National Guard Military Intelligence Special. Salute!
and more important than all of that is....Mattias Ekstrom is back!
ReplyDeleteI see two Clint Eastwood movies in your ramblings. Guy can still swing a golf club.
ReplyDeleteYou better jump fast on the Trifecta, Gene. I'm picking Kyle Busch!
Does Mobile 1 make a sauce that goes well with the Burger King Steakhouse XT™ Burger? If so, Tony could be dangerous next year.
Tez.... yeah, Sorenson finally has a decent run... then he's out. lol. Guess I better change my Yahoo team.
ReplyDeleteCR.... I suppose 'Dirty Harry' would have worked for Tony's header. Huh? Work is getting in the way of the trifecta... something has to give!
Trying to figure out a good sponsor for Jeffer's rig...
ReplyDeleteHe's always struck me as a pest... Hmmm... Orkin?
Maybe an elevator shoe manufacturer?
Okay, here ya go... You want excitment in NASCAR? Line up the sponsors, right? Put 'em in order of highest paying to lowest. The finishing order of a selected race will match up with the best sponsors! Gordon comes in first? He gets M&M's... Tony Stewart is second? He gets Pepsi Cola... and so on... Who wants Joe's Bar and Grill?
I'd trade a boring Richmond for a competitive Chase...I'll assume the worst and hold my hopes for Daytona!! =)
ReplyDeleteMy guess is Gordon is having harder time because he is SO associated with Dupont - not sure I'd want to try to rebrand him either. Look at Junior who is still strongly associated with Bud, and speaking of its still the Bud Pole Award right? Whose gonna win the Winston Cup? Oh yea, JJ...
Dwindy... Elevator shoes? LMAO! With ratings and attendance down, the sponsor hunt should only get worse. ):
ReplyDeleteKris... I believe it will be a boring Richmond. One car will be much faster than the rest, and everyone will 'settle'.