Logano makes history at Loudon

It was just another boring week in NASCAR where nothing major happened and the results of the race at Loudon’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway had a predictable outcome. NOT!
This past week’s race was anything but normal, and there is so much trash talk going around the garage it’s hard to keep it straight. I mean, who would have thought that Joey’s Logano’s crew chief, Greg “Zippy” Zipadelli, would throw the dice in New Hampshire and leave the Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate out on the track with precious little fuel? For Logano, there wasn’t much to lose since he was going to have to pit pretty soon anyway. As for Zippy, he was on the pit box doing his best Cherokee impersonation and dancing to the rain gods. And within just a few laps, the bet paid off and Logano was sitting at the front of the field when the skies opened up and drenched the track.
It was a smart move and Logano deserved the win, despite what anyone else says. Don’t get me wrong, I am not on the Sliced Bread bandwagon but I know the rules and when a guy is leading the race past the halfway point and it ends because of rain, he is the winner. You don’t have to like it but that’s the way it is. Kurt Busch won that way last year. David Reutimann did it in May at the Coca-Cola 600. Matt Kenseth did at the 2009 Daytona 500.
So what’s the big deal?
Apparently, some fans are upset that the youngest guy in the sport got his first win on a technicality. Others say that because his car wasn’t dominant throughout the race, the win shouldn’t count.
Too bad for them. The rules are the rules. Logano won and his name went into the history books as the youngest driver to do so. It’s pretty simple — get over it.
As for the other major news events of the week, there has been a lot of talk that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will go the way of the dodo bird. (That last analogy brought to you by my wife.) Anyway, the rumors of the truck series’ demise appear to be greatly exaggerated. And NASCAR doesn’t appear too happy about it.
The blame for the rumor is being heaped on a friend of mine, veteran NASCAR reporter Mike Mulhern. Some are saying that Mulhern fabricated a story that the series was on its deathbed but there is no denying that most everyone who covers the sport, including myself, is asking the same question. The series is struggling to say the least and hiding your head in the sand about it isn’t doing any good.
Still, NASCAR’s Jim Hunter is officially “on-record” saying that truck series isn’t going anywhere. For me, I hope not because it’s some of the best racing in the sport.
And the battle between NASCAR and Jeremy Mayfield is getting hot. NASCAR countersued Mayfield a few weeks ago claiming that he essentially defrauded the sport. A lot of documents have been filed in the case but on Wednesday, Mayfield and NASCAR were back at in a Charlotte, N.C., federal courtroom.
And by mid-day Wednesday, Mayfield had the answer he was looking for, as U.S. Distirct Judge Graham Mullen lifted an indefinite suspension pending the final outcome of the Mayfield’s case against NASCAR. And what was NASCAR’s reacton? Well, I thought they would have run across the hall and filed an immiedate appeal but they aren’t “at this time.” However, NASCAR Spokesman Ramsey Poston made it clear that Mayfield will be continuously scrutinzed by the sanctioning body. hey jeremy, get ready to drink lots of fluids because NASCAR’s going to want to you to pee in a cup 10 times a day, more than likely.
I say good for Jeremy. I don’t think Mayfield is a meth-head and I do believe that a drug test can be flawed —that’s where I am different from NASCAR. They think they are perfect.
In other news, if you missed Bill Weber’s commentary on TNT this past weekend, it was because the network pulled him from the broadcast at the last minute. Just prior to Sunday’s race, TNT executives released a statement confirming Weber’s absence but it left out any real details of what may have led to their decision. According to the statement, Weber was dealing with personal issues and that it was the policy of TNT to not comment on such things.
All I know is what I read in the Charlotte Observer, which said Weber was involved in some sort of heated argument at his hotel. This has pretty much flown under the radar but some media outlets are reporting that Weber will return this weekend. At this point, it is a wait-and-see situation.
And finally, Michael Waltrip Racing has announced that it will be holding a press conference on Monday. From everything that I can gather, the announcement will be that Martin Truex Jr. will join the organization next season. Truex is currently in the final year of his contract at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and is looking to move somewhere where he can be more competitive.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO has heavy foot

Yeah, so what. Kasey Kahne found his was to victory lane and gave Richard Petty Motorsports its first win since 1999. Well, that is not exactly true.
Kahne did win … and it was a win for Petty. But I am having a hard time buying into the notion that Richard Petty Motorsports is the same organization as Petty Enterprises. You see, in 1999, PE was a single operation that was built off the works of The King. With the bastardization of Gillette-Evernham Motorsports and the original PE, I just don’t think that what is parked in the garage is the same operation.
Now, is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. Let’s face facts — PE struggled for years and even had trouble making the field sometimes. The former PE teams were back-of-the-field operations with nary a chance to win a race, much less a Sprint Cup Championship.
At least now there is hope, which is something that many fans had lost in PE’s lean years. The new Richard Petty Motorsports has proved that it can run at the front. It has proved that it can win. Sure, there are times when they still run in the back and Kahne’s win is obviously a first but with any luck this is the beginning of something great.
Yeah, I figure I will catch some flack for my opinions on the new organization but, hey, it’s my column. And it’s my opinion.
I just don’t think anyone can make a legitimate claim that the Petty of today is the Petty of the past decade or more. Let’s all hope that Richard Petty Motorsports makes a quick return to victory lane.
As we move on to another topic, I would like to point out that I usually don’t cover news in this column but this week, I just can’t help myself. On a whim last week, I decided to run a background check on NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. In all honesty, I am working on another story and was trying to find out which other corporations France is involved in. But along with the corporate affiliations, I found out that France has a lead foot.
Apparently, France was doing 80 mph in a 60 mph zone and got busted by North Carolina State Highway Patrol Officer H.L. Dorty. The ticket was written on March 31 in Mecklenberg County. For those that don’t remember, that was the Tuesday before the race at Texas Motor Speedway.
First, I have no room to be judgmental when it comes to traveling at speeds above the posted legal limit — just ask any of my “close friends” in the traffic division of the Beaumont Police Department. And that doesn’t include my own “personal experience” with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in 1991.
You see, in North Carolina, going 80 mph in 60 mph zone is considered a Class 2 misdemeanor, which can result in a suspended license.
According to Mecklenburg County court records, France had a trial date set for June 5 and his case was disposed of on June 15. The record shows that France’s speed was reduced from 80 mph to 65 mph and he paid only a $10 fine along with $121 in court costs. That’s a pretty good deal, if you ask me.
Do I think that France used every trick in the book to get his penalty reduced? Yes. Do I know for sure? No. I do think that every one of us would have done whatever it takes to save our driver’s license. Besides, how would it look if the guy who runs NASCAR had his license suspended?
In other news, it appears that the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series are going to be the biggest sufferers from the disaster that is our nation’s economy. With talk swirling that both series were looking at moving to a Crate or spec motor that is the same for everyone, now teams are will have to cope with losing financial support.
Toyota announced this week that it was joining with Chevrolet and Ford in yanking its financial support of the two lower tiered series. I could be wrong but I think it is safe to say Dodge is also in that camp. They will still provide some engineering and technical support but the cash flow is cut off from what I understand.
And that also appears to be the case on the Cup level where several teams, including Richard Childress Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports are owed millions of dollars by the manufacturers. Childress and Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports said they were still behind GM but they have to be feeling the pinch. I wonder what they were in such an intense discussion about his past weekend at Infineon Raceway.
The other rumors around the garage center around which drivers will end up where in 2010. The biggest speculation is surrounding the future plans of Martin Truex Jr. and Kahne. Both have options available to them, so their decisions should be interesting. It also appears that Kevin Harvick might be willing to leave RCR. I don’t see that happening at this time but if he does, I would look for him to show up at Stewart-Haas Racing.
There is also speculation that Danica Patrick will land at Roush Racing. She has publicly said that she is looking at NASCAR for her future and I think she would be a great asset to the sport. And finally, it looks like Brad Kesolowski and Stephen Wallace could be racing in the Sprint Cup Series next year.
It’s only June and Silly Season has barely begun but I can assure you things won’t calm down until we get to the final few races of the season. So just sit back and watch what happens.

TNT's Bill Weber pulled

I have been getting reports all morning that Bill Weber has been yanked from the announcer's booth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
He ws scheduled to work the broadcast for the Lenox Tools 301 but obviously that has changed. No word yet on why and TNT officials are not giving up much information.
All I can to get is that TNT 's claiming that, based on company policy, it is a "private" and "personal" matter, of which they "will not comment."
As soon as I hear more I will update. Several of my NASCAR associates are working to get more on this.