Racing is a business and is pretty cruel sometimes.

I recall Mark Martin driving Fords and giving Jack Roush many victories.
-----------

I recall that when Roush announced that Mark Martin was retiring, Mark Martin

got an offer to drive Chevy's.

Roush made sure that Mark Martin would not win the NASCAR championship

that last year.

Roush gave Mark Martin older cars and I suspect with de-tuned engines.
---------------

Jack Roush, after all the years Mark Martin loyally put in for you, you screwed him over!

Roush, you are a butthead, and everyone working for you knows it.
-----------

 

Reality: You are only as good as your last race.

Won the 2017 Daytona 500, and 6 months later
No SHR contract renewal for Kurt Busch

Tuesday, 01 August 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Image by Nigel Kinrade/LAT


Stewart-Haas Racing has reportedly declined to pick up its option on Kurt Busch’s contract, but expects this year’s Daytona 500 winner to return to the organization in 2018.
SHR had until Midnight on August 1 to inform the 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion whether it intended to activate its option on Busch’s deal. The organization has decided not to, meaning that Busch is now technically a free agent.

 

[h=2]Ganassi Racing cuts more than 40 staff[/h] Thursday, 21 September 2017


By Robin Miller / Image by IMS Photo


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Most everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing had heard for the past few weeks that the IndyCar team was cutting back from four to two cars for 2018, so Wednesday's announcement confirming the contraction wasn't a total surprise.
But it was still some tough reality as a team owner that never lays people off during the winter and breeds loyalty for the way he treats mechanics cut loose 40 people on Black Wednesday.
"It was one of the saddest days of my life and it hurt because we lost a lot of good people. But it's part of the business and I think it bothered Chip as much as anyone," said veteran Ricky Davis, who has been a chief mechanic for much of his 23 years with CGR and will be back for next season. "Chip treats us good and, although he doesn't want anyone to know, he's got a heart of gold and he cares about the people who work at his race team.










"I got laid off at 4:45 p.m. once so I know how some of those guys feel, but the good news is that Andretti, Rahal and some other teams are hiring so I think a lot of our guys had job offers before they left the building and that made me feel good."
Besides mechanics and engineers from the teams of Tony Kanaan, Max Chilton and Charlie Kimball, CGR also had to let go of machinists, painters, graphic designers and sub-assembly people as the days of spec racing have reduced the need for in-house fabrication and creativity.
Mike Hull, the managing director of CGR, agreed it was a sad part of the business but necessary for future plans.
"Chip wants to get back to two championship-caliber cars and, believe me, he didn't take this lightly and it was a difficult decision," said Hull, now in his third decade of working for Ganassi. "The strength of this operation is in the quality people who participate and I don't know of a weak link in any of those four teams. But this is the direction we've chosen going forward.
"I hope a lot of these guys can stay in IndyCar racing and I'm sorry they have to pursue it this way but I think there are a lot of jobs out there, so hopefully they can land on their feet."
Chilton is expected to start his own team with Trevor Carlin and will be taking some of his CGR crew with him while Kanaan is lining up some of the No. 10 team to join him at A.J. Foyt in 2018.

 

[h=2]CRANDALL: NASCAR's tough transition[/h] Monday, 25 September 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by Harrelson, Kinrade, Moist/LAT



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Let's get reality out of the way: Darrell Wallace Jr. does not have the financial backing to be in a racecar.
Considering his status as perhaps the hottest free agent on the NASCAR circuit, I get why many continue to assume, comment or send emails about how he should get this or that ride. Wallace is likeable, young and talented, and has a unique charisma. Those are some of the most important ingredients for any team owner. There's also a solid fan following behind the 23-year-old Alabama native.
Yet a reminder shouldn't be necessary that in today's NASCAR, the marketability and talent of a driver oftentimes takes a backseat. In today's NASCAR, a driver must arrive not carrying a helmet, but a check. Wallace does not have that, which he admits is not a new problem.
"I haven't had a sponsor in 15 years that I've been racing," Wallace said recently. "I've been doing that [looking for partners] since day one, no matter what the team is. We're still trying to bring our own money."
As this season edges ever closer to its checkered flag, Wallace will continue to be brought up in the conversation and some have already – prematurely, in my opinion – put him in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford. Again: show me the money. In fact, show RPM the money, because they are in the same boat, having just lost Smithfield Foods.


But Wallace, Danica Patrick and even a former champion, Matt Kenseth, are the biggest names in the conversation when it comes to who will and won't be in the sport next year. NASCAR is amid a seismic shift of big names leaving in rapid succession, and sponsors are doing the same. The business model keeps evolving, the schedule will undergo a slight shift next season and even the sanctioning body's policies and procedures aren't untouchable. While younger, equally-talented drivers are filling the void, their effect on the sport is not going to be felt for a while to come.
For anyone who missed it, Jeff Gordon is gone. Tony Stewart quickly grabbed the closing door behind him. Greg Biffle was left without a quality ride after he split from Roush Fenway Racing last year, and then Carl Edwards woke up one day and decided he wanted to experience more in life than just driving race cars. Dale Earnhardt Jr. rides off into the sunset at season's end.
It's a lot to handle in such a short time, and it's only natural for there to be a desire to see drivers like Wallace become one of the next wave to carry the torch. Having already spent time in the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, Wallace is hungry for a full-time shot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and proved he deserves one after doing an admirable job filling in for the injured Aric Almirola over the summer.

Patrick's situation is no different, as she too doesn't have any funding. Losing longtime partner GoDaddy at the end of 2015 seems to have been the beginning of the end for her. And Kenseth? He's being replaced for a newer, shiner model at Joe Gibbs Racing, and Kenseth has been quiet about his future.
What has struck me in recent weeks is that as Wallace continues his fight to stay relevant and land a ride, both Patrick and Kenseth seem at peace with what could be next for them – which may very well be life away from racing.
I want Wallace and Patrick and Kenseth in the 2018 field as much as the next person. However, it would be smart to accept the possibility that Patrick and Kenseth could very well be competing in their final races and that Wallace may forever be walking around with his hand out.

 

[h=2]Two time champion
Cooper searching after Cadillac PWC closure[/h] Monday, 02 October 2017


By Marshall Pruett / Images courtesy of Cadillac Racing



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Of the many things Cadillac Racing gifted sports car racing during its 11 years in the Pirelli World Challenge series, young American driver Michael Cooper could turn out to be its lasting legacy.
A two-time champion in PWC's lower classes, the New Yorker got the call to represent Cadillac in 2016 in the muscular GT3-spec ATS-V.R as teammate to lead driver Johnny O'Connell. With four consecutive GT titles to his credit, O'Connell would serve as Cooper's personal measuring stick, and after taking a pair of wins and third in the 2016 championship – one spot ahead of Johnny O – and a close runner-up finish to 2017 champion Patrick Long, Cooper firmly established himself as a star on the rise.
Like O'Connell, Cooper is also on the free agent market heading into the offseason. After scoring all three of Cadillac's wins this year, and its first SprintX championship with co-driver Jordan Taylor, Cooper's services could be in high demand.
"I have to thank Cadillac Racing for the opportunity they gave me," he told RACER. "Obviously, after winning the GTS championship, and then moving up with them and being able to get GT experience and race with guys like Johnny O'Connell, Patrick Long, Jordan Taylor, Pierre Kaffer – to prove myself – that's more than I ever could of asked for.
"But [the cancellation] all happened pretty quickly, so that puts me officially on the market. I've had some phone calls and some emails with some people already, but nothing certain for sure. My phone's on loud, and I've got open ears."
With the type of factory experience and success that would fit PWC or IMSA needs, Cooper is keen to land a similar opportunity in GT competition.
"There's definitely some unfinished business in Pirelli World Challenge with the overall GT title still out there after finishing second and third these past two years," he said. "The pinnacle of production car racing, for me is, IMSA's GTLM. You have breath-taking machines like the Corvette, along with the best factory drivers in the world, and I'd relish the chance to show what I'm capable of doing on a stage like that."
Cooper would also welcome a chance to apply what he learned in SprintX to long-form endurance races.
"I gained a lot of experience with GT racing in general, but then also this year, with the SprintX format, having pit stops and driver changes, was great to do after all my sprint racing," he said. "From our calculations, Jordan and I spent the least amount of time on pit lane this year, which is probably why we won the SprintX GT championship, but shows that I'm capable of doing those things even with the little experience that I have at doing them."
Taylor, who is on the cusp of winning IMSA's Prototype championship to add to his SprintX title taken with Cooper, believes his PWC teammate would be right at home in a WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team.
"He's smart enough to know if he doesn't have a winning car, he's not going to put the car at risk," he added. "He'd rather get a third- or fourth-place finish, and that's why he's winning all these championships. He was fast every track he went to. It was fun to work with him and understand his driving style, because I kind of readapted mine to suit him and the car, and make each other go faster. It was a great relationship. I think Cadillac picked the right guy, and GM picked the right guy early on. He's grown a tremendous amount in the three or four years he's been with them in their program. I don't see why people wouldn't look at him, especially in GT cars."

 

Kenseth to take break after '17; likely 'time to go do something different'

Saturday, 04 November 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Image by Matthew Thacker/LAT



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Matt Kenseth doesn't expect to race next season unless a quality ride materializes.

The 45-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver told NBC Sports on Saturday during a taping of a podcast episode that after the season concludes he is taking a hiatus from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing, confirming what seemed to be the likely outcome for the 2003 Cup Series champion as his options for a competitive car dwindled.

Kenseth revealed in July he would not be returning to the No. 20 as JGR named Erik Jones to the ride.


Here is what Kenseth told NBC Sports:
"I've put a lot of thought into it and pretty much decided after Martinsville, which I kind of already knew anyway, but we decided to take some time off. I don't know what that means. I don't know if that's forever. I don't know if that's a month or I don't know if that's five months. I don't know if that's two years. Most likely when you're gone, you don't get the opportunity again. I just don't really feel it's in the cards."
He later added: "Sometimes you can't make your own decisions, so people make them for you. That's unfortunate because I wanted to make my own decisions. I felt like in a way I've earned that to be able to go out the way other drivers who had similar careers to dictate when your time is up. Anyway, I just came to the realization it's probably time to go do something different."
Kenseth, who said he had frequent contact with Rick Hendrick, admitted that being passed over for the No. 5 seat "should have been the cold water in my face."
“Probably my biggest clue is when Rick put William [Byron] in the 5 car, and I didn’t get that opportunity,” he said. “That was one I thought maybe I would get and hopefully go over there and get that car running better. I felt like I could really do that and maybe mentor some of the young drivers coming along, and that didn’t work out, either.
“Probably after that happened, that should have been the cold water in my face that, ‘All right, you need to accept it and do the best you can this year and figure out what you’re going to next year and move on.’ ”
As he worked on returning to Victory Lane and qualifying for the post-season, Kenseth had long maintained he was focused on racing for a championship and would not comment on his future until the right time. He was eliminated from title contention two weeks ago.
Unfortunately, Kenseth also acknowledged if he were to race next year it would only be for the sake of racing and not with the opportunity to contend for race wins and championships.

A series champion, two-time Daytona 500 champion and winner to date of 38 races, Kenseth still believes he has enough left to contribute to a race team in a successful manner – and is deliberately not using the R word.


"The retirement word doesn’t really make a lot of sense in this sport really because there’s, it’s not like the NFL where you get a pension if you officially retire or you do any of that stuff. Mostly it’s for people like [Dale Earnhardt] Jr. that got to fill the seat and have a sponsor and all that stuff. For me it’s just different because I didn’t really have that option, my seat got filled before, before any of that so there’s really no reason to talk about it.

"I’ll just take some time off, whatever that means. I don’t know if that’s a year, two years, three months, four months, I mean you never know what happens. Maybe something comes along that really makes you excited and it feels like it’s going to be a fit, you might go do. Certainly not gonna rule that out, but for now, I’m not making any plans for 2018. I just plan on having some time off.”

Kenseth debuted in the Cup Series with a sixth-place finish at Dover International Speedway in 1998, substituting for Bill Elliott. The season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks will be Kenseth's 650th and potentially last career start.

 

One more race, folks.

Or was NASCAR being so politically correct with their press release that it has become
unreadable?

 

[h=2]'Today was definitely meant to be' - Kenseth[/h] Monday, 13 November 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by Nigel Kinrade/LAT



258 Shares Matt Kenseth is an emotional guy. He just doesn't let the public see it.


But when the 45-year-old clinched what could be his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win on Sunday, he let loose. Emerging from a cloud of tire smoke on the frontstretch, Kenseth celebrated on top of his Toyota Camry to cheers from the grandstands and with tears in his eyes.

To some, he might have looked like a big baby. "But [I] just got one race left and everybody dreams of going out a winner," he said.

Not that Kenseth wants to go out at all. Since he revealed in July he was out of a ride at Joe Gibbs Racing, the 2003 Cup champion has made it known he still wants to race. A quality ride just isn't available, and Kenseth believes he still has the ability to contribute to a team through wins and championships.


So breaking a winless drought that dated back to July 2016, in his second-to-last week in a series to which he's given his all since making five starts in 1999, was overwhelming.










"It's just been quite a journey and today was a really special day for me, to know that next week is almost for sure my last week behind the wheel. ... I probably knew around August that it really wasn't meant for me to be racing anymore at this level going forward," Kenseth said.
"I probably fought it for too long and kind of looked at different opportunities and thought that doing something different, but then just really embraced it. And not many people get to go out in really good cars and win races and have a chance to win a championship. It's really a blessing to be able to go to work every day and work as hard as you can on it, put everything into it that you've got and finally get on here [today]."


Phoenix was Kenseth's 39th career win and his second at the 1-mile desert track. The No. 20 team was eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs in the last round, disqualified at Kansas Speedway for having seven crew members work on the car while under the damaged vehicle policy.
It has been a trying year for all. After JGR got out of the gate slow, the speed and performances most are accustomed to seeing eventually returned. Kenseth's numbers entering Phoenix were nothing to turn a nose up at – two poles, 16 top-10 finishes and 359 laps led.


Except Kenseth has never settled for good. The drive to win races is as strong as ever and Sunday, he got to experience that feeling one last time.

"We've had a lot of close ones ... I felt like the snowball was here last fall – we were 10 seconds away from going to the Championship 4 and caught that late caution and get wrecked on that restart," Kenseth said. "Ever since then, just never feels like it's meant to be and today was definitely meant to be.


"We made it happen, the guys made it happen on pit road and got me in front of (teammate) Denny [Hamlin], which was a key moment of the race and thankfully I was able to get back around Chase [Elliott] there at the end. So, it was a pretty special day.

 

Kenseth earns emotional Phoenix win; Keselowski gets title spot

Sunday, 12 November 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by Whitton & Thacker/LAT



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Matt Kenseth wasn't concerned with the championship picture and if the drivers around him needed a victory.

With 10 laps to go in the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Kenseth drove to the inside of Chase Elliott and took the lead for the final time. Kenseth then drove away from the playoff driver to score his first win of the season and his first since Loudon in July 2016.

"I don't know what to say except thank the Lord," an emotional Kenseth said of what could be his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory after announcing last week he is not expecting to race next season. "It's been an amazing journey. I know I'm a big baby right now, but just got one race left and everybody dreams of going out a winner.

"We won today; nobody can take that one away from us. It was a heck of a race with Chase. Golly, just thanks DeWalt, Circle K, Toyota, all our sponsors and JGR for a great five years. It's been quite the journey here the last 20. And thank you fans, I appreciate it."

 

Nostalgic look for Kenseth at final race

Tuesday, 14 November 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Image courtesy of Joe Gibbs Racing



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Matt Kenseth will join longtime friend and competitor Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a tribute paint scheme this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Acknowledging two weeks ago he does not expect to race next year, Kenseth's last race will be honored by Joe Gibbs Racing and sponsor DeWalt with a design from his rookie season. In 2000, Kenseth began his tenure in the NASCAR Cup Series driving a No. 17 DeWalt car for Jack Roush.

Earnhardt, who also began his full-time career in 2000, previously announced he would be running a paint scheme resembling his first Budweiser car.
For those keeping score, Earnhardt beat Kenseth for the Xfinity Series championship in 1998-99. But a year later, Kenseth took Rookie of the Year honors over Earnhardt. He then added a championship of his own, winning the Cup Series title in 2003. Both drivers are also two-time Daytona 500 winners.
Another interesting note: Earnhardt and Kenseth could both have their last Cup Series win recorded at Phoenix International Raceway. Should neither driver win this weekend in the season finale, Kenseth's final victory will have been last Sunday at Phoenix while Earnhardt's last win was at the same track in November 2015.