As already covered, the combination of Tony Stewart and Darian Grubb brought home a Sprint Cup title.
But by that point, so it appears, Grubb already knew he was out of a job.
Some perspective is required to make sense of firing (and then reversing?) a now-championship crew chief.
Tony Stewart is a hard-charger, driven to success and quick to strike when frustration mounts. Frustration brings out both the best and the worst in Tony, and prior to the Chase itself, this season was almost nothing but frustration for the #14 team as a whole.
It looks like maybe Grubb, like his driver and employer, also excels under pressure.
Grubb has argued that the team rallied together, closer than before, once word came down that he was out. It happens, but now the real questions begin...
...given the position he was in before, would he *want* to stay at Stewart-Haas Racing, in any capacity? Is this family man willing to walk what he now knows is a knife's edge?
Tony is enough of a man to own up to what now appears to be a premature, if not outright bad, call. But he's still Tony. When the frustration mounts again, the same situation might rear its ugly head.
I greatly respect Tony, and I greatly respect Darian. But there are definitely two different personalities in the mix here. How willing to forgive (no option to forget)?
...And on the geeky side, what exactly is it going to take for motorsports teams to start looking at interpersonal relations in some fashion that isn't akin to shuffling a deck and 'defined' by vague terms like 'chemistry'?? (Why yes, I am teaching industrial psychology next semester; what gave it away?)
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Smoke wins in Homestead-Miami
...and brings home the Sprint Cup trophy for the third time (although really, it's only been the 'Sprint Cup' trophy twice, I think? -- but that's another ramble).
What makes this time special, given that Tony Stewart's done this three times before?
1) His only real chance to win the championship was to win the race. He did so.
2) He won on a tiebreaker based on number of wins... 5-1. A tie. In the Sprint Cup series. Seriously??
3) All those wins came IN THE CHASE. He won 1/2 of the Chase races. After going winless prior to the Chase, he dominated the 'playoff'.
4) First owner-driver to win the championship since Alan Kulwicki in 1992, although there are some major differences in the level of outside support provided in the current sport.
Given that Tony is one of the major investors in the International Motorsports Industry Show, I'm sorta hoping the Sprint Cup trophy makes the trip to the Indiana Convention Center, despite the fact that potentially seeing it in person doesn't really mean anything (for a lowly, if geeky, spectator like me)... Regardless, I rather doubt that it will... ah, well.
What makes this time special, given that Tony Stewart's done this three times before?
1) His only real chance to win the championship was to win the race. He did so.
2) He won on a tiebreaker based on number of wins... 5-1. A tie. In the Sprint Cup series. Seriously??
3) All those wins came IN THE CHASE. He won 1/2 of the Chase races. After going winless prior to the Chase, he dominated the 'playoff'.
4) First owner-driver to win the championship since Alan Kulwicki in 1992, although there are some major differences in the level of outside support provided in the current sport.
Given that Tony is one of the major investors in the International Motorsports Industry Show, I'm sorta hoping the Sprint Cup trophy makes the trip to the Indiana Convention Center, despite the fact that potentially seeing it in person doesn't really mean anything (for a lowly, if geeky, spectator like me)... Regardless, I rather doubt that it will... ah, well.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Hmmm....
...so drama in Texas may kill the return of a Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in 2012. Was it triggered by the New Jersey announcement, delays in decision making, disagreements in negotiations? Does it really matter? Where Formula 1 is involved, these sorts of disagreements usually don't end well for the facility management. F1 has money, leadership that surpasses even Bruton Smith in sheer stubbornness, and the ability to be even more frustrating at times than NASCAR leadership at its worst.
The facility currently on hold in Austin (Circuit of the Americas) was designed specifically for F1, although both MotoGP and V8 Supercars are also scheduled to race there (both premier series in their respective markets, of which the US is not part of anymore than it is currently part of F1's).
We'll have to see how this plays out, whether it's 2012, 2013, or a big gravel pit in South Texas while the real racing goes on in New Jersey (?)
The facility currently on hold in Austin (Circuit of the Americas) was designed specifically for F1, although both MotoGP and V8 Supercars are also scheduled to race there (both premier series in their respective markets, of which the US is not part of anymore than it is currently part of F1's).
We'll have to see how this plays out, whether it's 2012, 2013, or a big gravel pit in South Texas while the real racing goes on in New Jersey (?)
Friday, November 11, 2011
Rowdy, part deux
So M&Ms is gone off the #18 (at least for the next two races), but Kyle Busch remains... It's probably about the best anyone could hope for, given the circumstances, and hopefully it's the triumph of cooler heads prevailing.
Whether Busch truly is repentant or not is less relevant than whether he reins in his reactions and plays within the accepted constraints. The current stage is set for "one more last chance," that all involved, including Ron Hornaday, Jr. (the recipient of the intentional crash that spawned all this) is willing to offer.
As an American, Busch can express himself however he wants; as a NASCAR driver, he needs to keep his emotions from wrecking his career. Joe Gibbs Racing's faced some PR challenges before in their drivers (as described previously), and they'll manage this one... Here's hoping Kyle Busch doesn't force them to handle any additional ones; else he might finally find himself out of rope.
Whether Busch truly is repentant or not is less relevant than whether he reins in his reactions and plays within the accepted constraints. The current stage is set for "one more last chance," that all involved, including Ron Hornaday, Jr. (the recipient of the intentional crash that spawned all this) is willing to offer.
As an American, Busch can express himself however he wants; as a NASCAR driver, he needs to keep his emotions from wrecking his career. Joe Gibbs Racing's faced some PR challenges before in their drivers (as described previously), and they'll manage this one... Here's hoping Kyle Busch doesn't force them to handle any additional ones; else he might finally find himself out of rope.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Has Rowdy gone too far?
It's no real surprise that Kyle Busch got parked for last weekend's Nationwide and Cup races after intentionally (and brutally) wrecking one of the championship contenders in the Truck series race. "Have at it, boys" has to have limits, even in the mercurial world of NASCAR.
In order to rank the 'slap on a wrist' that Carl Edwards got after putting Keselowski into the fence at 'Dega, he have had to had a relatively clean slate for the year; he doesn't. Kyle's been facing both NASCAR and legal probation for various acts of stupidity. Hey, stupidity happens to the best of us, but that doesn't keep it from piling up, and when it does, the consequences aren't pretty.
Based on some reports, it might cost Rowdy, perhaps the single best raw talent in NASCAR right now, his ride. NASCAR is very, very sponsor-driven (ask David Ragan and David Reutimann about that), and when your sponsors are looking to replace you, that means so is the team owner.
Even when the team owners are Joe Gibbs and his son JD, and your team is recognized for its handling of the occasional trouble-maker (e.g., Tony Stewart, and yes, even Denny Hamlin, who has been requested by the #18's Nationwide sponsor to replace Busch in the car). Busch's string of inappropriate behavior has now surpassed both Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, and perhaps even Robby Gordon, all well-known troublemakers for the NASCAR officials and administration at some point in their careers.
NASCAR is a professional sport, with standards for professionalism (even if those standards are at times a bit hazy to the average spectator). It's a privilege to race in the national series, and although NASCAR seems to have dished its punishment, it looks like not everyone involved is quite so forgiving this time around.
In order to rank the 'slap on a wrist' that Carl Edwards got after putting Keselowski into the fence at 'Dega, he have had to had a relatively clean slate for the year; he doesn't. Kyle's been facing both NASCAR and legal probation for various acts of stupidity. Hey, stupidity happens to the best of us, but that doesn't keep it from piling up, and when it does, the consequences aren't pretty.
Based on some reports, it might cost Rowdy, perhaps the single best raw talent in NASCAR right now, his ride. NASCAR is very, very sponsor-driven (ask David Ragan and David Reutimann about that), and when your sponsors are looking to replace you, that means so is the team owner.
Even when the team owners are Joe Gibbs and his son JD, and your team is recognized for its handling of the occasional trouble-maker (e.g., Tony Stewart, and yes, even Denny Hamlin, who has been requested by the #18's Nationwide sponsor to replace Busch in the car). Busch's string of inappropriate behavior has now surpassed both Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, and perhaps even Robby Gordon, all well-known troublemakers for the NASCAR officials and administration at some point in their careers.
NASCAR is a professional sport, with standards for professionalism (even if those standards are at times a bit hazy to the average spectator). It's a privilege to race in the national series, and although NASCAR seems to have dished its punishment, it looks like not everyone involved is quite so forgiving this time around.
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