My Two Cents Worth for 9/07/04

By Todd Berger, LGR Staff Correspondent

Welcome to my “The Eve of Destruction is Upon Us” episode of My Two Cents.  There is exactly one more race until the C4C starts, and NASCAR has already had to make modifications, stating that anyone outside of the top ten but within 400 points will start the chase with 5000 points.  So it’s possible that 15th place will be tied with 10th place.  Sounds fair, huh?

Enough about that today.  This column is not going to be about the chase directly, (a term I may well refuse to capitalize from now on out of disdain for it). 

It was nice to see five cars with a real chance to win at a two-mile track this week.  Often times, when you get down to it, only one car really has a chance.  But this weekend, there were cars passing for the lead fairly often and guys changing spots and racing up front all day long. 

How about another huge thumbs up to Carl Edwards too?  In just his third start he had his second top ten finish.  Considering how badly that car was running before Jeff Burton left for greener pastures at RCR, this has been all the more impressive.

On a related note, rumors are now swirling that NASCAR may have changed their position relating to hard alcohol sponsorships in general and specifically for Roush Racing’s 99 team. 

I know it all will have worked out because Burton’s at Childress and Edwards got his dream job and all of that, but can a sanctioning body flip-flop more than NASCAR?  If they flip on this one though, there are probably a dozen teams who will go nuts about it because NASCAR has recently refused them the right to accept hard liquor sponsors.  This could be the “read my lips-no new taxes” moment for the powers that be.  I hope it is anyway.

Talks are also now swirling around Robby Gordon and his future at RCR.  I think (and so do most everyone else) that Robby leaving RCR is a foregone conclusion.  However, the question arises about his sponsor and who will drive.  Remember, Cingular (and Alltel for Ryan Newman) are grandfathered into NASCAR and cannot move to another team or car.  So if Cingular wants to stay, they will have a big say in who drives for them.  Like him or hate him, Robby’s got three wins for RCR in that car, including Lowe’s first win when he won at Louden in 2001.  He is one of only a handful of drivers to ever sweep the road races as well. 

Like him or not, he’s a talent and obviously is good with his sponsors.  Childress is going to have to make some tough choices given that the 31 car will be empty with a sponsor and the 30 car will have a driver and no sponsor (potentially, since the AOL deal ends this year).  With this new chase, silly season may be sillier than ever this year. 

(By the way, Robby led and finished ninth Sunday, making him the highest finishing Childress car this week).

Speaking of Childress, remember that Harvick was supposed to be AOL’s driver before the tragedy of 2001.  I wonder how GM Goodwrench is going to take not being in the chase with Kevin currently sitting a distant 15th in the points. 

Factoid update:  Last week I mentioned that Ryan Newman, vocal opponent of the Lucky Dog rule, had used it quite a few times this year.  The actual number of times is eight, which ties him for tops on the list with Ward Burton and puts him ahead of drivers such as Kyle Petty, Ricky Craven and Jeff Green.  I don’t know if it means anything, but I was just letting you know.

For the fifth time this year, Kasey Kahne finished second, and it was the second time he has been the runner-up to the 38 car.  If by some chance the 9 car doesn’t make it into the chase, you can bet that Mister Kahne and company will make some noise in the last 10 races.

As has become the rule rather than the exception this year, Dale Junior and the Bud team were terrible on Sunday.  Well, they were terrible at the beginning, but they knew the car was crap from the get go with Junior saying before the race “I just can’t wait to get to Richmond.” Whether or not they win the championship is irrelevant to me.  Junior and DEI simply should not and cannot be satisfied with the current level of incompetence as it relates to that team’s performance on big flat tracks.  Those tracks, by the way, make up one sixth of the season’s total (two each at Michigan, California and Pocono.  I am leaving out Indy and New Hampshire for no particular reason).

Is it just me or did any of you snicker a little when Bobby Hamilton Jr. finished 38th?  I don’t like him, his wife, his ratty dog, or his attitude, and I think Cal Wells and Tide have taken a big step backwards class-wise in dumping Ricky Craven and hiring Bobby Jr.

Someone else mentioned this but it’s worth pointing out, I think.  Did anyone hear them mention that Kyle Petty has won EIGHT races in his career?  Eight?  Really?  I bet that over half the viewing public right now not only has no memory of Kyle winning, but also has no recollection of his last top five finish. 

I looked it up, by the way.  It was September of 1997 at Dover, and he finished 3rd. 

Is it just me or does anyone else see hits like Gaughan into Yeley and think “thank God for head and neck restraints?”  I shudder to think how different things would be today safety-wise if Earnhardt had lived to race again or even survived to retire gracefully.  After seeing wrecks like Jerry Nadeau at Richmond, Kyle Petty, Rusty Wallace and Joe Nemecheck at Bristol, Jeff Green and Steve Park at Pocono, and countless others at Daytona and Talladega and Michigan and California in the last three years, I think that it’s likely that more than one more fatality could have occurred were it not for NASCAR being forced from the safety dark ages as a result of the death of their biggest star. 

The last pre-chase thing I’ll say today is this.  Right now, only ten drivers are eligible.  If the 24, 48 and 8 somehow finish about 35th or worse, five more drivers will be eligible.  If there was ever a reason for team driving tactics or “accidental” events on the track, this is it.  My bet is you’ll see some of both this weekend at Richmond.

I want to end this week’s column by talking about Elliott Sadler.

It was obviously a big day and is clearly now a big year for Sadler and the rest of the M&M’s bunch.  When Sadler was picked to drive the 38 car, folks from far and wide said, “what has he done to deserve that ride?” or “how is he going to handle the pressure?”

As it turns out, he is Elliott “two wins this year” Sadler and the answer to the second question is he will be fine…just fine.

Sadler, in only his second year with Robert Yates Racing and M&M’s, Sadler has proven to be an extremely talented driver, a savvy pitchman for his sponsor and a versatile driver who can run well at all types of tracks.

Sadler won an exciting race at Texas over Kasey Kahne earlier this year and did so Sunday night against the same driver again.  Sadler will also clinch his spot in the chase by starting at Richmond Saturday after winning on Sunday. 

There are plenty of pro and anti 24 folks out there.  There are Rusty haters and Rusty lovers.  For nearly every driver, there is a segment of the racing fan community that doesn’t like that particular driver.  Except possibly for Elliott Sadler.  I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like him, I don’t know of a reason not to like him, and now there is a good possibility that you will not only have to like him, buy you may have to call him Champ in the very near future. 

Good stuff indeed.