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| | Thursday, April 27 Weber opens up his mailbag | |||||
| ESPN.com If there is one thing ESPN auto racing analyst Bill Weber loves more than being down in the pits for a NASCAR race, it's giving the fans the inside scoop. So he's opened up his email to you, the fans, this season. The Winston Cup season is in full swing and Weber is following the circuit -- this week he's in Talladega for the Diehard 500. Before he finds his way to the pits this weekend, Weber took the time to answer a few of your questions. "What in the world were the crew chiefs of Wallace, Earnhardt, and Mayfield thinking on the caution pit stops with just over 50 laps to go at Martinsville by taking four tires when they knew Martin had stayed out and everybody else was going to take two tires just as they had all day long. They blew the race and valuable points in the championship race. Plain and simple they blew it. Do You agree?" Jimmy Johnson,Sikeston, Mo. Ya know, they THOUGHT they were doing the right thing. What surprised me the most was that Jeremy took on two tires early in the race and ran very well. Everybody saw that, but I don't think too many people remembered it. The best line I heard after the race from some of those teams, "We zigged when we should have zagged." Not too profound, but highly accurrate. "During qualifying at Martinsville, Tony Stewart again had a bad run. When interviewed after his run, he mentioned it had to do with politics. Coul you explain what he meant by the statement?" Michael Beahm, Martinsburg, W.Va. Now Michael, I can't put words in anyone's mouth, you know that. But, I did hire an undercover detective and here's what he reported to me. That with this "New Generation" tire that Goodyear brings to the track, some guys simply can't get the feel right away. There's also a claim that the tires are "inconsistant." What is meant by that is that the one set of tires "feels" different from the rest. Tony was very unhappy with his qualifying effort. He felt he let the team down, knew he would have a bad pit stall, and was frustrated. He believes the tires let him down. At least, that's what my undercover detective reported. "I've been a Ricky Rudd fan since I was a boy. I was excited to see him join Rates Racing before this year. Many could tell that being a owner/driver was hard on him. How is his relationship with his teamate (Dale Jarrett) thus far? I've noticed some incidents. A bump at Daytona by Jarrett. Ricky getting into the back of him last week in Texas. Dale spinning Ricky today in Martinsville. It seems these teammates might be having problems. Are they?" Todd Ranniger, Ketchikan, Ark. This is interesting. They've had a few run-ins on the track, but it takes a while for teammates to become friends. Just because you're driving for the same owner doesn't bring instant kinship with the other driver. And, quite honestly, both these guys want to be the best. Still, I think what you've seen on the track are exactly what you called them, "incidents." As time goes by, watch for Jarrett and Rudd to work closer together and perhaps even battle one another for the title. "What was in Ray Evernham's contract to keep him from helping out with Bill Elliott's race team? Is Evernham testing the new Dodge's for next year yet?" Darin Gillen, White Lake, S.D. Who do I look like, Matlock? I don't know what was in his contract, but I could make an educated guess. There was probably a clause in his release from Hendrick Motorsports that prohibits him from working with any team this year in the role of "crew chief." Obviously, Hendrick was willing to let Ray leave, but he wasn't winning to let him beat his own teams on the track. Ray has done very well, saying he is just a friend of Bill Elliott, and when Bill asks for help, well, you should always help out a friend. This weekend Ray is helping us out, he'll be in the booth for the Busch race Saturday and the Winston Cup race on ABC Sunday. "Why doesn't Rusty Wallace run in the Busch Series? It seems sometimes that he has trouble finding the right set-up on his Cup car. I think if he ran in the Busch Series he might help himself on Sundays." Rodney Rose,Frametown, W.Va. Oh boy, could you see Rusty running back and forth between those garages on the weekend? He'd drive two teams crazy. Rusty doesn't have trouble finding the right set-up. He just has trouble believing he can't find something better. "Why does Dale Earnhardt continue to wear an open-face helment? And why is it he never has an in-car camera?" Kevin Rhodes, Keyser, W.Va. Never say never, Kevin. Earnhardt has in the past, and will again in the future, carry "on-board" cameras. As for the open-face helmet, Dale says he can see better with the open face and that the full-face helmet blocks his view from side to side. "I watched the Winston Cup race at Texas and was very happy to see Dale Jr win since I'm an Earnhardt fan. I noticed Dale Sr. put on a Budweiser hat while congradulating his son. I know he owns the team but was wondering if this would be in any conflict with the G M Goodwrench sponsor for his car. I'am not too informed on how the sponsorships work in NASCAR. Any help from you on how this works would be a new learning experience for me in NASCAR." Randy Durbin, Fort Deposit, Ala. Randy, this would be a long answer to explain all the sponsorship agreements, so here's a nutshell on Texas. Earnhardt does own the Bud car and was there as team owner. Obviously, he wants to help promote his sponsor that won the race on his car that he owns. Plus, it's big for all those crew guys at the track and at the shop to see the Boss wearing the same colors they are. GM Goodwrench actually got a good hit out of it as well from uniform exposure on Dale Sr.'s firesuit. There is a great deal of what I call cross-over sponsorship in racing, this is a perfect example. Senior helped out Budweiser by putting on the Bud cap and got extra Victory Lane exposure for Goodwrench. "I was watching the race at Texas and someone mentioned that Rusty Wallaces' pit crew had been stuck in Mississippi and got there only one hour prior to the race. What would Rusty do if they did not get there at all? I know you cannot race without a pit crew." Louis Smith, Pinellas Park, Fla. In such a case, they would have used guys already at the track, some from their team, some "borrowed" from the 12 team, or other "friendly" enemies. A few years ago at Watkins Glen we almost started the race with NO pit crews -- for ANYONE. The plane from Charlotte with almost all the pit crews couldn't land because of fog. I believe all the guys got to the track about 45 minutes before the race. It was close. "Here is something i've always wanted to find out. Are the pit crews full-time employees? What is the pay like, or are they part-time?" Todd Daniel, Dayton, Ohio They are both. Some are full-time employees of the team. Some are part-time and only work weekends. I honestly don't know what the pay is, but I'll check into it. I believe it starts around $250 a race and climbs upward based on talent and experience. "Is there any truth to the rumor that Steve Park is going to drive for Ray and Dodge next year." Jamie Smith, Penn. Not that I have heard. "Why are the roof numbers on top of the cars (and trucks) facing the infield of the race track when the timing and scoring are done from the outside of the race track?" Scott Chenoweth, Westminster, Md. Actually, it makes no difference, those numbers help the helicopter camera more than anyelse these days. But at many tracks, the scoring is done from the infield. Of course, today, all the scoring is done electronically -- unless a driver's transponder falls off his car like Matt Kenseth's did last week! "What is the difference between a raceway and a speedway?" Angel, Tampa, Fla. There is no difference except in the name. Now, all tracks a 1.5 miles or longer are considered "super" speedways because of the speeds run there. But Martinsville SPEEDWAY is a half-mile and Darlington RACEWAY is a mile and a third. "I, like most fans in this area, cannot wait till next year when the NASCAR track opens up just outside Chicago. My question is will they add a race or will NASCAR take a race from one of the other tracks." Bob Van Holt, Des Plaines, Ill. Don't know, Bob. But Mike Helton has been quoted as saying he believes that the series could race 40 weekends a year. My opinion is that's way too many. The series needs to get back to 30 races a year, that makes each race that much more important. People argue the NBA and MLB play too many games to determine the champion and some of those become meaningless. The Winston Cup series is going the same way. "I would like your unbias answer to this question: From my list of drivers, who do you think is the best pure race car driver when in their prime? Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Michael Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and the late Aryton Senna." Bob Petrella, Mckees Rocks, Pa. Couldn't answer that. Didn't see the King, or Mario enough "in their prime" and never saw Senna race in person. But if I was starting a team tomorrow, I'll take anyone of them. By the way, Bob, how come you didn't include your pick? "Is there any truth to the rumor that Dale Jarrett is going to lose his sponsorship with Ford Motor Company? I have heard that UPS is making a deal with Robert Yates to be Jarrett's major sponsor next year." Terry Rowland, Toledo, Ohio Robert Yates is talking to sponsors for next season. The deal with Quality Care is up at the end of this season. I think it is safe to say UPS is among the candidates. | ALSO SEE Weber's mailbag: April 6 Weber's mailbag: March 29 Weber's mailbag: March 22 Weber's mailbag: March 15 Weber's mailbag: March 8 Weber's mailbag: March 1 Ask Bill Weber | |||||