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| | Thursday, August 24 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 Michigan for the Pepsi 400. But before he made it to the Michigan International Speedway pits, Weber took the time to answer a few of your questions. "Why didn't Dale Jarrett get a penalty for running over his front tire changer's air hose on his first pit stop at the Glen? There was a NASCAR official looking right at it, he almost stepped on the hose. But when Dale drove away the hose was laying out in front of the car, he drove over it with both right side tires. But no penalty! What's up with that?" Mike Brest,El Sobrante, Calif. This is an excellent question and it came from many fans. I talked to NASCAR, they said no penalty was assessed because nothing was called up to the tower. I have not talked with the official involved. I did speak with crew chief Todd Parrott. He said the tire missed the hose and that he, Todd, is responsible for pulling the hose out of the way. Todd said he missed pit practice this week because of other duties and that Mike Trower, the front tire changer told him after the stop to make sure he pulls the extra hose back earlier on the next stop. We had a team meeting here at RPM 2Night and looked at the video tape. Because the tire changer yanked the hose at the last instant and because the camera is looking from the left side of the car and it's the right side that's in question, we decided that even with replay (Joe Baker served as our replay booth official) we could not reverse the call. So, Mike, you lose a time out. However, at the same time, we pretty much decided as a group that it would have been virtually impossible for the tire to miss the hose. You would think the official involved would have to have seen it. But, they are watching for so many things he could have missed it. We have to take Todd Parrott at his word, so, for the record, DJ missed the hose. "During the race at Watkins Glen, the official told Ward Burton's team to make another stop due to a missing lug nut on a tire. Is there a limit to how far a crew chief can fight and argue with the officials? What are the consequences? Can a crew chief be asked to leave as in other sports?" Sue Daku, Selinsgrove Pa. NASCAR allows the crew chief to make his point, but in the end, just like an umpire in baseball, or an official in football, the NASCAR decision is going to stand unless you PROVE they are wrong. Rarely are people asked to leave, instead they are fined following a review and discussion of the event. "Why did Jeff Gordon get black flagged for being up front on the restart at Watkins Glen but Geoff Bodine didn't?!?!" Harlan Gherlone, North Haven, Conn. Gordon got the black flag for illegally passing on the restart, not for being up front on the restart. "I think when qualifying is rained out and cannot be completed they should invert the top 43 drivers in the point standings. Rather than starting at the top. Let's see how good the top drivers really are. What do you think?" Brian Young, Montandon, Pa. Come on Brian, where's the reward for being good? Should we give the guy 43rd in points the Winston Cup trophy so we can motivate the guy who finishes first to do worse? "How can NASCAR think it is fair for drivers such as Hornaday, Hubert, P.J. Jones, Fellows, etc., get to run at Watkins Glen, while regular drivers such as Pruett and Bodine are sent packing?" Randy King, Abilene, Texas That's a good question that you should send to a NASCAR chat. One rule NASCAR should think about is using a formula that includes practice times to fill the field when qualifying gets rained out. That would allow guys that are running "one-offs" to show their stuff on the track and earn a spot in the field. As for the drivers you mentions, Hornaday, Hubert and Jones were all "relief" driving for established teams that earned a spot in the field because the compete every week. That rule rewards the TEAM, not the driver. "How come at the Global Cross @ The Glen, Rusty did not have to start at the back of the field. He wrecked his primary car before in practice. I thought a driver had to do that if they wrecked the primary car?" Tommy Kohut Jr., Leonardtown, Md. Rusty wrecked before qualifying, therefore he had not made a qualifying attempt. You only go to the back of the field when you lose the car that is already qualified. Same explanation for Earnhardt, Jr. "Before Sunday's race, qualifying was rained out so they started by car owner points. I don't understand why Bill Elliott is 14th in points and started 17th. Could you explain?" Donald Eing, Millfield, Ohio Bill Elliott was 14th in DRIVER points. The field was set using OWNER points. Elliott was tied for 16th in owner points with the 12 car. The tie is broken by number of wins. The 5 car, the 10 car and the 12 car (among others further down the ladder) have more owner points than driver points because of replacement drivers (5 and 12) and missing a race (10). "Do you think NASCAR should adopt the same rule that CART has that if you are knocked unconscious during practice or qualifying you would be disqualified from driving on race day." Phil Flanagan, Rockingham, N.C. I can't answer this medically, but I go along with what Terry Labonte said at Indianapolis, they should look at it. They should also consider allowing the points earned by a driver "filling-in" for an injured driver to be credited to the regular driver who decided to sit-it-out to recover rather than come back too soon or run just one lap and get out of the car. "Why hasn't Jack Roush considered Greg Biffle for the No. 97 Cup ride for 2001? Considering Greg's solid performance the last two years in the truck series and his proven on/off track maturity he seems to be a natural fit." Charles "6CAR" Schmitt, Wexford, Pa. It is my understanding that Greg is committed to the Busch car and the Busch sponsor for next season and all that happened before deciding to make the change in the 97 car. "If Jeff Gordon ever lost his ride at Hendricks Motorsports, do you think he would he start his own team or join someone else's team?" James Beebe, Clayton, N.Y. I think he would drive for someone else. "Now that Terry Labonte's streak of consecutive starts in Winston Cup has ended at 655 which driver has the longest streak and how many consecutive starts have they had?" Bob Mattice, Canton, N.Y. Some old-timer named Earnhardt who has started 634 consecutive races heading into Michigan. "My question is what has happened to Ernie Irvan since he has retired and is he still involved in racing at all?" Tom, Decatur, Ind. Ernie is around the track every now and then. I hear he may be involve in some broadcasting next season. "I was wondering if you had any information on Morgan Shepherd? That is because I started watching NASCAR because of him, and it really disappoints me that he has not been racing lately. Please if you have any information about what he's doing please tell me." Quent Smith, Paducah, Ky. Morgan is making some occasion runs in other series, but I haven't heard of any plans to return to Winston Cup. "Bill, what exactly is the realignment of Petty Enterprises? Will someone take over Kyle's Winston Cup ride this season? Can you share what you know?" Dennis Albert, Pennsylvania Kyle will be calling the shots, with some leadership advice from the King I'm sure. Next season, Kyle will drive the 45 car with Sprint as the sponsor. John Andretti will be in the 43 car with Cheerios. The plan is two race the 44 car, but driver and sponsor are unknown. Hot Wheels is moving to an "associate sponsorship" on all three cars. "Todd Bodine has proven that he's a good driver. He is asked to fill in for Cup drivers frequently. Why doesn't a quality team recognize his talent and give him a chance at a decent Cup ride?" Cheryl Murray, Bakersfield Calif. Tough to answer. Todd spoke to us about this subject earlier in the year at California. His goal is still a competitive Winston Cup car and he has had some excellent runs. Right now he would love to get back into Victory Lane with his Busch car. | ALSO SEE Weber's mailbag: Aug. 10 Weber's mailbag: July 19 Weber's mailbag: June 21 Weber's mailbag: June 7 Weber's mailbag: June 1 Weber's mailbag: May 3 Weber's mailbag: April 27 Weber's mailbag: April 12 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 | |||||