Sept. 27, 2007 - J.D. Gibbs Quarterbacks JGR - Literally

J.D. Gibbs, this week’s most valuable player

OK, so maybe you won’t see that go scrolling by on ESPN’s BottomLine or printed on the pages of USA Today, but that’s not to take away from what I witnessed earlier this week.

On Tuesday night, I took in some NASCAR flag football action at the Charlotte Sports Center. Crew members from competing NASCAR teams, along with a group from Lowe’s Motor Speedway, face off each week in the Totally Racin’ Football League. When I agreed to go with some friends to see David Gilliland Racing play Joe Gibbs Racing, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Boy, did I get an eyeful!

Just before the teams took to the field, the JGR crew rolled in. I immediately recognized Gibbs, president of the team that fields cars for Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley. My first thought was, “Oh, he’s here for team support and trying to be one of the guys.” The next thing I know, there’s Gibbs warming up on the sidelines. “All right,” I thought, “so he likes exercise.”

Wrong.

Gibbs soon appeared on the field as the quarterback. You might think that he would get the position by being team president or even because his father has three Super Bowl titles to his credit.

Wrong again.

Gibbs started launching throws down field that would make Peyton Manning proud.  Who was this guy in the No. 11 maroon jersey with the killer arm who was directing trick plays from notecards in his pocket?

Little did I know, Gibbs played defensive back and quarterback for William and Mary — wearing No. 11 — during his college days before joining JGR in 1992. What I was seeing wasn’t some fluke; it was actual, honest-to-God football talent.

After JGR defeated David Gilliland Racing 28-6, it was obvious that Gibbs is more than a businessman running his father’s company. He sure impressed the heck out of me.

Sept. 20, 2007 - Can Busch Make The Ultimate Comeback?

Could this be the year of Comeback Kurt?

Problems with a faulty carburetor doomed Busch to a 25th-place finish at New Hampshire on Sunday. Consequently, the 2004 champ dropped from fifth to 12th in The Chase standings, 102 points behind leaders Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

With nine races left to determine the 2007 champion, Busch has a lot of ground to make up if he wants to hoist his second Nextel Cup in Homestead in November. Critics have said before that a driver is allowed just one mulligan in The Chase and still have a legitimate shot at capturing the title at season’s end. But even if the Sylvania 300 is Busch’s only poor finish in the next nine races, he couldn’t possibly make that kind of a comeback.

Or could he?

Busch’s 2007 season has been a season of repeated comebacks. He began the year mired in 36th in points thanks to a 154-lap crash with Tony Stewart in the Daytona 500. But within the next eight events, Busch scrapped his way into the top 10, getting as high as seventh place after the Dodge Avenger 500 in early May.

Three races later, Busch found himself down and out again after being parked for aggressive driving and receiving a 100-point penalty for a pit road incident with Stewart at Dover. Busch fell from ninth to 17th.

Once again, Busch had to mount a comeback to be in Chase contention when the checkered flag waved at Richmond in September. Two dominating performances at Pocono and Michigan in August helped the Las Vegas native reach the coveted top 12. Entering The Chase, Busch sat fifth in points.

But now Busch must put the blue deuce to the test to stage another rally. Luckily for Busch, he has won at three of the nine remaining venues in The Chase. If anyone can make a comeback during the 2007 Chase, it’s Busch. He’s had plenty of practice this season.

Sept. 13, 2007 - Want Drama? Try IndyCar

People who have known me for a while know that I used to live and breathe NASCAR to the point of obsession. Nothing was greater than 43 stock cars going around and around in a circle for 500 miles.

And then I was introduced to other forms of racing — drag racing, open-wheel racing, sprint-car racing, etc. — through my job here at NSSN. Sure, NASCAR is still cool, but somewhere in the last seven months, it’s lost some of its luster and thrill for me.

So, folks, it’s once again time for me, NASCAR Sheena, to beat down the stock-car racing I love in favor of another series: IRL IndyCar.

The 2007 IRL IndyCar Series season had the one thing that NASCAR’s top series lacks: drama. I can count on one hand the number of dramatic finishes we’ve seen this year in Nextel Cup, and two of those came at the world center of racing — Daytona Int’l Speedway. No matter how dramatically ESPN’s Jerry Punch tries to call every Nextel Cup event, seeing one or two guys dominating a 500-mile race is not dramatic.

Now think of the drama this season on the IRL circuit. It’s been palpable each week, especially going into the series’ finale Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. Dario Franchitti’s poor finishes at Michigan, Kentucky and Infineon — two of which saw the Scot go airborne — combined with four wins in five weeks for Scott Dixon put the former series champ in position to capture the title.

Week after week, Dixon chipped away at Franchitti’s point lead. At Infineon, Dixon overcame Andretti Green team tactics to score the victory and take the point lead by six points when Franchitti tangled with teammate Marco Andretti.

But the championship wasn’t Dixon’s yet. The next week at Belle Isle, he and Franchitti collided in a controversial last-lap crash. Franchitti drove away to a sixth-place finish and reclaimed the top spot by three points heading into the season finale.

The season’s most dramatic moment came on the last lap of the Chicagoland event. With Dixon and Franchitti running first and second, Dixon’s tank ran dry, and Franchitti scooted by to take the victory and the championship by 13 points.

And who can forget the scuffle between Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon on pit road at Milwaukee, or the Tony Kanaan-Sam Hornish, Jr. fracas that ended when the elder Hornish hit pit road?

If that’s not drama, I don’t know what is.

Maybe instead of running the slogan ‘I am Indy,’ the series should change its motto to ‘I am drama.’

Sept. 6, 2007 — An Open Letter To Clint Bowyer

Dear Clint,

Howdy. Being part of the media, I’m not supposed to play favorites or take sides, but I wanted to take a minute to talk to you about a certain matter.

This weekend’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 will be your 63rd-career NASCAR Nextel Cup start. In those 63 races, you’ve scored six top-five and 23 top-10 finishes. This year, your second full-time season in NASCAR’s highest series, you’ve scored your first pole and you have an average finish of 15. You and teammate Kevin Harvick are the only two drivers in the top 25 in points without DNFs. Speaking of points, you’ve been in the top 12 for 24 of 25 weeks, and you’ve secured your first playoff berth.

Yet despite your success, you have yet to score a Nextel Cup victory. Twice this season you’ve visited victory lane in the Busch Series — bringing your win total to five — but you’ve been unable to find your way there the next day.

I know the pressure of that elusive first win is weighing heavily on you now as everyone keeps asking when you’re going to make it to victory lane. Like those of us who endure the timeless question about future matrimony at holiday dinners and family functions, you’ve learned to grin and bear it, laughing off the question that keeps coming up in conversation.

You should take pride in knowing that you’ll be the only driver in The Chase — given that something keeps you from victory lane in Richmond this weekend — without a victory to his credit. You’ll head into New Hampshire only 50 points behind first place; the 2007 title could easily be yours.

I know that may not be much consolation given the big, ugly goose egg in your win column. I also know that the trend in the last few years — since Tony Stewart captured three triumphs in his rookie season in 1999 — has been for young, hot drivers to win early in their careers, but there is still hope that going 0-for-62 isn’t necessarily an indication of how your Nextel Cup career will turn out.

You know that guy Jeff Gordon, the one who is pursuing his fifth Nextel Cup title this season and the one who has 79 victories? He didn’t make it to victory lane until his 79th event. Bobby Labonte, who took the 2000 title, saw his first Nextel Cup win elude him 70 times until he took the Coca-Cola 600 in his 71st start. Ricky Rudd, NASCAR’s iron man who has 900-career starts, had to wait until his 161st race to grab the first of 23 victories. Mark Martin’s first win didn’t come until race No. 113. You can also ask your teammate Jeff Burton about waiting for that first win. No. 96 was his lucky number.

So, you see that success can still come, even if you haven’t captured that first victory yet. No one doubts your driving ability. Your stats and solid position in the top 12 in points show that you’re hardly a flake and a waste of time.

Keep your chin up. We’ll see you in victory lane soon enough.

Sincerely,

Sheena Baker