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| | Wednesday, September 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 e-mail to you, the fans, this season. The Winston Cup season is in full swing and Weber is following the circuit -- this week he'll be at home watching the MBNA.com 400 in Dover, Del. But that means even more time for Weber to answer a few of your questions. "As an avid NASCAR fan, I must admit that today's race (in New Hampshire) is extremely unexciting and boring due to the use of the restrictor plate. What would make NASCAR officials determine to use restrictor plates more frequently and take away the racing excitement for the fans? I think many fans are beginning to feel this way and might, regrettably, turn to other sports for entertainment." Bob Gurley,Morganton, N.C. Hang in there, Bob! NASCAR tried something, it didn't work. I know that sometimes it is hard to believe, but NASCAR wants exciting racing, too. They'll work on it, it will get better. "I was very happy to see Jeff Burton lead every lap and win, but I do not like seeing the Cup races end under the yellow. Why doesn't NASCAR make the yellow flag laps NOT count in the last 10 laps, so we can always have a green flag finish?" Terry Alexander, Mesquite, Nev. This is a popular question, and actually, I look for this to change next year. Just remember, a finish under the green (weather permitting, of course) will affect fuel mileage, too. You have to have enough fuel to run the Daytona 510 (miles) or the New Hampshire 310 (laps). And one more thing, if you want this, and it makes for a longer race, because you will be running more laps, you probably will get little or no post-race, because of television time constraints. "Bill, did Bobby Labonte run in the second position of the entire race at the Dura Lube 300? And if so, isn't it even more spectacular that the first two positions never changed hands?" Mike, Hampton Va. He didn't run second the entire race. And one question to a customer, Mike. Just kidding. "Did David Pearson lead all of the laps at a race in Rockingham in the early 70's driving the Woods Brothers car?" Jimmy Lewis, Robbinsville, N.C. Not in 1970, '71, or in the modern era from '72 on according to the reference books, I checked. "We are going to miss Darrell Waltrip, as we have with Harry Gant, Cale Yarborough, even Ned Jarrett. Why doesn't NASCAR have a seinors division, such as golf has the Senior Tour?" Dave Hammond, Lakewood, N.Y. There's a big difference between driving a race car and driving a golf ball. (I'm not very good at either!) There's not a huge interest here, and because of equipment and personnel, the cost would be too high. "I follow Terry Labonte and ever since he won his championship in 1996, Terry has dropped each year in the point championship lower than the year before. I know that being hurt at Daytona crippled him in the points this year, but there seems to be more than the story than that. He doesn't qualify well anymore. That just puts too much pressure on him to make it up during the race. Nadeau and Gordon, his teammates, manage to qualify fairly well. Does this mean that Terry's team does not trade information with the other teams in Hendricks Motorsports?Additionally, Terry always starts the season well, but in the last three years his team has seemed to run out of momentum around May-June. What will it take for him to return to his consistency he had in 1996?" Bob Krahl, Collierville, Tenn. It just takes time to build back into championship form. The 5 team has gone through several changes in recent years and Terry has been hurt. I'm hoping they'll finish strong and carry that into 2001. "Being Canadian, hockey is the sport for me. But NASCAR is riding hockey's draft and will soon overtake hockey come Turn 4. I was wondering why Mark Martin is giving up the Bush Series and staying with Winston Cup. I think he's one of the best drivers on the track today. Sure will miss watching him in the 66 Winn Dixie." George Cameron, Hantsport, Nova Scotia Like racing, eh? Me too. Mark is going to focus strictly on Winston Cup racing on the track and his business interests off the track. He is the all-time king of the Busch Series, has proven he can do it, and now will have a little more time to relax on Saturday and think about his Winston Cup. It's the same road Dale Earnhardt took a few years ago. Now George, a question for you: How are the N.Y. Rangers going to fare this season? "I'm a fan of Kyle Petty. Could you tell me why he has quit driving his Winston Cup car and turned it over to Steve Grissom. Also what are his future plans as far as driving and is there a deal with Dodge for next season?" Andy Moran, Ft. Smith, Ark. Kyle is finishing the 2000 season driving the 45 Sprint Busch Series car for his son Adam. He may run a couple of WC races in the 45 car and next season will drive the 45 in the Winston Cup series full-time. Grissom has come over from the truck series to drive the 44 Hot Wheels car the rest of the year. All three Petty cars, 43, 44 and 45 will be a Dodge in 2001. "Why did Robbie Loomis get fined for something the manufacturer did, and for a part they have been using since April. Don't they have pre-race inspections? And shouldn't the part have been caught then. I don't think Jeff Gordon should not be penalized for something that is the manufacturers fault." Robin Fowler, Moultrie, Ga. The crew chief is the responsible party. Yes, there is a pre-race inspection, but either the part in question was not checked or was not caught in the pre-race inspection. It's my belief that NASCAR penalizes the driver (points) as a way of making teams thing twice before "trying" something next time. Points are hard to come by, it hits hard when they are taken away. "I just bought a Ford Taurus the other day and the rumor around the dealership was that Dale Jarrett's contract was not going to be renewed by Ford Credit and that he was going to drive a car for UPS and that Matt Kenseth was going to drive the Ford Credit car next year. Any updates to this rumor?" Charles Berg, Newell, Iowa Let's see, rumor updates? Hmmmm. UPS could land on the 88. Ford Quality Care on the 21. Citgo on 99. "My question is this: How do new teams get their number for the car? For example, when Ricky Rudd sold the Tide Team and now Scott Pruett is in the car, it changed from 10 to 32. How is the number change done?" Robert Pascuzzi, Ruidoso, N.M. The team owner requests the number from NASCAR. When approved, the owner gets the number and puts it on his car. Ricky released the 10. Cal Wells applied for the 32 and got it. When a sponsor changes teams, few sponsors want to keep the same number. They want a new identity. "I was wondering if there was ever a Winston Cup driver that has won the pole position, and led every lap to win the race?" Kyle Larrabee, Mars Hill, Maine Yes. Cale Yarborough. March 25, 1973 at Bristol, Tenn. He finished two laps ahead of second-place Richard Petty. There were seven cautions for 56 laps. "Hey Bill! Can't wait to see ya next September at Kansas Motor Speedway! My question is: Do you ever think we will see some type of a salary cap to even up the teams? Has it ever been discussed by NASCAR? Thanks, and see ya at the track!" Chris, Kansas City, Mo. A salary cap in NASCAR would be too hard to manage. It's not just people, it's equipment, shop size, test facilities. I love Kansas City, but right now it doesn't look like I'll be there. Remember, we won't have the races next year. "My question is since Dale Jarret stole the pit crew from the 24 team, why didn't Ricky Rudd get the pit crew that won the championship for D.J.?" Walter Cornett, Bassett, Va. Several of those guys still work with the 88 or went different directions. The plan was to make the guys that were pitting the car and working in the shop have less work, not the same or more. "Is NASCAR ever going to have a upgrade in expanding the circuit to Canada? You have a lot of fans north of the border who would love to see NASCAR come to Canada." Russ Johnson, Hamilton, Onotario I would love it, too. The biggest hurdle I see would be the series sponsor clashing with the tobacco restriction laws in Canada. | ALSO SEE Ask Bill Weber Weber's mailbag: Sept. 13 Weber's mailbag: Sept. 6 Weber's mailbag: Aug. 30 Weber's mailbag: Aug. 24 Weber's mailbag: Aug. 17 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 | |||||