An Unfortunate Dilemma

Jeremy Clements – credits to espn.go.com

I will start off by saying this: Jeremy Clements is a good competitor, on and off the track. Week in and week out, he and his family-owned team work their tails off trying to be competitive in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Since Jeremy and JCR have been full-time in the NNS, dating back to 2011, the team has racked up two top-10 finishes, both occurring last year. I’ve been patiently waiting for Jeremy to catch a break and get his name out to the NASCAR community. Even for regular NASCAR fans, the name Jeremy Clements does not ring a bell. Unfortunately, this week I got my wish.

On Thursday, it was announced that Clements was suspended for at least two races from NASCAR competition due to an “intolerable” remark in an interview shortly before the start of the Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Shortly after I heard about the initial suspension, there was a flurry of media speculation as to what exactly Clements had said. At first, reporters, such as Jeff Gluck, wondered if Clements was in trouble for his tweet that claimed that the Daytona 500 was “boring”. Others thought it might have been his claim that Danica Patrick’s Daytona pole was “fixed”. Eventually, the news that Clements’ troublesome remark was racial got out, and the man who allegedly interviewed Clements, Marty Beckerman from MTV, revealed that Clements’ comment had involved the “n-word”.

This whole situation has reached beyond the walls of the NASCAR community. Twitter has figuratively exploded with people, both fans and non-fans, expressing their displeasure with Clements, their displeasure with NASCAR, or their displeasure with Beckerman for “ratting out Clements”. The reality, however, is that this situation is ultimately too complex to finger-pointing. For one, the claim that Beckerman ‘outed’ Clements in order to further his fame is completely ridiculous. He claimed in an interview this past week that he did not expect this story to reach the national level, and it’s unlikely that he’s lying. The fact that there was another NASCAR media member with Beckerman meant that he had little choice but to tell NASCAR what happened. It’s unfair to blame Beckerman for this whole ordeal.

Secondly, I don’t think we should be strictly bashing Clements either. Yes, he used the n-word, and it is true that this should not be allowed anywhere. Although the exact words he said were not released, more likely than not he used a variation on the word “jerry-rigged”. This is simply speculation, but some sources say this is the term he used. Clements admitted his mistake and genuinely feels awful about what happened. I have never personally met Clements, but from what I know he is a great guy on and off the track. Unfortunately, due to the fact that not many people are familiar with his name, let alone his persona, this incident has put his image into general question. If it was a slip, it is possible that he has used this term before, and although he claims it was not directed at anyone, racial slips are unacceptable. As I said, Clements is a good person, and I hope from what has transpired that he, along with others who use similar words, will learn that there is no room anywhere for racist remarks.

Finally, I don’t think we should criticize NASCAR’s decision. Clements admitted to making a racial remark, and although it’s arguable whether a suspension was warranted, NASCAR acted appropriately. Racial remarks should not be tolerated anywhere, especially at internationally televised sporting events. There is a stigma attached to the people who both watch and participate in NASCAR. Sarcastic tweets engulfed Twitter this week saying things along the lines of, “A NASCAR driver said something racist. In other news the sky is blue”. For a lot of non-NASCAR fans, this news did not come as a surprise. NASCAR, however, is working towards getting rid of this stigma. The Clements situation only hurts this effort, regardless of whether Clements’ comment was a mistake or intentional. This situation is extremely unfortunate for Clements as he and his family team try every week to make it to the track without much sponsorship, but NASCAR had little to no choice but to act as it did.

In conclusion, I think there is a lot that can be learned from this situation. Dale Jr. came out this week and said, “there’s no room for that in [his] life. … When one person’s mistake looks bad on the sport, it’s unfortunate.” It took a lot of courage and maturity for Clements to man up to this mistake, and as Dale Jr. said, it is unfortunate because it makes NASCAR look really bad. Hopefully, this will help everyone involved in NASCAR, whether they are weekly participants or casual fans, understand that racial slurs and racist behavior are unacceptable. NASCAR has come a long way in recent years, and hopefully they can grow from this experience. In the meantime, I wish Clements and his team the best of luck in these next difficult weeks, and I look forward to having him back on the track.

Kickin’ it Old-School

In recent weeks, NASCAR fans haven’t had much to be happy about, generally speaking. In the beginning of July, we all found out that the likeable and talented driver, A.J. Allmendinger was suspended due to a failed drug test, which was soon followed by his departure from Penske Racing. Also, last week at Pocono, a fan was tragically killed when lightning struck the area, shortly after the race was cancelled due to the bad weather. Finally, just this past week we all learned that Dodge, despite having a beautiful Challenger in the NASCAR Nationwide series and a beautiful Charger for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, will be leaving the series all together.

To add insult to injury, these headline stories have come in the midst of a season that has had its fair share of complaints and criticism; anywhere from Bruton Smith’s irrational claim that mandatory cautions are needed to “spice” up races, to continual sponsorship and economic woes keeping good drivers and good teams competing on good racetracks. Like every year, however, there is a silver lining. There are things happening today in NASCAR that have failed to get the attention of the media–things that should get more attention. One such storyline that has been consistently going through my head over the past few seasons has been the “old-school” approach that two young, talented drivers have taken in order to secure some sort of footing in NASCAR. Drivers Jeremy Clements and Chad Hackenbracht have both made a strong, but quiet impact, on stock car racing. Neither driver, however, is a household name, a headliner, or even a stout rookie prospect, deep in a Penske or Gibbs development program, such as Darrell Wallace Jr., or Ryan Blaney. Both drivers are simply driving the heck out of their family-owned teams, with almost no sponsorship to back them up.

Although Hackenbracht has yet to make an official NASCAR start, the young driver from New Philadelphia, Ohio, has been making a name for himself in the ARCA Racing Series (which has become a feeder series to NASCAR) since his inaugural season in 2010. The first time I saw Chad’s name was in the 2011 Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona, where he survived a wicked crash exiting turn 4. Since that time, I kept seeing his name week after week, but instead of being on the highlight reel for bad wrecks, it was from consistently finishing in the top 10, week in and week out. I soon began following this kid a little more closely and realized that he is a darn good little racer with enormous potential.

Throughout the 2011 and 2012 seasons, amidst the strong top 10 finishes, Hackenbracht was on the brink of victory. A few weeks ago at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, he had a very good chance putting his plain-white, sponsorless number 58 into victory lane. Sadly, mechanical failure kept him from achieving that victory. Jump ahead to last week at Pocono. Chad started up near the front, but his crew chief, Kevin Reed, decided to gamble and pit him much earlier than the rest of the competition. To the surprise of many crews, drivers, and fans, Reed’s strategy worked to perfection, propelling Hackenbracht and the entire CGH racing team to victory lane. In the post race interview, Reed stated that Chad is the best driver in the ARCA Racing Series, hands down. After seeing Chad drive the heck out of the number 58 for the last two seasons, I have to agree with Reed. My hope now is that this win helps him get some more recognition, which could lead to sponsors and hopefully a ride in one of the top 3 NASCAR series.

Similar to Hackenbracht, Jeremy Clements started getting recognized driving the number 3 car in the ARCA Racing Series. In 2004, however, he was involved in a career-threatening accident, when the driveshaft of his car broke and pierced through his late model vehicle, and injured his right hand. Although his career was in doubt at this point, Clements persisted and was back behind the wheel of a race car by the mid-2005 season. He won 1 race in the ARCA series (Nashville, 2007), and began his NASCAR career by testing Joe Gibbs Racing cars and running his family-owned number 50 car. Similar to Hackenbracht, running out of his family-owned car did not yield a lot of sponsorship, and due to the competitive nature of the Nationwide series, the results were not that high either.

Chad Hackenbracht

Since his move to NASCAR, Clements has been mainly driving for his family’s team (now car number 51), along with a few stints with other teams, mainly JD Motorsports. Clements has not had a win in recent weeks like Hackenbracht, but what Clements and his JCR team have done is something rare, yet admirable in NASCAR. He’s survived and been fairly competitive driving his family’s number 51. He has a strong fan base that recognizes his pure racing talent and his desire to climb the ranks through more of an old-school approach, and not through a development program or a sponsorship gimmick (as is seen too much these days).

Due to this bad economy, the faster and more competitive rides go to drivers who have the sponsorship money to back them up. Unfortunately, this has a tendency to leave out arguably, some of the unsung and undiscovered talent that lies deep within the NASCAR ranks. Both Chad Hackenbracht and Jeremy Clements, if given the opportunity, can succeed and race competitively against NASCAR’s very best. Both drivers are not backed by millions of sponsorship dollars, have a multi-million dollar shop with hundreds of employees, or have a family name like Earnhardt or Mears to have their name recognized. No. Both drivers have small budgets, small shops, and few means to race competitively. Both drivers, ultimately, have an enormous amount of talent, and despite all the drama surrounding NASCAR, these drivers can give us fans something to look out for, both now and in the future.

Defining the Gray Area

Kyle Busch was suspended after an incident during the Texas Camping World Truck Seris Race - Credits to SPEEDtv.com

There is no question that driver Kyle Busch has been through a lot in the past week. It’s also obvious that NASCAR has been under a lot of fire this past week for the actions that were taken against Kyle during this week. For deliberately wrecking Truck Series Championship contender Ron Hornaday, Busch was sent home for the rest of the Texas weekend. For this, many praised NASCAR for taking the appropriate action against a driver who has been pushing the limits on the ‘boys have at it’ policy implemented a couple of years ago.

This policy allows drivers to take altercations into their own hands, instead of NASCAR policing the driver’s every action. The new policy allowed drivers to police themselves and deal with altercations themselves. With this in mind, NASCAR made clear that there was a boundary that cannot be crossed without consequences. In Texas, this boundary was crossed.

Coming into Phoenix, some drivers claimed that the boundary between aggressive and dirty driving was clear, while others were still uncertain of where NASCAR stood on the subject. Nonetheless, everything revolving around this issue was fairly clear, until an incident between Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth resurfaced. During the Martinsville race a couple weeks ago, Brian Vickers was involved in a total of five accidents (although not all were his fault, his driving was severely criticized). After Matt Kenseth booted him out of the way, Vickers sought retaliationwhen it came time. That time came last race at Phoenix.

We have seen this time and time again in NASCAR. A driver, who has been recently pissed off, seeks revenge by punting another driver; many times this results in the aggressor driving by unscathed while the victim’s car ends up in the wall. In times past, NASCAR has penalized the aggressor with a one or multiple lap penalty for aggressive driving, and possibly even being parked for the rest of the race. An example of the latter occurred at Atlanta in 2010 when Carl Edwards spun out Brad Keselowski after being multiple laps down, which resulted in Kes flying through the air. NASCAR wouldn’t let Carl complete the race.

Brian Vickers' antics were questioned after both the Martinsville and Phoenix races

Why, then, was the Vickers incident controversial? For one, NASCAR didn’t do anything. Not even a one-lap penalty. The bigger concern, however, was that NASCAR didn’t take the same action against Vickers that they did against Busch just one week earlier. Although I agree that NASCAR should have at least held him a lap for clearly intentionally wrecking a driver who, although a long shot, was in contention for the championship. What makes absolutely no sense are the accusations against NASCAR for not suspending Vickers, just as they did with Busch. The two incidents are very different, and thus different consequences are appropriate.

Kyle Busch’s retaliation against Hornaday was very blatant: he destroyed his truck after the caution waved. Many argue that similar to Hornaday, Kenseth was a championship contender. Although this is true, Hornaday was riding a wave of momentum and many considered him to be a favorite. Kenseth had an outside chance at best. For any levelheaded fan or media guru, the two incidents are very different. If NASCAR did what many thought would be appropriate (suspending Vickers), a floodgate would open and there would be a serious tear in the “boys have at it” policy. This year alone has seen many Vickers-esque incidences. Take Darlington when Kyle Busch took a hard left into Kevin Harvick’s rear quarter panel. Similarly, Harvick conducted a very similar move to Trevor Bayne in this year’s fall Nationwide race at Richmond. Neither driver had even remotely severe consequences. Take Busch’s deliberate retaliation against Elliot Sadler in the Bristol truck race. Was there any suspension initiated? No. Why, then, would it be appropriate for NASCAR to suspend Vickers after his retaliation on Sunday?

The argument, all in all, makes very little sense and has very little ground. Fans and media-heads, nonetheless, will still argue NASCAR’s call and say that their policy is “bi-polar” and that they chose sides. Neither case is true. Vickers, even though there’ll be no suspension, will feel many consequences for his recent actions this off-season. As a driver looking for a ride next year, many teams looking for drivers will take all of his actions into consideration. After glazing over his embarrassing Martinsville performance, and then his retaliation against Kenseth on Sunday, Vickers has suddenly found himself in a deep hole that will be hard to get out of. Even though he is not getting a formal suspension, Vickers will feel the heat of his actions.

A Tragic Reminder

I speak for most racing fans when I say that I’m in a complete state of disarray after the tragedy that took place in Las Vegas this past weekend. It’s difficult to comprehend what happened. It’s difficult to accept what happened. It’s impossible to understand why it took that smiling and kind, yet passionate competitor from us. There isn’t much doubt in my mind that I am just one in a million who lost sleep with the images still fresh in my mind.

Because, like many, I thoroughly enjoy Indycar racing, the finale at Las Vegas was definitely one that I had  circled on my calendar. Before the season began, Speedway Motorsports Inc CEO Bruton Smith created a challenge specifically designed for the last race of the year at Las Vegas. His idea was to award $5 million to any driver who is not a series regular. In theory, this idea was genius. Thirty-four cars showed up to Las Vegas, many non-regulars with the intent on winning the 5 million. One of these drivers was 2011 Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon. Wheldon was given a chance to run in Sam Schmidt Motorsport’s 77 car, usually driven by Alex Tagliani. Unfortunately, due to a poor qualifying effort, Wheldon had to start shotgun on the field.

When the race started, Bruton’s plan seemed to be working perfectly. The thirty-four cars competitively snaked around the Las Vegas circuit, putting on an impressive show. Wheldon was making a charge towards the front, moving up ten positions in fewer than ten laps. While riding on board with the Brit, tire smoke appeared a few cars in front of him. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Approximately four cars appeared to be headed for the outside turn two wall, and caught fire once they made contact. Only fractions of a second later, ten more cars piled in, sending some into the air like kites on a windy day. Suddenly, one of these cars struck the catch fence extremely hard, appearing to explode on impact. What were left were fifteen scattered and broken cars; the debris was compared to that of a plane crash. The once white walls were now black with fire damage. This is what we all had feared.

Silence flooded the track. No one really knew which cars crashed, and more importantly, which car had flown up into the catch fence. The ABC broadcasters did not initially give out any detailed information, other than there were about fifteen cars that were involved, including championship contender Will Power. As time passed, driver after driver was seen stepping out of their damaged cars. Drivers, such as Pippa Mann, were seen getting assistance from on track personnel, as it appeared she might have had an injury. Something, however, was not right. Marty Reid, ABC’s main play-by-play announcer, mentioned that Wheldon was involved, but there was no word on his condition. Eventually the cameras caught a glimpse of his destroyed car. As time passed, it was clear that it was, indeed, the 77 car of Dan Wheldon that had been violently thrown into the catch fence.

No one knew his current situation, other than that he was injured. No one knew if his injuries were career or even life threatening. The first person to shed light on the grim situation was veteran driver Paul Tracy. During a live interview, he claimed that Dan had twenty some doctors around him and was in considerably bad shape. At this moment, if not already fearing the worst, the entire Indy Car world knew that this situation was serious.

I cannot remember what it was. Was it the sheer violence of the accident? Was it the silence? Was it Paul’s unforgettable words? Something clicked during that span that made me realize that we were possibly looking at the first Indy Car fatality since ’06 when Paul Dana died in a warm-up crash, and the first in a race since ’99 when Greg Moore crashed violently in Fontana. It may have even been the image of the car flying into the catch fence and exploding on impact that made my heart sink.

Catch fence accidents are not new for any form of racing. The most famous one occurred in 2003 when Kenny Brack hit the catch fence during a race in Texas, enduring around 214 g’s. Other examples like this include Ryan Briscoe’s 2005 crash at Chicagoland and Mike Conway’s horrific accident during the 2010 Indy 500. The fear of a car locking tires or launching off the back of another car was always present. The aforementioned incidences never included a car going cockpit first into a catch fence, but the fear was always there and I always knew deep down inside that it was only a matter of time until something like that happened. Even though this fear was always inside me, I never saw it coming.

What came next was an agonizing 2-hour red flag. We now all knew that the situation was serious, and all we could do was wait for any word on Dan’s condition. Drivers, both those who were involved in the accident and those that made it through, were interviewed. All expressed concern for their competitor and friend. At one moment, the TV showed Danica Patrick in tears. Shortly after all of the drivers were called to a meeting. It felt like an eternity, but for what could have only been several minutes later, the final announcement was made by Indycar CEO Randy Bernard that the racing world had lost Dan Wheldon.

All that we had feared had come true. The Indycar Series lost one of its most talented drivers, and more importantly the entire world of motorsports lost one of the most genuine and charismatic individuals around. Earlier this season, Versus had the pleasure of welcoming Dan to the booth to do a play-by-play. He was undoubtedly one of the best play-by-play analysts around and had a future in that business once his racing career had ended. Sadly, it ended long before he could get that chance again.

Dan Wheldon 1978-2011

After the conclusion of the events at Las Vegas, questions were being quickly and furiously raised. Many drivers mentioned shortly after the wreck occurred that the conditions were not good for racing. Thirty-four cars are too many for a steeply-banked 1.5-mile track. These cars can travel around 230 mph, and drivers do not lift anywhere on the track. When something happens, it’s nearly impossible to react.

Now, however, is not a time to point fingers. Some blame the inexperience of some of the drivers on the track. Others blame the track conditions and others blame the safety of the cars. Is any one of these aspects fully to blame? No. Yes, some drivers were not as experienced as others, but they are fully capable competitors, or they would not be allowed to race. With this in mind, there were clearly too many drivers on a fast track, such as Las Vegas. Were the track conditions too dangerous? Yes; however, this is not something new to the Indycar Series. Tracks, such as Texas and Kentucky can, and have produced terrifying speeds and huge accidents. It is not a Las Vegas issue by itself. Finally, are the cars too dangerous? Not entirely. Since Alex Zinardi’s near fatal accident and Paul Dana’s fatal accident, numerous safety improvements have been made to ensure the safety of a driver. Unfortunately, if Mike Conway’s accident, or Dan Wheldon’s accident, had happened at a slightly different angle, we may have a much different story on our hands.

There are areas to improve in all three of these categories. It is not so simple. Jimmie Johnson expressed general concern with Indycars racing on ovals. He went as far as to say completely get rid of oval racing. Although this may be slightly far fetched, Jimmie has a legitimate concern for the safety of the drivers. I, like many, do not think wiping the slate clean of oval racing is the right answer. One issue I see with that view is that cars can easily get airborne on a street or road course. Although the speed is considerably less, there is still danger. Getting rid of ovals will lessen the danger, but not get rid of it completely. Ovals have always had a place within American open-wheel racing. That is not going to change anytime in the near future.

Changes are going to be made. The manner of these changes is currently unknown. Right now there’s simple speculation and thoughts being made to prevent anything like this happening again. This moment, as I stated earlier, is not a time to point fingers. Now is the time to remember Dan and all he did for this racing community. It will take some time for the racing community to heal. The Indycar series has gone under some scrutiny over the past decade and this will only hurt it. There is a future for Indycar racing, but right now we’re all still in shock. I’m having a lot of trouble comprehending the fact that Dan is no longer with us. I’m having trouble comprehending that a day that was supposed to be dedicated to the crowning of a champion was something much different. The pain of this weekend will never truly leave. We as a racing community must, however, move forward and continue building a future for this series. It was what Dan would have wanted.

Rest in peace Dan. You will be truly missed by all.

A Sign of a Good Thing

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will Return to the Legendary "Rock" in the fall - Credit to SPEEDTV.com

Over the past few decades the NASCAR world has seen its fair share of good racing facilities close down due to lack of funding and lack of interest. Many of these tracks, such as Nazareth and North Wilkesboro, were unique and offered great racing. Memphis, Mansfield and Lucas Oil Raceway, three other tracks that have closed within the last couple of years, have seen some incredible old-style short track racing since they started hosting races. Lately, the news has not been that great and the continual track closing has been something that NASCAR fans are getting used to. In the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series, almost all of their stand-alone tracks (tracks that are not run on the Sprint Cup schedule) have been taken off their schedules. The only stand-alone tracks that remain are the two road course races in the Nationwide Series of Montreal and Road America (even though Montreal is in serious question), and Iowa Speedway. This year, we have already learned that both Lucas Oil Raceway and Nashville Super Speedway are no longer on the schedule.

With the two lower series slowly losing their identities and basically running all the races that the Cup Series runs, I have had trouble trying to see a bright light in all of this mess. With many good short tracks losing all of their funding, it’s difficult to imagine NASCAR’s two lower series coming out of this clean. A month ago I was sure that any news relating to the addition or removal of tracks from the schedule would be bad news. This weekend, however, my mindset changed slightly. It was announced that the legendary “Rock” would be back on the Truck Schedule.

Rockingham Speedway, simply known as “The Rock”, has been very close to many fans’ hearts, most of which were broken when it was taken off the schedule after 2004.  In 2007, after an auction was held, Andy Hillenburg (former driver and car owner) bought the speedway for $4.4 million. Since then, he’s been working endlessly to try and get this track back on the NASCAR schedule. In 2008, the ARCA racing series raced there, which marked the first race under new ownership. Up until this season, ARCA has raced at this track every year.

About a month ago it was announced that the speedway was undergoing some renovations, mainly the installation of safer barriers, in preparation for potentially being placed on the NASCAR schedule. Officially this past week, Hillenburg’s dream that he shared with many fans around the nation came true. The Rock is back on the schedule.

There are a couple other positive things that are slowly taking shape. Rick Crawford stated a couple months ago that he is interested in having his track, Mobile International Speedway, make an appearance on the Camping World Truck Series circuit. Although this may not happen in 2012, it is excellent that something like this is even in the works. Another positive story is that Gateway has a new owner and is opening once again, starting with the NHRA next year.

Although there are a few positive things coming out of the NASCAR track closing mess, the problems are far from over. Recently, I was notified that Darlington is no longer on the truck schedule. Although it is a track that is on the Sprint Cup Schedule, Darlington is a timeless, unique track that should be run at least once, maybe even twice, in every series. With tracks like Lucas Oil and Nashville leaving large holes in each schedule, and possibly with one of the best races of the year in Montreal being in serious question, the problems are far from over. There is a lot of healing that is still left to be done and the re-opening of The Rock is only the beginning of that process. I have hope for the future, but things need to keep happening in order to continue to improve the situation of these circuits.

Two Series, One Story

Although I tend to write most of my articles on NASCAR and I admit, I know most about the NASCAR world than any other racing series in the world, my heart lies in the world of Sports Cars. This includes any touring car series, such as the V8 Supercars of Australia, the BTCC and WTCC of Europe, the FIA GT series and, of course, the Le Mans Series. I also cannot forget about the truly wonderful series that are present in North America, such as the American Le Mans Series that formed out of the historic IMSA GT Championship and still runs under the IMSA banner and the Rolex Sports Car Series, which formed out of IMSA’s sister series, the USRRC. These two North American based series each have had their fair share of ups and downs, so to speak, but currently the two, although very different in many ways, find themselves at a similar crossroads.

First, in my personal opinion I have never liked a series of racing more than I like the ALMS. There is something about the atmosphere, the drivers, the cars and the number of classes that makes it the most attracting series in the world. One of the aspects of the ALMS that has blossomed out  of its predecessors is the fact that there are basically four races going on at the same time. The four classes of cars, generally, are split into Le Mans Prototypes (LMP), which are closed wheeled cars with the soul purpose of racing and can exceed the speed of an F1 car, and Grand Touring (GT), which are more along the lines of production-based cars. Within these two classes are sub-classes. Over the years, the LMP sub-classes include the LMP/LMP1/LMP900 as the faster of the two sub-classes and the LMPC/LMP2/LMP675 sub-class. The GT class has, over the years, been split into GTS/GT1/GT and GT/GT2/GTC.

Since the series officially started in 1999, the LMP classes have been the face of the series, producing great racing and incredible championship battles. In its initial years, the LMP battles have included a dominant Audi camp, a strong Panoz team early on, an occasional Porsche RS Spyder that made some noise and the historic Intersport Lola, which is currently one of the remaining pioneer teams in the series. Over the past few years, however, there has been a steady decrease in these powerful and competitive teams. Panoz has not raced full-time since 2003 and Porsche left the series at the end of 2008, but plan to make a 2014 comeback, and despite running the major races every year (the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petite Le Mans), Audi has also not raced full-time since 2008. In the two seasons since both Porsche and Audi left, the title has been endlessly fought over by Dyson Racing, Team Cytosport, Highcroft Racing, Drayson Racing and DeFerran Racing. Only Dyson and Cytosport remain. With the massive decrease in the number of LMP entrants, and with the LMPC class (which is only in its 2^nd season) still attempting to find a foothold in the series, the spotlight has shifted away from these technological wonders and into the Touring divisions.

There is a similar pattern in the other major Sports Car Series in North America: The Rolex Sports Car Series. Although the initial years (2000-2002) the cars of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series were very similar, in 2003 the RSCS had a change of identity and went to only 2 classes and switched from Le Mans Prototypes to Daytona Prototypes as the face of the series. These cars have been criticized for their lack of aesthetic appeal, but are in line for a 3^rd generation makeover for the 2012 season. Similar to the ALMS, these prototypes have produced excellent racing. Unfortunately, over the two seasons, the number of DP entrants has dropped and one team, Chip Ganaissi’s #01 car of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas has won 14 out of the 21 races in 2010 and 2011 (so far) combined. The competition level of the DP class has sharply declined.

It’s no question that these two series are going through a time of change and there’s no question that the economy has affected the number of prototypes that are entered in a given race. Many may look down upon these two series, especially compared to the riveting success the European-based series have, but the reality is that these series still produce magnificent racing. The best racing, however, has not been present in the prototype class, unlike in recent years. I’m aware that the new T.V/Internet deal that the ALMS has taken on this year has hurt the ratings and whenever SPEED decides to show tape-delay races instead of live races for the Rolex Sports Car Series, viewership will decrease if anything. Aside from that, whenever I have watched a race this year, I have seen some of the best GT racing I have ever seen and even watching the LMP or DP classes has been fairly enjoyable.

I hope that as these two series progress, more team owners and sponsors take an interest in these two series. It is possible that the prototype numbers will regain the strength that they once had. As I mentioned, Porsche is interested in returning to the LMP ranks and Michael Waltrip has expressed interest in Sports Car Racing and cited these two series. It is, however, likely that Waltrip will stay in the GT ranks. Nevertheless we cannot lose hope for these series. Although the numbers may be down, the racing is still excellent and the championship battles are still tight.

Silently Succeeding

Andrew Ranger in the 2011 Bucyrus 200-Credit SPEEDtv.com

Over the past couple of weeks in the NASCAR world, many surprises and unexpected names have been making some noise. Sprint Cup drivers David Ragan and Kurt Busch both found their way to victory lane over the past two weeks. Ragan, the most recent winner, won his very first race in NASCAR’s top division, much to the surprise of NASCAR nation, and Kurt Busch dominated at a track (Sonoma) which has not been very kind to him in the past. The Nationwide Series, similarly, has failed to disappoint. Two weeks ago in Road America, Reed Sorenson somehow found a way to win after drivers Jacques Villeneuve, Michael McDowell, Justin Allgaier and Ron Fellows all seemed to have the race won at various stages in the race. This past week at Daytona, driver Joey Logano came out of nowhere to win his first race of 2011. These past few races have given NASCAR plenty to talk about. There is, however, one story that the media has glossed over. This is the silent, yet stunning success of Canadian Champ Car turned Stock Car star Andrew Ranger.

The very first time I saw Ranger take to the track was during the 2005 Champ Car World Series. The race was held in Mexico and Ranger, an unknown Canadian to me up until that point, finished second at only 18 years of age. From this point forward there was no doubt in my mind that the kid could drive. As time went on, his career in open-wheel came to an unexpected end following the 2006 season when sponsorship ran out, despite two fairly successful seasons with Conquest Racing.

Ranger, still burning with passion, wanted to race. His next career step found him in the seat of a Stock Car for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series for the 2007 season. This Canadian-based series saw Ranger, a rookie, all but dominate the whole year and take his first championship. This success earned him a ride in the 2008 Napa Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where he finished a disappointing 28^th after looking strong in the number 22 car for Fitz Motorsports. After running a few more races for Fitz finishing no higher than 19th, Ranger was released and found himself in the 2009 season with a chance to win his second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship.

His performance was not disappointing. He not only won his second championship, he did so in a more dominating fashion than his first. The highlight of the year, however, did not come from this series. Looking to erase his disappointing finish of 28^thin 2008, Ranger returned to the Napa Auto Parts 200 with a new team: CJM Racing. This team was known to bring a good piece of equipment to every race it entered until it folded at the end of the 2009 season. The race in Montreal was no exception. Ranger battled all day with Carl Edwards, one of the best drivers to emerge within the past decade. This drew very high compliments from Edwards, the 2007 Nationwide Series Champ, as he noted Ranger’s incredible talent.

Andrew Ranger

Since 2009, Ranger has been fairly quiet in the top three series. He has, however, been making a lot of noise in the K&N Pro Series’ (both West and East) winning in both divisions, and in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series where he added a win. Ranger became the only driver ever to win in all three touring series in the same year. He returned to racing in all three regional touring series this year, but has added a few more races to his resume. Along with his team NDS Motorsports, Ranger won the pole in his first ever ARCA start and ended up winning the race, even though he had to start from the rear of the field.

Many may now ask why I am writing this article. The truth is, despite all the success and the seeming lack of media attention, I would not have written this tribute to a great racer if it were not for the race at Road America. NDS and Andrew Ranger entered in Bucyrus 200 at the historic circuit with only one car and sponsorship from Waste Management. With practically no experience at Road America and with an inexperienced team and unproven equipment, a strong running, although not out of the question, was unlikely. However, Ranger did not disappoint. The little team took on the big guns and finished an incredible 6^th at the tricky track. Many may look at the finish and claim that the sour luck many drivers ran into may have been the result of this surprising finish. For someone who actually watched the race, however, it was clear that Ranger was a contender from start to finish. The only errors that occurred for his team all day were slow pit stops, but that can be attributed to the inexperience of the crew in general.

More astonishing than the finish itself has been the lack of media coverage for this run. Very few articles have been posted about his climb through the stock-car ranks, his first ARCA win in his first start (not to mention a top five the very next race), and the 6^th place finish at Road America. Throughout the race coverage, the commentators at time alluded to Edwards’ remarks about the talent of the kid, but not much more. My hope is that this kid would not only get more media coverage, but more time behind the wheel in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions. He has more than deserved it and as Road America (and hopefully the next race in Montreal), Andrew Ranger is a smart, talented and most importantly, fast driver.