Every so often some news organization does a 50 or 25 greatest drivers list. We have not done this (although I have thought about it), but reader Savannah sparked a good idea for how to do this a little differently. She asked:

If you could pick a fantasy racing league with 10 drivers from any time during the history of NASCAR, who would you both pick?  Now, if you could pair these 10 drivers with any 10 crew chiefs from any time in NASCAR history, who would you choose?  Now, what driver/ crew chief combination would you have?  Lastly, what track would you pick to run your fantasy race?

So before I get into the list, I have a disclaimer. Instead of simply coming up with a list of different drivers and crew chiefs we matched up the driver with one of their actual crew chiefs. It is very hard to say that Kirk Shelmerdine would have been as successful with Jeff Gordon as he was with Dale Earnhardt and vice versa. As we have seen throughout history, success with one driver does not guarantee success with another driver. N0w, on to the list.

Dale Earnhardt/Kirk Shelmerdine - I think this one is a no brainer. Dale Earnhardt without a doubt is one of the best drivers to ever get behind the wheel of a racecar. Earnhardt has 76 Cup Series wins and 7 championships. Shelmerdine, Earnhardt’s long-time crew chief was with him for four of those championships.

Richard Petty/Dale Inman- Again this one was another no brainer. Richard Petty has 200 wins and 7 championships. Inman was with him for 198 of those wins and all 7 of those championships. They are arguably the best driver/crew chief combo ever.

David Pearson/Jake Elder- David Pearson was also another no brainer to the list. He has 105 wins and three championships. If given the same equipment and support I would argue he would have had more wins and possibly championships than Richard Petty. We picked “Suitcase” Jake Elder because he was with Pearson during his 1968 and ‘69 championships. Despite his lack of longevity at any team he is arguably one of the best crew chiefs the sport has ever seen.

Jeff Gordon/Ray Evernham- This is one of the great crew chief/driver pairings of all time. Together the two won 47 races and three championships. While Gordon went on to win another championship in 2001, he has never performed quite like he did when he was with Evernham.

Glenn ‘Fireball’ Roberts/Henry ‘Smokey’ Yunick- This is the pairing of two of the greats of the sport. While they were only together for a very short time they were both very good at what they did. Fireball Roberts died as a result of burns sustained in the 1964 World 600, and Yunick quit NASCAR because of their failure to increase safety following the death of his friend. Who wouldn’t like to see these two together?

Darrell Waltrip/Jeff Hammond- No matter your feelings on either of these men, there is no doubting that they were good together. Between 1982 and 1992 the two racked up over 40 wins and two championships.

Bobby Allison/Gary Nelson- 1983 might not have been his best season wins wise, but it was the season he became a champion. The 85 time winner’s career was on its backside when he had that miracle season. As crew chief of Allison’s car that season Gary Nelson (also former NASCAR Cup Series Director, VP of Competition and VP of R&D) deserves the right to  be a crew chief in this race.

Tim Richmond/Harry Hyde- What I wouldn’t give to have Tim Richmond around today. While he never a won championship in his short life and career, he was far from his peak when he exited. Nine of his 13 wins came in those last two seasons with Harry Hyde. Oh what could have been.

Ned Jarrett/John Ervin- Gentleman Ned is the ‘Seinfeld’ of NASCAR. Exit while you’re still on top. The 50 time winner and two time champion saw most of his success in a six year period. Jarrett went on to become a storied broadcaster.

Junior Johnson/Ray Fox- Junior Johnson never won a championship (although he did win six as an owner) and he too retired in his prime. In just 313 starts Johnson had 50 wins, pretty good if you ask me. It is no wonder he had success considering he was paired with the likes of Ray Fox and Banjo Matthews.

Now there are certainly a ton of others that could be included in this list, but these are the ten TC and I would like to see in a race. As far as where we would have them race, we boiled it down to two different tracks. TC brought up North Wilkesboro, which all of these drivers raced at. We liked it because it is a classic short track and both of us are fans of short track racing.

Ultimately though we settled on Darlington Raceway, the track opened by legendary operator Harold Brasington in 1950. We chose this facility because it again is another track that all of our drivers not only raced at, but won at. It is also a track that is not easy to drive. They call it the “Lady in Black” for a reason. This pick though comes with a stipulation. We want the race to be run on the old pavement. After a few laps the tires were slick and the track was even harder to drive on. Any driver who could conquer that is ok in my book. We have no preference on which direction the race would be run.

Finally in addition to Savannah’s question we had to ask ourselves, “what cars would these drivers race?” We settled on the mid-80’s stock car. It is not quite the new ‘nothing stock’ race car, but it is also not a moonshine runner.

So now it is your turn. Tell us which driver and crew chief combo do you think would win our fantasy race, assuming they were all in their prime, in the poll below. Also are there any driver/crew chiefs you you think should have been included in the list? Tell us what you think!

 Loading ...

Driver development has been a topic both myself and Journo have written about in the past here at TNI.  We’ve talked about the business of driver development, talked about different drivers, and even offered up some advice to people coming up.  The last time I wrote a post with some advice in it, I chose to talk about the need for drivers to be fearless in order to succeed.  With this post, I wanted to again offer some advice to young drivers and also point out something that I think needs to be addressed with driver development.

I think we’ve all seen that if a driver has enough money in the bank, he (or she) can get a ride with at least a decent team.  In many cases, drivers are getting rides in the upper levels of NASCAR without much of a racing resume to speak of.  Owners are letting these kids climb into their cars just because they can write that big check.  What I don’t understand about these situations, is how anyone can expect these drivers to perform.

It doesn’t matter how good an organization and its equipment are, a team cannot hope to have any success if their driver has no idea what is going on with the racecar.  With so many of these young drivers being rushed through the ranks, riding that cash wave, much is not being learned.  They are missing out on not only that all-important on track experience, but they are also not learning the technical aspects of what it takes to make a car fast.

If a driver doesn’t understand mechnically what is going on with the car at speed, how can they be expected to relay the proper information to the crews so they can make adjustments?  Without the right adjustments, no car is going to be fast enough to win.  It really doesn’t matter how good a crew chief is, or how skilled his mechanics are.  Poor information drags the entire team down.

So if there are young drivers reading this post, here is my advice.  Learn everything you can about your craft.  If you truly love racing, you should want to know everything there is about the car and the competition.  Find out why certain adjustments do certain things.  Understand what shocks, springs, sway bars, wedge, camber, brake bias, a-arms, truck arms, and all the other important parts and changes mean in terms of setting up your car.  Racing is a tough business, and you should want to give yourself every advantage you can if you are looking to move up.  Knowing mechanically what is going on and being able to translate that to your crew will pay dividends. 

So where can you find out this information you ask?  A lot of places.  There are countless books that can be bought online or found at your library that will give you a good start.  Also, I’m sure you will find plenty of folks at the track who would be willing to help and give you good information.  There are even entire magazines dedicated to this very thing.

As we edge ever closer to the start of the racing season, I hope all those kids out there that want to be racers are using the off time wisely.  Just because you aren’t racing doesn’t mean you can’t be getting better.  Every professional stick-and-ball athlete uses the off season to get stronger and improve their technique and knowledge.  Drivers should be doing the same.

Happy New Year! Just 42 days until the Daytona 500 and the after New Years rumors have already begun. Earlier in the week news surfaced that the on-again, off-again Petty Gillett Evernham merger appears to be on again, with the deal in its final stages. The news of the merger came just days after Elliott Sadler’s removal from the #19 car in lieu of AJ Allmendinger. Sadler has in turn filed notice against GEM claiming they breached his contract. This is the NASCAR week that was December 27, 2008 to January 3, 2009.

Speed settling into new TV home, gearing up

Report: Petty Enterprises, GEM Merging

‘Back in the day’ at a track time forgot

Commentary: It’s big business my friends

A NASCAR Blog by Insiders…For Outsiders

Vintage Insiders

What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

Hey, Nice Body

**Remember if you have a NASCAR blog or website and would like a recent article you wrote featured in this section email me and you could be part of next week’s NASCAR Week That Was. Please only send stuff you have written.**

Journo recently did an interview with Rebecca Gladden over at InsiderRacingNews.com about The NASCAR Insiders.  She wrote a great piece about us and the site.  If you’d like to check it out, click here for the article.

Thanks Rebecca!

We just wanted to take a minute today to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  It’s been a great first 8 months or so here at The NASCAR Insiders, and we plan on keeping the momentum going into 2009.  Thanks to everyone who continues to make this little project a lot of fun!

It’s Wednesday, so that means its time for another installment of “Ask The Insiders.”  We’ve got another good batch of reader questions to dig into.  In case you don’t know what this is, we will be answering any and all questions every Wednesday until at least Daytona comes around.  So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us.  On to the questions…

1. From Amy:

This question is for TC and is kind of a second part to the question Savannah asked last week.  Can you talk about any close calls on pit road you have witnessed or experienced?

I’ve definitely seen and experienced  a few close calls since I came into the sport.  Everything from jackmen “shooting the gap” and jumping over hoods, to guys getting bumped by cars, to pit road fires.  I’ve even had a front row seat to a car hitting the pit wall during a stop!  It wasn’t quite “Days of Thunder” style, but it was close.  Pit road can be a very dangerous place, and accidents and close calls are going to happen.  The best I can do is keep my head up, pay attention, and try and react quickly if things go south. - T.C.

2. From Marc:

We’ve seen that Roush-Fenway making Yates a sort-of satellite team met with mediocre success, due in part, I assume, to Yates’ sponsorships woes.  Hall of Fame never got Gibbs’s best equipment just as MB2/Ginn and Haas-CNC did not get the best from Hendrick.  Will Stewart-Haas be different, or will they too receive less than the best?

I don’t necessarily think Yate’s problems are due to sponsorship. I think their biggest issues lie in their talent pool. But that is neither here nor there. As far as Stewart-Haas goes I think you will see a very different relationship than you have seen with others in the past. I think having Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart in the Hendrick family is far too good for Rick to pass up. You can bet they are going to get a lot of help from every area of Hendrick; that includes the engine department. - Journo

3. From Kenny:

What one thing do you think would enhance the average NASCAR fan’s enjoyment and or understanding each time he watches a race?

This is a hard one. I dont know if there is just one thing. I think any sport is more enjoyable when you truly understand it. For instance, hockey is a sport that I have a hard time with. The biggest reason for that is because I get totally lost. As far as NASCAR goes, I think knowing anything and everything you can about the cars and drivers and rules makes the sport more interesting. Even learning the history can make watching a race more fun. I know that isn’t the greatest answer, but I hope that helps a little. - Journo

4. From Mitch:

What’s the latest on Landon Cassill?

While I certainly can’t give any specifics, we have heard that Landon may be working on a deal to run in the Truck Series for ‘09.  I don’t believe you will see him in the JR Motorsports #5 next season because of the sponsorship issues with that team and with Brad Keselowski’s #88.  If they get something secured at Jr.’s place, the possibility still exists, but look for Cassill to possibly join the tailgate brigade next year. - T.C.

5. From Neon:

Guys, used to be that the Cup car had to use the roof, rear deck lid and hood of the production model (albeit the shell). Does the COT still have this req, or are they all the same given the specified 24 gauge cold rolled spec?

I don’t believe there is a single piece of a COT that resembles anything production.  NASCAR has allowed the manufacturers to brand the COT with the nose, hood, window panels, and headlight decals, but none of those bits are production.  The bodies on the COTs are mostly the same from manufacturer to manufacturer, and only differ in those superficial identifying areas. - T.C.

With that, this brings another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close.  Thanks to everyone who sent in questions.  And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!

This is part four in the series, looking at how Cup teams fared in 2008, and where they are headed in 2009.  Each post will feature two teams and we will iron out details for the upcoming season and give our own projection for what to expect in ‘09.

Penske Racing

2008 started out on a high note for Penske Racing. Ryan Newman captured the team’s first Daytona 500 victory, and former IRL champ Sam Hornish Jr. climbed behind the wheel full time.

It was former champion Kurt Busch who entered 2008 with hopes of repeating his 2004 championship run. After finishing 2nd behind his teammate in the Daytona 500, it looked like he may well have been on his way. His effort though was hit or miss the remainder of the season. While he ultimately won Loudon, his average start and finish was the worst it had been since his first season in the Cup series in 2001.

Ryan Newman, always a favorite to have a breakout season, began 2008 with a victory in Daytona and his first win since 2005. However the 43 time pole winner had a less than stellar season, capturing just two top-5s and eight top-10s. He had his worst career average start and his second worst full time average finish. Despite this, in one of the worst kept secrets of the season, he announced he would be leaving Penske for the newly formed Stewart Haas Racing.

Sam Hornish Jr. joined the team full time in 2008. He helped usher in the brief influx of open wheel drivers. While Hornish began with promise he failed to gain footing in the series. Ultimately he failed to qualify for the races at Talladega and the season ending race at Homestead. His best finish of the season was 13th at the Coke 600 in Charlotte.

Penske’s promising 2008 became what can best be summed up as disappointing. Kurt Busch has struggled to gain footing at Penske. The successes he has had have been met with a lot of struggles. Likewise Sam Hornish Jr., who appears to have the confidence of Roger Penske is in a challenging position. He will enter 2009 outside the top-35 in points. Based on his qualifying failures at Talladega and Homestead, he might have a rough start to 2009. While there continue to be rumors floating around about his possible return to the IRL, my money would be on his return to NASCAR.

The loss of Ryan Newman may or may not be big for the team. David Stremme is making his Cup Series return with the team after being bounced by Ganassi in 2007. He had some successes in the Nationwide Series last year, and looked like he was headed for a decent finish in his only Cup Series start in 2008 before he wrecked. Despite the likelihood that Stremme will struggle, Newman hasn’t been great the last several seasons. Now whether that was lack of chemistry with his team, or something else, I can’t say.

Despite losing Kodak as a sponsor, the team still has Miller Lite on the #2 car, Mobil One on the #77 and Alltel on the #12. Alltel may present the team with trouble though with their announced merger with Verizon Wireless. It is highly unlikely that the Alltel name will be maintained and as we saw with AT&T, it is unlikely NASCAR and Sprint will allow a new competitor to enter the series.

Penske as always has promise, but I don’t think 2009 is going to be their season. It is a great organization which I have a lot of respect for, but their lineup is fresh (with the exception of Kurt Busch) and their struggles in the past couple of seasons looks likely to continue into 2009. 

Dale Earnhardt Inc.

DEI entered 2008 as a newer, larger organization; they consolidated their facilities, turning the large, former Ginn Racing headquarters into their Cup shop. Despite losing Dale Earnhardt Jr., the new and improved DEI had four Cup teams with Martin Truex Jr., Regan Smith, Paul Menard and Aric Almirola and Mark Martin sharing a ride.

Truex started 2008 as another driver with great promise. He struggled throughout the year though. When his contract came up in the middle of the season there was speculation that he might head elsewhere. With Mark Martin out of the picture though DEI had cash available to pay their new lead driver. Truex opted to re-sign. Ultimately he went winless and failed to qualify for the Chase.

Regan Smith joined DEI after Ginn Racing was bought out in 2007. The 24-year-old driver has had some success in lower series’, but wins have been elusive. Despite winning Rookie of the Year honors, the driver struggled this season. He had no top-5s and no top-10s. While the victory at Talladega was stolen out from under him, there weren’t many shining moments this season. As such he became the victim of the eventual merger. He is rumored to be headed to Furniture Row Racing.

In two full seasons with DEI Paul Menard’s star has not shown too brightly. He struggled in 2007, missing six races, and while he did make all the races this season his best finish of 2nd was his only top-5 and top-10 all year. He finished 26th in points, but opted to take his money to Yates Racing for 2009.

Aric Almirola and Mark Martin shared the #8 ride throughout the season. Both were inherited through the merger with Ginn and Martin was expected to do big things at DEI. While he did perform the best of all the DEI drivers, Martin was only in the car part time. Almirola, while not spectacular, showed marked improvement over 2007, posting his best finish of 8th at Martinsville. Martin announced toward the end of the year that he would be leaving DEI for Hendrick Motorsports to compete full time.

The loss of Paul Menard, Menard’s as a sponsor, Mark Martin and Army forced DEI to do the unthinkable at season’s end. The announced merger with Chip Ganassi Racing as reported was caused by the failure of the team to find sponsors and contractual obligations the team had with both Martin Truex and Bass Pro Shops, which stayed with the organization.

The merged team brings together Aric Almirola, Martin Truex Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya and a yet to be named fourth driver. The team only has two and half sponsors (Bass Pro Shops, Target and Wrigleys) for 2009, and the likelihood of that unannounced fourth driver remains to be seen.

I think this team has great potential for success in 2009. Truex is a powerhouse waiting for his opportunity and Montoya just needs help and consistency. While I think Almirola will struggle next season without the veteran guidance, I think he will have some solid runs here and there. Depending on who the fourth driver is I don’t see any reason why the organization can’t have two cars in the Chase in 2009.

Since we started this blog  in April, we’ve been able to break some news and share some rumors from time to time.  As we approach 2009, I thought it might be fun to look back and see what we got right and what we got wrong.  Lets take a look… 

Nationwide COT Pony Car:  In the Spring, we said at least one manufacturer was planning on using their pony car for the new Nationwide COT.  While the COT program has been postponed in the NNS, we were correct, as the Dodge teams have been testing a Challenger style body.  Plus one for the Insiders.

Elledge Out, Pattie in as Montoya’s Crew Chief:  We didn’t break the news about Elledge being out, but we were the first to report that Brian Pattie had replaced him.  This was later confirmed by Ganassi’s PR machine.  Pattie spent the rest of the season as Montoya’s crew chief and will return in ‘09.  Plus one for the Insiders.

MWR In Financial Trouble:  In June we reported that Waltrip’s team may be in trouble financially, as they had laid some employees off using their finances as the reason why.  While Waltrip certainly didn’t close up shop, they did lose several sponsors after the season, and they will only have two Cup teams next year.  One of which is not fully sponsored.  We will call this one a push.

Erik Darnell on the Hot Seat:  After a rough start to his season, we told you about Erik Darnell being on the hot seat at Roush-Fenway.  We were aware of a closed door meeting between Jack Roush and Erik Darnell, and apparently it worked.  Darnell was able to turn his season around and ended up fourth in the final CTS points standings.  Plus one for the Insiders.

Scott Lagasse & JTG part ways:  When the JTG Racing #20 truck withdrew from the Texas race, we told you the reason was because Scott Lagasse had decided to take his money and play elsewhere.  While the reasoning never officially came out, JTG did officially shut the team down a few days later.  Lagasse later surfaced driving CJM Racing’s Nationwide Series entry.   Plus one for the Insiders.

Ganassi Layoffs:  While we weren’t the first to report that CGR had shut down the #40 Cup team, we were the first to bring you some details about who was let go in the layoffs.  The layoffs affected the entire company and included Managing Director John Fernandez.  Plus one for the Insiders.

Austin Dillon to the Truck Series:  In July, we caught wind that Richard Childress’ grandson would soon be making his debut in the Truck Series.  Two weeks later, the SPEED network reported Dillon would race for Randy Moss in the CTS race at Nashville.  Unfortunately, this didn’t happen.  We did miss the call on this rumor, but it wasn’t entirely our fault.  Dillon was slated to make the start at Nashville, but did not gain NASCAR approval for the race.  He later made his big time NASCAR debut in the NNS race at Richmond.  Minus one for the Insiders.

Truck Series Dyno Results and TRG:  When NASCAR dynoed engines from eight CTS teams after Bristol, we reported that NASCAR discovered Toyota had a serious horsepower advantage.  Just one day later, CTS officials announced a rule change that affected the tapered spacer on the Toyota engines, and consequently cut their horsepower.  In the same post, we also told you that TRG Motorsports had possibly shut down the #71 team after the departure of Donny Lia.  The team did not shut down completely though, as they did race sporadically during the last part of the season.  So we will call that plus one and a push.

A Change on the #2 Truck:  During the Loudon race weekend, we found out that Jack Sprague was on his way out at Kevin Harvick Inc.  We were correct, and it happened sooner then we realized.  It was just a few short weeks later that Sprague was officially released from KHI.  The other half of the story involved Ricky Carmichael possibly taking over for Sprague in 2009.  Carmichael has since raced for KHI in the ARCA race at Talladega and participated in the ARCA test at Daytona.  According to Carmichael himself, if sponsorship can be obtained, he’ll run at least a partial schedule in the #2 truck next season.  We will call that plus two for the Insiders.

Fastenal to RCR: A few weeks ago when Ganassi announced they were shutting down their Nationwide Series team, we told you the leading candidate to land the Fastenal sponsorship was Richard Childress Racing’s NNS program.  We still haven’t heard an official answer on this one yet, so we will keep you posted.

Rule Changes Coming to the Truck Series:  Just recently we found out that rule changes were coming to the Truck Series involving pit crews and annual credentials.  While this also remains unofficial, we’ve heard teams have already begun preparations for these changes for next season.

BDR Employees Laid Off:  Our most recent inside info comes from the recently purchased Bill Davis Racing.  Apparently the new owners are cleaning house and have laid off all remaining employees.  Those who they want to keep will be re-hired after the New Year.  While I wouldn’t expect anything official to come from the team regarding these layoffs, we will keep you posted if we hear more.

So now that we’ve run through all of the news and rumors, lets look at our score.  We got eight correct, had two pushes, screwed one up, and currently have three rumors outstanding.  I’d say that’s a pretty good score.  What do you think?

We are hearing that most of Bill Davis Racing’s employees were laid-off earlier this week following the sale of the team to Marty Gaunt and Mike Held. Despite the bad news, all team members are getting a chance to reapply for their position with the team. They will begin bringing back employees after the first of the year.

The move appears to be an attempt at restructuring the organization. By doing this, they can cut loose any employees they do not want while removing any seniority and cutting salaries they might see as high.

Given the present climate, it is very much an owner’s market. There are a lot of talented people who are looking for work and those with an opportunity to stay where they are at are very likely to take a pay cut in order to avoid job loss.

News of Bill Davis Racing’s sale to Marty Gaunt and Mike Held led an ordinarily slow news week. Gaunt and Held, both NASCAR (business) veterans, joined forces in buying Triad Racing Development and a majority of BDR. The duo say in addition to the truck teams that they hope to have the #22 Cup car in races next season. Saturday brought news that AJ Allmendinger is replacing Elliott Sadler at Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Allmendinger was released from Red Bull Racing earlier this past season. And finally Regan Smith, who became the odd man out in the DEI Ganassi merger appears to be headed to Denver, CO. based Furniture Row Racing. This is the NASCAR week that was, December 21-27, 2008.

Sources: Gillett Evernham putting Allmendinger in Sadler’s No. 19 Dodge

The Natural: Dale Jarrett makes transition to television appear easy

Davis sells NASCAR team, engine company

Victor Pfluger: Next Generation NASCAR Young Gun

NASCAR TV needs to continue into December and January

Vintage Insiders

NASCAR Espionage

Respect the Trucks

**Remember if you have a NASCAR blog or website and would like a recent article you wrote featured in this section email me and you could be part of next week’s NASCAR Week That Was. Please only send stuff you have written.**