Sirius’ly Messed Up RacinDeals

AN ULTRA SCREWJOB: Hey, remember me? It’s only been a couple of months since I posted anything I’ve written. Between me getting a new Kawasaki KLR650 motorcycle, and the general lack of competitive action on the race tracks, I haven’t really felt the need to “contribute” to the motorsports world.

Until now.

In a nutshell, Casey Atwood is getting screwed. He missed the race at Phoenix (one more reason I didn’t watch the race). The indicted car owner of the #7, Jim Smith, has bought out Ray Evernham’s ownership in the team, and replaced Atwood with Jason Leffler.

When Atwood was demoted to the #7 from the #19 (after steadily improving in the #19 all year last year), I knew it wasn’t a good thing. Atwood handled the situation with dignity, and as far as I know, hasn’t said a bad word about anyone in the deal.

The sad part of this is that Atwood’s career has been seriously damaged. It’s unknown where he’ll be next year. Speculation is that he’ll go back to his old #27 ride in the Busch Series, which is being vacated by the newest Winston Cup sensation, Jamie McMurray. Of course, a couple of years ago, Atwood was the newest sensation.

So, who’s to blame for this mess? Just about everyone involved:

Atwood, for going against his instincts and jumping to Cup too early.

Evernham, for not giving Atwood the chance last year that he said he’d give him, and for putting him in a piece of junk car this year.

Dodge, for not exercising more control over the situation.

Smith, for the way he’s handled this situation with the driver change.

Sirius, for staying on board with the #7 after all this turmoil.

So, what can a Casey Atwood fan do to show support for him? Here’s what I’m going to do: While I’m not in the market right now for a satellite radio system, next year when I am in the market, as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one choice: XM Radio. CarQuest can also kiss my business goodbye. They sponsor Smith’s truck team driven by Leffler. And Dodge can forget about me being a customer as well. Basically, anyone who had anything to do with this mess can forget about me being a customer.

And maybe, after the Phoenix race, Smith, et. al. might get a clue that it’s not just the driver. Jason Leffler’s been on a hot streak in the Truck series, and the best he could do is start 36th and finish 31st.

MATT KENSETH, 2002 CHAMPION: Well, at least that’s how some would have it. Kenseth has won more races this year than anyone else, and if you believe the folks who think the points system is messed up, then he should be the champion.

Which is nonsense.

Why in the world would you only count wins (or top 12’s or whatever) towards a championship? The championship should be based on the performance throughout the whole year, not on your best races. At this point, Tony Stewart has had the best overall season, as reflected in the points he’s accumulated. He’s had more “better” finishes and fewer “worse” finishes than the others, so he’s on top of the heap.

I don’t understand what’s so bad about a system that takes into account both good and bad finishes.

UNAPPEALING: We didn’t do it. At least, that’s what Jack Roush seems to be saying. Fact: Mark Martin’s car had a spring that was illegal. Fact: NASCAR has finally started hitting teams where it hurts (i.e. taking points away) who, either intentionally or not, are caught with illegal parts.

I understand that Roush is considering legal action against the company that supplied him with the part. I have a suggestion: consult with OJ Simpson. Simpson is checking every golf course in the country in search of the killer of his ex wife. While Simpson’s at it, maybe he can find the Tony Stewart fan that supplied Roush with the illegal spring.

Earlier this week, Roush racing floated a trial balloon about suing NASCAR. Apparently that balloon popped, since they’ve backed off of that stance. That makes sense, since as a car owner, he agreed to be bound by NASCAR decisions. No one is forcing him to remain affiliated with NASCAR. If he doesn’t like the way NASCAR works, I understand there may be a franchise available in CART.

Roush’s appeal will be heard Saturday, so that everyone will know that the outcome of the race on Sunday will decide the championship (unless Martin or Stewart get busted again).

If you’ve read anything of mine here on the site, you’ll know I’m not a fan of Jack Roush. He treated Joe Ruttman wrong in the way he released him, and that’s not something I have a lot of respect for.

MIA: Jeff Burton seems to now be the low man on Roush’s totem pole. Just like when Burton inadvertently started winning races in the #99, Kurt Busch seems to have done that this year, displacing Burton in the Roush hierarchy. Somehow, all of these drivers have forgotten that their only purpose in the Roush organization is to win a championship for Mark Martin.

MISLEADING HEADLINES: “Former Clinton woman lives life in the fast lane”. When I read that, I thought it was about what Monica Lewinsky is up to these days. If I were the mayor of any town named “Clinton,” I’d seriously consider changing the name.

MISLEADING BANDS: A group calling itself “Creedence Clearwater Revisited” is set to sing the National Anthem this weekend at Homestead. Don’t be fooled into thinking this band is Creedence Clearwater Revival, because it’s not. Of the four original members of CCR, only the bass player and the drummer are in this CCR knockoff. The original vocalist, John Fogarty, pretty much won’t have anything to do with them, and John’s brother, Tom, passed away several years ago.

It just boggles my mind that anyone would hire these guys to play anything, much less the National Anthem.

WHERE’S THE NUMBERS: NASCAR made a big deal last year when they announced that they were going to put data recorders in each car this year. There have been some pretty violent wrecks this year, so why haven’t we seen any G-force numbers? The numbers associated with Sterling Marlin’s wreck would be interesting to know, especially compared to other similar wrecks.

Just curious.