Oct 27/08
Logano's Primer Ain't Even Dry Yet
Doin' Donuts for the Hearing Impaired-Chase Edition Atlanta 2
By Lori Munro (LAM) and Dennis Michelsen (DMIC)
Back by popular demand the dynamic duo of Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen will thrill and amaze you with their NASCAR wits and acumen every week! If you can't get enough of these nuts on the "Doin' Donuts" radio show every Monday night on RaceTalkRadio at 8pm ET, now you can check out "Doin' Donuts for the Hearing Impaired" every week in print too! Race fans can even join in the debate with our easy to use comments section. Strap in for a wild ride as LAM and DMIC crank it up every week! You might even hear your comments on the radio so join in the fun today!

Just How Good is Newman
DMIC says…In this first race ever in a NASCAR Craftsman truck Ryan Newman won on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Can you imagine how many races this guy might have won if he was in great equipment the last few years? After winning eight times in 2003 the team started a slow slide to mediocrity. By 2006 Ryan Newman could only manage seven top ten finishes all year and eighteenth place in points. Did anyone really think it was the driver and not the team? If there were any doubts at all about his talent Ryan Newman shut them all up Saturday! Not only did he win the race but he looked rather sharp sporting Lori Munro artwork in Victory Lane too.

LAM says… To be honest, I think there are a slew of other drivers who are a lot better than the equipment they're in. A lot has to do with team chemistry as well and as for Newman's chemistry, I think as Don Miller exited the organization, so did a big portion of Penske Racing South, and someone who was definitely on Newman's side under the same roof. There can only be one top dog or top cat in any sporting venue and lately we know who that is in NASCAR. Newman isn't done yet and this dog will indeed have his day again. Perhaps with a nice little Spaniel in a bow tie!

Is Logano Ready
DMIC says…There is no doubt that Joey Logano has amazing talent behind the wheel of a stockcar. But all four of his top five finishes in the Nationwide Series have come at stand alone events. When Logano has had to go up against more Cup drivers he has looked like a rookie driver. In every sport teams tend to hurry their superstar to the big time and I wonder if Joe Gibbs Racing is guilty of that with Logano. If Tony Stewart stayed at JGR the talk of Logano moving up to Cup would have never come up at all. But once Stewart left it appeared that Logano was the best choice available. If a veteran driver with winning experience in NASCAR comes available because of one of the team mergers should JGR grab him? One more year in Nationwide would be good for Logano.

LAM says… It makes me scratch my head that JGR thought they could replace Tony Stewart with a kid whose biggest claim to fame happened in a Legends car. I mean, what on earth were they thinking? I get the whole idea behind driver development but for the sake of all that's wonderful in stock car racing…. Why start now? Nobody takes raw talent anymore and guides them up through the ranks of NASCAR. It's easier to find an ex-Champion in an oak rocker somewhere and dangle a window net in front of him, a fifty-dollar bill and the promise of reliving his youth. Pshaw. When is all of this going to end?
A year… TWO years in the Nationwide series would do Logano a world of good, but when your competition is NOT your own peer group, then the logical way of grooming a young driver gets thrown out the window. How things SHOULD be done is not necessarily the way they are done. Doesn't matter if you're racing cars or painting a room. Shortcuts are taken to save time and money. Unfortunately you end up with a driver that has primer showing through without even having to scratch the surface. Face it... Joey Logano's "primer" ain't even dry yet and they're trying to top-coat him with a thick and glossy coat of Home Depot orange.

Bowyer's Crazy Adventure
DMIC says…When Clint Bowyer was promoted by Richard Childress Racing I was unsure how well he would do at the Cup level. But in just his second full season at the elite level of the sport Bowyer made the playoffs. Proving that wasn't a fluke he did it again this season! How did RCR reward him? They took away his Crew Chief and shuffled him to a different car and sponsor for next season! If the incoming driver was a proven Chase contender like Tony Stewart I could understand such a move. But when the replacement is NASCAR journeyman Casey Mears it makes no sense at all! Why take his Crew Chief away from him? Casey Mears is not likely to make the Chase and now RC is risking the success of one of his top teams. Can someone explain this move to me?

LAM says… Nope. I can't explain it at all other than there has to be some kind of sponsor deal shaking the RCR driver tree. And it surely can't be Jack Daniels because when you put Bowyer beside Mears and try to pick who would be the better whiskey salesman, it wouldn't be the guy who looks more like Beaver Cleaver, it would be the ruggedly handsome Clint Bowyer who looks more like a wild west outlaw who actually would down a shot and then ride off into the sunset. So that leaves the war of the cereal boxes meaning that the only person who could possibly be responsible is Charles Manson, one of the most famous serial killers around. Yeah, that's who's to blame; CHARLES MANSON. Make Bowyer dress in a Fruit Loops Tele-tubby kinda driver uniform and be the new symbol of "rise 'n shine" and be the best way to start your day…. Freak. It just makes me sick………. SICK I TELL YA!

Worst Points Race in NASCAR
DMIC says…The best way to break something is to attempt to fix something that was not broken! The NASCAR points system has worked just fine for many years. It rewards consistency over hot and cold drivers and crowns a true champion. The recent tweak adding more points for a win was a great move! But how ironic is it that the worst points' race in NASCAR racing comes in the division where NASCAR bastardized the rules! Jimmie Johnson's lead in the old points system would be 98 versus his current lead of 183 points. The championship race in both the Nationwide and the Craftsman Truck series are better than the contrived Chase for the Championship. It's back to the drawing board for the wizards at NASCAR to fix the mess that they have made with the Chase.

LAM says… It really goes to show you that over time, everything has a way of evening out. Yes, had NASCAR just left good enough alone, the points would all fall into place as they have so many times in the past. It doesn't matter what series you look at or even what sport; you cannot predict by what margin anyone will win and that's what truly makes competition everywhere more enjoyable. It just never fails when you try to fix something that isn't broken in the first place.

Petty Problems
DMIC says…When Boston Ventures decided to plunk a lot of money into Petty Enterprises I was hoping we would see the famous Petty blue back in Victory Lane. Instead we have seen a soap opera of epic proportions. Over the weekend the split between the new Petty and Kyle Petty became even more apparent. Kyle has driven for other teams in the past and perhaps his best days as a driver are behind him. But for all he has done for Petty Enterprises and NASCAR I was hoping for a more peaceful exit from driving for Kyle. Seeing Kyle in the No. 45 was a living tribute to his son Adam. Now that both parties are going to move on I am not sure what the future will hold for either party. Both Petty Enterprises and Kyle Petty deserve a happier ending to their association than what we are seeing play out on television every week!

LAM says… Storybook endings honestly don't exist anywhere, especially when it has to do with family affairs and business. One has to bear in mind that Petty Enterprises is indeed a business. Always has been and always will be. Folks can be pretentious and just assume that certain things are 'deserved', such as permanent full-time rides in Cup cars, cash for life, a full Christmas stocking every year, frequent visits from the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy and that heroes and your best dog pal live forever…. But alas, here in the real world, a lot can get in the way of that fairytale ending that was promised to you when you were 6 years old. What everyone has to realize is that the measure of a person isn't how they conduct themselves when times are good, but instead when times are not. What will ultimately happen with Petty Enterprises and their storybook ending remains to be seen but even if there is a complete disassembly of what we race fans know as the house the King built, one thing that will always be there for us is the ability to enjoy memories of the past. No merger or family discord can take that away. Just as no amount of money can bring back heroes.

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