McDowell Hits Sprint Cup Hard and Fast

With many of us out here to share our opinions we have all made comments similar to the following about drivers we think may be pushing the limits.

"He has never had a big crash." "He has not hit anything hard enough yet."

All of us, fans, competitors, owners, and sponsors can never say this about Micheal McDowell.

This saying is often used when more experienced drivers see these young drivers come in and do things on the track that may be considered crazy or wild. Kyle Busch often gets this reaction because he drives a little rough at times. He has hit pretty hard a few times. I am not sure Kyle could be as effective any other way. This is the style that allows him to tell the crew what his car is doing. If he backs it down a notch or two he may not be as effective.

Micheal McDowell is new to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series but this past weekend at Texas he jumped on the radar of many people inside and outside the NASCAR community. Heck I even saw him on the TV show, Inside Edition, doing an interview about his horrible crash. In case that comment did not make sense, Inside Edition usually does not do too many interviews with race car drivers.

If you have not seen the crash you need to look it up on the internet and watch it. All of the search engines have it plus I have posted it on www.JasonJarrett.com.

He was performing his qualifying lap when the car got loose going into turn one. When he tried to correct it the car shot right and smashed into the outside wall head on. This sent the car into a series of flips until finally coming to rest at the bottom of the track at the beginning of the back stretch. He has said that he never lost consciousness and remembers every flip until the car came to a stop. Michael walked away with some bruising and raced in the 500 mile event on Sunday afternoon.

From a safety point of view McDowell and his amazing crash has tested and passed all of the safety devices in one wreck. He tested the HANS device, the SAFER barriers, the full containment seat (LaJoie), and yes, the COT.

So, all of you that I listen to calling in on Sirius NASCAR radio can forget about the old style cars ever coming back. I am not saying that this one crash will make that decision but I am saying that for all of the complaining that NASCAR has had to endure they deserve a lot of credit for putting a safe race car on the track. They did their testing and they knew they had to make it safer to be able to bring us this great sport for many years to come. Even if it meant they were going to have to listen to some backlash at first.

The team, the car, the safety devices, and NASCAR did a great job to allow Michael McDowell to continue his quest to make it to the top. He can now move on and one of the best things is he will never have anyone say that he has not hit anything hard yet.

DJ's Last Ride

AJ Allmindinger Needs More Time

I am just now on my way home from the Las Vegas race and a two day test session in Phoenix. Most if not all of the teams took advantage of the opportunity to test. While I was there I heard that AJ Almendinger was being replaced this week by Mike Skinner.

The only information I have on AJ’s release is the same as what you have seen on the internet or on television. I think it is way too early and AJ is way too young for the team to make this decision right now. He (AJ) made a life changing decision to make the switch from open wheel cars to stock cars. There were times last year that he showed so much potential.

I know the team and media is going to put the big pr spin on this so I wanted to share my opinion that I am not in agreement with this move. Drivers get chewed up and spit out in this sport every week but AJ deserves more time. There will be a spin put on it that he will be placed in other series to gain him seat time and experience but I am not buying it. Although running in the Nationwide or Craftsman Series will be good he still needs to be in that Sprint Cup car. The new cars are different from the other series so I think they should do all of it if they are serious about giving him a fair shot at making it. A page out of the Gibbs playbook should be used here. I believe Gibbs is the best at giving people a fair shot if there is such a thing.

AJ is going to have to answer a lot of questions this week. He will handle it like a pro and do what he has to do. He has had a good attitude in all of the interviews I have seen. Even his interview after missing Daytona was a good one. He showed his emotions and you could see and hear the hurt he was feeling. Missing Daytona made the pressure double (if that is possible). The last time I checked, the Duels were a team effort. AJ didn't miss the race, the team did. California was out of his control being based on last year’s results. I am not sure what happened at Vegas but I know he was driving as hard as he could go.

Sure he should share some of responsibility but not to the point of being pushed to the side. It seems like everyone is only looking at their job and not considering that it is a team effort. Look I know it is huge business but the timing of this move is bad for this organization. They will have to learn a new driver in the middle of trying to break into the top 35.

Mike Skinner is a good driver and probably deserves to be in a Cup ride full time. He has tons of experience and will teach AJ some things about racing at the top level. We all know from the past that Skinner is a great qualifier. He will qualify and probably run good in the Red Bull #84 entry but I still believe this will hurt the team in the long run.

I hope AJ can make it through everything he is getting ready to experience. On a smaller scale I know what it feels like to be teamed up on like this. There is no one that will come to your rescue. I know other owners are paying close attention and if he keeps improving maybe he can get one of those rare but occasional second chances.

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Update: 3/10/08

I am a little late posting this story since the Atlanta race is over and Mike Skinner has qualified for and run the race but I still wanted my thoughts and comments on AJ to be posted.
Jason A. Jarrett

Penske Deserves Daytona Victory

I don't know Roger Penske, but like you, I see his name everywhere. Whether it is truck leasing, car dealerships, or motorsports Penske is a highly successful businessman. When I see the name Penske, I think of perfection and precision. As far as his race teams that I come into contact with they are always well dressed, polite, and successful. He handles winning with class and when his teams lose they just go back to work and try to win the next event. He and his teams and drivers have tried to win the Daytona 500 for a long time and Ryan Newman was able to carry on that Penske success by putting Penske Racing in victory lane at the 50th running of "The Great American Race."

Ryan Newman has had success in the past and will continue to be a winner at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level for a long time. We all say it, but he could not do it without the right people behind him. With that said, Roy McCauley and his team deserve a lot of credit for putting Newman in victory lane at Daytona. Roy has managed to put together that winning team while he and his wife fight her battle with cancer. It is admirable that people like Roy can continue competing at such a high level while dealing with a tough situation.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup garage is made up of the most competitive teams and individuals in all of motorsports but I have a feeling that this is one of those "popular" victories. Most people throughout the garage, from team owners, drivers, team members, and media members will be happy for Penske, Newman and their teams.

I don't know Ryan Newman personally but I did enjoy seeing that he won the Daytona 500. He and his wife are huge supporters of the Catawba County Humane Society. They helped build a beautiful "no kill" animal shelter close to my office and home in Hickory, NC. Also, I see Ryan's dad Greg on the spotter's stand every week. We have a conversation every now and then but I think his situation is similar to when I used to be the spotter for my dad. He and I just discussed the other day just how much fathers and sons think alike so the spotting thing seems to workout. I am glad they were able to make it to victory lane while working together. That may not be their first win working together but I know it is their biggest win so far.

Lastly, I want to give Kurt Busch credit for the teamwork he showed to push Newman across the line to win the Daytona 500. Busch often gets blasted in the media ( by causing some of the problems himself) but this time he has shown a different side. I know he did not want to finish second but he realized that his push was going to not only help his teammate but also would help his team in securing a top 35 spot in the points for the 2008 Sprint Cup Series. To cap off a successful Speedweeks for Penske Racing Sam Hornish Jr. also had a nice showing in his first Daytona 500 with a 15th place finish.

There will be more great races to come and I feel certain Penske and his success will continue for a long time to come. Congratulations to all of Penske Racing's employees and team members.

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My Dale Jr. Opinion

I am paying close attention to Junior these days. Many of you out there in the world are doing the same. We all have our own opinions about him and how things are going to go for him now that he drives for a team that doesn't bear his last name. It was stunning news to some, but others, like myself were not surprise to hear that Dale Jr. would no longer drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

I have always kept up with Dale Jr. and his career. Way back in the 90's we both ran NASCAR late models but hardly ever raced at the same tracks. He stayed pretty much at Myrtle Beach Speedway. I raced mainly at Hickory Speedway and Tri-County Speedway with his brother and sister. Back then I wanted to keep up with what he was up to because we all had ambitions of ending up at the top level of NASCAR. Now I keep up with Junior because I like the way he drives and I like the way he handles all of the pressure that comes his way. He has a good attitude and people around him seem to have a lot of respect for him. For many years I have wanted Dale Jr. and the guys that I raced with to "make it." Well, needless to say, he has made it!

I saw a story a few weeks ago that said something like, "Can Junior make it at the varsity level." That might not be the exact quote but it is close. And I did not read the complete article because the title basically hit a bad nerve with me. He has NASCAR Busch Series Championships and NASCAR Nextel Cup wins at several types of tracks. He has handled the massive crowds and the neverending media requests with open and honest answers. I like to hear his opinions and perspectives on things. Plus, he brings a breath of fresh air to what can sometimes be an all too politically correct platform. He does this without offending sponsors or competitors.

There have been many opinions about his move to Hendrick Motorsports. I have heard the usual, "If he can't get it done at Hendrick, he can't get it done." He will get it done. Mr. Hendrick has proven that he creates winners. He hires winners and makes them champions. Dale Junior will achieve the same when all of the tools are used to there potential. I have even heard Dale Jr. himself say that one difference now is that he can be "fired." You don't believe that do you? He is a winner and a huge marketable personality.

In my opinion, from a family side of the issue, I believe Dale Jr. will be more relaxed than ever. There will always be pressure on the guys at the top, but that pressure does not come close to the pressure "family business" relationships can create. I don't mean that he will have ill will toward his old company nor will they toward him. It will release pressure from both sides. In my own experiences I drove for a family owned team in 1999 and 2000 before moving to ML Motorsports in 2001. To this day, going to drive for ML Motorsports was a great experience for me personally. I had some things to prove to myself and I had relationships that I wanted to form without too much family influence or opinion. I still relied on my family for a lot things but without the pressures of actually working for my own family. Those few years of not working for them actually opened up a lot of lines of communication that we did not have before. I came full circle as I was the spotter for my dad for the past two years and now work at his office full time once again. We have a stronger relationship than ever. Family is always family! My situation was on a much smaller scale but I think that is why I respect so many things about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This is what I think: Dale Jr. did what he had to for his own personal reasons. He doesn't have to tell any of us what those reasons are. The best thing about him is he knows how bad he wants to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup and he has now put himself in a better position to do just that. These guys take huge risks to try to be the best and no matter what his last name he wants it as bad if not worse than any other driver out there.

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Big Announcement

I don't even know if people are interested or not but I try to keep the blog updated. Sometimes I let other things get in the way. I normally use it as a bit of stress relief but I have had a lot going on lately so I have let it slip for the past few weeks. These weeks are going by so fast that I can't keep up. It pretty much says that my time management skills are not very good.

A lot of things have happened since I last checked in with you. There has been a huge announcement that you have already heard about. I know many of you emailed me asking me questions that I didn't even know the answers to at the time of your emails.

The big happened during the week of the Lowes Motor Speedway events. DJ announced his retirement plans. This was October 12, 2007 and Ned Jarrett's birthday. I know, it seems so weird that dad's career as a driver is coming to an end. He is the kind of person that knows himself and I think he is really at peace with his decision. In my opinion, I really haven't seen it publicized too much. The only things I read about it were when the media was speculating on what DJ's plans were going to be. There should have been a press conference for him to announce his plans alone and then let the team, sponsors, and owners lay out their plans to the media. I know he is my dad but I would have to say this about any of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers that would be making an announcement of this magnitude. Of course I look at it with a bit of bias but he deserved to get more out of his announcement than he received. For all I know the announcement went just the way he wanted it to. Maybe he wanted the team, sponsor, and owner to have their announcements at the same time. The more I think about it that sounds just like him by being a complete team player.

He will run the Bud Shootout, the 50th running of the Daytona 500, plus the next four points races of 2008. His final event will be the non-points event at the Lowes Motor Speedway, the All Star Race. This plan will help to get the #44 UPS Toyota Camry as close to the top 35 in points as possible. He will have his valuable past champion provisionals for the first five events just in case they are not able to make the field by qualifying on time. With the progress they have been showing I don't think they will have to use those provisionals. Their finishes might not show it but the 44 team has made steady improvement. Don't base it off of what you see in the final standings. This team is a great group of people and it has been really interesting to see the progress they have made since Daytona. There new driver will enjoy working with such a professional team of people.

I want to say that it has been huge honor to work with my dad for the past two seasons. When we went to Dover last year for my first race with him neither one of us knew what to expect. I had never been a spotter at the Cup level and I had never spotted for him at any level. You never really know who is going to workout as a spotter until you give them a try. He was gracious enough to give me a try and I think it has really worked out well. Now that we are two years into it I think we both have grown to trust one another as if we had worked together for many years. When I look back I will never forget that I had the opportunity to be a part of his final full time season as a NASCAR champion. It won't matter how many races we won working together or anything like that it will only matter that we were able to work together for a few years. Many of you probably know that working with family can be terrible or great. Well, I can say my time was great!

I am not sure what the future holds for me as a spotter but I feel like I have proven that I can spot at that level. Hopefully, in the next few weeks I can fill you in on my future plans for being at the track and on the roof.

As always thanks for reading. I will try to be a little more consistent as stories come to my mind.

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The Job of Spotting

A few weeks ago I saw a short TV segment about spotters. I guess I have a different view on what a spotter's responsibilities are or should be. From this TV segment I gathered that the Nextel Cup drivers have different thoughts on what they expect from their spotters.

I might have a different opinion because I spot for my dad on Sunday's but I try to treat every driver I spot for the same. Of course there are adjustments that are made according to each driver's suggestions and comments. Sometimes you have to adjust based on the performance of the car as well. Every driver is a little different than the next but the results should be the same at the end of the day.

There are many different styles of drivers so that means there are many different styles of spotters. Some drivers like to hear more talking, others want hardly any talking. Some may take a different lingo than what I use and some may not. There are a select few drivers that could race 500 miles by just using their mirrors and communications with the crew chief but those guys are thinning out as they come in with less experience in the heavier cars. It is harder to see out of the cars now because of the full containment seats.

I have a little bit of driving experience so I think I know most of the wording that the drivers like and dislike. Unfortunately, I didn't do any spotting before I started racing. It is now my belief that all drivers should at least go to the roof and take a look at what their spotter can see. And, if a driver is just getting started he/she should think about doing some spotting. At the very least young drivers need to grab a radio and head for the spotter's stand. This will allow them to see and hear exactly what is going on. There are so many things you can see from the roof. You can get a look at where cars are gaining or losing time. You can learn how the madness on pit road works and you can get a better understanding of putting yourself in good or bad situations on the track.

I am a little baffled at why the crew chiefs do not come to the roof to call the races. Maybe there is a rule in place saying the crew chief has to call the race from the pit box. In my opinion, they could call a better race from the roof. I would compare this to an offensive coordinator in football. Most, if not all, offensive coordinators are in a suite where they can see everything that is happening on the field. They can still call down to the other coaches and players if they need to and their view of the game helps them call the next set of plays. Crew chiefs should consider making a move to the roof in the future.

The spotters should be up there to do just that, spot. I feel that my job is to keep the driver safe, to keep the driver informed, comfortable, and safe. We assist in getting drivers on and off pit road but the crew chief usually handles getting the driver into their stall and out of the stall safely.
Sometimes there are situations where spotters get mad at each other. I am sure there are times when the driver and crew question the spotter. This comes from all of us being competitors. We all like to win! But, at the end of the day, I feel like I would put my in more danger if I started trying to force the issue. So, I will tell the driver what I see and let him make the final decision on what to do with the steering wheel and gas pedal.

Spotters are an important part of putting a good race together but sometimes we lose site of the fact that we are ultimately just a safety tool.

One thing that I have learned since I started spotting is that if I ever drive a race car again I will not yell at my spotter anymore.

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For questions and comments email me at jason@jasonjarrett.com