HOME > INSIDE NASCAR

March 23, 2007

NASCAR News Rewind
Car of Tomorrow Today Edition
By Dennis Michelsen

Every week so much happens in the world of NASCAR. As a public service we will attempt to wrap up the three biggest stories of the week in one easy to follow story every week. Just because we can't resist being wise guys we will also present our take on the news!

Young drivers put COT to the test
They've never competed in a NASCAR Nextel Cup race, and they won't be racing at Bristol, but three drivers could have an impact on what happens in the series' first Car of Tomorrow race Sunday. Landon Cassill, 17, graduated last month from high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports. Billy Wease, 20, finished second in his ARCA debut last summer but hasn't raced a stock car since then for Penske Racing. Kevin Hamlin, 28, has started 15 Busch Series races but none for his current team, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Each driver played a key role in helping his team develop the Car of Tomorrow, which debuts this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. They tested the cars when their more famous Cup teammates couldn't. They ran mile after mile as crews tried to understand the car. Sometimes the changes worked. Sometimes they didn't. "We sent him to do the dirty work," Kurt Busch said of Wease. "We wanted him to run the tires off the car. It was a lot of monotonous work of just lap after lap, session after session. When we jumped in the car, Ryan (Newman) and myself, we were further down the road." The task for each driver often was the same. The crews had a list of changes -- from shocks and springs to adjusting the front splitter and so on -- to make. The driver then told them how it made the car handle. Sometimes the driver ran two laps. Sometimes it was five laps. Sometimes it was 20 or more laps at tracks such as Greenville-Pickens in Greenville, S.C., Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., or Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. When the day ended, they often had driven more than 400 miles. Cassill tested alone at Greenville-Pickens in the offseason and then tested with Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears and Kyle Busch at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla. "It was important for Jeff and I to tell Steve what the car was doing and being accurate about it, especially with a car they haven't used before," Cassill said, referring to Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte. "It's important to have accurate feedback from the driver. (in part from the Roanoke Times)

My Take: This makes great sense for teams to have hired drivers that can test anywhere they want to have them test. Once again the bigger teams have found a way to get testing information that is not affordable for the smaller teams. This shows once and for all that no matter what changes NASCAR makes the big teams will find a way to spent money to gain an advantage! Landon Cassill is a very talented young driver that should move up the racing ladder quickly.

Shooting suspect arrested; accused of firing into crowd at NASCAR event
A man suspected of opening fire on a crowd at California Speedway during NASCAR [Busch Series] races last month was arrested Monday by sheriff's deputies. Ramon Luis Caraballos, 30, of San Bernardino was booked into Central Detention Center on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies said. Deputies from the Fontana station responded to a reported shooting at 8:17pm/pt, Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Speedway, 9300 Cherry Ave. The shooting occurred after a fight between Caraballos and another man. Deputies said Caraballos had been drinking and punched the man in the face. He then pulled out a knife and later got a gun from his car. He fired twice at the man and a crowd behind him, but no one was struck, deputies said. Investigators identified Caraballos as the suspect Monday and arrested him in San Bernardino. Sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller did not have any further information on the incident Tuesday evening. He was being held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to the sheriff's online log. A call to California Speedway on Tuesday was not returned. (San Bernardino County Sun)

My Take: Just another illustration that the value we place on a life has lessened over the years. There are some sick idiots out there that will attempt to make any gathering of people in a civilized society a dangerous event.

Reiser back this weekend; #17 to run Arby's scheme
Robbie Reiser will return to the track this weekend, after serving a four-race suspension. The past four races were the first Reiser had missed atop the pit box as #17-Matt Kenseth's crew chief since 1999, a steak of 255 races. Kenseth will run the Arby's paint scheme this weekend for the first and only time in the Nextel Cup Series in 2007. (Roush Racing PR)

My Take: Was Robbie Reiser missed? The No. 17 team seemed to be running just fine with their leader on suspension. Having Reiser back home working on the Car of Tomorrow while the people he trained did a great job at the track in his absence might turn into an advantage this week with the new car.