Bleacher Report - Articles by Brandon Soublet

Why NASCAR "Start-and-Park" Teams Should Just Be Parked

Brandon Soublet — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:44:44 -0400

With the bad economy taking its toll on NASCAR in a variety of ways (truck series struggling to reach 36 entries each week, Cup teams folding like an origami sensei, just to name a few), a nasty phenomenon has popped up in the Nascar Sprint Cup Series—the start-and-park team.

Start-and-park teams used to be oddities at worst, minor hindrances at the back of the field that nobody noticed when they dropped out a few dozen laps into the race. They were lovable losers like Morgan Shepherd of Victory in Jesus Racing and Faith Motorsports.

They were feel-good stories, like Kirk Shelmerdine shocking everyone at the 2006 Daytona 500, racing to a 20th place finish with last year's car, a borrowed engine and pit crew, and tires donated by die-hard Earnhardt Sr. fans.

But in this weekend's Food City 500 at the World's Fastest Half-Mile, Bristol Motor Speedway, Dave Blaney brought start-and-park teams to everyone's attention—sideways in front of the field in Turn Four.

The accident wasn't Blaney's fault. Lapped driver John Andretti, whose better days are most certainly behind him and in a different type of car, spun Blaney, who was running second at the time behind defending series champion Jimmie Johnson after forgoing an early pit stop to gain track position. Blaney was holding his own until Andretti spun him.

Blaney's spin seemed pretty benign, and he did everything they tell you to do when you're spinning: Crank the wheel to the left and stand on the brake. Blaney did and managed to keep the car off the wall, and, miraculously, the 40 cars behind him.

Things went south from there. Blaney brought the car down pit road, then made the hard left turn into the infield area. The move was puzzling, because usually after a spin like that, the driver brings the car into the pits for four fresh Goodyear Eagles and two cans of Sunoco 98 octane race fuel and keeps going.

Later in the broadcast, commentators noted that Blaney's number 66 Camry was in the garage area undergoing repairs. Repairs for what? He didn't hit anything! Did the engine spin backwards and blow up? Didn't seem like it when he drove the car off turn four and down the pit lane. Did he lose a gear? At Bristol, you only need one, except on restarts.

Soon afterward, Blaney was listed as "Out," and the official reason given to NASCAR was a steering failure. A steering failure? The car seemed to steer fine into the pits and the garage. To me, it seems like the problem with the car is that Blaney flat-spotted the only set of tires the team had. I guess the poor handling on a flat-spotted set of tires could be considered a steering failure, but I would prefer a more honest approach.

Now, there's no telling if one of the two teams that didn't qualify this weekend (Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs) might have done the same thing in this situation. I also can't be sure that Blaney's car wasn't actually experiencing a steering malfunction as a result of sliding sideways across 36 degrees of banking.

What I do know is that this incident brings the start-and-park team debate into sharp focus.

What if this had happened at another race, when a team that had enough funding to buy tires for the entire race was bumped out by a start-and-park with a faster qualifying time? Sure, the fastest teams outside the Top 35 in owner points get into the race, but there are plenty of ways to make the race if you have no intent of finishing it.

Running the engine with low-weight or very little oil will increase the revs for the two laps needed to qualify, but won't last for 500. You could qualify the car with no alternator belt, as Joe Nemecheck did last spring at Talladega, to increase engine efficiency, knowing that the alternator won't do much in your two-lap run.

But should a team that can gimmick its way into the show really be able to pocket the last place purse ahead of a team that could legitimately contend with other cars for the entire race?

Nobody expects every team in the field to contend for the win. There will always be cars out there that are running for Top 10 finishes, cars that are running for Top 20s, and cars that are running to get a young driver more experience. But do we really need cars that are going to drop out after 35 of 500 laps?

Perhaps I'm just blowing steam. But let's look at the 66 car's results with Blaney behind the wheel: 42nd at California—fuel pump issues after 50 laps; 41st at Atlanta—electrical problems after 82 laps; 43rd at Bristol—steering issues after 33 laps. Looks like a start-and-park to me.

With Terry Labonte behind the wheel (and a sponsor on the hood), the team finished the entire rain-shortened race. Sounds like a start-and-park to me.

And something should be done.

CAT Leaving BDR No. 22 Before End of Season

Brandon Soublet — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:57:20 -0500

Apparently, the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Camry, piloted by Dave Blaney, has run its final race in its familiar CAT red, black, and yellow. This weekend at Phoenix, as well as in the season finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Blaney's No. 22 will be sponsored by Bad Boy Mowers.

CAT decided to end its long-running relationship with Bill Davis Racing earlier this year, announcing that it would be moving to the No. 31, Richard Childress Racing Chevy, with veteran driver Jeff Burton next year.

Childress was left looking for sponsorship for the 31 car because stipulations in Sprint's title sponsorship contract stated that other cell phone company sponsorships must be out of the series by the end of this year.

CAT had sponsored the No. 22 for BDR since 1999, following the team through the transition from Pontiac to Dodge in 2001, and from Dodge to Toyota in 2007. Blaney had run the No. 22 CAT entry for Bill Davis Racing for each of the past three years. CAT also sponsored the second BDR entry for veteran road-racer Butch Leitzinger in 2007 at Infineon.

The team does not currently have a sponsor for 2009, but Davis insists that he and his wife, Gail, are "sorting out" sponsorship for next season. Blaney has spent the majority of his career with BDR, with short stints spent at Jasper Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing.

Hamilton Will Lock Up The Championship at Brazil

Brandon Soublet — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:57:31 -0400

This weekend, for the second year in a row, Lewis Hamilton is in the cat-bird seat headed into Formula 1's final race of the season at Brazil.

Last year, mechanical problems bit Hamilton early in the race, dooming him to a seventh place finish and handing the championship to race winner and title long-shot Kimi Raikkonen. This year, things will be different, and Hamilton will hoist the championship trophy at the end of the day.

There are several key differences between this year's title race and last year's. This year, there is only one man with a shot at Hamilton. At last year's Brazilian GP, Hamilton had to outpace both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. He wasn't able to beat either of them, finishing a lap down in seventh, while Raikkonen and Alonso took home, podium finishes.

This time around, the third place driver, Robert Kubica, mathematically has no chance to improve his championship position. Not only does this take the significant burden of beating two drivers off of Hamilton, but it will probably also lead Kubica to run a fairly conservative race to avoid dropping off the championship podium.

Additionally, Hamilton is still riding the momentum from his win two weeks ago. Last year's Chinese Grand Prix saw Hamilton literally slide out of Shanghai with a shrinking points lead over his two surging competitors, Raikkonen and Alonso, who finished 1-2.

Unlike last year, Hamilton is riding high coming into Interlagos. He won the Chinese GP from the pole position, dominating the race, and leaving Massa fighting his hardest but still coming up short. He increased his points lead over Massa, and exorcised his personal demons from his bonehead DNF one season ago.

The final reason Hamilton will lock up the championship this weekend at Brazil is his teammate. What, you thought it would be a Formula 1 article without mention of team orders?

Hamilton's McLaren stablemate last year was Fernando Alonso. In addition to being a championship contender himself, Alonso didn't like Hamilton very much, and Hamilton shared similar feelings about Alonso. Even if Ron Dennis had suggested that one make a move that might help the other win the championship, those orders would have been summarily ignored, both drivers knowing that Alonso would be leaving the team after the race.

This year, Hamilton has Heikki Kovalainen as a teammate. Kovalainen can easily serve as a rolling roadblock should Massa try to overtake, and will undoubtedly yield a position should Hamilton need it to stay ahead of Massa in the points. Ain't team orders grand?

There you have it. Three reasons we will see Hamilton hoist the big cup on Sunday. Congrats, Lewis.

Charlotte Bobcats: Five Reasons for Improvement This Season

Brandon Soublet — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:24:35 -0400

After watching my Charlotte Bobcats finish out their preseason winless last night against the LA LaKobes, I was left with mixed feelings.

For starters, the game was incredibly sloppy. I suspect someone sprayed the ball with PAM while they were fixing that net issue because during the first quarter, nobody could seem to get a handle on the rock.

The two teams managed to give the ball away a staggering 45 times in 48 minutes. Once the game finally got rolling, both teams committed bad fouls and put up some horrendous shots. Charlotte shot 33% from the floor, and the invisible lid on the basket left the Lakers shooting only 42%.

Still, the game gave me hope. Hope that the team will be better this year. Hope that Larry Brown can work his magic like he always does, except for that embarrassing stint with the "other" blue-and-orange team.

The team played some excellent defense, and the offense was much more lively than the sedentary pick-and-walk offense run by former coach Sam Vincent. The players hustled all game, even though they trailed by as many as 16. These observations led me to analyze five reasons the Bobcats will be better this year than last.

5. DJ Augustin: The rookie point guard will serve as a much better alternate to Felton than Jeff McInnis. Having Augustin to come in off the bench will give Felton some well-deserved rest from the 37.6-MPG he averaged last year. Also, the fact that Augustin is one of Larry Brown's pet picks should motivate Felton to do a play well so as not to lose the starting slot.

4. Core is still in tact: Let's face it-for better or worse, this team is built around Gerald Wallace, Jason Richardson, and Emeka Okafor. None of these guys is a superstar, and Richardson is the closest to being one, despite wildly casting up outside shots at any glimpse of the net.

Still, the three are a solid foundation and all athletic, with Okafor penciled in for 14 points and 11 rebounds per game for the rest of his life, Wallace playing tenacious D while chewing on his mouthpiece, and Richardson with all of the moves necessary for a poster to remind you that he was the 2002 Slam Dunk Contest Champion.

3. Larry Brown: Hurrah! We have a coach who can coach. Everything he touches, with the exception of the New York Knicks, turns, at least partially, to gold.

He's notorious for helping teams turn around in his first year. Brown is a backcourt specialist who runs an effective offense and is able to motivate all but the most stubborn players (and last time I checked, the Bobcats weren't interested in picking up Starbury's dump-truck-of-money contract. Isn't that guy making enough selling $15 shoes anyway? I know I buy 'em, but I digress).

2. Everybody's healthy: For now, at least, the team has no major players out with injuries. Sean May and Adam Morrison are both healthy now after missing all of last year with injuries. If both can stay healthy, the team's frontcourt play should improve dramatically over last year, when they cobbled together such underachievers as Walter Hermann, Primoz Brezec, and Jamareo Davidson.

1. Bernie Bickerstaff is gone: Finally. I groaned when Bob Johnson announced that Bernie Bickerstaff would be the first coach of the team back in 2004. I almost puked when I heard that he would be coach and GM.

Bickerstaff didn't exactly have a sterling record when he came in as coach (337-343 lifetime when he started) and had absolutely no experience as an executive. Some of his player personnel decisions were questionable, but the offense he ran, which I like to call the "pick-and-walk" or the "no (e)motion offense," wasted whatever talent he put on the court.

Even when they took the clipboard out of his hands, the team didn't improve with him still calling the shots. Despite the fact that he managed to acquire Jason Richardson from Golden State, the guys on the court weren't built as a team, which ultimately led to the same results as before.

Goodbye and good riddance, Bernie. Maybe your assistant coaching skills can help bring the Bulls back to glory. Yeah, right...

So there you have it. Five reasons the Charlotte Bobcats will do better than you think this year. Look out, Atlanta. Bobcats are gunning for 3rd.

What If...? The NBA All-Oakland Team

Brandon Soublet — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:03:12 -0400

My dad and I got to talking the other day about famous people from our lovely hometown of Oakland, California. Now that two more Oaklanders have won an NBA championship ring (Paul Pierce and Leon Powe), we started to wonder: What would the NBA All-Oaktown team look like?

I'm not talking about guys who played for Golden State for a long time, or guys who moved here during their careers. I'm talking about real, born and/or bred Oaklanders. Well, let's find out.

The starters:

C - Bill Russell. Do I really need to justify this? One of the NBA's 50 greatest players, Russell invented how to play center. He won 11 NBA championships, made twelve All-Star game appearances, and was named NBA MVP five times. He averaged an insane 22.5 rebounds per game over his career. Most guys will never see that many rebounds in a night's work. He once ripped down 51 boards in a game. His 15.1 PPG and 4.3 APG are also a nice addition, as well as his countless blocked shots.

PF - Paul Silas. Outside of Russell, good big men are hard to come by in this town. Although his numbers pale in comparison to Russell's, Silas's 9.4 PPG and 9.9 RPG make him a solid pick for this position. Silas was also a two-time All-Star and won three NBA Championships. The fact he went on to coach doesn't hurt, either.

SF - Paul Pierce. Now we start putting some points up. No disrespect to Mr. Russell and Mr. Silas, but you don't win games putting up 25 PPG combined. Pierce's 23.1 career PPG are a nice addition to this squad, and Pierce can even hold his own on the glass (6.4 RPG) and give the ball up to his teammates (3.9 APG). He's also a six-time All-Star and an NBA Champion.

SG - Gary Payton. I know Payton spent most of his career at the point, but I thought he'd be better suited to the off-guard spot on this squad. Payton's 16.3 PPG and 6.7 APG are solid for a two-guard, and his 3.9 RPG and 1.8 SPG are a nice touch. The Glove is also a nine-time All-Star, an NBA Champion and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1996.

PG - Jason Kidd. I thought Kidd's skills made him a better true point guard for the team. His 14.2 PPG make him a credible scoring threat, but the real draws are his 9.3 APG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.0 steals. Kidd is a nine-time All-Star and was named High School Player of the Year in 1992. Good luck getting the ball across half court with Kidd and Payton in the backcourt.

Now, on to the reserves. Not everyone can be an All-Star. Every team needs role players, right?

G/F - Isaiah Rider. J.R. would provide a nice spark off the bench. His numbers weren't flashy—16.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.7 APG—but he'd do well coming off the bench. Besides, how could I leave off the guy that showed the world that a between-the-legs dunk was possible?

F/C - Antonio Davis. Davis's 10 points and 7.5 rebounds per game would make a solid sub for either Russell or Silas. Plus, he'll charge into the stands and knock someone out if you want him to.

F/C - Drew Gooden. Same story here as with Davis, minus the fighting. Gooden averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game.

F - Cliff T. Robinson. Cliff T., not to be confused with Cliff R. Robinson, averaged 17.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and also added 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Possible alternate starter to Silas.

G - Nate Williams. Williams had 12 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game over his eight-year career.

G - Brian Shaw. A cagey veteran and roleplayer, Shaw's 6.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 4.2 APG can give Payton or Kidd a breather.

G - Demitrius Mitchell. Who? Hook Mitchell. The greatest player never to reach the NBA. Hook was an Oakland streetballer of epic proportions. So, if he never made it to the Association, why am I including him? Because I can't really leave a guy who's 5'9" but can dunk over a Volkswagen off my team.

Player-Coach - Paul Silas. I was really reaching here, but I guess I'll hand the reigns to Silas. I know he's starting at forward, too, but that's the young Paul Silas. Old Paul is on the bench calling the shots.

Honorary Coaches - Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks. I'm sure one of these guys could win an Oscar playing head coach if Silas starts to stink up the bench too bad.

So there you have it: my NBA All-Oakland Team. Would we win games? Who knows. But with Bill Russell patrolling the lane, Kidd and Payton locking down the opponents in the backcourt, and Hook and J.R. doing aerial stunts, I'm sure we'd sell some tickets.

A Shout Out to NASCAR's Road Course Ringers

Brandon Soublet — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:31:48 -0400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is at Infineon Raceway this weekend, and you know what that means— road course ringers.

Road course ringers are drivers who normally don't run in the NSCS, but get a ride once or twice a year at Infineon and Watkins Glen, because they have more road course experience than many of the full-time drivers.

Rarely, good performances by these road course ringers can lead to part-time, or even full-time rides in NASCAR.

Last year held every ringer and his brother, in trying to make a road course race.

Klaus Graf, Brian Simo, PJ Jones, Butch Leitzinger, Terry Labonte, Marc Gossens, Ron Fellows, and Boris Said all attempted to make the race Cup race at Infineon, with the Nationwide Series teams dipping further than before into Ringer-land to field cars for Andy Pilgrim, Michel Jourdain, Jr., Patrick Carpentier, Max Papis, and Andy Lally.

Criticism has fallen on these drivers as a group, mainly from full-time drivers in the series.

"There hasn't been a road course ringer to win a race yet, so I don't know why everybody uses that in the equation other than it gives them something different to write about," two-time Series champion and six-time road course winner Tony Stewart said.

Well, Tony, here are a few reasons we write about road course ringers:

1. Many ringers aren't out there to win.

Glance through the entry list and see who has road course ringers running for them. One team is the No. 66 Haas Automation Chevy with Max Papis. This team is 36th in owner points.

Do you think they're out there telling Max to run for the win?

No.

They want him to bring it back in one piece to try to get back in the top-35. Terry Labonte is there to use his past champion's provisional to do the same thing in the No. 45 car, although a case could be made for Labonte, given his past Infineon success.

2. Some of the ringers do have a shot at winning.

Last year at Montreal's nationwide race, Carpentier, Papis, and Fellows finished 2-3-4 behind Kevin Harvick, and beat eventual champion Carl Edwards— owner points champion No. 29 car.

Fellows had three nationwide wins; two Craftsman Truck wins, and finished fourth in the Cup race at Watkins Glen last year.

These guys are capable of winning.

3. Anything can happen at Infineon.

You stand on the throttle too early and you can end your day on your roof in a ditch.

Play your cards right and you, like Juan Pablo Montoya, can make it around two-thirds of the track in fourth gear and win.

Thoroughbred Racing Community—Jerks of the Week

Brandon Soublet — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:17:20 -0400

I must admit, it was difficult to decide who was my asshole of the week.

My first impulse was to hand it to Lakers' coach Phil Jackson. Jackson laid into just about everyone he could think of after his team's close loss in Boston on Sunday night.

He blamed Lamar Odom for looking like a "confused...player," he blamed Vlad Rad for poor defense, he blamed the refs for not making the right calls, and he even managed to slight Boston big-man and fellow Oakland-native (with whom I happened to go to high school) Leon Powe after the biggest game of his life.

Props to you, Mr. Zen Master, for throwing everyone else under the bus. Did you think for a second that maybe the coach could have...never mind; let's not go there.

Anyway, I was all ready to write an article about how, for lack of a better word, lame I thought Phil Jackson's postgame press conference was, when I heard that Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, blames jockey Kent Desormeaux for Big Brown's stunning loss in the Belmont.

When I found out that other horse racing "experts" agreed with Dutrow's assessment, I felt ashamed to have even watched all three Triple Crown races.

My main gripe is with the timing of these opinions. These views weren't voiced right after the race on Saturday. Nobody came out and said "I think Desormeaux did the wrong thing" at first.

Everyone sat stunned, and waited to see if there was some rational explanation for the horse that beat everyone by a combined eleventy billion lengths in the Derby and the Preakness.

They wanted to say the cracked hoof was the issue. They wanted to say that the lack of (legal) steroids was the issue. When these turned out to not be the case, then everyone turned on Desormeaux.

Another of my concerns comes from the lack of recognition given to Da'Tara, the horse who, um, actually WON the Belmont Stakes. After the race, all cameras, all eyes, all attention, turned to Big Brown, Kent Desormeaux, Rick Dutrow, and why Big Brown lost the race.

Nobody paid any attention to the winner of the race. This reminds me of the 2005 Indy 500 when Dan Wheldon, won but everyone was too busy making googly eyes at Danica Patrick finishing fourth to notice. Wheldon showed up to the next race wearing a t-shirt that read "I actually won the Indy 500."

Personally, I feel embarrassed for horse racing (did I just say that?). First, Eight Belles, the first filly to run in the Derby since Excellent Meeting finished 5th in 1999, runs her heart out (almost literally) and is euthanized on the track after finishing second. Still, all media attention focused on Big Brown immediately after the race (granted, I do believe the situation was given proper scrutiny in the following days and hours).

Now this debacle at the Belmont, in which everyone feels the need to point a finger at someone or something. This is a sad day for horse racing.