Bleacher Report - Articles by Dennis Michelsen

Tony Stewart's Press Conference to Air Live at 11 a.m. Eastern on RaceTalkRadio

Dennis Michelsen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:45:10 -0400

Tony Stewart Press Conference and Rowdy Radio on RaceTalkRadio

(For Immediate Release)

Chicago, IL (July 24, 2008)-If you are stuck at work on Friday and can’t listen to Sirius Satellite Radio or tune into Speed TV, now you can still catch the Tony Stewart press conference from Indianapolis Motor Speedway live on RaceTalkRadio.com!

Tune in at 11AM Eastern LIVE at www.racetalkradio.com. Tony will announce his new number and sponsors. The press conference will be available on replay all weekend.

RaceTalkRadio is also proud to announce that “Rowdy Radio” will debut this Friday. If our test drive works, this innovative radio show featuring the gang from the popular Rowdy Podcast will move to their new home on Thursday at 7 p.m. Eastern next week. Join Buck Fever, Bass Masters, and the whole Rowdy gang on Rowdy Radio every week on RaceTalkRadio.com!

www.rowdy.com

Now streaming 24/7 with over 20 hours of original programming per week!

Join sponsors such as the Rockingham Speedway, GLOCK, Great Clips, Office Depot Racing, Rowdy.com and Casite that reach new customers via our innovative shows. Contact us today and learn how our radio shows and websites can be put to work for you!

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PR Contact

Dennis Michelsen

E-mail: dennis@racetalkradio.com

NASCAR Announces New Retrictor Racing Shoe (Satire)

Dennis Michelsen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:23:51 -0400

NASCAR issued a new technical bulletin today announcing the invention and introduction of the new “Restrictor Racing Shoe” in all three of NASCAR’s major series:

“At all racing events, unless otherwise specified, all drivers with the first name "Kyle" and the last name "Busch" will be required to wear the new "Restrictor Racing Shoe" at all race events.

"The "Restrictor Racing Shoe" includes twin ankle straps required to attach to the foot of the driver that has kicked everyone’s butts in NASCAR races this season preventing application of force to the accelerator pedal. This new racing shoe will be issued by NASCAR prior to each racing event with application made by authorized NASCAR personnel only!

"Tampering with the "Restrictor Racing Shoe" by unauthorized team members or the driver himself will result in the elimination of that driver from the event."

“Eventually all teams will upgrade their driver talent and their drivers may or may not be subject to this new "Restrictor Racing Shoe" in the future,” said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton.

“Over the years NASCAR has gone to great lengths to maintain a level playing field in the sport and we will continue to do so. The R&D Centeris working on the new "Kyle Racing Blindfold" and might roll out that device if the domination continues after the roll out of the "Restrictor Racing Shoe" at NASCAR events this week in Indianapolis.”

Is the above what is coming next? Isn’t racing about building the best car and then going out and racing each other as hard as you can with the most talented team winning? Perhaps what we need to consider is a new strategy to NASCAR racing.

Instead of having just one winner, maybe we should have all cars finish 43-wide in the final lap and give everyone a trophy! So what if television will have to increase their post-race coverage to an hour to handle all 43 Victory Lanecelebrations…this is all about being fair to everyone involved!

Let’s give them all competition ribbons so we don’t hurt anyone’s feelings!

NASCAR says they want to maintain an even playing field, and that should be the goal, but not in mid-season. If a team works harder than the competition, such as Hendrick Motorsports did last year in the Cup, then that team deserves to win.

If Toyota is so strong, then when NASCAR took ten engines, why didn’t Toyota have the top engines across the board? NASCAR won’t release the information, but the winning car didn’t have the best engine, according to the dyno.

Two of the Roush-Yates engines were among the top engines, but Ford didn’t get a rules change.

Teams work well in advance to prepare their cars for the upcoming week. NASCAR usually announces rule changes a few weeks in advance to give teams time to prepare. This time they shoved the change down Toyota’s collective throats less than a week before the big race, and after the haulers and engines have been loaded on the haulers.

Wouldn’t it be funny if Kyle Busch and/or the No. 20 car continued to kick everyone’s butts? Joe Gibbs Racing will find a way to make up the difference, but the other Toyota teams will not.

NASCAR usually does a great job officiating a tough sport to officiate. This time around they blew it!

NASCAR Sets Dangerous Precedent with Toyota Change

Dennis Michelsen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:18:25 -0400

Isn’t the idea in racing to come up with the fastest engine and car? Joe Gibbs Racing did just that during the offseason with their switch to Toyota power, and they have gotten off to an amazing start this season with 13 wins in the first 21 races (which means 14 wins in total for Toyota).

How have they been rewarded for their hard work? NASCAR changed the rules starting this week with a smaller tapered spacer for the Toyota engines. This sets a dangerous precedent for NASCAR's future.

Rating Engines Is a Tough Science

Total power in an engine is not the best way to test which engine is better or worse. There is more to racing than just how much power the engine generates when it is flat out.

The torque available off the corners can be a big edge on some tracks. Being able to pull the car faster through the entire range of RPMs is huge. Can the car transfer all that power efficiently to the back wheels?

It takes more than just horsepower to win, but everyone seems to love to throw numbers at the fans to show how much they are getting screwed by the competition! Rating engines is a tough science.

All Toyotas Are Not Equal

Some teams are naturally more equal than others, but this year has been crazy!

While Joe Gibbs Racing has won a lot of races in the Nationwide Series, those wins have been mainly by the No. 20 car. Even more amazing is that the car has won with four different drivers! But NASCAR has penalized all of the Toyota teams for one team being dominant.

David Reutimann has driven a Toyota all season and has seven top five finishes in 21 starts. This average is almost identical to those of Chevy drivers Clint Bowyer and Brad Kesolowski.

If engine power is responsible for the No. 20's winning, wouldn’t Reutimann have grabbed one of those wins by now? Not all Toyotas are equal.

No Change in Cup Last Year

Last season Chevy won 13 of the first 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races! Only Matt Kenseth’s win at California Speedway spoiled a perfect start to the season for the Bow Tie Brigade, but they had seven of the top 10 finishers in that race, too.

So why didn’t we see NASCAR penalize Chevy by tweaking the engines? When the engines were pulled at Chicagoland in the Nationwide Series, the top rated engine wasn’t the race winner and not all of the top five engines were Toyotas.

Testing engines AFTER a race makes no sense at all, either. Some engines age worse than others after a grueling race and could make the differences among engines post-race greater.

If dominance in the races was why NASCAR reacted this year, then why didn’t we see a change in Cup last year?

Last Minute Changes Nasty

NASCAR’s decision seems to make sense based on the fact that the Toyota engine has a larger bore than the other engines in use in the series. I won't go on with the technical Mr. Science explanation, but NASCAR approved the Toyota with this larger bore.

Last season Toyota didn’t have an advantage over the competition but they also didn’t have Joe Gibbs Racing or Kyle Busch! Whether a change was needed to prevent total domination by one car is a decision left to smarter people than myself. But what I do know is that it is very unfair to make this change on a Tuesday for a race coming up on Friday. Last minute changes are nasty for NASCAR teams.

Setting a Bad Precedent

Chevy did a masterful job of whining and getting their way much like the bratty kid that throws a tantrum until Mom gets him a lollipop at the store. The biggest trouble with giving into the brat is the next time they whine even louder.

What ever happened to being rewarded with wins for working harder and developing better stuff than the other guy? What’s next—handing out competition ribbons instead of winner’s trophies?

NASCAR has not made a midseason rule change to one manufacturer for over six years. It is uncertain whether NASCAR ever made a change to the engine rules in midseason to one manufacturer ever before. They are setting a dangerous precedent.

Editor’s Note: Keep up with the latest information about these changes and the reaction from the competitors on RaceTalkRadio.com and on www.thatsracin.com all week!

(www.racetalkradio.com)

Tony Stewart Deserves to Take His Number to New Team

Dennis Michelsen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:05:35 -0400

It just seems so unfair for Tony Stewart to go searching for a new number after so many years. He has become quite attached to the No. 20 and now just because he is changing teams he has to pick a new number.

Fans don’t cheer for the car, they cheer for the driver!

The driver makes the number famous, NOT the car. Drivers should be allowed to take their number with them when they pack up their desks. It’s only fair! Stewart doesn’t have children, so I am sure his number is like his own child. Come on Joe and JD Gibbs…FREE THE 20!

Where is the Uproar?

Last season when Dale Earnhardt Jr was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc there was such uproar over him being able to keep his number. Celebrities got involved and t-shirts were sold to promote the cause. Is Tony Stewart’s number less important to him?

Unlike Junior, Tony Stewart will not be able to double his number to 2020 because it is against NASCAR rules to have more than a double-digit number. This makes the seizing of his No. 20 even more diabolical.

Come on Riki Rachtman, speak up! Rutledge Wood, how come you are staying silent? Jimmy Spencer, why aren’t you wearing a “Free the 20” t-shirt…they come in XXXL!

Is Tony Stewart less of a human? Does he deserve his number less because his name isn’t Earnhardt? FREE THE 20 RIGHT NOW!

Get your OFFICIAL “Free the 20” t-shirt here: http://www.cafepress.com/racerdogs/5781855

Class Action Lawsuit Could Happen

Despite the announcement that Stewart is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing, the Home Depot continues to sell paint in the official No. 20 team colors. Are they asking for a class action lawsuit?

Just think how many unfortunate NASCAR fans are going to fall for this scam as they try to get rid of their inventory that will soon be obsolete. How many thousands of fans will have to paint their family room?

Maybe the colors could still be used if Tony Stewart were allowed to take the No. 20 with him to his new team. Gasoline is so high and families have to make a choice between buying NASCAR tickets or food. Adding this unnecessary expense of painting a new number on their wall will doom thousands to homelessness! FREE THE 20 RIGHT NOW!

Join the Cause

You are either for integrity and Tony getting to keep his number, or you are against us! Millions of people united to save the No. 8 for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and he wasn’t even all that crazy about his number!

Junior once joked about changing his number to 6.7. Clearly anyone serious about wanting his number wouldn’t joke about such things!

You have never heard Tony Stewart say he was switching his number in a commercial, even in jest. Stewart loves his number and wears it everywhere he goes. When he races on the dirt tracks, he uses his No. 20 too!

If you are as outraged as I am by the loss of his lifelong number, then join with me and sign the petition below. Together as millions of fans united against tyranny against Smoke's number, we can prevail and convince Joe Gibbs Racing to let him have his number!

FREE THE 20 RIGHT NOW!