Bleacher Report - Articles by Jonathan Lintner

Kentucky Prepares at Louisville's Freedom Hall, But Not for the Cardinals

Jonathan Lintner — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:37:20 -0500

It will be difficult for Louisville to defend its home court against Kentucky on Monday night when the Wildcats take center stage at Freedom Hall.

That's not because Kentucky coach John Calipari's heralded recruiting class is one of the best in the country heading into this season, and there is a widespread opinion that this could be a down year for the Cardinals.

Louisville really won't have a say in Monday's result, as Kentucky meets North Carolina-Asheville at 7 p.m. ET, continuing its streak of games in the Wildcats' home away from home in Louisville, Ky.

And predictably, Cardinals fans aren't fond of a visit from their most hated rival.

Every other year—the one when Louisville hosts the red-blue rivalry—Kentucky gains a warmup in Louisville's home arena before the Cats and Cards square off in early January. They become familiar with the court, the rims, and shooting to Freedom Hall's dark backdrop in a game designed to cater to the mass of Kentucky fans living 70 miles west of Lexington.

However, attendance numbers at Freedom Hall have waned in recent seasons, not having topped 15,000 since 2004's last matchup against Indiana.

That will change soon if Kentucky coach John Calipari has a say.

Calipari joked this past offseason that notoriously red Freedom Hall should be draped in blue when the Wildcats visit—that he would pour some life back into a lost tradition.

Kentucky has played in Freedom Hall every season since 1958, most notably against Notre Dame from the 1960s through 1980, and then the neutral-site rivalry against Indiana through 2004. Since then, the prestige of the opposition has dropped. The Wildcats have played Iona, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Alabama-Birmingham, and Appalachian State since 2005.

By expressing his interest in a big-time game at Freedom Hall, Calipari is fanning the flames of an already white-hot rivalry. Louisville fans don't want Kentucky on their home court, but Kentucky feels entitled to play in Louisville, where much of its fanbase and alumni reside.

Calipari also added an open practice at 5:30 p.m. Sunday to showcase his team in a public walkthrough.

To make matters worse for Cardinals fans, Louisville moves out of Freedom Hall for the 2010 season and into a new downtown arena. Calipari said he wants to continue playing in Freedom Hall, meaning Louisville's home court since 1956 will sit dormant outside of concerts, livestock expositions, and Kentucky's annual contest.

Since officially renewing the rivalry in 1984, Kentucky has won 15 of 27 games, including three of the last five held in Freedom Hall. However, with former Wildcat coach Billy Gillispie in charge, Kentucky went through two of its most obscure years ever.

After two years under Gillispie, Calipari moved in as head coach. With a renewed passion, now every element of the rivalry is scrutinized—even the games that shouldn't matter. That's why Kentucky's Freedom Hall attendance should receive a spike thanks to Calipari's words, higher-quality opponent or not.

Expect North Carolina-Asheville's cheering section to loom larger, and redder, than ever.

Anything to add a blemish to the other's resume—before or after Louisville and Kentucky actually meet.

No Cracks in Kentucky's John Wall During Perfect Start

Jonathan Lintner — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:53:18 -0500

Potential, talent, tremendous upside: all aptly describe the Kentucky Wildcats this season.

It's no coincidence that the same directly applies to freshman sensation John Wall.

Wall, a first-year guard out of Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C., chose to play basketball for Kentucky after ruling out Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, and a slew of others.

He's lived up to the hype for a Wildcat team that's seeking consistency.

So coach John Calipari's dribble-drive offense is still eluding the newer members of Kentucky's young team. So the Wildcats haven't put together the pieces on defense. So team chemistry isn't quite there yet.

Doesn't matter, because there are no significant cracks in Wall's game.

He leads Kentucky in average minutes played with 38 a game, points at 19.8 a game, and assists at 6.6 per game. His field goal percentage for the season is greater than 50 percent. He's scoring almost two points per shot.

He's the reason why the NBA should reconsider its one-year rule, which prevented Wall from entering the draft last summer. Because right now, Wall is the only thing holding Kentucky's perfect record together.

The Calipari era looked to start at .500 with the Wildcats down 18 points in the first half against Miami of Ohio. Nineteen Wall points and a buzzer-beater later, Kentucky was 2-0.

The Wildcats averted a second would-be upset when Wall hit a jumper with 30 seconds left to tie Kentucky with Stanford in Tuesday's Cancun Challenge. The game went to overtime, and Wall's team came out 6-0.

But it's not only a numbers game for Wall, whose breakneck speed has allowed for easy layups in transition—or in half-court offense, for that matter. When Wall can't get the open lane, he's found teammates to boost his 1.4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio

When asked about Wall after Rider's 92-63 loss to Kentucky, where Wall had 21 points and 11 assists, head coach Tommy Dempsey said “He's as good as I've ever seen in the open court.”

And he does it all with the growing reputation of a guy who plays with a smile on his face—maybe the reason why his teammates embrace the best talent amongst Calipari's top recruiting class rather than loathe in jealousy over his growing fame and impending fortune.

“NBA, that's all I have to say,” junior forward Patrick Patterson said, referring to where Wall's talent truly belongs. “John Wall is a pro player and he wants the ball in crunch-time situations. Whenever we need a basket or something on the offensive end John is going to be the one to do it.”

He's only 19, and yet has become the Wildcats' vocal and statistical leader. Because Kentucky's positive attributes aren't making Wall.

As long as the defense struggles, the offense sputters, and chemistry is beginning to form, Wall is making them who they are—that tape's already played six times over.

Learning Continues Through Louisville's Testy Three-Day Homestand

Jonathan Lintner — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:14:51 -0500

When it comes to playing three games in three days, there’s not a better college basketball team suited for the task than one coached by Rick Pitino.

The Louisville Cardinals, riddled with scheduling conflicts on their home court in Freedom Hall, knocked off East Tennessee State on Saturday, Morgan State on Sunday, and Appalachian State Monday.

But when a three-game streak sets the season off, Pitino said even the most conditioned teams face an obstacle in winning them all.

"We want time to teach,” Pitino said Saturday. “There's nothing I can do about it. You want time to teach with all the mistakes you make, but you've got to get ready for the next opponent. That's the disappointing thing about these types of games.”

For the second year in a row, Louisville had to work around a series of non-basketball events and find a slot to squeeze in some November games. The Cardinals sandwiched three contests between a livestock exposition, a rodeo, and a pair of concerts.

At least for Pitino’s sake, this marks the last time his team will launch a season with three games in a row. The Cardinals move from Freedom Hall into a new, waterfront arena in 2010.

Pitino said he didn’t expect much learning to happen in the Cardinals’ opening home stand—that progression would come in the four days between their game Monday and the next against UNLV on Saturday. But the growth was obvious.

Pitino cited poor shot selection on Saturday, when his team shot 6-of-30 from the three-point line. They responded by shooting 44 percent on Sunday.

With better shooting, defense was sacrificed. Morgan State piled up the points in its 90-81 loss to Louisville.

So on Sunday, the Cardinals put it all together in an 80-53 dismantling of Appalachian State. Turns out three games in three days can have its benefits.

“I thought we did a terrific job tonight for the third game in three nights. What we wanted to do was improve in all three games, and we did,” Pitino said. “I was really upset the first night. Because when you spend so much time trying to figure out from a statistical thing what could help or hurt, you're 1-for-11 in taking challenge shots.

“You give the guys credit because they immediately saw what they did wrong. And, on the next night they went to the line 40-something times by driving, so you've got to give them credit for understanding where they made their mistakes.”

Going back to last week’s season opener against Arkansas, this past weekend was more proof of how far ahead this team—thought to be less talented than last year’s Cardinals—really is.

That includes important minutes from the freshman class.

Rakeem Buckles contributed eight points on Saturday. Peyton Siva added nine on Sunday, and Buckles was back Monday night with a career-high 10 rebounds.

Louisville didn’t get that kind of production last season from a freshman—outside of the exception, starting forward Samardo Samuels—until Terrence Jennings broke out after the New Year.

“I think all the freshmen are going to be terrific freshmen,” Pitino said. “This freshman class is really, really good, and they'll develop each year and get even better.”

Last weekend’s home stand was just the surprising beginning of that learning process, spurned by Pitino's conditioning standards and an unfortunate schedule of events.

Louisville's Success Hinges on Jared Swopshire's Numbers

Jonathan Lintner — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:37:02 -0500

The question of whether the Louisville Cardinals will replace Terrence Williams’ and Earl Clark’s production is looming large.

Yet the answer is relatively small.

Sophomore forward Jared Swopshire was thrown into the starting small forward role occupied by Williams for four seasons in Louisville’s season-opening game against Arkansas.

Swopshire racked up 11 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes played against the Razorbacks. He was on a roll.

But the production didn’t last.

In the Cardinals’ 69-56 win over East Tennessee State Saturday, Swopshire saw the court for a minute more but pulled down only two rebounds.

East Tennessee presented neither a make-or-break game nor a close contest by any means for Louisville. Still, more than a year into his growth as a college athlete, Swopshire showed signs that he still may be soft.

That’s not a problem for Head Coach Rick Pitino, who defends Swopshire’s generously listed 220-pound frame.

“Sometimes softness is because you are 188 or 190 pounds, you haven’t lifted any weights,” Pitino said last Friday. “I’d rather have a guy that can shoot really well, great skills, willing to pay the price and be a little weak or not really be a real great defensive player, but be able to shoot it.

“You can have great success with those players.”

Only Swopshire didn’t produce in against the Buccaneers in any statistical category. He was 0-for-5 from the field, recording two points on 2-of-2 free-throw shooting.

The 6-8 sophomore may never develop the body of Samardo Samuels, the Cardinals’ featured big man. He may not possess the same on-court personality as Williams had.

And he certainly doesn’t have the same intangibles as Clark, taken in the first round of last summer’s NBA draft after his junior year at Louisville.

But Pitino does see Swopshire as a consistent starter filling in a 225-pound body—one who can rebound like mad.

Pitino said it hasn’t always been that way.

“He wasn’t a good rebounder until this year,” Pitino said. “The knock on Jared when I went out recruiting…great kid with great skills, but really soft.”

It’s now time for Swopshire’s skills to overlap any “soft” left in the sophomore. The Cardinals need his production this season, and they need it consistently.

Without Williams and Clark, guards Preston Knowles and Jerry Smith can dish out the assists. Guard Edgar Sosa and Samuels can tally up the points. Samuels and forward Terrence Jennings can work the boards.

And it’s Swopshire that needs to fill the holes, put in good minutes, and provide an occasional breakout performance—just as he did against Arkansas.

Because in Big East play, it’s a loss for Louisville if Swopshire doesn’t answer the bell.

John Calipari, Young Kentucky Team Starting To Mesh

Jonathan Lintner — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:42:44 -0500

Kentucky’s defense was so bad against Sam Houston State, even the Wildcats found it funny.

So Head Coach John Calipari said Kentucky (4-0) responded Friday by learning how to defend the three, how to communicate on the court, and find what it’s like to play with a sense of urgency.

“We watched film of the three point shots from the Sam Houston game,” Calipari said. “We showed them the lack of communication and transition defense where we did not match up well. Some of it was almost hysterical, they were laughing at each other.”

A day later, the result was a Kentucky team that lived up to its billing.

The Wildcats knew they were bigger, stronger, and more talented than their first three opponents, but they waited until Saturday’s 92-63 win over Rider (2-2) to show it. In a game of massive Kentucky runs, the Wildcats outscored the Broncs 51-26 in the first half, never allowing Rider to have a say in the final result.

John Wall led Kentucky with his second straight 21-point performance and added 11 assists. Wall, an 18-year-old freshman, said his success has all to do with how he responded to Calipari’s criticisms.

Wall turned the ball over only twice Saturday. Coming into the Rider game, he was averaging 5.5 turnovers a game.

"We felt much better about today's game,” Wall said. “In practice we watched film and coach showed us where we were making mistakes. None of us have played under Coach Cal and we didn't know how he taught. We’re just learning from our mistakes and listening to what he's telling us.”

Calipari said Wall isn’t alone in being lost, four games into the season. He’s just another part of the first-year coach’s five-player recruiting class trying to adjust to college basketball.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, there wasn’t much time to learn before they were tested.

Miami of Ohio’s Nick Winbush pushed Kentucky into a one-possession game last Monday, setting a record for three-point field goals by an opponent in Rupp Arena with eight. Sam Houston State’s Corey Allmond set a new standard on Thursday night with 11 threes.

After fighting off some pesky opponents, implementing Calipari’s “dribble drive” offense was put on the back burner in favor of teaching youth to play defense.

“We talked about it and said to find your men early and keep your head up,” Calipari said. “This is old. John (Wall) is 18-years-old. I have a whole team of 18-year-olds. It is a learning process for us all.”

From the other side, Rider coach Tommy Dempsey said Kentucky’s defensive woes aren’t as bad as Calipari makes them out to be.

The Wildcats forced the Broncs into 31 percent field goal shooting for the game and 23.5 percent from three. Rider’s 63 points were the second lowest the team has scored this season.

“I think they took their foot off the gas here and there, but when they are engaged, start playing the big-time programs and start locking in, they are going to have a special team,” Dempsey said.

Senior guard Ramon Harris, however, is taking Calipari’s words to heart. Following the Wildcats’ 102-92 win over Sam Houston State, Calipari said that at this point, this is the worst defensive team he’s had since 1988.

Harris, one of three seniors on Kentucky’s roster to play under three different coaches, said the Wildcats have more work to do despite a good outing against Rider.

“We still made our mistakes, and like I said before, it's the beginning of the season and we have a lot of new guys and we are all still trying to learn a new coach’s system,” Harris said. “I think once the season goes on, we will become a better defensive team.”

Kentucky hosts Cleveland State next Tuesday.

Surprise, Surprise: Louisville Strong Out of the Gate

Jonathan Lintner — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:58:08 -0500

Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals spurned an early season trend in their 96-66 win over Arkansas last Wednesday night.

They won an early season game, and they did so without a scare.

Since joining the Big East in 2005, Pitino has noticeably adjusted to the Cardinals’ strenuous conference schedule. Louisville typically disregards its preseason ranking, placing winning on the back burner in favor of instilling team chemistry and lasting stamina.

Last season, Pitino’s strategy peaked.

Louisville started the new year with three losses—to Western Kentucky, Minnesota and UNLV—then reeled off nine straight wins, won the Big East Conference Tournament and solidified itself as the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As he always does, Pitino caught some flack for the early blunders. As always, they were forgotten in January, February, and especially March.

It remains to be seen what Pitino’s approach will be this season.

Could the Big East’s expected drop in talent be more reason to push early? Could the higher profiles of non-conference opponents like Western Kentucky, UNLV, and Kentucky be a reason to make an early push?

Or was Louisville’s blowout of Arkansas simply a product of five Razorback suspensions, which left John Pelphrey’s depleted roster full of walk-ons and golfers?

The answer lies somewhere in the middle.

"This team is very good," Pitino said. "We're nowhere near our potential, and it's the best we've ever looked since I've been here in an opening game. My teams are very tough to watch the first few games of the season."

Six Cardinals scored in double figures against Arkansas—two more than last season’s opener against Morehead State. But the biggest contribution of the night came from one of the most unlikely of suspects.

Senior guard Reginald Delk, a Mississippi State transfer, racked up a game high 20 points off the bench in only 22 minutes. Delk’s previous career high was 10 points.

Louisville also got 12 points from senior Edgar Sosa and 10 from sophomore Jared Swopshire. Sosa averaged just over seven points per game last season while seeking a defensive identity. Swopshire averaged just one point.

No matter what crazy lineup Pitino threw at Arkansas, no matter what the substitution pattern was to keep the game close, Delk, Sosa and Swopshire threw it all off with—surprise, surprise—production.

However, Pitino did try his best to make Louisville’s first contest worthwhile. He started Delk and guard Preston Knowles out of the half, and the Razorbacks rallied from 14 down to make is a 48-45 game.

That didn’t last long, as by the time the next media timeout started, Louisville was up 65-48.

The Cardinals went on to blowout the Razorbacks and hold star shooter Rotnei Clarke, fresh off a 51-point performance against Alcorn State, to 16 points. That's with a roster that contains five freshman and five sophomores.

"I think it's just the result of us putting very few things in and getting better at what we put in earlier in the year," Pitino said. "We had to keep it very basic."

Pitino constantly tears his team down, claiming they can’t play defense early in the season.

The fact that he hasn’t yet mentioned the Cardinals’ inabilities may signal the underrated potential of this years squad.

And instead of leaving the early season with some noticeable scars, the Cardinals could be ready to provide Western Kentucky, UNLV, and Kentucky with some non-conference scares.

Kentucky's Opening Games Present Reality Check on Defense

Jonathan Lintner — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:59:09 -0500

The Kentucky Wildcats’ first two games may not have yielded the overwhelming victories Big Blue fans anticipated.

But if coach John Calipari truly expects Kentucky basketball to make a full recovery, two squeakers were just what the doctor ordered.

On Monday, Miami of Ohio finished 15-of-26 from three-point range. Their star forward, Nick Winbush, opened a perfect 6-of-6 from deep. The Wildcats found themselves down 36-18 to the visiting Redhawks—in Rupp Arena, no less.

Yet Kentucky fought back to win 72-70 on a last-second field goal by John Wall, the highly touted touch in Calipari’s first recruiting class in the Bluegrass State.

Calipari said he didn’t mind the 18-point first-half deficit, enduring his getting-to-know-you period with the Wildcats in the most trying fashion.

“I was ecstatic that we got down 18 points because I wanted to see what we were made of,” Calipari said. “When this team wouldn't go away, the thing I loved about my team was they would say, ‘We are not losing this. We are not losing this game.’”

The Wildcats visited the National Invitational Tournament last March in their second season under Head Coach Billy Gillispie. With Calipari, they inked the top recruiting class in college basketball—including Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Jon Hood, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton—and entered the season No. 4 in the nation.

Expectations are running high, but Calipari said some tight contests to start the season are good for keeping his players—and him—down to Earth.

“We needed this,” Calipari said on Monday. “When you are not in a situation coaching that is life or death and you are trying to get your team better, you can feel the way I was feeling out there. Yeah, I wanted to win the game. But I needed to learn.”

Thursday night’s 102-92 win over Sam Houston State didn’t go over as well with the coach, who said that right now this is “the worst defensive team that [he has] had since 1988.”

The Bearkats’ Corey Allmond broke former Kentucky player Tony Delk’s Rupp Arena three-point shooting record in his 37-point performance, once again shredding the nets on the Wildcats’ home court.

At halftime, Sam Houston state had recorded only two two-point field goals. The rest were threes.

The offense was there for Kentucky, but Calipari was less than high on his team’s defense after the game.

“They have no urgency defensively—none,” Calipari said. “There is not enough time in the day for me to teach all the habits that these guys need. I am going to try like heck.”

Without watching the tape, the players knew the Wildcats’ biggest problem defensively: communication.

“We have to talk,” Wall said. “The next couple teams we play can shoot threes. Rider can shoot threes better than [Sam Houston State], so we have to work on it. I'm not really concerned, but we're nowhere where need to be as an offensive team or a defensive team. They main thing we need to work on right now is our defense. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Kentucky hosts Rider this Saturday at 1 p.m. With less than two days to prepare, Calipari said he knows how much the Wildcats can improve between now and then is limited.

But according to Bledsoe, the players know where to start.

"Communication is a big problem,” Bledsoe said. “Ramon [Harris] did it and we have to start feeding off of him. Teams are going to come in a lot this season trying to go at John [Wall], and that's when everybody else has to step up and start making plays.

“You can't just let teams come in and break records like they did tonight. It definitely gets everybody's attention.”

Ricky Carmichael's Infectious Fame Spiking Truck Series Expectations

Jonathan Lintner — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:23:43 -0400

“Expectations” is a word that five-time AMA Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael has had to confront this year more than any other.

Since he switched from two wheels to four and joined the ranks of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2009, Carmichael has posted two top-10 finishes—one at the California Speedway in February, and the other at the Kentucky Speedway just last weekend.

While the veteran sits at a lowly 21st in Truck Series points, he isn’t losing his mind over not excelling, not consistently running up front, and not winning for someone who jumped to immediate success in the motocross ranks before he even turned 18.

“I think I’ve got pretty fair expectations, realistic expectations,” Carmichael said. “Some people don’t because of where I came from, and that’s the unfortunate part. I put my pants on the same way everyone else does and I think I need to have a little slack cut to me because I haven’t done this as much as I’d like to.”

But where do the expectations come from?

Carmichael wasn’t just another supercross success. His nickname, “the GOAT,” standing for the “Greatest of All Time,” has followed him to NASCAR. With it came money, fame, and a bit of extra attention from his peers.

“It’s been pretty big in the garage, and I think a lot of people here, they watched me in motocross and supercross racing,” Carmichael said. “Obviously a lot of the fans are able to cross over, so that’s been really good, and some of the sponsors know me too because of the success that I had in that form of racing.”

While the two-wheel crossover fans may expect wins, or at least for their favorite driver—no longer rider—to compete for victories each week, Carmichael isn’t getting ahead of himself.

Fifteen overall AMA championships came quickly for the 29-year-old phenom, putting him in the same age ranks as relative NASCAR newcomer Clint Bowyer, who edges Carmichael years-wise by just under six months. The initial urge to switch, Carmichael said, came from watching the close friend.

“I watched Clint growing up as we were big friends of his family,” Carmichael said.

Bowyer, like Carmichael, began his career on two wheels. Also, like Carmichael, he eventually made the switch, only earlier on.

Since 1996, Bowyer has raced with a roof over his head, and reached his latest career peak last season by winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship a year after making the Sprint Cup Series’ Chase for the Championship. The success lit a fire under Carmichael and got him looking at NASCAR racing.

“I watched him and that kind of inspired me,” Carmichael said. “I was able to just get some opportunities to try stock car racing. I loved it from the first time I did it and here I am today.”

Although their experience varies, Bowyer and Carmichael aren’t far from being in the same place. Both race under the umbrella of NASCAR’s three major touring series, both are seated in competitive equipment and both have age on their side, below the curve of the so-called NASCAR Cup Series veterans.

Sometimes, all that talent just needs some time to shine. Luckily, Carmichael has his sponsorship situation, which brought Monster Energy over as a personal sponsor from motocross, and Kevin Harvick Inc.'s stellar equipment—the same stuff that's won three straight Camping World Truck Series races with Ron Hornaday Jr. behind the wheel.

“I haven’t raced but maybe 35 car races in my life,” Carmichael said. “I would never even expect to come out here and do what I did in motocross. It will never happen. But I do expect out of myself to be competitive and meet the expectations of my boss, my sponsors and my fans.”

By scoring his second top-10 of the season at the Kentucky Speedway, Carmichael is doing just that.

Even still, the cool-minded rookie is keeping a level head. Carmichael said the way the cards folded, he “finally got a little bit of luck for once.”

Saturday night’s results may have been luck in Carmichael’s eyes, but at some point or another, the fire of a winner will burn again. At 29 years old, Ricky Carmichael has a lot to learn, and a lot of time to learn it.

This article was originally featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

Keselowski Brothers Fight Different Battles on Same Track

Jonathan Lintner — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:55:11 -0400

Brian and Brad Keselowski don't have much in common, at least outside of their day jobs driving NASCAR stock cars.

One drives a fully sponsored car, while the other scraps for money, still racing for the family team. One dodges photographers and media personnel like the famed figure he drives for—the other works in general obscurity like many small teams in NASCAR's Nationwide Series.

And for brothers, they look about as much alike as the Chevrolet Impalas they race and a Volkswagen Beetle.

What the Keselowskis share in common is their upbringing, which as a result has given the two an undying air of confidence and a positive attitude, shown while Brad was shadowed by Sports Illustrated reporter Mark Beech last weekend at Kentucky Speedway and still emitted after Brian crashed his primary car late in Friday practice.

Brad credits his time with the family team, working on the cars, and knowing the weekly struggles and workings of a small team for his current attitude and personality.

“I think that experience helps me appreciate things a bit more now as a driver. I have a really good understanding of what goes into getting a team to the track to compete, and I know just how much wrecking cars puts stress on everyone involved," Brad said. "I also got to see just how much fun it was when we won.”

A fateful decision for the Keselowski brothers to have Brad drive the family's Truck Series ride back in 2004 has put Brian behind the eight ball ever since. Although the older brother had a track championship under his belt, it was the fiery youth of Brad that was winning all the races. That, in the end, was the decision maker according to Brian.

"There's differing stories on that," Brian said. "It came down to basically we had enough money to run one track. He could get a little more speed out of the car, but I was a little more consistent.”

So, rather than competing in the NASCAR ranks, Brian went racing with what little money was left in the ARCA Series. Since then, he's built his own team up to run full-time in the Nationwide Series, where brother Brad drives the No. 88 car for JR Motorsports.

The Keselowskis now race on the same track on a weekly basis, where although they’re competitive in different equipment, competitive nature still reveals itself, and they still take pride in beating one another.

“Brian and I are super competitive at everything we do and polar opposites from birth,” Brad said. “I enjoy competing against him, when I win.”

The two brothers are busy in their own respects. Brad is often stolen away by the media and sponsorship obligations, and with Brian staying busy running all aspects of his race team, there isn’t a lot of family time being shared on race weekends these days.

"He's pretty busy doing his thing, and I'm pretty busy doing mine,” Brian said. “I run my whole race team—I'm the team manager, driver, owner, everything. It's pretty tough for me to sit down and say, 'Hey, what's going on?'"

Making things tougher was a bad weekend at Kentucky Speedway. In the final minutes of Friday practice, a tire went down on Brian’s No. 26 car between Turns 3 and 4, resulting in a damaged race car too tough to repair in only a day.

The team went to a backup car—not one of their own, but that of MacDonald Motorsports, thanks to the team putting their own backup car on the line.

Instead of the normal neon green and black paint scheme the No. 26 usually dons, Brian’s machine came out red, white, and blue, running to a 35th-place finish in the Meijer 300. The result dropped the team outside of the top 30, the Nationwide Series’ threshold of locked-in teams that allowed Brian to race Saturday night despite running a crawling qualifying lap earlier in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Brad continues to run for more wins and a championship in the No. 88 car. The two Keselowskis are fighting different battles: one to make it, one to make it bigger. But all of the success hasn’t gone to Brad’s head—at least according to his brother.

"I have always said that Brad has never changed one bit. He's been the same way even with money or without money. He's always been that punk kid.”

Brian said he isn’t upset with his current hands-on situation running the No. 26 team. Tension was unavoidable at first, but years later, things worked out for both parties.

"That was a tough deal when the decision was made to put Brad in instead of me,” Brian said. “It worked out. In the end, I hooked up with a couple guys that had some cars, and we combined all our stuff together and went racing."

"It's hard as a race car driver and especially a family member of another guy who gets a chance and you don't. In the end, you understand it. And now it's whatever it is, it is. You've got to get past that or you'll never move on. I'm past it.”

This article originally featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

Kyle Busch's Party in Nasvhille: One People Can't Let Go

Jonathan Lintner — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:33:31 -0400

Who can blame Kyle Busch for being the life of the party?

After smashing a guitar in the Nashville Superspeedway Victory Lane last Saturday night, people are still talking about what was, until that point, a snoozer like all other snoozers.

Busch led 151-of-225 laps, only trailing when pit sequence got him off track with some of the series’ better back markers, then continued his domination after a lap 123 melee that sent hometown favorite Trevor Bayne to the garage.

It was a rough night for Bayne, who was demoted immediately back to rookie status after holding the provisional pole—that is, until Busch snatched it away and relegated Bayne to the outside of the front row. Busch bounced before turn one and rode into the sunset and away from the field.

So, after Busch ruined the hometown story and turned the race into a worthwhile time to take a nap, he then livened the Nashville Superspeedway up again—first by doing what Busch said Mythbusters deemed impossible by lighting his rear tires on fire in a sensational burnout, and then by smashing the esteemed Gibson guitar in Victory Lane.

This was, after all, a day following Busch’s uninvited arrival to the track for practice. Along with Carl Edwards, Busch stole the media frenzy from Nationwide Series regulars when qualifying was rained out in Pocono and the Cup Series duo made it to Nashville for two practice sessions.

Let’s get this straight: Busch stole the show, broke the prize, then set sail back to Pocono in moment’s notice. Had the post-race show followed in its traditional monotony: Drive by crowd, Victory Lane, thank sponsors, TV off, last Saturday’s race would long be forgotten.

The tidal wave of negativity billowing from Nashville hardly followed him back up north, but the reactions haven’t stopped in Nashville.

Some are calling Busch’s actions detrimental to stock car racing. NASCAR Nationwide Series Director of Competition Joe Balash didn’t. Neither did anyone else within NASCAR—A.K.A. the people that actually matter in this whole deal.

Nobody complained when John Wes Townley destroyed a racecar not five laps into the Federated Auto Parts 300. Nobody wanted the crew chief’s reaction or to see the fabricator’s tears. Nobody wanted to throw around the monetary value of the piece Wes Townley had just destroyed.

That car, like the guitar Busch crumbled, had a price tag. It’s just that the car was worth more than the No. 18’s tire bill from Saturday night, unlike that guitar, which has been given as a prize enough times to make me numb to its worth.

I don’t know what Joey Logano did with his guitar, or what Brad Keselowski and Scott Wimmer did with their 2008 models. I do know what Busch did, and that was respect that thing enough to give a piece to every member of his team.

While other guitars collect dust, Busch’s ends up in the hands of a bunch of guys who truly deserve it, the same ones he’s thrown under the bus multiple times this season for ruining bad runs.

Busch doesn’t need to apologize to anyone. He’s reconciled with the No. 18 team, he’s in good standing with NASCAR, yet the majority of the media continues to fry him like a Twinkie at Bristol.

And this, all because he turned a boring night at home into a lively, rock-and-roll party in Nasvhille.

Friday Catch Can: Mothers Know Best (Ask NASCAR's Carl Long)

Jonathan Lintner — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:25:27 -0400

The end of the week brings me back to one fact: Mothers always know best.

You know, when they say, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen?” Or, “If you’re not going to do something right, then don’t do it at all.”

So maybe those aren’t the exact words, but that’s the message NASCAR delivered to Carl Long when it fined him $200,000 for an engine 0.17 cubic inches too large and suspended him for 12 Sprint Cup Series races following the Sprint All-Star Race’s open qualifier.

The argument from Long and many fans is the same: He didn’t mean any wrongdoing and doesn’t have the funding to pay a fine of this magnitude for a third-party error.

If that’s the case, I wonder why Long is going Cup racing in the first place. It’s common knowledge that the top teams spend upwards of a half-million dollars on their race cars, and if Long can’t scrap together $200,000 as a driver-owner in NASCAR’s top division, he doesn’t belong.

There’s a racing series for every budget, and the NASCAR Cup Series isn’t the place for a team that’s scraping together funding, forced to run a third-party engine that’s underpowered yet oversized, and lacking the proper public relations to handle this type of a situation.

Rather than releasing statements through hired PR personnel, Long has been communicating through his website, Carl-Long.com. The latest posting, submitted after Long’s penalties were upheld in an appeal, said, “I am trying to overcome my emotions versus the facts. After today's hearing, I have lost all faith in the way the appeal system works.”

After seeing Long’s statements, the only thing I’m sure of is that he would be better off racing in the ARCA Series, USAR Pro Cup or one of NASCAR’s smaller touring divisions.

Not only would long be closer to the competition in a smaller series, but he’d be in the same ballpark as far as resources. It’s doubtful that anyone in any of those alternate series has ever seen a penalty equal to what Long is serving now in the Cup Series, being that everything but the racing itself happens on a smaller scale.

That isn’t to say that other small teams belong on this same path. I’m a huge fan of the way Tommy Baldwin and Jeremy Mayfield put together startup teams in this economy. They knew there were cheaper ways to do things while making an honest effort.

Although Tommy Baldwin Racing and Mayfield’s team haven’t been shining lately, it worked out of the box to get them going in Daytona. That’s more than Long, who missed the Daytona 500 after finishing seventh in the first of two Gatorade Duels held the Thursday before the race.

So, for Long to say that NASCAR put him out of business with record fines and a points penalty in a race that didn‘t pay points to begin with, he may be right. Whether or not his team had any business in Cup to begin with is highly debatable.

Long missed the Daytona 500, failed to qualify Dennis Setzer at Martinsville, then got burned by a third-party engine maker and fluke inspection at the All-Star Race. It’s been a rough season for a poor owner-driver who now owes NASCAR a large pile of money and an extended stay on the Sprint Cup Series sideline.

How Long handles the impending penalties will be the true test of his staying power at NASCAR’s highest level when the heat gets turned up in the kitchen.

Denny Hamlin Remains Upbeat About Chances Despite Being Constantly Overshadowed

Jonathan Lintner — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:05:14 -0400

Denny Hamlin has been successful in everything he’s driven—from the late models back home in Virginia and the truck he took to a top-10 finish in his first start to the pole he won at Phoenix as a rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup driver late in 2005.

So when Hamlin was contracted to take over the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 car at the onset of the 2006 season, many figured he’d break out to become one of the Cup Series' top drivers.

Hamlin swept both Pocono races in ‘06 and became the first rookie to make NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup. But since then, the wins have been sparse, and all but two good runs have ended up short of Victory Lane.

Sunday at Dover was another one of those days for Hamlin, who ran more practice laps in preparation for the Autism Speaks 400 than any other driver in the Cup garage.

Hamlin had his FedEx Chevrolet handling well, moving towards the front and knocking on the door of the lead, when he lost a tire, sending his No. 11 car into the outside retaining wall without much warning.

"I just blew a right front," Hamlin said. "We looked at the tire and there was no wear on it on the inside, so either something punctured it or it's a freak blowout deal with the tire.”

At the time of the incident, Hamlin was running second. Had he finished there, it would have been the team’s third runner-up finish of the year with no wins.

Through all the troubles, Hamlin is staying positive.

"I'll tell you what, that was a pretty hard hit. I didn't have any warning at all. We made progress. My pit crew did an awesome job getting me up there, but just some more bad luck for the [No.] 11 team."

Hamlin has made the Chase every year he’s run full-time in Cup, and despite a 36th-place finish at Dover, he still sits seventh in the points standings.

Teammate Kyle Busch is sixth with three wins this season, and rookie Joey Logano has only one fewer top-10 run than Hamlin in 2009. Hamlin is the senior member of JGR’s three-driver squad, but the on-edge driving of one teammate and prodigy-like nature of the other often leave him overshadowed.

While Hamlin has earned his dues in his short time at JGR, the results haven’t shown yet.

Next season is a contract year for the Chesterfield, Virginia-native. He has it all right now—a great race team, dependable sponsor, and security. Still, that hasn’t led to wins, which Hamlin could see at another race team.

Rumors swirling this season have Martin Truex Jr. headed to Michael Waltrip Racing at season’s end, meaning a potential third team at the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing wouldn’t have a headliner behind the wheel.

Truex said, “The picture is pretty clear right now” when talking about his future, meaning Hamlin could end up the third wheel at Stewart-Haas in 2011 should Tony Stewart opt to start a third team.

Hamlin fits the same mold as Stewart and Ryan Newman—short track drivers with a short track attitude in a big-time series. Although he has little reason to leave JGR, neither did Stewart this time last year.

Until Silly Season approaches next season, we won’t know Hamlin’s true feelings on being constantly overshadowed in his current position.

Present words don’t make it seem like a change of pace is wanted or warranted, and Hamlin is concentrating on holding his position in the top 12 while making the Chase for the fourth straight season.

“We have a long summer ahead of us, and we need to keep working,” Hamlin said heading into the Dover weekend. “We need to keep improving at the same rate or even quicker than the competition if we want to be there at the end.”

This article is also featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

NASCAR the Wrong Target in NAACP-Confederate Flag Tirade

Jonathan Lintner — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:14:41 -0400

Miami-Dade's NAACP announced that it would boycott NASCAR if the United States' top stock car series wouldn't comply and ban the Confederate flag from the racetrack, saying it's an “offensive symbol.”

This is the same NASCAR that stopped engines last Monday amid threatening skies in order to honor fallen and current military personnel. Only laps away from the official halfway mark and a viable stopping point for an already-delayed Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR decided that Memorial Day and American heroes were more important than what was happening on the track.

During the full minute of silence that began at exactly 3 p.m. local time, the American flags at Lowe's Motor Speedway were held at half staff. Confederate flags were few and far between, unseen on TV and unnoticed by those in attendance.

It's the same NASCAR that continues to improve upon the idea of a diversity program to push minorities into the top ranks of stock car racing. The Drive for Diversity has its flaws, but it's a step in the right direction.

The same NASCAR, that when forced into a lawsuit last season for allegedly mistreating an African-American Nationwide Series official, didn't throw her under the bus, but rather found ways to make their series more welcoming in the future.

The NAACP is targeting the wrong people if they wish to ban the Confederate flag at the racetrack. What people bring to the track on flagpoles, bumper stickers, and tattoos isn't NASCAR's problem, but rather one of the whole Southeastern United States—and that's if displaying the symbol is even a real problem.

Confederate flags won't pop up when NASCAR visits the Infineon Raceway in California or the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada, because the flags don't travel with NASCAR, but rather with the type of fan that attends the events being held.

Can you imagine the back of your NASCAR ticket if the NAACP got its way?

“No persons upon entry to this facility may bring in umbrellas, coolers larger than 12” by 12”, and confederate flags.”

Something doesn't fit there.

So they say these are the United States and people shouldn't display a symbol representing years of separation and turmoil within the country. But nowhere within the law is the waving of the Confederate flag deemed illegal.

I'm not for the Confederate flag and I don't like it, but it's more Constitutionally wrong for an organization to go against the law upon personal belief than for someone to exercise the rights and freedoms bestowed upon American citizens—and this definitely has nothing to do with NASCAR, which would lose half a drop of water in the bucket if the NAACP decided to boycott.

For NASCAR to be targeted ahead of other sporting events like Southeastern Conference Football is another dig I have with the NAACP. Perhaps they should do something about the Ole Miss Rebels, whose fans proudly display the flag in the stands during football season.

And how about the rest of the conference, where Confederate flags are as common as burgers and hot dogs during tailgating festivities?

If the NAACP views this as a problem, they shouldn't just call out NASCAR, which doesn't need to control the rights of people who enter their tracks beyond the realm of safety and security—neither of which are immediately threatened by a flag that's only viewed offensive by the way it's interpreted.

Even a Confederate flag-less NASCAR racing series wouldn't go far to mending the problems of lingering racism in the United States. That NASCAR fans want the confederacy to return is an ageless stereotype fueled by underlying tensions, not an on-the-surface issue that needs addressing.

A boycott over something as off-the-mark as a complete ban of a meaningless symbol that is in no way associated with NASCAR isn't the NAACP's place to stir up trouble. There's got to be something more drastically wrong going on out in the world, like freedom of speech, that the NAACP can fix their way.

If they have an argument as to why a symbol should be banned, I'm sure an amendment would be swiftly put into action. But it wouldn't include NASCAR's name, which is in no way associated with the Confederate flag.

This story was originally featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

All-Star Weekend Translates Minimally to the Coca-Cola 600

Jonathan Lintner — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:14:31 -0400

The All-Star Race’s post-event transcript reads like a broken record played only once a year. It’s the he same crackly tune that drones for an entire week leading up to the Coca-Cola 600.

“We learned a lot today,” John Doe said. “I can’t wait to get there and run 600 miles next weekend with what we know now.”

This tradition, passed down from driver to driver since consecutive races first ran at Charlotte in May, stems from a relationship between the NASCAR All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 believed to be solid.

Teams look for speed during the all-star weekend, then try to replicate it or build upon what they learned the following week for the longest race on the Sprint Cup circuit.

And I think that’s at least partially untrue.

When teams unload from the hauler, whichever race weekend it may be, that car is going to go a certain speed, plus or minus a few adjustments. The big teams will be fast, and the smaller ones relatively slow.

The same story rings true for the All-Star Race.

Unfortunately for teams looking to duplicate setups from the weekend prior for the Coca-Cola 600, the whole dynamic of preparing a short-run car and long-run car is different. Race strategy is crazy different.

Even the prize is different. Compare the “go for broke” attitude of the All-Star Race with Sprint Cup Series points at the 600, and it’s a wider gap than apples and oranges.

Add that in with the fact that it’s nearly impossible to turn a car around and bring it back for the second week in a row and you’ve got a lot of near-useless information for how certain adjustments reacted to “chassis A,” but nothing for “chassis B” used in the Coke 600.

So you tell me Kasey Kahne and five other drivers have run a sweep of the All-Star Race and Coke 600 weekends since Darrell Waltrip first did it in 1985. But only two less than that have claimed the Coca-Cola 600 as his first victory since ‘85, meaning their team had nothing to go off heading from the All-Star Race to the 600.

The six winners of both events can claim their speed from places other than the sprint of a race the week before. Jeff Gordon accomplished the feat in 1997, just three years after nabbing his first win in the Cup Series in Charlotte.

Jimmie Johnson monopolized Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the mid 2000s, winning three straight Coca-Cola 600s and sweeping with the All-Star Race in 2003.

That success didn’t come from the All-Star Weekend. That’s a credit to crew chief Chad Knaus knowing what to bring to the track already set to win.

Like what’s seen in the duel races in Daytona, they’re racing, trying to win in 150 miles. Nobody drops to the back and waits like they do days later in the Daytona 500.

The strategy compared between 150 miles and 500 is completely different, even if the events take place at the same track less than a week apart.

So the next time you hear a driver say, “I learned tons of stuff,” as Carl Edwards said after the All-Star Race, think about it. Different length, different car, different strategy, setup, atmosphere…but the same track surface.

And that means just about nothing.

NASCAR All-Star Race Not Perfect, but It's the Best in Sports

Jonathan Lintner — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:54:23 -0400

NASCAR’s Sprint All-Star Challenge represents everything stock car racing is supposed to be—action, urgency, and smashing and crashing with a giant prize at the end.

The drivers embrace it, and some crew chiefs dread it, but the NASCAR all-star race is the best of its kind in any sport.

It's also the closest thing NASCAR will ever have to Saturday night short-track racing on their coveted 1.5-mile speedways. Kevin Harvick, a former winner of the race now locked in for this season's event, said some of the allure comes in the form of a return to racing's roots.

“Night racing is where we all grew up,” Harvick said. “We all grew up racing at a Saturday night or Friday night short track, whatever the case may be. I guess it just brings out the best in all of us. It is a lot of fun and exciting to watch."

Whether it was growing up or growing pains, Kurt Busch, in part with brother Kyle Busch, created a highlight for the ages when the two tangled heading into turn one at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2007's all-star race.

Kurt Busch said the first of two Sprint Cup races in the two-week visit to Charlotte is “an entirely different animal.”

“You jump into the all-star race and it’s just a whole different atmosphere and attitude,” Busch said.

Busch didn't, however, voice the story of 2007's Thanksgiving dinner.

Compared to the Coca-Cola 600 held a week later, the all-star race varies in pace, approach, and most notably, distance. Moving from 500 miles at Darlington to one of the series' shortest events with the all-star race, then back to the longest race on the schedule the following week, is the biggest changeup of the season.

But contrary to popular belief, crew chief for the No. 48 car, Chad Knaus, said the all-star race isn't any more dangerous than a trip to a restrictor plate race in terms of destroying a car.

“Ultimately, if you really think about it, to say that you're building a sacrificial lamb to go into the All-Star Race is probably even less true than you would say if you're going to Talladega, because at Talladega you have a better risk of wrecking than what you do at a place like Lowe's Motor Speedway,” Knaus said.

And what's wrong with a wreck anyway? It's never anyone's intention for injury to happen, but wrecks are part of NASCAR. It's why people cheer at the track―when they see something spectacular, then again when the driver climbs from a smoking pile of sheet metal unscathed.

Accidents are horrible, but also horribly hard not to look at. It's appealing to the eye, like watching fireworks on the fourth of July or seeking the best lit house during the Christmas season.

When they're wrecking over a million dollars, well, that's just awesome, and in the purest sense of the word. It all plays into what makes the all-star race the legendary event that it is.

The NFL's Pro Bowl is just an achievement to get into, and the same goes for the NBA. The two are full of talent, yet the product is watered down. Nobody wants to pull a hammy or look bad in front of “the guys.”

While the NASCAR system changes seemingly every year, the concept has stayed concrete: Go fast, and race for a million.

“Our all-star event, I think, is the best all-star event—period,” Jeff Burton said. “Every other all-star event, the intensity goes down. Our all-star event, the intensity goes up.”

Overshadowed By Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards Still Looking for First Win

Jonathan Lintner — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:04:06 -0400

The Nationwide series has already passed the concrete banks of Bristol and Nashville, as well as his former playgrounds in Atlanta and Texas.

Through them all, Carl Edwards is still winless. Four times Edwards has finished in the runner-up spot to his Sprint Cup counterparts in the series' first 10 races.

He ended up bridesmaid to Tony Stewart out of the box at Daytona, and then was outrun by teammate Greg Biffle at Las Vegas, upset by owner-driver Kevin Harvick at Bristol, and bested by points leader Kyle Busch at Richmond.

The driver of Jack Roush's No. 60 car isn't losing hope, but he is looking highly upon the team's performances so far this season.

“We’re knocking on the door,” Edwards said after a third-place finish at Darlington last Friday. “We’re doing what we’ve got to do, but we just can’t get to Victory Lane just yet.”

Edwards has amassed seven top-10 finishes races and sits second in points, but he hasn’t broken into Victory Lane in 2009 after reaching it seven times last season.

Then there's the tendency of seeing the No. 18 car's rear bumper every time Edwards glances ahead, pulling further from the No. 60 through every corner. It's a game of cat and mouse that's carried over from last season, when Busch elected not to run the full schedule.

Now, with Busch locked in to race the full schedule, Edwards is playing the cat trying to reel in a much faster mouse.

“We’re trying so hard to catch Kyle (Busch) and tried to do it on the race track,” Edwards said after finishing behind the No. 18 at Richmond two weeks ago.

The story at Darlington was much different as luck was on Edwards' side at the end of the race.

Busch fell to the back of the lead lap on the final restart of the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 after leading a record 143 laps. The No. 18 car ran over some debris from Joe Nemecheck's scary hit a few minutes prior and cut a tire under caution to the fans' and Edwards' delight.

“That’s just racing luck that he had there. I don’t think we were gonna finish in front of him unless he had that,” Edwards said.

Instead of leaving Darlington over 80 points back, as he did at Richmond, Edwards is a mere 31 points behind Busch, the winner of a series-high three races in 2009.

Good points days don't change the fact that Edwards is still chasing the ultimate prize—his first win of the season. He has 25 more chances, but with Busch pumping out wins at a rate to match his record-tying number from last season, seven won't come as easy as they did in 2008.

Remembering back to last season, Edwards didn't win a race until the Nationwide Series visited the Milwaukee Mile—the 17th race of the year. At the time, driver No. 60 didn't have the luxury of second place in points and an average finish in the top 10 like he does now.

Edwards went on to finish second in the championship. A repeated run through summer, ending with a sweep over the final two weeks, gives the No. 60 team the title in 2009.

This article is also featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

Unionizing NASCAR Over Drug Testing Not on Drivers' Radar

Jonathan Lintner — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:27:24 -0400

Jeremy Mayfield’s indefinite suspension after testing positive for a banned substance got one expert thinking, according to a news article posted by ESPN’s David Newton published on Tuesday morning.

Dr. Charles Yesalis, a Penn State Professor who has done studies on drug testing in the past, said suspending an athlete for an undefined substance wouldn’t go over well in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and other professional sports organizations—organizations with players’ unions.

“That just kind of violates your sense of fair play,” Yesalis told ESPN. “It never would fly in MLB or the NFL because they have a union.”

Along with franchising NASCAR, the idea of a drivers’ union has been tossed around for years, and the forgone conclusion is that it would be a bad idea. Even without a banned substances list out in the open and Mayfield’s positive test for a negative substance up in the air, it’s a bad idea.

NASCAR has been good about honoring the complaints of upset drivers—and if they want a list, they’ll eventually get it.

When the drivers said they wanted Lowe’s Motor Speedway repaved after a disastrous Coke 600 in 2005, they got it. When they wanted a safer car, they got it.

“The drivers don’t have a union, but if somebody did that to me (like NASCAR did to Mayfield) I’d go get a nasty lawyer. What if somebody in management or ownership doesn’t like you? They can use that as a weapon against you,” Yesalis told ESPN.

In the past, the only weapons NASCAR has used are those of second chance. In the case of former Busch Series drivers Shane Hmiel, a third chance to pass a drug test before Hmeil was banned from NASCAR competition.

Tyler Walker and Kevin Grubb were both reinstated after failing a test, too.

Right now, though, drug testing isn’t the priority for drivers who know they’re innocent, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. The driver of the No. 88 car was more concerned about the handling of his car than Mayfield’s positive test last weekend at Darlington.

“I don’t do drugs, so I don’t have nothing to worry about,” Earnhardt Jr. said.

The top levels of NASCAR’s management do listen. They need to keep the driving forces of America’s most prestigious racing series happy, and that’s the stars of the Sprint Cup Series.

Arbitration between NASCAR and its drivers isn’t needed.

Deep down, Brian France knows that NASCAR needs Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne more than those drivers need NASCAR. The big guns already have money, fame, and talent, and could exercise the three in almost any racing series around the world if they wished.

So when someone decides it’s a bad idea to not know what tests positive and what over-the-counter medicines and supplements are approved by NASCAR, they’ll make a list.

Right now, though, drivers seem content with the system.

“That policy is in place, and it’s there for a reason,” Jimmie Johnson said. “If you use something that’s illegal, per the substance abuse policy, you get in trouble. It is what it is.”

The drug policy is what it is, just as NASCAR’s union-less existence of good communication and mutual respect is what it is.

And it’s working.

This article is also featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

Ryan Newman Expects Surge to End in Victory Lane

Jonathan Lintner — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:15:57 -0400

If Ryan Newman played baseball, he’d win “Comeback Player of the Year” honors without missing a season. He’d be basketball’s “Most Improved” and take college football’s “Maxwell Award” for astonishing performances.

Newman, who didn’t finish a race inside the top 20 until Bristol in March, is in the midst of a comeback that could make him NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series Champion if his streak continues.

The No. 39's surge continued Saturday night with a fourth-place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington. Newman has finished no worse than 16th since his 22nd-place run at Atlanta and has five top-10 runs in the last seven races.

“We're here to win the championship, and part of that is being in the Chase,” Newman said. “Being 10th now is good. But I don't want to maintain—I want to keep moving forward and get the (No. 39) car in Victory Lane.”

Teammate to Tony Stewart, co-owner of the new Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman hasn’t been in the Cup Series limelight since winning a series-high eight races on his way to a sixth-place finish in the 2003 standings.

In 2009, the story of Stewart and Newman’s performances has been in the same key. Stewart has eight top 10s to Newman’s five, but the No. 39 fought through serious adversity to get to its eighth-place points position, including a hint of the flu last Saturday night.

“My stomach was messed up all day, and by Lap 150 I was having cold chills—I just didn't feel good, and I am junk right now,” Newman said following a long night at Darlington. "It was a good run for the U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet. And it was a great run for Tony (Stewart) and the entire Stewart-Haas organization. Here we are again both of us in the top five.”

The season started rough, with Newman going through two cars at Daytona’s Speedweeks before the 500 even started. Then the No. 39 car fell off the jack in the pits, went two laps down, and finished 36th in the rain-shortened event.

Newman then started a string of poor finishes. He came up 28th at California, 25th in Las Vegas, and 22nd at Atlanta—mostly due to problems outside of the driver’s control.

“To be honest, we've had fast cars,” Newman said before the Food City 500 at Bristol. “We know where we're at performance wise, and it's a lot better than what our finishing results show. We've just had too many hiccups and unforced problems that have stalled our momentum.”

It was a miracle-like performance at Bristol that turned the season around. “Rocket Man” returned to his qualifying prowess of the past to sit on the outside of the front row, then finished seventh to nab the first top-10 finish of the season.

Since then, only a 16th-place finish at Phoenix had the team outside of the top 15, and with three straight top-five runs, the No. 39 is edging closer to Victory Lane.

“I felt all along that we were capable of starting the season the way we've been racing now,” Newman said. “I am happy that we're getting better. However, the bottom line is that I am not really satisfied because we haven't won, but we're knocking at the door.”

This story was originally featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

Drugs Still Unknown, Jeremy Mayfield Has a Side of the Story, Too

Jonathan Lintner — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:24:45 -0400

Step back, take a breath, and exhale slowly.

That’s my advice for NASCAR fans quick to jump on Jeremy Mayfield’s suspension announced Saturday night at Darlington.

Truck driver Ron Hornady came under intense scrutiny last season for the presence of testosterone in a steroid he was using to treat Graves’ disease.

Hornaday switched medication, then continued on with life, legacy intact.

This time around, Mayfield is claiming innocence too, and it’s not impossible to think that he should get a word in before his test results are claimed as a black eye on stock car racing.

“In my case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over-the-counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test,” Mayfield said in a statement. “My doctor and I are working with both Dr. (David) Black and NASCAR to resolve this matter.”

Mayfield, along with two crew members in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series are under indefinite suspensions.

Indefinite, meaning until NASCAR says they’re good to go again. For a five-time NASCAR Cup winner, that could mean as soon as he switches up his medications or makes the choice to continue taking them and stop racing.

Or at least until NASCAR lets the cat out of the bag on what these guys were taking.

Was the cause of the fail performance enhancing or performance deterring? Medicine or illegal drugs? These are questions yet to be answered by NASCAR, and key information as to whether Mayfield was thrown under the bus for the right reason.

Mayfield is, after all, a racing Cinderella story fans fell in love with during his mid-February rise.

The Owensboro, Ky., native threw a makeshift race team together with just days to spare before the Daytona 500, made the big show, then went on to attract sponsorship and race in four more events before the team’s owner and driver were suspended.

Another not-so-surprising development came from the rest of the garage, which paraded around Mayfield’s case and praised NASCAR’s new random testing policy, put into effect after former driver Aaron Fike admitted to doing drugs before hopping into his car.

Three-time champion Jimmie Johnson said “it is what it is,” and Jeff Gordon said Mayfield’s suspension is “going to send a message through this garage area.”

There we are. Mayfield’s suspension is the precedent. He’s an example. A real tone setter.

Maybe NASCAR should set another precedent: look before you speak, or in the case of NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter, who said “There is no place for substance abuse in our sport,” let us know what he did wrong before everyone passes judgment.

Again.

This story was originally featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

Southern 500 at Darlington Lives Up to Its Legend

Jonathan Lintner — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:39:41 -0400

The Southern 500 returned to the Darlington Raceway, and with it did the legend of the track “Too Tough to Tame.”

A record 10 caution flags fell during Friday night’s Nationwide Series race and an additional 17 yellows waved during the Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday.

The track was fast—Matt Kenseth dropped a track-record 179.514 mph lap to eclipse Greg Biffle’s mark from a year ago—and plenty dangerous, with Darlington stripes becoming the norm in both practice and the race.

Even for race winner Mark Martin, it wasn’t an easy night to drive. Martin said the track surface was slick and unforgiving, and that he was “about 50 percent or 40 percent out of control” through the race’s entirety.

“The only thing that I will say about the paving is it seems to hang on a little longer than it used to,” Martin said. “My car felt like I was trying to race on ice. I didn't have the option to slide the car. But if you slip this thing, you're gonna get a piece of that wall.”

The new pavement has proven to be more dangerous than the gritty, sandpaper-esque surface of the past. The last time the Southern 500 maintained its namesake in the fall of 2004, the race saw only eight cautions for 47 laps.

Jimmie Johnson won that day and combined with Jeff Gordon to lead 279 of 367 laps—over 75 percent of the way—proving that at one time, Darlington catered to the best car.

Now, Johnson says, it’s parity between a number of teams.

“I think there's probably 15 good cars, maybe 10 good cars at the end,” Johnson said. “However they came out from that final pit stop is how they were going to run.”

Johnson recovered Saturday night from an accident in qualifying to lead two laps and run second to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. The driver of the No. 48 attributed Darlington’s new danger factor to a new car, new asphalt, and the same track layout.

“The track is just so narrow. With the new pavement, this car being bigger and boxier, there's less racing room, the speeds are higher, and there's no falloff in the tire. It was a chaotic night.”

The biggest surprises of the night came with the top-10 finishes of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Both are rookies, and neither turned laps on the old Darlington Raceway surface.

Logano’s ninth-place finish is the No. 20 team’s best finish of the season, tying their ninth-place run at the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega two weeks ago. The 18-year-old attributed his sole knowledge of the new surface and ignorance of the old to some of his success on the 1.3-mile speedway.

“Talladega's kind of a luck thing,” Logano said. “But here we ran solid top 10. Kind of looking at where I ran good so far, Las Vegas, new asphalt, here new asphalt. I led laps in the Southern 500, I was stoked about that, I was all excited.”

Martin said that like all tracks that get repaved, Darlington will “eventually return to how it was before.”

Looking at the results of last weekend’s races, the new pavement never strayed too far from the legend anyway.

This article was originally featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.

NASCAR Legends Twitter, Highlight Return of Southern 500 at Darlington

Jonathan Lintner — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:23:56 -0400

Pete Carroll is no longer the only sports icon found on Twitter.

David Pearson and Cale Yarborough, in conjunction with NASCAR, have set up a Twitter question-answer session this weekend at the Darlington Raceway.

The two NASCAR legends finished 1-2 in the 1968 race at Darlington, and 41 years later, they’ll work as teammates and voice their opinions to fans.

Twitter users are asked to add “#NASCARLegends” to their tweets, which will be asked to the drivers at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Both Pearson and Yarborough have been heavily involved with Darlington in recent years.

Yarborough takes the role as honorary pace car driver this weekend, and Pearson will be honored along with Richard Petty and Sterling Marlin to celebrate 60 years of racing at the track “too tough to tame.”

This weekend also marks the return of Darlington’s signature “Southern 500,” a NASCAR name close to the heart of both fans and drivers.

“Coming back to Darlington for the return of the Southern 500 is very special for me,” Yarborough said. “I remember sneaking under the fence at Darlington years ago just to catch a glimpse of the race and that made getting to Victory Lane here very special.”

Yarborough and Pearson alike have taken laps at Darlington recently, with Yarborough coaching Sprint Cup rookie Joey Logano on how to navigate one of NASCAR’s trickiest speedways, and Pearson and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards fighting it out in alternate era vehicles.

Pearson, who drove a restored Wood Brothers No. 21 car, turned laps alongside Edwards in his No. 99 up-to-date Cup car.

“I enjoyed running it. I really did,” Pearson said of his drive around Darlington. “When I got to running a little bit faster it got to feeling a little better and I could run in the grooves.”

Neither driver will turn laps at speed this weekend at Darlington, but their foray into Twitter’s 21st century technology is another feat for some of NASCAR’s legendary names.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Struggles While Kyle Busch Triumphs in Richmond

Jonathan Lintner — Sun, 03 May 2009 02:48:55 -0400

The Dale Earnhardt Jr.-Kyle Busch rivalry sizzled to nothing Saturday night at Richmond.

Nos. 18 and 88 never had a chance to relive last season's “spin and run” by Busch from 2008's spring race and Earnhardt's inevitable retaliation five months later in the fall.

While Busch drove another seemingly mediocre car to the front to win the Crown Royal presents the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond, Earnhardt puttered around the .75-mile track a lap down for most of the race, eventually finishing two spots behind where he qualified in distant 27th place.

After taking the lead from Jeff Gordon inside of 50 laps to go, Busch never looked back. Once a promising run turned sour for Denny Hamlin and Gordon faded late, a less-than-perfect No. 18 shined the brightest.

“It's just amazing, man. It's so cool,” Busch said, celebrating his 24th birthday with a weekend sweep of NASCAR's top two series. “The car wasn't perfect all night—it was good, but it wasn't perfect. I kept telling (crew chief) Steve (Addington), 'It doesn't feel bad, but it's not perfect.”

After climbing into the top 10, Earnhardt made contact with Jeff Burton on lap 217 sending the No. 31 spinning towards the outside retaining wall. The wreck was eerily reminiscent of the way Earnhardt started his weekend, solo spinning in the middle of turns one and two in Friday's practice.

Earnhardt had time to recover from his first incident of the weekend. The second left his car maimed for the remaining 183 laps. Burton recovered to finish third, but a 27th-place result positions Earnhardt well out of the Sprint Cup Series top 12, a mark he was nearing heading into Richmond.

“We sort of started out last year running so good at the start of the year,” Earnhardt said. “We never were too worried about losing our position to make the Chase, and we struggled through the summer like I've done in the past. This year we started out so slow and terrible; we're in a hole now.”

Now 56 points out of NASCAR's Chase for the Cup, Earnhardt is setting his sights on the dog days of summer—a time he hasn't always embraced as a driver. Tracks like Pocono, Infineon, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have riddled NASCAR's most popular driver for years.

“We're going to be fighting our way to try to get in the Chase all year,” Earnhardt said. “We're gonna have to step our performance up in the summer way beyond what we were capable of doing last year. That's gonna be what decides whether we make the Chase or not.”

But for Busch, who has already posted three wins apiece in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series in 2009, this season is more about maintaining what he's started early. Last year, mechanical troubles plagued the No. 18 team in the final 10 races and Busch fell from points leader to finish 10th in the standings.

If Richmond is any indication, 2009 could be a season of championship sweeps for Busch, who sits fifth in the Cup standings and leads the Nationwide series entering next week's race weekend at Darlington—a track where the No. 18 dominated the field in last season's Southern 500.

“I think we're all heading in the right direction. We've got some work to do still at some places,” Busch said. “Of course, (I'm) looking forward to Darlington next week and the All Star Race following.”

A Solution to NASCAR's Talladega Problems: Move the Line

Jonathan Lintner — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:02:28 -0400

It’s said every time the Sprint Cup Series visits the esteemed Talladega Superspeedway: Many races have been won and lost between turn four and the start/finish line, which sits closer to turn one than the centrally located line at Daytona.

What many haven’t considered is that the line’s location played into a scary crash between Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Newman racing to the checkers in the Aaron’s 499 last Sunday.

There’s no rhyme or reason for having the start/finish line nearer to turn one than the center of the tri-oval except that it may sell more cheap seats lower to the track surface past pit lane.

When it comes to safety, moving the line might be NASCAR’s best bet to prevent a car from entering the stands or shredding against the catch fence again.

Right now, the line's location is an anomaly to Talladega, being that it’s not where most would think it is. Before completing the race, drivers have a long, flat-out haul down the front stretch and through the banked tri-oval to the finish.

If the line was in the center of the tri-oval or even back a bit, before the higher-banked part of the front stretch, Sunday’s wreck wouldn’t have sent a car into the fence. It may not even have happened.

When drivers come down the banking, pick up draft, and make a move on the leader, options are limited for the car out front. Block and risk your car, or let them pass. Only the faint of heart would let the trailer by cleanly for the win.

Sitting the line at the center of the tri-oval would have made it a futile effort for Edwards to come back across the nose of Keselowski, and Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. wouldn’t have been in the final picture. The finish would have been close, front and center, and safe.

Cars wrecking on the front stretch with a centered finish line wouldn’t be turning. As a result, 3,400-pound vehicles wouldn’t threaten people in the stands and would most likely end up in the more forgiving infield grass.

NASCAR has made improvements to keep cars on the ground, but flips still happen. It’s fine with NASCAR, since nobody has failed to walk away from one of these death-defying crashes in recent years.

The only other viable solution to keep the racing the way it is at Talladega is to relax the yellow line rule on the front straight.

If Edwards had the guts to push Keselowski all the way to the grass, then NASCAR could drop a penalty on the No. 99 car.

Had Keselowski dropped below the yellow to keep both drivers out of harm’s way, the NASCAR standard set last fall would have put the No. 09 in the wrong.

NASCAR should accept that these drivers tend to use all viable pavement to race. The front stretch apron is hardly an advantage, being that it’s not banked and is wide enough for only one car to fit.

Either relaxing the yellow line rule or moving an irrationally placed start/finish line would appear as a positive step forward to preventing last Sunday’s accident from happening again.

It’s not a drastic change, but NASCAR is under pressure to do something. Restrictor plate racing is the sport’s highest entertainment value, and if NASCAR wants to preserve it, they need to somehow make oversized Talladega a safer place to race.

NASCAR Rules Talladega Incomplete After Yellow Line Fiasco (Satire)

Jonathan Lintner — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:41:05 -0400

NASCAR race director David Hoots warned drivers prior to last Sunday’s race not to pass under the double yellow lines that circle the Talladega Superspeedway, and NASCAR’s Tuesday penalty day harped upon Hoot's advice.

Upon post-race inspection, NASCAR chairman Brian France declared the results of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega void after every car that completed the scheduled distance passed under the yellow lines.

"I told them all point blank not to pass under those lines," Hoots said. "Maybe drivers weren’t thinking that when they made a pass in the pits, but they were technically all under the yellow lines on the front stretch."

Although NASCAR never specifically stated that the pits become a no-pass zone, interpretation of the rulebook ultimately falls into the hands of the race directors.

The announcement came more than a day following a scary crash involving Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman, triggered when former race winner Brad Keselowski made contact with the rear corner of Edwards.

Keselowski, who won at Talladega in only his fifth start, was disappointed but encouraged at his chances to do it again.

"I think that, put in that situation again, I’d still wreck Carl," Keselowski said. "Nobody died or anything and the fence is still standing so I think it could take another shot."

Eight or more fans were injured when Edwards’s No. 99 car took flight into the front stretch catch fence, bending the structure but never breaking. The main cause of the injuries were debris, though none were life threatening.

"NASCAR put us in a box," Edwards said. "Now NASCAR has stepped outside of the box with their new ruling. It‘s all about the box."

NASCAR has no plans to rerun the race and ticket money won’t be refunded, France said in a release earlier today.

Most upset about the announcements was Mark Martin, who took part in the lap seven wreck that claimed more than 10 cars. Martin said NASCAR made a horrible decision in their ruling.

"This is a hoot, and that’s pun intended," Martin said. "I’m on my way outta here so I can say whatever the heck I want...and this isn’t right. They have all the power and it’s being wrongfully used."

Martin rambled for minutes about how hard his team worked to prepare the No. 5 car for Talladega, saying he "hated it for all the guys back at the shop" three times in an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith Tuesday afternoon.

Sunday's Talladega Finish Less About Results, More About Repercussions

Jonathan Lintner — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:53:28 -0400

Sunday’s finish at Talladega was so much better than the movie.

From the tri-oval to the finish line, the final moments composed everything NASCAR strives to be week in and week out.

Brad Keselowski pushed Carl Edwards to the lead, then dumped him coming to the line. Edwards said that’s just racing, but only after his car took flight and shredded against the catch fence, creating a replay that will stand strong in NASCAR history.

The No. 99 car never made it to the finish, but Edwards did after reenacting the final scenes of “Talladega Nights,” running across to the checkers under his own power with carnage in the background.

Meanwhile, fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. sneaked to a second-place finish behind his protégé in the under-funded equipment. The remains of Ryan Newman’s car were eye candy to spectators that show up to see the big one at Talladega.

Despite all of the action, destruction, and excitement, the finish at Talladega will be remembered for what came afterward.

When the front end of the No. 99 made contact with the catch fence, debris sprayed into the legions of fans sitting only feet from the track surface. In all, reports said eight fans suffered from injuries and at least one was flown from the speedway to a local hospital to be checked.

For the same reason restrictor plate racing began, some now want it to end. Plate racing hasn’t been about safety for years, but the high entertainment value of knowing the field could be covered with a blanket. The system has become more of a threat than a necessity that racing purists and drivers alike want to get the axe.

Had the catch fence not stood up to the force of a 3400-pound car moving at speed, the discussion wouldn’t be about whether or not NASCAR should stop plate racing. It would be about whether or not NASCAR would continue to exist.

Although it hasn’t been officially reported, NASCAR has to be looking for an alternative to plate racing. The rules change annually, from how drivers can behave on track to how crew chiefs can set cars up off it. A good balance has never been struck.

Last October at Talladega, Regan Smith was robbed of a win when Tony Stewart shoved the rookie under the yellow line, making Smith ineligible to complete the pass. This season, Keselowski didn’t let the same happen to him.

When Edwards crossed the nose of the James Finch-owned Chevrolet, Keselowski didn’t budge. Last fall’s race set the standard, and Edwards was the victim.

In recent years, NASCAR continued to police restrictor plate racing. Officials took away the ability to pass under the yellow line. At one point, contact made in the corners past a certain point was deemed illegal.

As Edwards said, NASCAR put Keselowski in a box. He could have run under the yellow line, passed Edwards cleanly or lost in a photo finish. Instead, thousands of dollars went to waste in the form of race cars and lives were thrown on the line.

Another super speedway tragedy happened Sunday, and now NASCAR has to react. Just like they did in 1988 to add the restrictor plates, and again when they created the yellow line rule.

Restrictor plate racing served its purpose and has since lost it. There has to be a better way to do things, and that’s what the latest edition of Talladega will be remembered for.

Jeff Gordon Goes Retro at Talladega with Another Waltrip Classic

Jonathan Lintner — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:55:10 -0400

Darrel Waltrip will solidify his position as NASCAR’s favorite throwback this weekend at Talladega.

Last season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought out Waltrip’s Mountain Dew retro paint scheme at Darlington, but this Sunday, another Hendrick Motorsports car is to don a Pepsi throwback scheme at one of NASCAR’s other storied speedways.

Jeff Gordon will pilot the No. 24 Pepsi Challenger Chevrolet this weekend, a changeup from his past Pepsi-sponsored Talladega vehicles. In the process of running the soda label on his car over the years, Gordon has become Pepsi’s longest-running spokesperson.

“I was really excited when Pepsi brought this opportunity to us,” Gordon said. “Although the cars are very different, we wanted to make sure our paint scheme closely matched the one that was out front so often in 1983."

Down to the driver's suit and helmet, Gordon will match the 1983 champion’s color and design configuration.

Waltrip ran the colors in the era that Gordon’s team owner, Rick Hendrick, entered the sport under a different banner. Junior Johnson is credited with the original victories of Waltrip’s yellow Pepsi scheme.

“Hendrick Motorsports' first season was 1984, and I remember Darrell (Waltrip) running that Pepsi Challenger car for Junior Johnson the year before,” Hendrick said. “They were always fast, and that team won a ton of races.”

It’s a true blast from the past for Waltrip and Hendrick, two personalities cemented in NASCAR history.

“For me, it's just fun to think back on those days, and it's neat that we'll be putting that paint scheme on the track again,” Hendrick said.

The timing is good for Gordon, who can pay respect for Waltrip as he closes in the esteemed driver’s position on the all-time wins list.

Gordon currently sits at 82 victories, just two wins behind Waltrip’s 84.

“I still like to tell him that I'm looking down on him from the all-time wins list, but I know he is closing in on me very fast,” Waltrip said. “As much as I hate to get passed by a friend, it's just such a pleasure for race fans to see an all-time great in his prime.”

Gordon practiced in the middle of the pack Friday, running 28th in the first session and 14th in the second.

Rick Pitino's Extortion Debacle Sparks Internal Problems for Louisville

Jonathan Lintner — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:08:36 -0400

Oftentimes, it's off-the-court issues that hurt a basketball team the most.

Injuries can be overcome, and good coaching reigns supreme over limited talent, but poor team chemistry can seldom be repaired. When the head coach is involved in the non-basketball related problems, downhill is the only way to go.

It's the same direction Louisville's basketball team is heading.

It's no secret that team chemistry has been the weak spot of Cardinal basketball for the past few seasons. A rise in talent drove egos up and killed team leadership, but special psychologist Rick Pitino held his squad together.

That won't be happening anymore. Not after Pitino reported an extortion attempt on his family to the FBI. Not since the alleged extortionist comes from inside the program itself.

The antagonist of the story is Karen Sypher, wife of Louisville equipment manager Tim Sypher. As to why she would allegedly attempt to extort money from Pitino is unknown at this point, but sources are pointing to a potential affair between Pitino and Sypher.

It doesn't help that Sypher's husband threw her under the bus in a statement released Sunday, saying he's “devastated by the bizarre allegations that my estranged wife is making against both Coach Pitino and myself.”

Rumors aside, this is a significant distraction for the Louisville basketball program. At the worst, Pitino could leave the program. The legendary coach's character will be called into question for the rest of his career if that happens.

It's a shot at the solid recruiting pipeline Pitino has built in his eight years at Louisville.

How this will affect incoming freshmen Peyton Siva, Rackeem Buckles, Mike Marra, and Stephan Van Treese is unknown. How much the psyche of current headcase Edgar Sosa will be affected is unknown. How the recruitment of future star Marquis Teague, who sits on the fence between Louisville and a handful of other schools, is unknown.

Something that is known: For a team that relies so much on the mental stability of its coach, Louisville is in trouble over the extortion case involving Pitino.

Red flags waved when son Richard Pitino made the move from his father's bench to Florida's earlier in the week. Now we may know why he got out of his father's shadow, which at this point doesn't stand for everything it used to.

Neither does Louisville basketball, which looks more like its Lexington rival Kentucky, fighting legal battles with the NCAA, trying to hold the program in place.

Only an extortion case involving the FBI torches the NCAA in importance. It's an off-the-court issue with crushing consequences.

Rick Pitino, Louisville Basketball, and the FBI: Extortion Oh My!

Jonathan Lintner — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:15:45 -0400

Basketball season ended with a thud in Louisville when the Cardinals went down 64-52 to the Michigan State Spartans in the Elite Eight, but the biggest developments have yet to happen.

Saturday, news was released from the University of Louisville that basketball coach Rick Pitino had reported an extortion attempt to the FBI in March of 2009, saying he intends to “vigorously defend [his] reputation and the character of [his] family against any criminal scheme to extort money.”

The facts are short and the rumors numerous.

Reports say the extortion attempt could go as far as being a form of blackmail intended to squeeze money from Pitino in an attempt to hold his family together.

Original articles from Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman named the wife of a Louisville equipment manager as the “other woman” in Pitino’s life (and her name isn't Patty Swope).

“According to sources close to the situation, Karen Sypher, the wife of Louisville equipment manager Tim Sypher, has tried to extort millions,” Goodman wrote.

In Pitino’s release, the eighth-year coach at Louisville attempted to put those rumors down—although not in direct fashion.

“While I did not want to make this matter public, I recently learned that the individual behind this extortion attempt has already gone to the media with false, defamatory and outrageous allegations in an attempt to pressure me to cave in to this scheme,” Pitino said.

Since publishing, the rumors in Goodman’s story have been pulled, but the damage is done. Rumors are swirling, with a local Fox affiliate reportedly pulling an interview of their own with Karen Sypher.

Call that the pressure, and Sypher the instigator.

These developments come on the heels of Pitino’s denial of a coaching move to Arizona, then his son Richard’s lateral transfer from working on the bench at Louisville to Florida this week.

Why Richard would move out from the guidance of his father was unknown. Extortion charges could be the reason.

As for why Pitino would stick at Louisville (besides common sense), the support of the Cardinal family and university president Dr. James Ramsey through the rough patch could have swayed the tide.

“We stand by his decision to report this matter to the authorities and will now leave this criminal investigation in the hands of the FBI,” Ramsey said.

Pitino reported the extortion attempt to the FBI in March, before the Arizona rumors began, before Louisville was ousted from the tournament, and before his son Richard left the bench behind him.

There’s no doubt Richard knew of the extortion attempt. Whether his move to Florida was running for a reason, and attempt to dodge a problem, or just in hope to move out of his father’s shadow, it wasn’t a good thing in the broader scope of the FBI investigation about the ensue.

Starting with David Reutimann: Sorting NASCAR's Franchise Players

Jonathan Lintner — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:50:28 -0400

David Reutimann has gained fame in 2009 for taking the nickname “The Franchise” at Michael Waltrip Racing. The racer's pseudonym is plastered over his drivers-side door, shirts are selling out of the souvenir trailer, and the media frenzy is out in full force. Reutimann's newest tag line sparks a discussion: If NASCAR had the option of placing a franchise tag on team members, who are the best candidates?

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Kasey Kahne Tacking on Points Behind the Scenes in 2009

Jonathan Lintner — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:11:55 -0400

For once in his NASCAR career, Kasey Kahne is flying under the radar in the Sprint Cup Series.

Kahne’s rookie year (2004) saw him score 13 top-five finishes and earn a reputation as the bridesmaid of Cup racing, finishing in the oh-so-close second spot numerous times.

The No. 9 team finally found Victory Lane at Richmond in 2005, then shredded the field for a series-high six wins in 2006.

2007 and 2008 were different, though, especially for a guy that’s so used to winning. Kahne missed the Chase in each of the last two seasons, faltering under the ownership of NASCAR newcomer George Gillett.

Entering 2009, Kahne adjusted his style, and after running consistently in the top 20, sits 10th in the points standings heading into Saturday’s race at Phoenix.

“I’ve started to pay attention to where I’m at in the points,” Kahne said. “It’s nice to be on this side of the fence and not on the other side.”

Through the early part of the season, Kahne has picked up only two top 10 finishes, yet sits 10th in the points standings.

Kahne says he’s taking what the equipment will allow and not panicking over being shut out of Victory Lane.

“Just personally I need to do the best I can every week, regardless,” Kahne said. “When you get to the level we're at now, it's so easy not to win races because there are so many great teams and great drivers and crew chiefs and owners and sponsors. There's so much going on.”

It’s that new attitude that’s shot the No. 9 team ahead of the competition and fellow Richard Petty Motorsports cars. A.J. Allmendinger (20th) and Elliot Sadler (25th) are the next closest in the standings to 10th-place Kahne.

It’s been a steady progression to learn points racing, Kahne says, from the “win or go home” racing found in his racing heritage. Kahne hails from a dirt-racing background in the Northwest, where it’s necessary to go fast early and advance through heat races.

NASCAR Cup racing is a 500-mile endurance contest, and in his fifth year of running full-time in the series, Kahne is starting to grab hold of what it takes to be consistent on a weekly basis.

“If the car is only capable of a 20th place finish, I need to finish 20th. That's all I can do,” Kahne said. “The reason that each driver is racing in the Sprint Cup Series is because they've won tons of races in other series.”

Saturday night, Kahne makes his 10th start at Phoenix, where he’s finished in the top 10 three times and the top five only once. This year, Kahne says, is different.

“I feel like this year, with where we’re at right now and the gains that we’ve made in the last month, Phoenix will be another track where we can run pretty well.”

For the new Kahne, well could mean 20th, 10th, or first. Whatever 500 kilometers in the desert will offer him.

This article was originally featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.