Petty Enterprises

Who will be the next Joey Logano?

Brian Ickler is a native of San Diego, spent some time in off-road racing, moved up to modifieds and then to the Camping World West Series. Ickler spent two years racing for McAnally Racing, compiling 25 starts, 3 wins, 6- Top Five and 13- Top Ten finishes.

During the 2007 season, Ickler also ran two races in the Camping World East Series in Dover and Mansfield. Last December, Brian turned down the seat with McAnally Racing, packed up everything and headed down to Mooresville, NC. like so many other racers have done, and pursued his dream of racing in NASCAR Sprint Cup someday.

In 2008, Ickler is racing in a family owned car as an Owner/Driver for Ickler Motorsports. He started with five employees competing with NASCAR based teams with hundreds of employees. Ickler is racing with five cars, learning to take care of his equipment knowing that he'll be working on his own cars during the week. Still, he has found success by winning two races in a row.

Ickler won the US Cellular 200 at Iowa Speedway. A race that combines drivers from the Camping World East & West Series and featured Sprint Cup regular Kasey Kahne (finished 3rd). Then dominated the Strutmasters.com 150 at South Boston Speedway. He currently sits third in the points, 76 behind Austin Dillon.

I could easily see Brian Ickler, following Joey Logano to the Nationwide Series and eventually Sprint Cup. Obviously this kid is extremely talented and at 22, running a family owned team, driving in the Camping World East Series will open the door for him. Since 1987, this Series formerly know as the Busch North Series has produced a bunch of Sprint Cup drivers.

I believe Ickler would be a perfect fit for Kevin Harvick, Inc. in the 77 Car, just about any Nationwide Team looking for a driver in '09, along with these Sprint Cup Teams: Petty Enterprises, Wood Brothers Racing, Yates Racing, Bill Davis Racing or Stewart/Haas Racing as a third or fourth Team Driver after finding success in the Nationwide Series.

This is Part One of my series about young drivers who may be following in the footsteps of Joey Logano

Let's flash back to Rockingham 2004.  The last race at the "Rock" (for NEXTEL Cup) in which Matt Kenseth drove to victory.  While Kenseth's victory will always be remembered as the last NEXTEL Cup series winner (for the time being) at the Rock, many will still remember one famous flip.

Carl Long, driving in the #46 Al Smith Dealership Dodge was racing Joe Nemechek and Brendan Gaughan when suddenly; his career would change.  As contact was set, Long spun then flipped all the way down the backstretch and into the apron off of Turn 3.  While many fans simply said "Wow" as Long immediately emerged from his destroyed vehicle, an even more amazing feat was accomplished later on. 

Long prepared the car out of his own garage, with his own money (which isn't exactly the $$ of a Rick Hendrick) and with a group of volunteer crew members.  His sponsor was a local dealership and while he was numerous laps down, he still raced.  While other under-financed drivers such as Kirk Shelmerdine, Morgan Shepherd and Joe Ruttman (on LAP ONE) all parked their cars in order to preserve their cars; Long continued to truck on and put in an honest effort.  He stayed out of the way when needed but raced when he had to.  Along with the #80 Hover Motorsports entry for Andy Hillenburg (who coincidentally became the owner of the Rock last year), underdog NASCAR fans had something to root for.  But the crash set Long back.  Carl Long was always known as a selfless driver.  He even once gave Darrell Waltrip a ride in the Coca-Cola 600 when DW failed to qualify.  Carl actually passed up the opportunity to race in one of the biggest events of the year, yet passed it up.  DW still thanks him on the air to this day, but never has offered him a ride.

Thankfully, Long has a rabid fanbase.  Sure, there may not be as many fans of Carl as there would be for Jeff Gordon and even David Gilliland, they donated.  Once the mainstream heard news of their efforts, more money piled in.  Soon, Carl was able to buy a car from Petty Enterprises and entered the NEXTEL Open with the message "THANK YOU FANS" simply placed on the hood. 

However after a few small rides with teams such as McGlynn Motorsports, Hover Motorsports and C2M, the resiliency of Long's fans and himself faded into a distant memory.  When Carl would qualify, SPEED TV would usually air a commercial for "Pinks" and only give an update after the run was completed.  While he didn't make every race, he still continued.  He even got a full-time Hooters Cup Series ride with the Long Brothers and won a race last season.

But as NASCAR gets younger and younger, Long had to search for a ride.  While he would find one-off deals, nothing concrete ever materialized.  As costs rose, Carl had to something that he hasn't been known to do.  Park a Car. 

Now what is Carl doing?  After his last race ended in a park, an interesting opportunity came to fruition.  A crew chief job for the #24 Hefty car for Eric McClure.  While Carl was the "truck chief" for Spears Motorsports (most known for the #75 David Starr entry in the Truck Series), he never had a real crew chief job.  While still establishing communication with McClure, Long has embraced the role of crew chief.  Also he still races for the Long Brothers in the Hooters Cup Series and continues to look for an opportunity to race.

Carl's Website, home to a group of knowledgeable and passionate NASCAR fans; a true fun place to be:
http://www.carl-long.com

As the silly season rumors begin for 2009, many people are trying to think of "Open Wheelers" that can come to NASCAR and make an immediate impact. Dan Wheldon's name has been thrown around, same with Helio Castronevous's name. However, the success or lack there of, for the open wheelers is what really concerns me about NASCAR's future.

Open wheelers have always tried to make the advancement to NASCAR. Mario Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500 driving for the Wood Brothers and AJ Foyt won it in 1972, driving for the Wood Brothers as well. In more recent history, Tony Stewart has become a 2-time NASCAR Cup series champion and guys like Robby Gordon and John Andretti have had some success in NASCAR's premier division. Juan Pablo Montoya had some success last season driving for Chip Gannassi, winning at Infineon last season and NASCAR's Rookie of The Year title.

Even so, there have been a few guys who haven't had the same success these guys have had. Wally Dallenbach Jr was the 1985 SCCA Trans-Am Champion before trying to make a go at it in NASCAR. Dallenbach, however, had limited success. He had 226 Carrer Cup Starts and only 7 top 5's in rides that included, Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Racing and Petty Enterprises. Scott Pruett was another man who tried to make the switch. A three time Trans-Am Champ (1987,1994,2003) got an opportunity to drive the #32 Tide Ford for Cal Wells, in the 2000 Winston Cup season. He ran 29 of 34 races, failing to quailfy for 6 races. In those 29 races Pruett had 11 DNF's and only 2 to engine failures. The rest were because of accidents. Pruett's best finish in those 29 races was a 10th which he did at Indianapolis.

Now in 2008, A load of open wheelers have come into NASCAR and struggled. Sam Hornish Jr has been anything but impressive so far in 2008. Hornish drives the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge for Roger Penske in the Sprint Cup Series. He currently sits 33rd in driver points. Hornish has ran all 17 races in 2008, but in 10 of the 17 has been involved in a wreck. 2007 Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti is the driver of the #40 car for Chip Gannassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the 2008 Sprint Cup Season. Dario got injured in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega and missed 5 races. Dario has been a disappointment as well. His best finish in 10 starts this season is a 22nd which came at Martinsville, other then that he hasn't broke the top 30 in the rest of his 9 starts. Former Fomula 1 driver, Patrick Carpentier is the driver of the #10 car for Gillette-Evernham Motorsports in 2008. Carpentier has also struggled. He failed to qualify for 3 events this season and his best finish of 2008 was at Infineon Raceway when he finished 23rd.

All three had a lot of hype comming into the season but have failed to make the transaction to Cup. The pressure comming into the season was huge and for these guys to succeed at NASCAR's highest level with little stock car expirence, isn't only unfair to these guys, but it's unreal!

Owners need to give these guys some starts in the Nationwide Series before making the transaction to cup. With one year of Nationwide experience these drivers will be more prepared for the challenge that lays ahead of them in the Cup Series. But the owners don't give them the experience and their teams have suffered.

So as the 2009 Silly Season continues, I'll ask the question again. Are Open Wheelers really the answer??

If only stock were available in Kasey Kahne, and I’d have bought about a month ago. 

Mind you, after seeing what he did during All-Star Weekend-first in being voted into the show-which in an of itself was no surprise, considering he has more female voters than Hillary Clinton-then driving from the back to win the thing when it seemed the whine dujour was “We can’t pass in the new car!” I think most of us were baffled. 

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to bet on the 9 car to win the Coca-Cola 600, but since I am a rocket scientist, I made the call for Kasey. And I felt pretty good about it, except for the fact the 18 was on the pole, and Kyle Busch has been a fair driver this year. 

Not only did the 9 go on to win, Kahne decided he would take the pole and another win at Pocono two weeks later. I didn’t notice the blond from the Budweiser commercial getting doused with beer, but gotta think the Sprint Girl has a good dry-cleaning service. 

Then he finishes second to Dale, Jr. last week in the great gas gasp of 2008 at Michigan.

(Attention Danica haters, Junior won a fuel mileage race too… Are you going to put an asterisk (*) by his name?) 

So now Kasey goes out early and sets a speed good enough for the pole at Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Pronounced “Three-fitty” to keep up with NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity and Pop Culture Initiative Program, not that more exposure is needed there). 

But I digress… What was I talking about? 

Oh, yes, Kasey Kahne-the man known for his dance moves, inability to shake the Allstate chicks, and road-course prowess. Okay, perhaps two out of three ain’t bad. 

How did Kasey Kahne get the pole for this race? Was it extra incentive from Budweiser to put a stick in the eye of Coors Light, now that they sponsor the pole award (a long-time Bud sponsorship)? Did he eat some of Kyle Busch’s magic M&Ms? Or are we seeing the resurgence of the Kahne of old-The one that had six poles and wins just two years ago? 

I might buy that for a dollar, but this is a road course. 

So let’s take a look at the reality of what things look like, based on Friday’s qualifying. 

First off-there are some "Expecteds" up front: Jimmie Johnson out-ran the road course master-teammate Jeff Gordon (Happy Birthday, Ella!) by just over a tenth of a second. Jimmie went out about the same time as Kasey, and turned in a good lap. Kurt Busch starting third is no surprise. Kurt has shown the ability to time in well when on the track by himself, sweeping poles at both road courses in 2006, but he doesn’t have the finishes to show for it. 

Bobby Labonte laid down a lap to start fourth in the #43… Could Petty Enterprises have…? 

Breathe…  

Brother Terry rolls out 11th in Kyle Petty’s #45. Hmmm. I’ll wait and see on those two. 

Row four is where the action will be. Marcos Ambrose was fastest in first practice driving the Wood Brothers #21 car, and qualified an impressive seventh. I would think he feels rather comfortable in this car, being it should be more like the Aussie V8 Supercars he was so good in. But then there’s Robby “Crash” Gordon (sorry, Hurricane, but I call ‘em like I see ‘em) starting astride Ambrose.

Anyone remember the Nationwide (Busch) race at Montreal last year? I’m rooting for the Tasmanian Devil. I look for Robbie to further reinforce my not-so-flattering nickname for him in finding a way to crinkle a couple of fenders, if not send some people off into the dirt as he tried to claim a rare win (I think the Chick Fil-A Cows will jump over the moon first, but stranger things have happened-like NASA finding ice on Mars). 

So where is Tony Stewart? He’s historically good on road courses, but starts in the rear with the gear Sunday. I may be off base here, but I think Tony’s looking for an out from JGR, is not happy with NASCAR, and will drop from the Chase. Mind you Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson both started in the back last year and finished in the top-10. 

Jamie McMurrary better find a way to pull his head out and run well at Sonoma. With word that Greg Biffle is nearing a new 3-year deal with Roush, McMurrary needs to start auditioning for a new job for 2009, if not sooner. He’s been impressive on the course in the past, starting on pole last year, but finished 37^th. His lackluster performance in a Roush machine (save Daytona last summer) would make any fan consume Crown-in excess. 

As for the “Road Course Ringers”, they’re… They’re… Uh… Where the heck are… Oh, here they are! 

Color me unimpressed. 

Boris Said starts 14^th and that’s a lousy qualifying effort for him, considering he usually is in the top-10. I’d keep an eye on my mirrors if I were ahead of him. Boris is racing for the win. He doesn’t give a ratt’s butt about the points, and is at a point where he isn’t worried about making friends. 

Ron Fellows is still getting over jetlag after flying home from finishing second in LMGT1 at the 24 Hours of LeMans last weekend. He’s in the 01 DEI car for Regan Smith. I don’t really know what to make of this ride. I fully expect he can get into the top-10, but that’s historically when he’s in an RCR car. 

Then there’s Ganassi hired-gun Scott Pruett, who’s really not a “Hired Gun” since he drives full-time for Chip in Grand Am, and will be pulling double-duty between Mid Ohio, where he will race the 01 Telmex Daytona Prototype with Memo Rojas, and Sonoma. Can you say, “Road trip!” 

That pairing has dominated the Rolex Series this season, and Pruett has been oh-so-close to getting that first NASCAR win (I think he’s still cussing Juan Pablo Montoya under his breath and when not saying “Hi” to his family in interviews on Speed). He’s starting a little deep in the field to consider him a real threat, but effective strategy and a timely full-course caution could get him up front, and then he can shine. 

“Mad” Max Papis is also returning from France and a third-place finish in LMGT1 at LeMans in the sister Corvette to Fellows. He’s in the 66 car for Scott Riggs, who failed to qualify the 70 car for Haas/CNC. Papis hasn’t shown the ability that Pruett, Said, and Fellows have in NASCAR, but it will be interesting to see if he can keep the car in one piece. 

I’ll waste a sentence on ringer Brian Simo, who starts last. 

Okay, there it was. 

I look for two things in this race; One: the “mercenaries” moving forward, and with a purpose (read: Hell bent for leather). 

Two: a major points shake-up in the top-12. Kahne, Johnson, Gordon, and Biffle start in the top-10, and are in position to gain ground on Kyle Busch. Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Dale, Jr. are starting in the next-five, right around Boris (see above, on what could happen with the hair.) With Jeff Burton 20^th, just maintaining the gap over Kyle, who rolls 30^th, he should be able to take over the points lead. 

The big question will be with Stewart, who coming from 39^th, will have to close up on Matt Kenseth (33^rd) and keep David Ragan (38^th) at bay to hold on to a spot in the top-12. 

Who in the top-12 haven’t I mentioned… Oh, Clint Bowyer starts 19^th, and RCR teammate Kevin Harvick is 32^nd. Don’t look now, but Bowyer’s hold on the cellar-dweller spot in the Chase is tenuous at best. It’s possible, though a stretch, that both Bowyer and Stewart could be on the outside looking in after Sunday. 

So now that I’ve broken out the Crayons and drawn you a picture, it’s time to color in a winner for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. 

Big Daddy. The Man. Jeff Gordon.

He’s due, it’s time, and he’s feeling pretty good being on the road course, having just gone through his first Father’s Day and the birthday of his daughter. Sonoma is Gordon’s track. Then again so is Watkins Glen… And Darlington… And pretty much any other circuit on the Cup tour save Texas and Homestead. 

Then again there’s that guy named Kahne. And he’s running like the Allstate girls are after more than a picture…

Hmmm.

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I have been looking through the entry list for the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. I had plans to write something about road course ringers or some such.  Fact is, there aren’t that many ringers any more.  But there are an awful lot of experienced road racers driving Dodges this weekend in wine country.

Start with the Ganassi Racing trio of defending race winner Juan Pablo Montoya and teammates Dario Franchitti and Scott Pruett - strongest driver line-up in the race. Gillette- Everham has red hot Kasey Kahne with Patrick Carpentier - who will be good - and Elliott Sadler.  Penske’s Kurt Busch is strong here as is Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr is experienced turning both ways.  The Labonte brothers will make Petty Enterprises a factor. Robby Gordon might be a favorite to win this thing.

No manufacturer has a stronger driver roster for Sonoma this year than Dodge.

Photo credit: Photo Credit: Mike Doran