Several drivers say the track wasn’t ready for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race
Quote selected text Published February 25th, 2008 in NASCAR News
After a weekend of almost constant rain at California Speedway, NASCAR was eager to get Sunday’s Sprint Cup Auto Club 500 in before more rain moved into the area. And although the track was dry, water was still seeping from underneath the track surface which ultimately ended up sending a few race cars into the wall.
If Earnhardt and Mears had their way, the race never would have started.
“The track ain’t ready,” Earnhardt said. “It was dirty. Bad move.”
Denny Hamlin, who brought out the first caution when he hit the wall on Lap 16, agreed.
“There’s 42 other drivers that agree we should not be racing on that track,” he said. “I hit a slick spot. You can see it on TV. Right on the seams it’s seeping a lot of water. My car just took off.
“That might not have been the cause of the [Mears] crash, but it was the cause of ours.”
According to Mears, water seeping through a crack in Turn 2 definitely caused him to get loose. He said he hit water a couple of times before finally spinning out.
Ryan Newman, however, was critical of the drivers who complained.
“Were those the guys that crashed?” he said, asking who was complaining. “Well, it’s the same for everybody. If you can’t drive around or through a little bit of water & I’ve driven through worse. It’s not a big deal for me.
“Yeah, it’s not pretty. But we’ve got a show to put on for those fans. It’s not about those two guys that crashed.”
Newman said it was obvious there was water on the track when the race began. He said with pressure and heat, the weeping became worse.
Again, he didn’t feel it was enough to complain about.
“The world doesn’t revolve around two of them,” he said of Earnhardt and Hamlin.
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Sheer idiocy. The race should never have started, and it should have been stopped after the first reports that water was still seeping from the racing surface. And to wait until nearly 2 a.m. EST to postpone the race is ridiculous. What was the point? Who was supposed to be watching? And how safe would it be for the drivers to get back behind the wheel after being awake for 16+ hours? These decisionns were motivated by sheer greed, because NASCAR wanted to avoid running the race before a miniscule Monday audience. NASCAR should be ashamed of itself.
Ron, I know why they wanted to get it in last night… Whenever they finish the race, the teams have to pack up and drive cross-country to NC, then immediately reload and drive back out to Vegas. If the race gets pushed into the week, it’s going to make it awfully tough on the crews.
Plus they probably wanted to put on a show for whatever fans were still around the track, even if us east coasters were in bed looong before they decided to give it up for the night. I agree that going that late into the night thinking you would run the race is probably unsafe for the drivers at some point. I would assume that NASCAR got their input on it in deciding to keep trying to get the race in, but you never know with those folks!
Supposedly the drivers signed off on the track being OK before the race started, but once it was obvious that it was unsafe, they should have stopped, and they did, but I think they probably picked up on it too late. I think everyone was under the assumption that Hamlin lost a tire for a while there… Don’t remember if they figured it out before or after the Mears wreck. Either way, hindsight is 20/20, and at the time it seemed like everything was all right until that Mears wreck, when they addressed the problem.
NASCAR can care less about running the race on Monday, they have no problem doing that and they’ve done it in the past. NASCAR or the track does not refund tickets for rain delays so this decision was not based on greed. They make the same amount of money on Monday as they do on Sunday, with the exceptions of TV ratings. NASCAR tries to do everything they can to get a full race in on Sunday because of the fans at the track; they try to get the show started. They tried yesterday, and since being on the west coast, they had a three hour difference. NASCAR was going to start the race at 1am EST which is only 10pm on the west coast. NASCAR was just trying to get the race in for the fans at the track, and I can agree with the drivers who wrecked b/c the water on the track; however that’s the way it goes, I do agree with Newman when he says
“Yeah, it’s not pretty. But we’ve got a show to put on for those fans. It’s not about those two guys that crashed.”
So you can’t control Mother Nature and its nobodies fault. NASCAR tried to make everyone happy, tried to do the right thing and Mother Nature wouldn’t cooperate NASCAR tried and tried, and tried, but just couldn’t do it The ones I fell sorry for is the people who spent all that money on camp grounds spaces, 80 dollar back stretch tickets. Took a week off of work and pretty much got a truck race, half a cup race, and has to be back at work Monday morning. That’s the person I feel bad for, not the drivers who wrecked. All I know for sure is come April I pray to god there’s no rain delays at TMS.
I agree with Ryan Newman. You adapt to the track. If it’s a little wet, or a little dirty, you adjust your driving style to suit. You don’t go diving in 100% hoping that the slick spot that nearly spun you out a lap ago has suddenly vanished.
Jr needs to learn that the track wasn’t dirty, it was wet and there is a difference.
Also nobody is forcing those drivers to start the race, if they felt it was so unsafe, then by all means they could have pulled off of the track.
Fisha695 wrote:
WOW! How well did you run on sunday? OH WAIT YOUR NOT A DRIVER!!! MY BAD.
Obviously, the ones doing the most complaining are the ones involved in some sort of accident already. They’re the ones that will be bitter.
You gotta admit though, there was ALOT of trash
on that track. When you saw the cars going
by you can see all the debris flying up. It was
crazy. We’ll see what happens today!
That race should NOT have even been started, until they had that seeping stopped!! Those cars were sliding every which way there was on that track. If you were fortunate enough to SEE where the seeping was and avoid it, you were ok. But, what driver is going to remember EVERY spot? Their not, and their told to go out there and put on a show. Period.
And as for Jr, Hamlin, oh whatshis name… comments on the track not being ready. They were absolutely right. The almighty Nascar has spoken though. So, what are they gonna get out of their cars and protest without the rest of the drivers doing the same? It WAS an issue, but Nascar wanted to push it. They acknowledged they had the seepage problem from Friday. They COULD have waited 2-3 hours to MAKE SURE you werent seeing wet areas! For God’s sake Pit road was still wet on the start off it. Hellloooo what told you any of that is safe?!?!
Since they DID start it, once it went red, for the rain. THAT is when the 3 hours window SHOULD have started. Not Let’s stop, let’s go, let’s stop, etc until late night KNOWING you can and have race the following day. But to wait and say “ok were going racing at 10PM”. Then say no at 11pm, AFTER bringing out the cars, chargers, drying the track, the pit guys laying on pit road and around their area for how long? And they thought because a few people were left in the stands they were going to run to at least half way so their precious 2 could pick up the win. We all know that was NASCARS hope. As if they(Jeff-JJ) wont do it today, we KNOW Nascar favors them and lets them cheat like crazy. So, did they really HAVE to spend all that money, fuel for drying of the track, paying personnel of course I mean the “lower end” because you know Helton and them all left. Think about ALL the stuff that was going on and then, “oh we have decided to finish tomm, Ya’ll come back now ya here”. I would rip someone’s throat out, making me believe that they were going to run all those hours, then do that.
Sure the drivers could have slept in the haulers during that time yes, but would you want to go back out there at 11 at night to finish that race when really they would have just ran 37-38 more to get it halfway and be a legal race tTHEN call it. Screw that. Half of the driver have to turn around and run the rescheduled Busch(Nationwide) race today as well?
NASCAR DROPPED THE BALL AND DROPPED IT BIG!!!!
When the green flag drops, everyone has to race the same track. Right or wrong, it really doesn’t matter in all honesty. It was a bad deal for all three involved in Sunday’s incidents, but in the end, it’s the fans that are making the whole sport possible and if they are not taken into account, then there is no point even starting up the engine. Safety has to be considered, yes, but as usual, hind-sight is alway 20-20 and what was thought to be the right decision at the time as usual comes back to haunt them. It’s also not like this was something that happens all the time either. Sometimes, you just have to make a decision based on the best information available and see where that goes. They did and it’s done. It sucks for the fans, the track, NASCAR and the teams involved in their incidents, but it’s history, and it’s called RACING! Every time someone touches someone on the track, everyone wants to point fingers and play the blame game. There’s no wonder the insurance companies are getting into sponsorship so much. What’s next. Pulling cars off the track and filling out insurance claim paperwork before the cameras hit them? I can see it now.
Trying to make everyone happy: Translation: someone got pissed off.
NASCAR doesn’t just start the race without driver input when it comes to the track being wet. That’s why the cars are out there under caution for so long. They want them on the track to see if it’s clean/dry enough. When they started the race, it was. The “weeping” just happened to get worse… If those drivers that thought it was so bad and the race shouldn’t have started didn’t speak up then why should should they put the blame on NASCAR? Or why should any of the fans for that matter? I do feel for those who crashed, but that really is part of racing. You don’t get a mulligan unfortunately… I was just happy to see everyone get out of their cars and walk away.
Sam wrote:
What does that have to do with the track not being dirty (dirty track = Rubber, Grease, Speedy dry on the track) which was not on it before the race started.
And my second statement is 100% true. NOBODY is Forcing any of the drivers to race if the drivers do not want to. If I was out there and I didn’t feel like the track was safe I would have pulled off.
And IF they would’ve pulled off the track because they didn’t feel it was safe I guarantee you that NASCAR would’ve noticed.
Also something about the trash. While there was the usual race track trash (wrappers, napkins, papers, etc) that blows from the stands/infield at every track, a lot of the debris they were pulling off of the grills were Tear-offs, which the windshield ones are pulled off from the pits (so the ones on the grill were blown from the pits), and the smaller helmet ones are thrown from the car when the drivers rip them off.
And obviously that stuff could not be on the track until after the race started.
Good observation Fisha695. In particular, the tearoff they showed early looked like a helmet tear off and given the transition from day to night, and the “weirdness” involved, I’m sure there was more than a fair share of guesswork going on. The configuration of the track with new car and just how everything is going to work together are all on a learning curve so this is something that should be considered as well. While we are on that, here’s more food for thought since everyone wants to be safety conscious:
With the adjustment rod in the middle of the splitter directly in front of the opening, wouldn’t it be better to put a rod on either side of the opening, allowing the crewman to easily grab any obstruction without the possibility of getting his/her hand caught behind the rod and the driver taking off? Just throwing out my .02 worth
Paul
Yeah I was thinking that too.
A few of the drivers just can’t pull off the track and say were not gonna do this. It takes a collaberated effort and nascar only cares about their pocket books. We KNOW that the only drivers allowed to stop a race is Gordon and now maybe Johnson. And who are they to complain they had the 1 and 2 spots on the track, they know their cars were on fire, so its not like they were gonna say anything. What happened to the Driver safety commision? I thought that was Burton and Jarrett. Why weren’t THEY spoken to about track conditions and driver safety? Noooo they take Gordon and Johnson for a drive. What a joke.
Sure there was a ton of debris on the track, but I don’t think that being the “dirty” was what Jr meant. Jr does not lose his cool often and from what I got from that comment was that it was a dirty move to put a race on without having everything cleaned up properly for them all.
And now that Newman is on his glory of winning the 500, (only bc he got a push, I might add), does he think he’s above everyone now? That surely was a snotty remark he made and snounded like he was snubbing all others. WHat is his problem? Geesh, he used to be a nice guy.
I’m sure if your precious Jr would’ve pulled off of the track and refused to race NASCAR would’ve taken notice.
All drivers were asked pre-race and during the parade laps what they thought about the track, none of them spoke up.
Gordon and Johnson got to go out for for the simple reason they were in spots 1 & 2, that is the NASCAR rules, after a red flag NASCAR asks the first 2 drivers if they want to go look at the track Since they are the first two people that’d have to deal with it. Every other driver is more then welcome to go out on the track and look at it and give their concerns to NASCAR.
Also…in clips shown throughout the long day of watching the same broadcast and commercials…they showed that Johnson and Gordon were the two that found that seepage on Friday night…
I distinctly remember both Johnson and Gordon talking to other crews after coming back from looking at the track.
As far as driver’s voicing their opinions about track conditions, it is ultimately their responsibility to do something if they feel it is unsafe. Telling their crew chiefs and car owners. The car owners do have NASCAR’s ear and being their cars, well, I haven’t seen or heard Rick Hendrick or any other owner for that matter saying anything. Like I said before, hindsight is always 20/20. Anyone can point fingers (and do). It was a loose/loose deal so chalk this stuff up as lessons learned (because that is exactly what it was) and move on. I guess on a positive note, no one got hurt at least and they did get a good test on some of the new car’s safety features. Not to mention one hell of a rookie orientation.
It wouldn’t have hurt Johnson or Gordon if the race were stopped…they were running in the front. Their cars are still gonna be the same car today. Whether the race was stopped, or never started in the first place, they’re still in the front, starting one and two. Gordon would actually have benefited since he’s currently in 6th…
Fisha695 Registered User
Feb 25th, 2008 at 9:06 am Quote
“I’m sure if your precious Jr would’ve pulled off of the track and refused to race NASCAR would’ve taken notice.
All drivers were asked pre-race and during the parade laps what they thought about the track, none of them spoke up.
Gordon and Johnson got to go out for for the simple reason they were in spots 1 & 2, that is the NASCAR rules, after a red flag NASCAR asks the first 2 drivers if they want to go look at the track Since they are the first two people that’d have to deal with it. Every other driver is more then welcome to go out on the track and look at it and give their concerns to NASCAR.”
lol i love it, but anyway NASCAR could have handled it better but can you really blame them for trying to do everything possible to get the race in on sunday, they asked the drivers, the drivers agreed, and that is a thought Fisha695, if NASCAR only cares about thier pocket books, i wonder what they would do when the golden goose cash cow JR rufused to race. Notice the only people complaning are the drivers that are out of the race. It sucks, but get over it, you had your time to speak up and you didnt you cant wait till you wreck and have a problem with it. NAscar tryed everything and then some to try to stay green yesrterday and mother nature wouldnt cooperate.
Truex1fan and fisha are nothing but Jr haters, so who gives a rat’s cr@p what your opinions are.
I may be open about being Jr’s fan, but I am just as likely to talk nicely about the other drivers and not constantly put them down or their fans down. So why don’t you two grow up and TRY having a real conversation with value on here without making a fool of yourself.
Author: Paul
Comment:
I distinctly remember both Johnson and Gordon talking to other crews after coming back from looking at the track.
As far as driver’s voicing their opinions about track conditions, it is ultimately their responsibility to do something if they feel it is unsafe. Telling their crew chiefs and car owners. The car owners do have NASCAR’s ear and being their cars, well, I haven’t seen or heard Rick Hendrick or any other owner for that matter saying anything. Like I said before, hindsight is always 20/20. Anyone can point fingers (and do). It was a loose/loose deal so chalk this stuff up as lessons learned (because that is exactly what it was) and move on. I guess on a positive note, no one got hurt at least and they did get a good test on some of the new car’s safety features. Not to mention one hell of a rookie orientation.
Well said Paul. We were not there to see all the ins and outs of who said what or not. This was a bad deal all around. We surely will see Nascar change their ways in the future on this type of situation again, I bet.
jr88fan wrote:
My statement about Jr a few posts above was not meant as an insult at you or him or any of his fans. It was a response towards your statement that NASCAR wouldn’t care if a few drivers pulled off the track.
I simply stated that if your driver Who happens to be NASCAR’s golden boy and Most popular driver, Dale Jr would have pulled off the track before the race started and said “I do not feel the track is safe I am not racing until I feel the track conditions are safe” That NASCAR would have definitely taken Notice to it. The same thing could be said if it would’ve been Smoke, or Harvick, or Jeff, or Jimmie, or any other one of the number of NASCAR’s popular and respected and big name drivers.
So I’m not exactly sure what your attitude was about there….
WOW! As the opening statements were JUST said about the race, was the samething I was saying. The drivers, teams, and crews are FINALLY going to be asked… TODAY, under extra caution laps BEFORE they throw the green flag. Hmmm wasn’t that what they should have done yesterday before the race started? Typical Nascar.
Oh, well their never gonna change and actually be consistant. LOL
Bob…. That was Trash not Dirt. Those Tear-offs were helmet tear-offs which the drivers tear-off and throw out the window, and the bigger tear-offs were blowing around from the pits because the teams were not making sure when they took them off it made it to the garbage can.
The paper products that were blowing around. Go to any NASCAR race and you will see the same exact thing, and that is not because of the rain, that is because of the wind generated from the track being an open place, as well as the wind from the cars.
Oh and By the Way, those Tear-offs (which caused most of the problems) were not even an issue until after the race started because before the race started they were all on the cars windows, and the drivers helmets.
Oh my God I hope Newman wrecks big time to day caused by conditions on the track. 1 win and he becomes a Robby Gordon wanta be what a snot head he is.
Tuna Fishy:
That crap was on the track when he wrecked and after he was in the garage he made his comments, so he was talking about conditions during the race as well…
Face it California is a crap track and the date in July should be pulled and given to tennessee.
Sorry about Tracy, she is the out spoken one in the family and just read what was posted.
She is a JR fan.
Face it you people are confused beyound your minds and you always think you are right when you are not.
DURING PARADE LAPS NASCAR ASKED THE DRIVERS WHAT THEY THOUGHT OF THE TRACK, IF JR THOUGHT IT WAS UNSAFE THEN HE SHOULD’VE PULLED OFF.
Yes of course after the wreck he said that, but then again after a football game the quarterback will most likely say that he should’ve taken advantage of a wide open receiver instead of trying to throw it to one in coverage (if that pass had gotten dropped)
I’ll give you another example that may be a little bit less complex so you can better understand it. My mailbox is on my front porch. The mail usually comes at about 11am, and I usually go get it around 1130. Now for example say it is supposed to rain real hard today around noon. Well since my mailbox is on the porch it shouldn’t get that wet, so I decide I’m gonna run to the store quick and get the mail when I come home. Now by the time I get home its a hard blowing rain, and when I go to get the mail it is soaked. Now of course afterwards I say I should’ve brought the mail in before I went to the store instead of waiting.
Well that is the same position that drivers like Jr are in, You can always make the right call/decision/move after its too late to make it.
Bob, The last time I checked, this was the US so, until they close the forum or we loose our freedom of speech, I guess we are all entitled to our own opinions. We are all fans. Personally, I do not have any one favorite. I consider myself a race fan and as such, want to see a GOOD RACE. I learned a long time ago that picking favorites gets you into trouble (LOL)
I just heard…..Sprint race today,Monday on ESPN @ 4pm EST…….Oh great!!! More lame-OH Rusty! ;(
That was Not our Tracy, can’t take the heat for that one…
Bob wrote:
Just because you censor a name call to someone else on here doesn’t mean it’s not going to get deleted.
Read the rules above folks. Show some respect or your comments get deleted.
Kenneth, did you ever consider making it so you had to be a registered person to be able to post? That might get rid of some of the confusion of who said what, and guests posting but it coming up under another guests name?
Kenneth= the Editor
HAVE A NICE DAY
for once what fishy said has some validity !!!
TRACY….
I agree. But he just slapped the wall all by himself. LOL Guess he doesn’t need any help to get wrecked. LMAO
Being a 500 winner doesn’t give you the right to be an arrogant a$$ lol
I suppose when Kyle Bush said the track was wet and dirty, it was just a figment of his imagine nation?
I suppose that when Jeff Burtons Crew Warned him that he had used all of his tear offs except two that it was a figment of his imagination?
I suppose when they keep showing windshields that were dirty it was a figment of all of our imagination?
Every driver they interviewed said the track was dirty. Carl Edwards said that “his windshield was so dirty that he could not see the wet spots. Ryan was the only driver who did not agree.
When it walks like a dick and quacks like a duck it is a DUCK.
Sam, they said that AFTER the race started during the first red flag (which was also the first yellow period) on what that first run was like. So if NASCAR would’ve postponed the race then, we’d still be in the same predicament of having tore up race cars, and a race on Monday.
Never mind……8 laps to go…….
Everyone makes valid points. Fisha…ACTUALLY there WAS oil dry on the track prior to the start of the race UM….Michael Waltrip oil line off ring any bells????? Dirty track, wet track, car tear offs, driver tear offs, it really doesn’t matter at this point. Ryan Newman was in fact NASTY when interviewed.
Jr didn’t actually wreck by himself he wrecked because his team mate hit WATER on the track and slammed into him. Everyone should have adjusted their driving for the track conditions, unfortunately NOT everyone did. So there were a few who paid the price.
NASCAR does seem to play favorites, true story, doesn’t mean it’s REALLY happening, just means YOUR driver got slighted. My boy is JR. Been a fan since he was a teen. Don’t really care what the rest of ya think about him. He has enough CLASS to talk about TRACK conditions, NOT other DRIVERS. He had a right to complain, He got hit. The other drivers had a right to complain, it was a bad call to start the race. Perhaps Newman needs a little more experience in the lime light, maybe thats why he pops off at the mouth. I don’t know, I just know yesterday was BAD for racing, BAD for my guy, BAD for NASCAR…PEROID.
Perhaps if all the yuppie/politically correct newbies to the sport would BUT OUT, NASCAR could just get back to RACING and DRIVERS instead of making sure the “fans at the track” and the sponsors get a good show…
I’m just sayin is all!
Fisha695: I agree. It doesn’t take anything to register but at least it would keep a lot of the hiding behind other names. Thats one of the reasons I don’t post on here much.
Fisha, The track was dirty. Which was my point.
Oh Sam.. Don’t you know you can’t tell anything to Fisha? He THINKS he knows all and THINKS he is right about everything all the time. You’d think that if he spent this much time on “reading a newspaper sometimes a couple times over each day, sometimes several, and reads every post, thread and blog that there is on racing”, that maybe he would get a job and put that kind of effort into society. But, nah, that would be too much actual work. He just wants to sit behind his computer and act like the autoracingsports expert God.
Don’t bother responding to that fisha….
Yawn.
jr88fan wrote:
I know!!!
Most of the Speedy dry was on the Apron as Mikey dropped down to it as soon as he noticed. Last time I checked the apron is not for racing.
And Jr88fan, I do have a job, and we are taking delivery of our new modified this Saturday when the boss gets back from vacation (Kinda hard to go to work when the only other person that works there and owns the business is on vacation for the month before our race season starts.
Wasn’t JR that couldn’t handle the track. That said, Newman was out of line. Wrong place wrong time.
Fisha why is it your always bad mouthing an earnhardt? have you ever been to southern cal? I use to live near fontana its windy an the desert sand blows everywhere yes the track was damp an jr saying the track was dirty he was probably meaning sand,but you seen to know it all smh.
Lee I haven’t bad mouthed him at all in this story. And yes the track was probaly sandy, but isn’t Rockingham (or is it Darlington) usually sandy and all drivers love that track.
Who cares if the track was dirty…. Last time I checked They don’t get paid to clean the track they get paid to drive in circles.
And if he thought the track was so bad yesterday when he crashed, why did he come back out on track with a car that was not close to being competitive?
Fisha695 wrote:
Its called running for points genius!! And, yesterday’s weather is a lot different then today’s. Geesh, for someone who proclaims that he knows alot, you sure missed that one.