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JENSEN: The Answer Man UPDATED
Written by: Tom Jensen   
04/12/2008
Phoenix, Arizona
 
The NASCAR Answerman on SPEEDtv.com - The Online Motorsports Authority ยป More Photos

Note: By popular demand, The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. I will be answering questions during every race week and look forward to hearing from you as the season goes on.



If you have a question, please e-mail it to – Tom Jensen


We hear of the signing contracts and pay of most other sports professionals. Why don't we hear of the pay of the NASCAR professionals? – Jwade.

Thanks for the question, Jwade. The bottom line on this one is pretty simple. In most other professional sports, players belong to a union and are governed by a collective bargaining agreement that requires at least some public disclosure of compensation. NASCAR drivers are all independent contractors and as such are free to negotiate the best deal they can with their respective teams. The drivers, the teams and the sponsors have no interest in publicly disclosing what they make.

I would like to know who think will win the Subway Fresh Fit 500. As a matter of fact, who do you think will be in the top 10 when the race is done? — Bruce Dale

Hi, Bruce. This is usually a very humbling exercise, as I’m likely to maybe get this half right, if I’m lucky. Based on the way he’s been running lately, I like Carl Edwards to win. I also feel the following drivers – in no particular order - will make the top 10 tonight: Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

How does NASCAR measure cars after a race when most all of them have been bumped, hit and bent? What about some cars you see running around without a front clip? Why don’t they get penalized? — Peter Sonderberg

Great question, Peter! NASCAR checks the top-five finishers and one or more other cars at random after the race for height. The odds are high that a heavily damaged car won’t finish in the top five. But even if it does, usually you can measure the roof height and at least one or two corners. In the extremely unlikely event that a car gets checked and has no measurable surface, NASCAR inspectors have to make a judgment call about what happened and why.

I have been a fan of Jeff Gordon’s ever since he was racing Sprints and Midgets on Thursday Night Thunder. Ever since he split with (former crew chief Ray) Evernham, his career has leveled off and it appears Jimmie Johnson has taken over top driver at Hendrick. I think Jeff will drop out in four or five years. He has accomplished every thing there is to win. Who do you think was the best duo, Jeff and Ray or Jimmie and Chad? – Bob S, Indianapolis

Great question, Bob. I think right now, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are the most potent combination in the garage. I would not say they are better than Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham in their prime, but I would say they are equal. Both are the best combinations of their respective decades. And don’t be so sure about Gordon leveling out. He won one title after Evernham left, and would have had two more if the old, pre-Chase point system had been in place.

What has happened to the Wood Brothers? – Blaine Gilley

Hello, Blaine, and thanks for the question. The short answer with the Wood Brothers is that they didn’t adapt to change as quickly as the teams on top of the pile. By sticking to the single-car format, they fell behind multi-car teams in performance. When they fell behind in performance, they fell behind in ability to attract sponsors and money, which in turn compromised performance all over again. It’s a vicious cycle, one that’s much easier to fall into than climb out of.

I just heard a couple of your boys on SPEED saying the new car should be changed because a couple teams seam to have an edge on the other ones. Last year when Hendrick had the edge with the new car nothing had to be changed now that Roush and Penske have done their homework over the winter and have a little edge they want the car changed to take that edge away. I say let Hendrick catch up just like the other teams have had to do. Another
thing Carl Edwards would have won that race with or without the lid on the oil cooler. - Doug Paton

Doug: Thanks for the observation. First off, just so you know, the TV guys have their own opinions about things, just as I do. Sometimes they are the same, often they are not. As far as the new car goes, NASCAR has been pretty insistent about not making any changes to this year. "I am going to follow Carl Edwards advice, shut up and drive,” Jeff Gordon said Friday at Phoenix. “Obviously he is not having those issues with his car, so we have to go to work on ours. I am really trying not to focus on that anymore, it is what it is, we are stuck with it whether we like it or we don't like it. All I care about is being the most competitive I can be out there on the track. Obviously we weren't last week, it is a concern. We are going to do a lot of testing because of it and hopefully, we find out and resolve the issues."

Humpy (Lowe’s Motor Speedway President H.A. Wheeler) is a funny man…. Could it be Humptser is concerned about the REAL race at the end of May? – Austin Hollabaugh.

Sure. There have been some bad Coca-Cola 600 races in recent years, along with the good ones. Yes, track owners are concerned about the quality of racing with the new car at high-speed ovals. And they should be. The racing was not good at Texas and not much better at Atlanta, either.

Two questions for Phoenix: 1. Is Johnny Sauter going to be a long-term solution in the No. 70 car, or is he just a seat-filler while the team reorganizes? If so, who's on the short list to get that ride? 2. How's the Italian beef? Have a great weekend out there! - Jo Koster, Rock Hill SC

Happy race weekend, Jo! 1. Honestly, do I think Johnny Sauter is the long-term solution for the No. 70 car? Probably not. I think Sauter is a solid, compotent driver, although not in the elite category. On the other hand, the elite drivers tend to gravitate to the elite teams and will stay there. You won’t, for example, see Greg Biffle leave Roush Fenway Racing to join Haas/CNC-Racing. I’ll poke around this weekend and see what I can found out. 2. As far as the Italian beef, in Phoenix you want to go to Luke’s at 16th Street and Indian School Road. Get it with cheese and hot peppers.

My question to you is about safety in general at NASCAR. We all have seen how the car of today provided shelter for the driver at Texas during the crash. But what about the initial cause of the crash, oil? Why NASCAR does nothing about the cars dumping oil on the track is beyond me. Drag racing is death on drag cars dumping oil on the tracks. I believe they get fined if they do! The technology is there, why they don’t use it to capture the oil. Let’s talk about prevention. The announcers all knew that Truex of DEI had an engine problem (broken valve spring) they commented on how it would blow up eventually. Dah! where is the oil going to go? All over the track causing a delay. This is a 69-year-old fan’s comment. Thanks for allowing me to speak. - Gabe Gutierrez, Corona Calif.

Gabe – thanks for the note. This is America, sir. You and everyone else gets to speak freely! I think it’s awfully hard to tell a driver to park his car while it’s still running, even if it’s on the edge of blowing up. Then again, maybe there are some technologies NASCAR can learn something from the NHRA about oil management.

SUBWAY FRESH FIT 500 RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers yaour questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
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