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1. Billy Scott Named Crew Chief For Brian Vickers; Is He the Right Fit?
A little bit of crew chief news came out for Michael Waltrip Racing and Brian Vickers this week. It was announced that Billy Scott would take over the crew chief duties for Brian Vickers and the number 55 team for MWR. If you recall, Rodney Childers was the crew chief for the number 55 last year before leaving for Stewart-Haas Racing and Kevin Harvick for 2014. Also, Billy Scott has been a lead engineer at MWR since 2008 and has spent the past couple of seasons with the number 55. Now, I will be honest. I have never heard of Billy Scott and that isn't a bad thing. Most of the time in this sport, the ones you haven't heard of are the ones that turn out great. But it seems like MWR has a lot of faith in Scott. I mean, he was a unanimous decision for the crew chief of the number 55. Think about all the crew chiefs who don't have a job at the moment. I actually can't think about any at the moment, but there are definitely some out there who probably have more experience. That just speaks volumes for Scott's reputation at MWR. Nonetheless, they went with Scott and I very well think we could be talking about a great pair for the future.
2. Rush Truck Centers Expands Sponsorship with Tony Stewart; Is It Worth It?
A little piece of sponsorship news came out during the week. Rush Truck Centers announced that they had expanded sponsorship with Stewart-Haas Racing. Rush Truck Centers was on Tony Stewart's number 14 for three races in 2013 and now, it will be on the number 14 for 5 races in 2014. If you recall, Stewart wasn't in the car for pretty much the second half of the season after a sprint car crash at an Iowa dirt track. Now, I really am concerned with the sponsor. Gaining sponsors for more races in the season in the series is crucial to having more and more teams come over to race. So I am concerned with the sponsor, but not for this topic. I want to talk about Tony Stewart a little. Now, I just mentioned Stewart's sprint car crash in Iowa only a few months ago. He is planning on being in the race car at Daytona and I have already stated that he will do good if he jumps in the car at Daytona. If I was a sponsor, though, I don't think I would risk my money on Stewart this year. I know for a fact that all of Stewart's sponsors lost some money without Stewart in the car. I mean, they probably didn't lose money on merchandise, but they didn't have their actual driver in the car and that hurts pockets because people don't want to see a back up driver racing. Like I have said, though, Stewart should come back extremely strong at Daytona, but I just don't think I could risk it if I was a sponsor in NASCAR.
3. Landon Cassill Returning to Circle Sport Next Season; Will He Earn a Legitimate Shot at Cup?
A piece of team and driver news came out during the week. Circle Sport, the team owned by Joe Falk and Mike Hillman, announced that Landon Cassill would return full time behind the wheel of one of their cars. I say one because they ran two at the end of the year and Cassill switched cars pretty much every week. But he has a full time ride nonetheless. Also, Cassill signed a full time schedule with JD Motorsports to run in the Nationwide Series. Along with that, both teams announced that scheduling conflicts would probably occur, but Cassill would race the Sprint Cup car on conflicting days. I don't actually want to talk about the deal with Cassill, but I want to discuss Cassill's career a little bit. If you recall, Cassill began in NASCAR with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team. Cassill was quickly out with Junior and has been a journeyman Cup driver and Nationwide driver since then. To me, that draws comparisons to Josh Wise, who we talked about a couple of weeks ago. Both drivers have a ton of talent, started at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team, and are now traveling around to various small Cup and Nationwide teams. I personally think Cassill deserves more than that. He was never really given a great shot at Nationwide competition in a great car and he definitely isn't in a great car now. It just makes me mad sometimes when someone has a ride they don't deserve and a great driver is on the sideline. I guess all I can do is give those guys support and hope they eventually get their shot. In terms of getting that shot, I just don't know if he ever will.
4. Chase Elliott Runs His First Laps at Daytona; When Will He Ascend to Cup?
A little bit of history occurred this weekend. Chase Elliott, the eighteen year old son of former Winston Cup champion, Bill Elliott, took his first laps at the hallowed Daytona International Speedway during ARCA Racing Series testing. Elliott has been making his mark in the racing world the past couple of years. He won his first ARCA Racing series at Pocono earlier this year and he took his first NASCAR win in a crazy truck race in Canada a couple of months ago. That is a lot of success for a seventeen year old even with a great pedigree. Now, questions are definitely going to be raised about Chase. When will he make his splash into the Sprint Cup Series? Listen, it shouldn't be anytime close to now. He has not run a full schedule in the ARCA Racing Series yet and, much less, he hasn't ran a full NASCAR schedule. I mean, I want to see more. A few select races over a year and a couple of wins doesn't show how good a driver can run. Plus, I just don't see Bill Elliott throwing his son into something he isn't prepared for. Now, none of this is meant to say that Chase can't drive. He can drive the fool out of a race car, but I just need to see that week to week consistency that makes a great driver.
5. Kasey Kahne Running the 2014 Chili Bowl In Memory of Jason Leffler; Is It Smart?
A piece of touching news came out during the week. Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart announced that they would run the 2014 Chili Bowl in memory of the late Jason Leffler. Kahne will drive the sprint car while Stewart will own the car. After the race, the car will be auctioned off to help raise money for Jason's son, Charlie. If you recall, Leffler passed away on June 12, 2013 after a crash in a sprint car at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. Now, I think this is awesome. I mean, any chance you get a chance to celebrate a great person like Jason Leffler, you do it. My problem is that a lot of people are concerned for Kahne's well being because of Leffler's death in the same type of car and Stewart's injury a few months ago in a sprint car. It is unnecessary thoughts by some and really inconsiderate. Kahne isn't worried about crashing and injuring himself. No driver thinks about that. They go out and race no matter what the outcome is. Plus, this is for something that has a great cause behind it. I know there should be some concern in this situation, but you think about that for a moment and then you go out and race. I applaud Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart for this effort to help the Leffler family and I hope Kahne takes the checkered flag.
That brings week 5 of the NASCAR offseason to a complete close. It was still a very calm week in terms of news, but there were still some key topics to discuss. Once again, as we draw closer to the start of the season, the news should come out like crazy until the green flag drops on February 23, 2014 for the start of the 2014 NASCAR season at Daytona. I hope you guys enjoyed reading through my thoughts for this week. If you guys have any differing opinions on the issues at hand, let me know in the comments down below. The NASCAR Season Recap is still coming along well and Flashback Friday is also going well. I plan to keep writing for the rest of the offseason and keep you guys entertained. It is also three days to Christmas and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. That is all for me today and until we meet again.
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