Burning Questions: Bristol II

By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com
August 24, 2001
10:52 AM EDT (1452 GMT)

1. Why is RCR allowing Mike Skinner to finish the year?

Mike Skinner

NASCAR's silly season, the time of year when rumors of driver and team changes tear through the garage, is here in full force. And while it has long been surmised that Mike Skinner and Richard Childress would part ways at the conclusion of this season, the first of this year's silly-season rumors was confirmed earlier this week when it was announced that Skinner would not drive the No. 31 next year.

It makes sense. In more than four years as a driver with RCR, Skinner hasn't won a race, something Childress is somewhat accustomed to doing. But given Skinner's recent four-race absence (due to injury), the performance of his replacement Robby Gordon and the fact that the announcement came immediately after Skinner's inauspicious return (he finished 18th in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan) begs the question: Why bother?

Childress is a good man. From the moment the rumors of Skinner's departure took root, Childress announced that he intended to honor his contract with Skinner, which calls for Skinner to drive the full season in 2001. The fact that Skinner's injury and absence happened to fall at almost precisely the time when such a decision ultimately would have to be made was simply an unfortunate consequence. Additionally, though business wins out against friendship in this case. Childress and Skinner have been together for almost six years and, the thinking goes, Childress has no desire to leave the 44-year-old Skinner in the lurch as Skinner considers his future.

"I hate to open silly season, that isn't my goal," Skinner said. "But I think the world of Richard Childress and we'll be friends when this all done. This is a business thing. You don't know -- we might be together somewhere down the road."

2. Why is Eel River Racing having financial problems?

Rick Mast

Eel River Racing's season-long saga of woe has been well documented. The No. 27 team spent the early part of the year without sponsorship and struggled to find the money to race from week-to-week. Indeed, for many weeks, it was, if not a burning question at least a smoldering one, whether the team would show up at that week's race. And though that sadly comical scene ended when the team was finally able to land Sauer's as its primary sponsor through the end of this season, driver Kenny Wallace, was soon thereafter unceremoniously replaced by Mike Bliss as the accusations and recriminations flew between the driver and Eel River's personnel.

But why is it that Eel River, admittedly a lower-profile team, has had the difficulty it has finding a long-term solution to its money problems? After all, the team boasts crew chief Barry Dodson, the man who guided Rusty Wallace to his only Winston Cup championship in 1989. It also has Rick Mast, a solid veteran driver who knows how to get around the track.

According to Dodson, who is quick to point out that Sauer's is both interested in returning next year and has the right of first refusal as sponsor, Eel River's difficulties are a factor of many things. Clearly, performance is the primary stumbling block. However, he believes NASCAR's move toward multi-car teams, and the advantages those teams accrue, has put smaller teams behind the eight ball.

"Roush [a multi-car operation] can test 35 times a year," Dodson says. "We can only test seven times. As it is, we've used six, and now, with a new driver [Mast] we can't even really go test. That pretty much means that we have to try to improve under race conditions."

As far as Dodson is concerned, had NASCAR maintained its two-car limit, smaller outfits like Eel River might have a better chance to compete. Still, at the end of the season, the presence of a Cup-winning crew chief and a veteran driver won't really matter all that much, performance will. "You'd certainly think [our presence] would," Dodson says.

3. How will Dodge fare at other tracks under the new rules?

Sterling Marlin

When NASCAR announced that it would allow Dodge teams to extend the front valence of their Intrepids by an additional two inches (thereby improving downforce), it was widely assumed that the rule modification would greatly aid the Dodges at tracks like Indianapolis and Michigan. That five Dodges were running in the top 10 for much of the early part of the Brickyard 400, the first race with the new look, and that Sterling Marlin won last weekend's rain-shortened Pepsi 400 would seem to prove the point.

All well and good for Dodge, but what benefit will the rule change offer on road tracks? Of course, since there are only two races per year on road courses, perhaps that's of little concern. But what of shorter tracks? In the next month, NASCAR has races at Bristol, Richmond and Loudon, none of which is longer than 1.058 miles (Loudon), what can the Dodge expect at those tracks?

"We're still learning what the change will do," says Bob Wildberger, manager of Dodge's NASCAR operations. "Most teams are reporting that it helps make the cars more adjustable, and that's been a help at medium-sized tracks. If you look at the results, we had trouble at the larger tracks with aero push, which isn't such a factor at smaller tracks. The belief is that the change might help us a bit at Watkins Glen, where there are some long straightaways, but really, we're still learning."