Yesterday (Thurs. Dec. 3rd) was the NASCAR Partners Awards Day. It’s where NASCAR sponsor and partners hand out various performance based awards. Sometimes I think it’s more about their favorite drivers than performance.
Here’s the List of Thursdays Award Winners
* Buddy Shuman Award Dale Inman
* NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award Michigan International Speedway
* NMPA Myers Brothers Award Barney Hall
* Chex Cereals Most Popular Driver Award Dale Earnhardt Jr.
* Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award Joey Logano
* DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year Award Darian Grubb
* Dow Automotive Strategic Call of the Race Award Jimmie Johnson
* Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award Drew Blickensderfer
* MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award Hendrick Motorsports
* Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Award #42 team
* Mobil 1 Command Performance Award Juan Pablo Montoya
* O’Reilly Parts People, Services and Performance Award Denny Hamlin
* Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Award Jimmie Johnson
* Tissot Pit Road Precision Award #16 team
* WIX Filters Lap Leader Award Tony Stewart
* Coors Light Pole Award Mark Martin
* Sunoco Diamond Performance Award Jimmie Johnson
* Goodyear Award Jimmie Johnson
* Championship Sponsor Award Lowe’s
* Champion Crew Chief Award Chad Knaus
There’s a few here that I think they missed the mark on or they have very short memories. Here’s the mistakes I think they made, I really think most of you will agree.
* Dow Automotive Strategic Call of the Race Award Jimmie Johnson
This one to me is a No Brainer-Should have Been David Ruetimann I beleive it was the Coke 600 the call was to stay out instead of pit then the race was called for rain and David got his 1st Cup Victory.
* Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award Drew Blickensderfer
Again this ones a No Brainer, I’d have to say Frank Kerr of the #83 Red Bull Team deserved this one. Remember during the Pep Boys 500 in Atlanta when Brian Vickers broke an axle, 99%of the time teams don’t even pull a wheel off on pit road they just take it to the garage to replace the axle but Kerr had the team do it there on Pit Road and luckily they were able to fish out both pieces on the axle and slide a new one in that decision allowed Vickers to make the Chase. That’s solving a Problem!!!!
* Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Award #42 team
This one should go to the #83 Team for the broken axle repair at Atlanta’s Pep Boys 500. That repair allowed Vickers to make the Chase. (Explanation under the above Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award)
* Tissot Pit Road Precision Award #16 team
This one Again should go to the #83 Team for the broken axle repair at Atlanta’s Pep Boys 500. That repair allowed Vickers to make the Chase. (Explanation under the above Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award)
This is an amazing repair to be done on Pit Road, Luck has to be on your side because first of all when the axle breaks it usually breaks into a few pieces because of that usually you have to remove the gears from the rear end to get all the pieces. So o.k. you get lucky and it’s only 2 pieces, you still have to get those 2 out and then slide the axle in place and get it to seat right but really where all the difficulty comes in is because your on pit road with the pace car coming around in about 30 seconds, so hurry get it in and tires back on to get him back out so he can come around and get 4 fresh tires , fuel and any other adjustments. Tough call to attempt on pit road and even tougher to get it done!!!!
Filed under: Brian Vickers, NASCAR News, Red Bull Racing | Tagged: auto racing, championship, chase, Dale Earnhardt jr., dale jr., hendricks motorsports, jeff gordon, jimmy johnson, NASCAR, NASCAR awards, NASCAR banquet, NASCAR News, Nationwide series, points, Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart | Leave a comment »