Paltry penalty

By Jerry Bonkowski
March 31

The decision was handed down Wednesday regarding Richard Childress Racing's appeal of crew chief Todd Berrier's suspension.

The verdict is known, but first, the maybes:

Maybe if he hadn't been so blatant at his attempt to be "creative."

Maybe if he hadn't bragged that, given the chance, he'd do it again.

Maybe if he hadn't thumbed his nose at fair play and clean competition.

Now, the facts:

Berrier indeed did all of those things as crew chief in an attempt to give the No. 29 car of Kevin Harvick an unfair advantage three weeks ago in Las Vegas by mucking with the fuel cell.

NASCAR felt it had no choice but to suspend Berrier for four weeks for all of those infractions.

Team owner Richard Childress publicly chastised Berrier for those actions in an attempt to save face and reduce the scorn and ridicule directed at himself and the entire RCR organization.

And even though he ordered Berrier to begin serving his four-race suspension at Atlanta, Childress still went forward in appealing the length of that banishment. And now, the end result:

Presented with all the overwhelming evidence it was given, what other choice did the National Stock Car Racing Commission have but to deny Childress' appeal Wednesday?

Kyle Petty opposed to retiring cars

by Chuck Cavalaris
Knoxville News,March 31

NASCAR's red-hot collectible industry could be fueling one of the hottest rumors on the sporting landscape.

Richard Childress Racing might bring the No. 3 car back for a couple of races next season. It hasn't been driven in a cup race since Dale Earnhardt Sr., died on the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001.

If the car returns, Dale Earnhardt Jr. could be behind the wheel.

It is the stuff of which die-cast legends are made.

Or is it?

Because NASCAR has chosen not to retire numbers, speculation about the 3 has continued in the grandstands.

Should it return - even if it is temporary?

"It doesn't affect me, so I don't have any thoughts on it," said Kyle Petty, who was the main attraction at the annual Food City Family Race Night at Civic Coliseum on Wednesday.

Petty drives the No. 45 Dodge Charger and seemed to back up fairly quickly. He has a vested interest because his father, Richard, drove the 43 car to 200 victories and seven series titles. Earnhardt Sr. had a record-tying seven championships.

"Here's the only way I look at it," Kyle Petty said. "If they didn't retire the 43, then they shouldn't retire the 3 or any other number. Obviously, we have a personal stake in it. The 43 was a great car in its era and the 3 was a great car in its era.

"But does that mean when the 24 retires, we are going to retire the 24?" he said. "There's only a certain amount of numbers out there. So we have to look at things like that. I think the 3 has already been retired by the fans that were Dale Sr. fans - just as the 43 already has. In their minds, the 3 will always be Dale Sr., no matter who drives it. And the 43 will always be Richard Petty, no matter what.

"So when you look at it that way - and because so much time has passed - it's really tough to go back and retire the 43 or the 3."

Earnhardt,Waltrip having trouble adjusting to changes this season
By Norm Wood
Hampton Roads Daily Press,March 31

The RC model cars are back on the driveway at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s home in Mooresville, N.C., along with a few empty beer cans and plenty of laughs and backslaps.

Now, if Earnhardt can just recapture the same good karma after changes he made to his and teammate Michael Waltrip's Nextel Cup crews, all will be right in the world of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated.

Earnhardt is 26th in the Cup standings through four races, 315 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson heading into this weekend's Food City 500 in Bristol, and Waltrip is 27th. Both drivers were in Martinsville on Tuesday testing their cars. Their struggles have caused fans to question if Earnhardt's decision in December to switch crews with Waltrip was smart. It was a change Earnhardt said he had to make to improve his team, as well as preserve a relationship with his best friend.

Despite winning six races and finishing fifth in points, the 2004 season was the most frustrating of Earnhardt's career. He failed to finish four races, including two in the final five weekends of the season. Meanwhile, Waltrip finished in the top five twice and didn't finish six races.

The on-track issues strained Earnhardt's relationship with the father-son tandem that ran his team: Tony Eury Sr., the crew chief, and Tony Eury Jr., the car chief. So, Earnhardt promoted Eury Sr. to director of competition for DEI, and made Eury Jr. Waltrip's crew chief. Pete Rondeau, who was Waltrip's crew chief for the late 2004 season, moved over to assume the same title for Earnhardt this season. The pit crews for both teams also switched places.

The offseason changes haven't produced on-track results. In four races, Earnhardt has one top-five finish (third in the Daytona 500) and didn't finish in Las Vegas. He hasn't finished above 24th in three of the four races.

Waltrip has one top-10 finish, and didn't complete two races. He said he is optimistic that the crew changes will pay dividends in the long run.

"I'm having fun with these guys," Waltrip said. "I remember walking into (Earnhardt's old) garage for the first time, and seeing all those (winning) banners and asking 'All those banners stay here, right?' Then, I asked, 'I'm allowed to put up some of my own, too, aren't I?'"

Earnhardt blamed most of the troubles on DEI's slow adjustment to Cup regulations. He said his team hasn't adapted well to the removal of spoilers two years ago and new shock regulations last summer.

Truex content to fly under the radar
By Mike Harris
Associated Press,March 31

Thanks to a fast start by surprising rookie Carl Edwards, defending NASCAR Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. is being all but ignored so far this season.

That's just fine with Truex.

"It was like this last year," he said. "It's a real comfortable position to be in, to not always be, you know, under everybody's microscope.

"So far everything's been going OK. We've had some good races; we've had some bad. That's to be expected. But Carl is absolutely doing a great job right now and deserves to be talked about."

Truex, who drives a Chevrolet for the Chance 2 Motorsports team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, has gotten off to a decent start.

In the first six races of 2005, Truex has one win and two top fives -- and is fourth in the season standings, trailing Edwards by 166 points going into Saturday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The last driver to win two consecutive Busch titles was Earnhardt, who did it in 1998 and 1999 before moving up to NASCAR's top stock car series.

The plan is for Truex, who is driving a handful of Nextel Cup races this season, to make the move up next year with his entire team.

Before he goes to the Big Show, though, Truex would like to match the Busch feat of his boss and friend.

"I'd like to think we could do it again," Truex said. "Obviously, it's going to be tough. We've got some great competition. I think it's probably going to be even tougher than last year."