Welcome to round four of “He Said, She Said”, where members of the racing community sound off on a variety of topics in the Motorsports community.
This year’s panel includes current writers and editors, a current NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner, and a former driver providing a plethora of angles from all forms of the industry.
This week’s edition includes a look back at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action at Kansas Speedway, plus some IZOD IndyCar Series coverage from Long Beach – and a preview of Richmond International Raceway this weekend.
The 2013 Panel:
Ross Bynum (@theRossBynum): Ross Bynum, a frequent contributor to Queers4Gears joins CATCHFENCE.com exclusively for our IndyCar section. His in-depth reporting and analysis on the series makes him a welcome fit to the He Said, She Said panel.
Erin Crocker Evernham (@CrockerErin): Erin Crocker is no stranger to racing. A veteran and prominent winner of the USAC tour, she is the only female driver to win an ARCA Superspeedway challenge championship. She also has starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series. She is the wife to former crew chief and team owner Ray Evernham.
Chris Knight (@Knighter01): Chris Knight is the assistant news editor, senior staff writer and director of driver communications for CATCHFENCE.com. In addition to those roles, he is also known for his public relations duties for a variety of different race teams and an active Motorsports sponsor.
Adam Niemeyer (@adamniemeyer): Adam Niemeyer is a NASCAR-affiliate based in Ohio with experience in reporting and writing for multiple news network in the Indiana and Southern Ohio area. He also has his own NASCAR-blog.
Jason Sciavicco (@JSciavicco): Jason Sciavicco is a majority owner of SR2 Motorsports competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with current drivers Blake Koch, Michael McDowell and Jason White.
AnnMarie Strawhand (@MrktgFullSpd): AnnMarie Strawhand is a long-time Motorsports marketing and public relations professional and the founder of Marketing at Full Speed.
Lori Tyler (@lorityler): Lori Tyler is a long-time staff writer at CATCHFENCE.com and one of the original contributors to “He Said, She Said.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
• Joe Gibbs Racing had an eventful day at Kansas Speedway, but Matt Kenseth scored his second win of the season for the JGR powerhouse. What did you think of the race and talk about having someone like Matt Kenseth apart of the team.
Ross Bynum: Matt Kenseth is a great. Period. He’s a leader and stability that JGR needed. I think of him in the same vein of Mark Martin. He’s an asset no matter where is at. As far as the race…it was so-so at best.
Erin Crocker Evernham: I thought it was a great race. Kasey trying to chase down Matt at the end just like Vegas made the finish exciting in my opinion. The hard tire and new pavement made some good drama with some great drivers spinning out all by themselves.
Chris Knight: No doubt, the weather and hard tires made the race interesting. Kansas once again showed its wicked-witch side with Kyle Busch and provided some drama from Danica Patrick with her tiff with David Gilliland, but around all of that, we still saw a good race.
For a while, I thought that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had the car to beat, but the cautions did not fall his or Dale Earnhardt Jr’s. way. In the end, the pole sitter persevered on top with Matt Kenseth winning his second race under the Joe Gibbs Racing umbrella.
Adam Niemeyer: I thought the race was better than it could have been. Ricky Stenhouse made a nice run for the lead, Matt was on fire and there seemed to be enough action around the track to keep interest for FOX to show those battles. I know the Gen-6 car is a work in progress but so far I think the races at these intermediate tracks aren’t too bad.
As for Matt at JGR, it can only raise the profile of that organization. My dad is a casual fan of NASCAR and pulls for Kenseth when he watches so I’ve kept an eye on Matt through the past few years and I think we all know just how good he is. He’s proving it this year so far.
AnnMarie Strawhand: First I want to say that I think in bringing Matt over to JGR, their focus as a team was to add a consistent driver to the stable, someone who was mature, non-controversial and can chase points and also win. I always look at Matt as the “Steady Eddie” of NASCAR and he is also one of those racers who brings in a level of calm confidence to the people around him. I think this is a champion potential here for this season.
Lori Tyler: I was so happy to see Kenseth grab this win. His decision to leave Roush-Fenway may have lifted some eyebrows. However, I think Matt made the move that he thought was best for him at this point in his career. I believe that move paid off for him, and it was clear that he was jubilant to return to Victory Lane with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• The penalties have been handed down, despite an appeal from Penske. Should the penalties proceed, it will be incredibly stiff for Penske Racing, including suspension of the crew chief, car chief, team manager and engineers, plus a $100,000.00 fine per team. Thoughts?
Ross Bynum: I feel like NASCAR is trying to make an example of the team. The poster child of what never to attempt. In my opinion, the penalties are a bit on the harsh side.
Erin Crocker Evernham: It’s hard to comment without knowing the details but it sounds to me like they were doing something with rears that made a competitive advantage so I guess once again NASCAR is trying to make a statement in how serious they are about staying within the rules.
Chris Knight: No matter what their intention were, I think Penske Racing may be retracting and realizing whatever they were going to try to do (or get away with) isn’t worth the penalties they were handed. A lot, a lot of guys will be missing from the track for several weeks and that ultimately should play into effect on how the Penske cars perform each week. The question remains on how it will effect Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.
