You have to give Jack some credit for speaking out on what should now be called 'part gate'. The never ending saga between Jack Roush and his arch nemesis , Toyota.
Here are a few of the volleys thrown out by Jack according to this article.
"A theft did occur"
"It's lawyer time"
"The other team, a non-descript Toyota team, went behind the toolbox and took my bar and put it with their bars and took it home. That is a fact."
While there still seems to be a few holes in Jack's story it will be interesting to see how all this plays out. But like in 'oil lid gate', I am still not sure that intent can be proven.
There is a bit of irony in Jack's story; Remember Jack being very vocal about Toyota coming in with 'big money' and hiring away current race team personnel? Now it seems that in order to verify Jack's suspicions, he needed the aid of a former Toyota employee, now working for Roush racing!
One thing is for sure, this story probably won't just go away now.
Showing posts with label Toyota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toyota. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Cat in the Tin Foiled Hat!
A little over a week ago, Elliott Sadler attempted to throw some grenades at the 99 team and Roush Racing in general for ‘oil lid gate’. The problem was that he would not actually lay his cards on the table and give his ‘reasoning’ for his accusations and I pointed that out in this blog. While I defended Roush as far as there has been no evidence sited there was a premeditated attempt to violate Nascar rules, it seems that Jack has once again fallen into the bluff or posturing trap without presented the evidence.
Earlier this week, Roush threw another volley where he claimed that an "un-named Toyota team had acquired a proprietary part". Now first off this actually might be true, but I do have some problems with the way Jack is presenting and handling this situation. It is more ‘WWF’ (Where is Hermie Sadler when you need him?) and grandstanding then trying to go through proper channels and get this taken care of. Maybe Jack should challenge Lee White to a no holds bared cage match, and Hermie could promote it!!! Think of the possibilities. But I digress.
Jack has a history of claiming foul only to be thwarted and his accusations being shot down. How many times in the late 90s did he claim that the 24 team was tampering with the tires late in races? Jack also seems to have a personal problem with Toyota and has made every attempt to rally support even going so far as to invoke ‘Nationalism’ and Pearl Harbor. We are talking about a person who once paid an employee of his in Japanese Yen because that employee drove a Datsun to work everyday.
The timing of all of this just seems a bit strange to me. Why did Jack wait almost three weeks to mention this? That answer is quite obvious though because he had other damage control to take care of with ‘oil lid gate’. Even though he once again still tried to deflect the attention back at Toyota with another ‘un-named’ claim that "other Toyota teams were guilty of Michael Waltrip’s ‘Jet Fuel gate’ and they too should have been punished".
Why not name either those teams, or even this part stealing team now? That answer is simple, Jack and his organization might be thrown into a tailspin of a lawsuit. Jack if you really do have the evidence you say you do, go all in and force the hand of Toyota, until you do, this is just another example of your paranoia of Tokyo Rose.
And lastly, I wonder how Jack feels about Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Boston Redsox and their opening day pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka or even worse, the opening day game winning pitcher, Hideki Okajima. After all, isn't baseball "America's game"?
Earlier this week, Roush threw another volley where he claimed that an "un-named Toyota team had acquired a proprietary part". Now first off this actually might be true, but I do have some problems with the way Jack is presenting and handling this situation. It is more ‘WWF’ (Where is Hermie Sadler when you need him?) and grandstanding then trying to go through proper channels and get this taken care of. Maybe Jack should challenge Lee White to a no holds bared cage match, and Hermie could promote it!!! Think of the possibilities. But I digress.
Jack has a history of claiming foul only to be thwarted and his accusations being shot down. How many times in the late 90s did he claim that the 24 team was tampering with the tires late in races? Jack also seems to have a personal problem with Toyota and has made every attempt to rally support even going so far as to invoke ‘Nationalism’ and Pearl Harbor. We are talking about a person who once paid an employee of his in Japanese Yen because that employee drove a Datsun to work everyday.
The timing of all of this just seems a bit strange to me. Why did Jack wait almost three weeks to mention this? That answer is quite obvious though because he had other damage control to take care of with ‘oil lid gate’. Even though he once again still tried to deflect the attention back at Toyota with another ‘un-named’ claim that "other Toyota teams were guilty of Michael Waltrip’s ‘Jet Fuel gate’ and they too should have been punished".
Why not name either those teams, or even this part stealing team now? That answer is simple, Jack and his organization might be thrown into a tailspin of a lawsuit. Jack if you really do have the evidence you say you do, go all in and force the hand of Toyota, until you do, this is just another example of your paranoia of Tokyo Rose.
And lastly, I wonder how Jack feels about Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Boston Redsox and their opening day pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka or even worse, the opening day game winning pitcher, Hideki Okajima. After all, isn't baseball "America's game"?
Monday, March 19, 2007
Four races in
Four races into this young season, and what do we 'know'?
* Toyota needs better 'rice burners'
Well maybe not really if one takes a good look at the new manufacturer entering other race series. It took four years for Toyota to win it's first CART race. Even after spending over 2 billion dollars since 2001, Toyota has yet to earn a Formula 1 race victory. In their CTS debut season, it was not till August before Toyota scored their first win. And just for comparisons sake, When Dodge re-entered Cup, it took 23 races before the manufacturer entered victory lane.
* 'We are getting the band back together'
Both 'true' and 'newbie' Ricky Rudd fans are calling for a Crew Chief change for the 88 team. Of course, topping the short list is stealing Fatback away from the Wood Brothers and his cushy gig. Note to some of the Rudd fans, the problems are not the crew Crew Chief, not the driver, not the owner, it is not the pit crew, or the shop personnel. The problem is 4 or so years of mediocre performance, and that takes time to fix.
* Kenseth a litter bug?
Did anyone else catch the 17 throw a water bottle onto the apron while under caution yesterday? I'm thinking with all the space inside the car, that there might be a better place to 'get rid' of a water bottle than throwing it on the track surface.
* Will Mark Martin really not race this week?
Considering that Martin has said for the past couple of years that he is 'retiring', I'll believe it when I see him 'no show' Friday morning for first Cup practice.
* For Sale?
Like some Rudd fans, it seems that the natives are also getting restless at the "Southern Gentleman's" camp, and pointing fingers at the 19 car director. Sadly what some of these Plaid Clad fans don't seem to realize is that this 'communication' problem has followed Sadler for 8 some odd years now, and close to a dozen or so Crew Chiefs. The 'take one step forward, then two steps back' theory of making in-race chassis changes is not limited to the current 19 CC. But there is one common theme here, and that is the lack of communication and specificity from the person actually behing the wheel and who has a first person feel of what the car is doing, or not doing. This problem is not something new.
* Move over D.W.
As now Dale Jarrett has taken over your position as the past champion to abuse the provisional offered by the governing body. The year that D.W. drove the Tabasco car to lap down finishes in the 40s may not hold a candle to what the 44 team may do this season. Maybe Dale really should race the truck, it couldn't be much worse.
* It is going to happen someday
With the apparent conflicts Nascar is having with 'title sponsorship' rights, and other competitors signing up with teams, there is a firestorm on the horizon. But this firestorm may not be solely a Nascar problem. 'Naming' rights are common place in sports these days, and frankly are a necessity. It is just a matter of time before the NFL allows 'sponsorship' logos on their team's uniforms. When that happens, just what is going to happen when the Dallas Cowboys (lets say they are sponsored by UPS) play a game against the Washington Redskins at 'Fedex Field'? I am thinking Fred Smith in Memphis would not think highly of spending all that money only to have a UPS logo plastered all over 'his' field.
* Toyota needs better 'rice burners'
Well maybe not really if one takes a good look at the new manufacturer entering other race series. It took four years for Toyota to win it's first CART race. Even after spending over 2 billion dollars since 2001, Toyota has yet to earn a Formula 1 race victory. In their CTS debut season, it was not till August before Toyota scored their first win. And just for comparisons sake, When Dodge re-entered Cup, it took 23 races before the manufacturer entered victory lane.
* 'We are getting the band back together'
Both 'true' and 'newbie' Ricky Rudd fans are calling for a Crew Chief change for the 88 team. Of course, topping the short list is stealing Fatback away from the Wood Brothers and his cushy gig. Note to some of the Rudd fans, the problems are not the crew Crew Chief, not the driver, not the owner, it is not the pit crew, or the shop personnel. The problem is 4 or so years of mediocre performance, and that takes time to fix.
* Kenseth a litter bug?
Did anyone else catch the 17 throw a water bottle onto the apron while under caution yesterday? I'm thinking with all the space inside the car, that there might be a better place to 'get rid' of a water bottle than throwing it on the track surface.
* Will Mark Martin really not race this week?
Considering that Martin has said for the past couple of years that he is 'retiring', I'll believe it when I see him 'no show' Friday morning for first Cup practice.
* For Sale?
Like some Rudd fans, it seems that the natives are also getting restless at the "Southern Gentleman's" camp, and pointing fingers at the 19 car director. Sadly what some of these Plaid Clad fans don't seem to realize is that this 'communication' problem has followed Sadler for 8 some odd years now, and close to a dozen or so Crew Chiefs. The 'take one step forward, then two steps back' theory of making in-race chassis changes is not limited to the current 19 CC. But there is one common theme here, and that is the lack of communication and specificity from the person actually behing the wheel and who has a first person feel of what the car is doing, or not doing. This problem is not something new.
* Move over D.W.
As now Dale Jarrett has taken over your position as the past champion to abuse the provisional offered by the governing body. The year that D.W. drove the Tabasco car to lap down finishes in the 40s may not hold a candle to what the 44 team may do this season. Maybe Dale really should race the truck, it couldn't be much worse.
* It is going to happen someday
With the apparent conflicts Nascar is having with 'title sponsorship' rights, and other competitors signing up with teams, there is a firestorm on the horizon. But this firestorm may not be solely a Nascar problem. 'Naming' rights are common place in sports these days, and frankly are a necessity. It is just a matter of time before the NFL allows 'sponsorship' logos on their team's uniforms. When that happens, just what is going to happen when the Dallas Cowboys (lets say they are sponsored by UPS) play a game against the Washington Redskins at 'Fedex Field'? I am thinking Fred Smith in Memphis would not think highly of spending all that money only to have a UPS logo plastered all over 'his' field.
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