Welcome to round two 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, a former driver and current radio personality, 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 Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, plus the second race of the season for the IZOD IndyCar Series from Alabama.
The 2013 Panel:
Ross Bynum (@theRossBynum): Ross Bynum, a frequent contributor to Queers4Gears joins CATCHFENCE.com 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 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:
• Jimmie Johnson scored his eighth career-win at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway this past Sunday. What were your thoughts on the race and why do you think Johnson is so dominate at the track dubbed as the paper-clip?
Erin Crocker-Evernham: I thought it was a great race. There was plenty of passing and lots of action but not too many wrecks. I think Jimmie and Chad have just figured out a great set up that works there and their whole crew is continuing to operate at that Championship level.
Chris Knight: For obvious reasons, Jimmie Johnson was one of the favorites going into last Sunday’s STP 500 and he proved why. Some teams just have a track figured out no matter what type of car or even situations they are faced with. Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and the entire Hendrick Motorsports operation now have sole possession of the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins as a team together and there’s a reason why. If you’re not looking at him for the fall, please see a physic.
As far as the race was concerned, it was about what I expected, nothing really over the top. We saw the typical beating and banging, but like Jason said, it was hard to top Auto Club Speedway and that was a fact.
Adam Niemeyer: After Johnson won at Indianapolis last year Kyle Busch said the No. 48 car “was in his own country.” It certainly seemed that Johnson was back in that form on Sunday. Martinsville is a tough track, and it takes a delicate balance to get the car to roll through the center of the turns just right. Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson have something that works well at Martinsville, and if I knew exactly what they were doing I’d probably be selling that info to other Sprint Cup teams—or just printing it here for them to read.
Jason Sciavicco: I thought it was a pretty good race. Hard to top the finish at Fontana, but it was a good race. Jimmie has definitely shown this is one of his best tracks, but I think you have to go back to the Hendricks team. All their cars usually run very well at Martinsville. Remember last year when they should have finished 1,2,3… Bowyer, Bowyer? They have obviously found a setup that doesn’t suck!
AnnMarie Strawhand: To me Jimmy is a calm and cool racer. I think his patience pays off for him repeatedly because this is how he approaches each race, with calm, cool confidence. While Martinsville may bring out the “short track” aggressiveness in other drivers, which puts on a good show, Jimmy stays consistent with his driving personality and I think that is why he is so very successful.
Lori Tyler: This team definitely has an advantage at this track. However, they are a threat to win consistently week in and week out. However, this track may just be the best combination of driver talent and crew chief talent blended to make them nearly unstoppable.
The race didn’t have quite the bang that California Speedway had. However, it was a great race. I am more and more impressed with the Gen 6 cars every week.
• Martinsville marked the first of potentially five races that Denny Hamlin will be sidelined following an injury at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway. Mark Martin filled the role and finished 10th. Was Martin the perfect fit or should the role have gone to someone else?
Erin Crocker-Evernham: How could you ever go wrong with Mark Martin? He is proven veteran who continues to run up front. I like the idea of giving some younger guys a chance but I didn’t see anything wrong with putting Mark in the car.
The article He Said, She Said: Martinsville, Texas, Rockingham & Barber Motorsports Park is from Catchfence.
Cliff Griffith Georges Grignard Bobby Grim Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard
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