Thursday, May 24th 'What If' Question

Wednesday afternoon NASCAR announced their 2013 Hall of Fame class. The five men who will be officially place into the Hall on February 8, 2013 will be Buck Baker, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood.

As noted in his HOF biography on NASCAR.com, many call Wood the innovator of the modern pit stop among the many other things Leonard's credited with. And along with brother Glen, Wood Brothers Racing based out of Virginia, has become one of the most celebrated teams in the garage.

Elliott Sadler earned his first career Sprint Cup Series win in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford at Bristol in the spring of 2001. While drivers have come and gone in their cars, the success up and down, they've remained a constant on the track. Doing everything they could to get to the next track, the next race, the next season.

Then a young Tennessee driver named Trevor Bayne came along and gave the fabled team their second wind. Bayne went out and won the 2011 Daytona 500 after an impressive Speedweeks in which he gained the attention of champion and future Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

The win was the first for the Wood Brothers since Sadler's 2001 feat, the first Daytona 500 win since David Pearson in 1976. It was just the second career start for Bayne who had turned 20-years-old not even 24 hours before.

It was a sensational story that the NASCAR world latched onto. Bayne became its new star who was only running a partial Cup schedule for the Wood Brothers while competing for Jack Roush in the Nationwide Series. When Bayne got sick weeks after his win and was sidelined for a few months, the Wood Brothers stayed loyal and said the No. 21 was his.

He came back in late 2011 and tried to pick up where he left off but it's been a steep learning curve. Saturday night in Charlotte he'll be behind the wheel of the No. 21 in the Coca-Cola 600, a race that he missed last year. He's eager and excited to put another race under his belt, starting 13th, and certainly now that one of his team owners is a Hall of Famer.

But ...

What if the Wood Brothers hadn't won the 2011 Daytona 500 with Trevor Bayne and then been the focus of so much media attention for a year and a half because of his win, illness and comeback / success, would Leonard Wood still have been chosen as a nominee for the 2013 Hall of Fame class?


@cruetten no. He would've gotten in obviously, but not as soon.

@NancyatStudioN OMG - Yes! They have 97 wins w 17 dif drivers over 59 yrs. A shame they don't have financing to run TBayne fulltime

@RJ_Number8 They would've gotten in now. We're talking about THE men who invented the modern pit stop; a major contribution to the sport.

Saturday, January 21st 'What If' Question

Every season a star is born in NASCAR.

From Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards to Denny Hamlin, or even Jamie McMurray to Brad Keselowski. One driver grabs the eye of the garage every season and in 2011 it was 20-year-old Trevor Bayne. He wasn't looking for much coming into the season, just more seat time in the Nationwide Series for Roush Fenway Racing, who was sticking with the youngster and hoping to turn him into their new winner.

When it was announced that Bayne would then attempt to make the Daytona 500 with the Wood Brothers in the famous No. 21 it didn't raise that many eyebrows. It wasn't all that newsworthy but it soon became so when Bayne won the 500 in his first attempt, second career Sprint Cup Series start and a day after his birthday.

He was no longer just another young gun looking for any little headline he would get in the NNS. Now he was a celebrity, a winner, a champion in NASCAR's biggest race. Everyone knew his name and face, it was plastered all over the country and he was on many different TV shows. Even more importantly Bayne didn't have to worry about not having a girlfriend anymore, they were lining up at the track.

After his 500 win though the glass slipper quickly broke. Bayne struggled in the Cup races that he was entered in, seemingly hitting the wall week after week, looking every bit the rookie that he was. His 500 win was his only top 10 of the season, he finished no better than 15th in his 16 other races.

In the NNS for RFR it was only slightly better as Bayne grabbed a few top 10s before being sidelined with an illness for a few weeks. It kept him out of both cars and his learning process was halted. When he finally returned he went on to win his first NNS race at Texas in the second to last race of the year. Yet Bayne was overshadowed last season by another youngster, his own teammate in Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The two were supposed to rise through the ranks together and put RFR in the winners circle every week. Good friends and fierce competitors it was often Stenhouse getting the best of Bayne in many head-to-head matchups, on and off the track. Whereas Stenhouse went on to win two races and the championship with 26 top 10s and 16 top fives, Bayne with his one win managed 14 top 10s and five top fives in the 29 of 34 races that he competed in.

Through the many up and downs the Wood Brothers and Roush stayed loyal to Bayne. Others filled in for him in the NNS but the Wood Brothers would not run the 21 in the Cup Series without Bayne behind the wheel. Wanting to show that it was his car, they were thankful to the kid who had brought them back to victory lane in the NSCS for the first time since 2001. And the first time in the Daytona 500 since 1976.

In 2012 Bayne will again run for the Wood Brothers in select Cup races. His NNS plans remain up in the air with Roush saying he could run races only if sponsorship is found. It's the same thing that hurts his teammate and champion Stenhouse. He plans on running a full schedule but he too, doesn't have sponsorship set in stone.

But ...

What if Trevor Bayne hadn't won Daytona, getting much attention, would he have kept the 21 or could Ricky Stenhouse be its driver? #NASCAR

@MattEmbury They'd of kept Bayne I'm sure, Stenhouse wasn't ready at that point.

@pablao21 if Bayne hadn't won I don't think either would be in the 21 now.

@StrokerAce90 if Trevor didn't win the Daytona I don't think he'd be back in the 21.

Saturday, January 14th 'What If' Question

For sports fans who have been living under a rock lately, or maybe don't pay much attention to any ESPN programming, they may not have heard about Tim Tebow.

Hard to imagine since Tebow has been the main storyline since the NFL season started. For just as many of those who love him they're matched with those who don't. Something that can't be taken away from Tebow though is that he is exactly who he seems to be on TV.

He praises the lord openly and outwardly at any given chance. He sings hymns on the sidelines or during practice. He goes on mission trips and meets with those less fortunate than he is. Tebow truly believes that he is doing the work of a higher up and serving a greater purpose. When he plays he has others thinking his success is linked to divine intervention or find that his stats correspond with bible versus or biblical figures (i.e. John 316 when he passed for 316 yards and so forth).

Tebow has taken the NFL by storm and many have looked to other sports for an athlete like him. Hard to find one as forward about things as Tebow. In NASCAR you'll see drivers thank the good lord for a great race or another victory and there's the pre-race prayer before every event. Yet you won't find any 'Tebowing.' Of course Kyle Busch has his bow and Carl Edwards his backflip but no driver gets out of his car and points higher up and then gets down on a knee to give praise.

No, there's only one Tim Tebow. One that dominates the headlines, chatrooms, blogs and social media sites. Tebow has others trying to emulate him (driver Trevor Bayne said last week that he wants to be more like Tebow with his faith) and has those of all ages and professions copy his taking a knee and giving praise. Photos poor in from all over of the best impersonations. On the playing field in the sporting world though, there will only be one Tebow.

But ...

What if #NASCAR had a driver like Tim Tebow: strong in belief & all the media hype/coverage, how would he/she be treated by fans & drivers?

@rcracer20 #nascar does @Tbayne21

@Harvichick29 Don't we have that in Trevor Bayne?

@MimiFlowerchild I think he or she would be loved.We are the only sport that prays before we play.

@Harvichick29 Other sports don't generally have a prayer beforehand, so I guess thats why TBayne doesnt get as much attention for it.

@baileyja69 They already have one Trevor Bane

@nuccionino They do, his name is Trevor Bayne. and he was very hyped up this past season. And fans/drivers would welcome it for sure.

@4wheels_engine Maybe not as forward, but definitely not shy about it either!

@thebigshmoog who, @tbayne21? @Mc_Driver? I'm as impressed with them as I am with Tebow.

@cruetten Trevor Bayne is NASCAR's version of Tim Tebow. What separates them is that while football media are very critical of tebow...(c) NASCAR media almost "guard" Bayne--most of our media seem almost protective of him...

@Trevorplummer think his name is @Tbayne21. Granted hes not huge, but he did win the biggest race last year. #timtebow # daytona500

@NancyatStudioN Trevor may not be as "forward" about it - but IMHO he is more sincere

Tuesday, November 8th 'What If' Question

Trevor Bayne finally won his first career Nationwide Series race on Saturday afternoon in Texas as he beat out the dominant car in teammate and Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards.

Bayne however, wasn't the big story. That came a few hours earlier when NASCAR President Mike Helton announced that Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch was being parked for the weekend following his actions in Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race. Busch would not participate in Saturday or Sunday's events. The news became the only topic of the weekend.

Denny Hamlin drove Busch's car to a second place finish on Saturday and Michael McDowell drove the No. 18 to a 33rd place finish on Sunday night. Bayne's win though, was popular enough and a long time in the coming. Driving for Jack Roush in the NNS series, Bayne quickly caught notice as a rising star and after he won the Daytona 500 for the Wood Brothers, that star got much brighter.

Yet, on Saturday's he started to struggle while his Roush teammates outshone him. Midyear Bayne was sidelined with an illness but after he returned he was better than ever and he inched ever closer to that first win. By beating the best in the business on Saturday Bayne again impressed many and his victory was welcomed with open arms.

But ...

What if Kyle Busch wasn't parked in Texas, would he & Carl Edwards have battled for Nationwide win or does Trevor Bayne still win? #NASCAR

@HotDog388 I say Kyle probably wins the Nationwide race, Carl finishes in top 5, Bayne top 10

@rcracer20 dont think kyle would have finished the race,hornaday would be in the race,he could have bought a ride ,easy you think

Stroker Ace (via Facebook) I'd say Kyle Busch would not be a factor at all because someone would have either put him into the wall or punted him into the infield and Trevor Bayne would still go on to beat Carl Edwards for the win.

Beth Robinson Bunch (via Facebook) Ditto.

Tuesday, August 9th 'What If' Question

David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, that's the current lineup for Roush Fenway Racing. At least for the next few years.

Right now those four drivers are under the watchful eye of Jack Roush, or the Cat in the Hat as he's known. Edwards, who is currently leading the Sprint Cup Series points, is often said to be the face of the organization with Kenseth being the veteran and champion. Three of the four drivers have won races this year and all four still have a shot at making the Chase one way or another.

While Roush is still working on sponsorships for some of the teams, things are set at the Cup level with those drivers in place. On the Nationwide Series side there are two other drivers waiting in the wings, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Bayne might for all intents and purposes be set with the Wood Brothers should he ever decide to come to Cup full-time. He won the season opening Daytona 500 with the team but he races for Roush in the NNS where he has yet to win.

Stenhouse Jr. on the other hand is having a dream season, at least so far. He's won two races and is leading the points. Coming off a year where he was taken out of the car but then came back to win Rookie of the Year, Stenhouse is making the most of every opportunity that's sent his way. This week both Bayne and Stenhouse said they are set for 2012 by most likely staying where they are.

Except, it's never too soon to start thinking about the future. Not just for Bayne and Stenhouse Jr. but for the entire RFR organization. Yes, with the four still signed for years to come it's always fun to wonder what RFR will one day become. Stenhouse and Bayne could very much move up with the company and become Cup stars or they could move to other teams and curve their own path that way.

After winning his first career race earlier this year in Daytona, the driver of the No. 6, David Ragan, is still trying to show people that he belongs in the Cup Series. When Biffle, Edwards and Kenseth move on he could become the face and future of the organization. Will he be teammates with young drivers who make their way into the series or with whoever becomes the biggest free agents in years to come?

But ...

What if Roush Fenway's lineup one day was Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Trevor Bayne, David Ragan & Ross Kenseth, top performer/driver is? #NASCAR

@HendrickGuy Ricky Stenhouse Jr. probably.

@JJohnson51Fan David ragan. He has the most expierance and would be a veteran by then

@mikegieseler Stenhouse Jr or Trevor Bayne....they're both hot new talent and getting better...edge to Stenhouse

Tim Kaufman (via Facebook) Big $$ @ Ross Kenseth! :)

Andy Marquis (via Facebook) Stenhouse.

Dustin Parks (via Facebook) Hmmm, I'd say I'd give the advantage to Bayne as far as top performer. If you think about it, his toughness to come back from illness after having the biggest win of his life, coupled with Roush's constant commitment, he'd be hard not to bet against.

Andy Marquis (replying) Toughness doesn't win races. Talent does. Stenhouse has had less time in Nationwide than Bayne and has won more races. Bayne has one NASCAR win in a race that pretty much anyone in the field can win.

Tim Kaufman (replying) Bayne's pretty smart, though. He's earned the respect of Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon and other stars, while Stenhouse is already rattling cages w/ his teammate, Carl Edwards. I think we all know Sunday is the "BIG SHOW" and if ur not good @ give/take, you'll get taken alot more (See: Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, numerous others).

Andy Marquis (replying) I've seen lots of drivers come and go who have "earned the respect" of veteran drivers early on in their career... very rarely have those guys put up wins or championships. Drivers giving and taking and not racing hard is the reason the racing in the Sprint Cup Series generally sucks just about every race. I seem to remember veteran drivers not liking Gordon, Stewart, Kurt Busch and even Jimmie Johnson in their early careers. Those guys all have championships. How many YEARS did it take David Ragan, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray (excluding Charlotte 2002) and Regan Smith to win races? And how many wins to those guys have a piece?

Tim Kaufman (replying) Jamie had his first win in his 2nd start @ Charlotte, subbing for the injured Sterling Marlin.

Andy Marquis ‎(replying) "excluding Charlotte 2002". How many years did it take for him to get a win after Charlotte? Answer: Five years.

Tim Kaufman (replying) Only time will tell..