Annual Media Tour pulls one in many directions

CONCORD, N.C. -- It began in sunshine and spring-like temperatures this past Monday morning and ended Thursday afternoon amid the cold and rain that loomed outside the NASCAR Research and Development Center.

With that, the 2010 Sprint Cup Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway became history.

There was some news and a continuing theme, stressed at each stop, that all is well in the racing world occupied by NASCAR. Oddly enough, though, at virtually every stop along the way where that point was stressed, theories were exchanged on how to make it better, culminating with Thursday's confirmation at the R&D Center of rules changes everyone already knew were coming.

Here is a recap of the week that was, from one reporter's eyes:

Day 1

The tour opened with a Stewart-Haas Racing lunch. Along with piles of deep-fried Tornados (supposedly the latest Mexican delicacy that will serve as the primary sponsor for at least five races on driver Ryan Newman's No. 39 Chevrolet), lots of optimism was served up by the organization that is entering its second season.

Newman -- he has an engineering degree from Purdue University, you know -- said he didn't want to confuse anyone but added that "two points define a slope. We have our point from 2009. Our point from 2010 will determine our success for Stewart-Haas Racing in the years to come."

Duh, OK. Bottom line is that Stewart and Newman will not be happy to merely make the Chase for the Sprint Cup again. Stewart wants to win the title. Well, Newman does, too -- but first he needs to get back to winning some races, which he hasn't done since capturing the 2008 Daytona 500 (71 races ago).

The next stop on the tour was in the Nationwide Series garage, which seemed a fitting place for Joe Gibbs Racing to announce that it had signed Cup driver Kyle Busch -- the defending Nationwide champion -- to a long-term contract. It was the biggest news of the day.

But perhaps the best feel-good story of the entire tour came when J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR, announced that his 5-year-old son Taylor expects to be through with treatment for leukemia by the spring. The Gibbs organization has teamed with Charlotte Motor Speedway to plan a celebration festival, complete with carnival rides and attractions, on the drag strip that sits across the road from CMS.

J.D. kept the mood light by noting that Taylor takes after his grandfather, Joe, in that "his head is way too big. And that's the truth."

Truth sometimes seemed in short supply elsewhere. The evening ended with Roger Penske trying to convince everyone -- maybe even himself -- that his Penske Racing operation has "a competitive advantage" with a three-car team that will run the only Dodges operating out of the Cup Series garage in 2010.

Storylines:
• Busch, JGR committed to winning title together
• Co-workers can flaunt 500 success at Stewart
• Stewart-Haas putting together a third pit crew
• Notes: Newman's father steps down as spotter

Day 2

No sooner had the busy day begun when word leaked out that Cup Series director John Darby was being reassigned by NASCAR to take on an oversight/managerial role. It later was revealed that Darby is moving into a new job as managing director of NASCAR, and he'll oversee all its series instead of merely focusing on the Cup side. NASCAR has not yet settled on his replacement -- with Nationwide Series director Joe Balash being repeatedly mentioned as a possible successor.

January rant

As he if oft to do this time of year, Jack Roush went off unsolicited, this time on what he perceives as skewed television coverage of the sport he loves.

• Complete story

The two Richards -- Richard Childress Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports -- then held back-to-back functions. But with no King in sight, they were, in fact, quite forgettable.

A lunch hosted by Ford with Wood Brothers Racing and Front Row Motorsports followed. One could not help noting that at the centerpiece of each table was a large package of ExtenZe, the, um, male-enhancement product that is serving as primary sponsor for the Front Row car. When it was announced that one of the associate sponsors coming on board was Long John Silver's, more than a few snickers ensued.

The afternoon belonged to Roush Fenway Racing and team co-owner Jack Roush, who hammered loud, long and hard on the theme that nothing is wrong with today's racing. He went over the line, however, when he blamed all the negativity swirling in the air on misguided reporters and television announcers, claiming that fans had "no complaints" about the competition on the track.

Jack's latter statement simply was not true, as fans before and since have let the powers-that-be know in a steady stream of e-mails to yours truly and many others in the media. But the good news is that NASCAR appears to have tried mightily to listen to disgruntled fans and competitors alike and agreed to make changes that will give drivers more self-policing responsibility and control over what happens on race days.

On a lighter note, Roush mentioned that Roush Fenway driver Carl Edwards' wife, Kate, is due with their first child (they already know it will be a girl) three days after next month's season-opening Daytona 500. He claimed his driver would be there for the birth even if he had to miss the race -- and also roundly dismissed the suddenly popular theory that many drivers seem to "lose their edge" once they become fathers.

"If she comes early, I'm sure Carl will be there," Roush said. "We've got [substitute driver] Erik Darnell standing by to step in. If it would happen during practice for the 500, Erik would step in and do the practice. If it happens at the time of the race and Erik hasn't had the chance to practice, we might look for someone else who has experience in running the 500 itself. But there will be contingency plans for all scenarios.

"It's a happy time for Carl and it's a happy time for Roush Fenway. When you think about it being one of our drivers and what that first child means, it's a great time.

"Somebody asked me if I thought it would take the edge off Carl's desire. Well, that little girl is going to need booties -- and as she gets older she'll need dresses and high heels. So I don't think his need for income is going to diminish. If anything, he's going to need the next bigger airplane or the next bigger boat -- so he's going to have an even greater interest in maintaining his income than he would have before the little girl."

Storylines:
• Harvick remains coy about future at RCR
• Kahne will give RPM chance to keep him
• Front Row expands Cups Series operation
• NASCAR searching for new Cup director
• Notes: Danica still unsure about Daytona

Day 3

Aside from a NASCAR.COM breakfast, the obvious highlight of the third day was a visit to Hendrick Motorsports. It wasn't long after the media's arrival that the closest-knit and most successful group in NASCAR started gently needling each other.

Race to help

Doing his part to aid in the relief efforts in Haiti, Rick Hendrick has provided planes and crews to conduct support missions.

• Complete story
• NASCAR, Bobcats pitch in
• Donate Now: Haitian Relief

Asked what he did in the brief offseason, driver Jeff Gordon mentioned that he had "piggybacked" on a New Year's trip "Boss Man" Rick Hendrick took to the Bahamas with his extended family, including grandchildren. When Gordon mentioned that his own daughter, Ella, had swum with dolphins, Hendrick interrupted.

"I've got a great photo of Jeff kissing a seal," he said.

Gordon just shook his head and replied, "I knew that was blackmail material when it was happening."

Later, Hendrick explained why he felt compelled to spend hundreds of thousands of his own dollars to provide two 45-passenger planes for relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The two planes have been making two trips a day each for the past 10 days, shuttling in rescue and medical personnel and bringing out survivors, including orphans.

"My wife went to Haiti on a missionary trip years back. My daughter was down there, too, and we've talked about how tough it is and how those kids struggle," Hendrick said.

"There is a little sailboat [replica] that my wife bought 10 years ago that the kids made. She was so touched by them coming up behind her and asking her to buy one that she bought three of 'em. They're made out of horns. At Christmas, we were talking about how much that sailboat [the one she kept for herself] meant to her."

Then on Jan. 12, the worst earthquake in 200 years struck near Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince, causing massive devastation and death.

"When we heard about the earthquake, we wanted to do something," Hendrick said. "So we contacted Missionary Flights International, and we were one of the first planes in there, flying from Fort Pierce, Fla.. Then we dispatched a second plane -- and it's been going on from there. We've been taking in surgeons and bringing out orphans. We've actually delivered surgeons where before the planes could get back and get reloaded, we've received word that the surgeons we delivered were operating on survivors in the streets in Haiti. We even beat a lot of the military in."

That's the kind of race of which everyone should want to participate.

Storylines:
• Drivers discuss upcoming rules changes for 2010
• Impending fatherhood will not slow down Johnson
• NASCAR.COM to expand Nationwide coverage

Day 4

The final day of the at-times exhausting Media Tour included a visit with the good folks from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The problem was that some of them seemed to be in a somber mood, including team co-owner Chip Ganassi.

Back to basics

NASCAR has announced that it will relax some on-track rules, putting racing back in the drivers' hands in 2010.

• Complete story
• Success rides with drivers
• Video: Rear spoiler is back
• Video: Pemberton on changes
• Video: Bump-drafting notice
• Video: Character and contact

Co-owner Felix Sabates again touched on the theme that all is well in NASCAR and tried to emphasize his point by adding, "Brian France did not start the war in Iraq." Point taken, but Sabates was off the mark a few minutes later when he more or less attempted to scold the media for too many stories and comments that might be construed as being negative toward NASCAR -- reminding the room that included several media members who have only recently been laid off that "you all have jobs."

Ganassi was asked what seemed to be a perfectly legitimate question. Even though driver Juan Montoya broke through with a fine season and made the Chase, was that accomplishment tempered a little by the frustration of Montoya failing to win a single race?

Ganassi's response: "Having run how we ran at a lot of the places, I think they knew we were in the mix. We just didn't win. I was probably kind of more bothered by that a year ago than I am now."

So it's just a matter of time until he reels off more than one, Chip?

"That's the whole thing. Everybody comes in and says, 'Gee, when are you going to win?' I've been through this before. The media says, 'When are you going to win a race?' Then you win one and they say, 'Well, we really don't rate teams until they win lots of races.' So OK, then we win lots of races and you say, 'Well, we don't really rate teams until they win championships.' And then you win some championships and you go, 'Well ... ' It never ends with you guys. I don't mean to be smart or anything, but the answer to that question just begs more questions down the road. I've lived that, I've been down that -- and that's not why I'm in the sport, OK?"

Um, OK. But you did know this was a NASCAR preseason media tour, right? Not to let facts get in the way, but six wins in more than 800 starts as an organization -- none last year -- and, um, no championships in nine years in the sport (remember this is NASCAR, not IndyCars) don't constitute a whole lot of winning in a sport where you are judged on it every week.

That, in turn, begs for the questions about winning, or the lack thereof, to be asked. Sorry, but those of us fortunate enough to still have the jobs Sabates talked about would not be doing them if we didn't ask such questions.

The tour wrapped, appropriately enough, with a visit to the NASCAR Research and Development Center where top officials Brian France, Mike Helton, Robin Pemberton and the newly promoted Darby made comments and then were made available to the media.

There, it quickly became apparent that Sabates was right. France did not start the war in Iraq. The chairman and CEO and his ever-expanding team also are doing all they can to make the sport as exciting and compelling as it has ever been in 2010. They deserve the chance from everyone to see if they've succeeded this time.

Storylines:
• Darby looking forward to starting in new position
• K&N to be title sponsor of developmental series

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.