That's the word that best describes the state of Richard Petty Motorsports in 2010.
It was a tough year for The King and those in his employ. They went from four cars to two. Lost their primo driver. And they suffered through layoffs and cutbacks in the process.
But there is one bright spot on what has lately been a dim horizon - and that's the 100-watt smile of Marcos Ambrose.
Ambrose will drive the No. 9 Ford for RPM next season. He takes the wheel from Aric Almirola, who drove the car when Kasey Kahne made a late-season jump to Red Bull Racing.
And Ambrose's infectious personality and determination to succeed may be just the shot in the arm the organization needs to regain momentum.
"I feel like I've got all the ingredients I need," Ambrose told the Associated Press in August. "I wanted to eliminate any question marks about the stuff around me and people around me."
"I feel like I can win four championships like Jimmie Johnson has done," he continued.
Time will tell if the racer from down under can top the five-time champ.
But one thing is certain - Richard Petty Motorsports is back in the game.
After the beatin' and bangin' on the Nationwide side Friday night, fans were hyped up for a wreckfest during the Cup race Saturday night.
But alas, the Irwin Tools Night Race was more run than bump. And even though Kyle Busch did manage to pull off the Bristol sweep, the race itself wasn't quite the fender-banging, helmet-throwing spectacle that fans have come to expect.
There were several long green flag runs for one. And even when Juan Pablo Montoya sent reigning champ Jimmie Johnson out of contention with an ill-timed hit, Johnson was quick to say post-race that he knew it wasn't intentional on Montoya's part.
And you call this Bristol?
In fact, the most memorable moments happened off the track - and here they are:
5. National Anthem - Bristol does the anthem right. And when the driver/crew kids sang The Star Spangled Banner during Sunday's pre-race ceremonies, even Tony Stewart cracked a smile. From the little boy on the front row who held his ears to the T-shirts wishing Bristol track president Jeff Byrd a speedy recovery, the anthem was a feel-good high point (and thankfully, the polar opposite of last week's drunken rendition).
4. Edwards' Musical Intro - the beloved Bristol tradition of allowing drivers to pick their own "theme song" before they are introduced didn't fail to disappoint. And Carl Edwards wins the prize for most apropros song selection with "Why Can't We Be Friends?" by War - a pointed (and amusing) reference to his long-running feud with Brad Keselowski.
3. Vickers' Revelation - A few hours before the green flag waved at Bristol, Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers told the media that he underwent open heart surgery July 12 to repair a small hole in his heart. Vickers, who has been out of the No. 83 Toyota since being diagnosed with blood clots in May, also revealed that he had a stent placed in a vein in his left leg the day after heart surgery.
"I had heart surgery, and I never thought I would never have that at 26," Vickers said.
Vickers told reporters his doctors have cleared him to race in 2011 and he plans to race at next year's Daytona 500. Although he didn't have any comment about what this means for teammate's Scott Speed's prospects next year, the result seems pretty clear. With Kasey Kahne joining Red Bull Racing and Vickers returning, Speed may well be out of a NASCAR ride.
2. Brooms in Victory Lane - Whether or not you're one of his "loving fans," you can't deny that Kyle Busch accomplished an impressive feat this weekend. With his Cup victory, Busch became the first driver to win all three national series in one week. And that prompted his crew to break out the brooms in Victory Lane and do their own version of the "Bristol Sweep".
1. Keselowski Gets Personal - The crowd went crazy when Keselowski took the mic after being introduced pre-race and said simply, "Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing Dodge. Kyle Busch is an ass." Although the offending word was bleeped out on the ABC broadcast, Keselowski did ask a clergyman's permission before referring to his fellow driver in such terms.
It turns out, Keselowski had an on-track chance to repay Busch for a hit that cost him the Nationwide win Friday night. But Keselowski (who is currently on probation for a dustup with Edwards) settled for racing Busch hard as Busch was trying to lap him, rather than bumping him into the fence. And Busch cruised to the win.
It may not have made as much news as Kasey Kahne's temporary move to Red Bull Racing, but Richard Childress Racing announced today that Paul Menard will be the team's newest driver in 2011.
Menard will bring a fourth car back to its stable next year, and Menard is the guy who's going to wheel it. What sweetened the deal is that Menard comes with a multi-year sponsorship courtesy of Menards (the third-largest home improvement company) which happens to be owned by his father.
The move gives Menard, who has four full seasons of Cup racing to his credit, an opportunity to prove himself with one of the best teams in the biz.
RCR is having a banner year. Its drivers currently hold first and third place in the Chase standings - and Clint Bowyer is on the bubble, in 13th spot.
From the more mercenary finance side, the move gives RCR the relief of knowing its fourth car will have solid financial backing for the entire season. And that's nothing to be sneered at in the current NASCAR economy.
Although Menard hasn't been to Victory Lane on the Cup side, this year has been his best. So far, Menard has racked up one top five and three top 10 finishes. In 2009, he failed to finish in the top 10 even once.
From RCR's official press release:
"Paul has developed into a very good race car driver, and we see his move to RCR next year as an opportunity for him to continue that progress," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of RCR.
"Richard Childress Racing has shown this year that they're headed on the right track," said Menard. "Having three cars competing for the Chase and, ultimately, the championship is no small feat and they're on top of their game. With that in mind and having known Richard for the past 10 years or so, when this opportunity to join RCR came about it was a no-brainer. I have always had the utmost respect for Richard and what his organization has accomplished in the past and what they're capable of achieving in the future."
First, driver Jeff Gordon and wife Ingrid Vandebosch welcomed their new addition into the world this morning. Leo Benjamin Gordon was born at 8:53 a.m and weighed in at seven pounds, two ounces.
Per the driver's web site, "He's happy and healthy, and Mom is doing great."
Second, ESPN's David Newton wrote today that Red Bull Racing is close to announcing that current Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne will join their team in 2011.
The announcement would end months of speculation that began after Hendrick Motorsports announced Kahne will take Mark Martin's ride in 2012.
What Kahne's interim move will mean for Red Bull driver Scott Speed isn't clear. And there's also no news yet as to whether Red Bull driver Brian Vickers, who is out for the season due to health issues, will return next year.
Stay tuned.
Rumors are also flying that Red Bull may be leaving Toyota (or vice versa). If so (and Kahne does join the team), Chevrolet could well be the make of choice.
Finally, NASCAR announced today that Chicagoland Speedway will host the first Sprint Cup chase race in 2011. Jenna Fryer with the Associated Press reports that Chicago will trade its traditional night race for a prime spot on the NASCAR schedule.
More schedule changes will be announced Tuesday. Kansas Speedway will get a second Cup date. And Kentucky Speedway will get its first - thanks to Atlanta, which will lose one.
To better understand the political maneuverings involved in NASCAR scheduling, be sure to read Jeff Gluck's great explanation over at SB Nation.
And that's - in the words of Walter Cronkite- the way it is.
To paraphrase "The Old Perfesser" Casey Stengel, "Now there's three things you can do in a NASCAR race: You can win or you can lose or it can rain."
You can say that again.
While fans watched and waited and watched some more, the radar over Texas played the NASCAR faithful false, promising clear skies and an end to the wet while delivering only more drops and and puddles at the track.
After napping through much of FOX's extended Texas broadcast, this fan awoke to the news that both the Cup and Nationwide races would be postponed 'til Monday - leaving me feeling cheated out of some green flag gratification.
However, life is all about how you handle Plan B. So, with Plan A a wash, I turned to Twitter to read how the drivers were coping with the downpour.
I discovered that the guys at Red Bull Racing were participating in some sort of infield Olympics. Kevin Harvick left the track to hit The Cheesecake Factory and a movie. Juan Pablo Montoya was just plain bored. And Dale Earnhardt Jr. was devising ways to get NASCAR PR girl Jen Powell to work the word "knockers" into an official e-mail bulletin (I kid you not).
For me, there's nothing better on a rainy day than curling up with a long book and some hot tea. And, when I'm wearing my NASCAR hat, I swap my book for a laptop and catch up on my racing reading.
Below are a few of my favorite NASCAR blogs- ones I try to read on a regular basis, or a least when I have a spare minute (like rain delays for instance):
The boys at The Spotter Stand do one heckuva job on their self-made web site. I especially enjoy reading their Catch Can feature - can't wait to meet them in person at Talladega.
The folks at Rubbings Racing cover the sport carefully and well - and their podcasts are fantastic. If you've never checked them out before, do so immediately. You won't be disappointed.
For those of a more literary inclination, my buddy Ovalscream has some of the most comprehensive and well-written posts on the web. He's the New York Times of the NASCAR blogosphere. USA Today fans take heed!
Finally, there's no better site to find out the revised NASCAR TV schedule than The Daly Planet - John Daly's informative, up-to-the-minute blog about all things relating to NASCAR's TV coverage. The site is slam-packed with info., plus he's a nice guy to boot.
So the Spring Fontana race is in the history books. And other than Kevin Harvick's charge at the end and some mild concern about rain shortening the event, the whole thing was a bit of a snooze fest.
But even though I might have dozed off during portions of the broadcast, I did pay attention well enough to observe a few things. So here are my Fontana notes. Now on to Vegas!
In the category of "It's Probably Too Early to Say This, But I Will Anyway" - what in the heck happened to Scott Speed during the off season? The Red Bull racer was darn impressive at Daytona and he ran great in Cali as well. Looks like he's going to have a much better year than 2009.
Luckiest Dude on the Planet - When the world is your oyster, every single race can turn into a pearl. And every event at Fontana swung Jimmie Johnson's way (must be that golden horseshoe). Of course, he still had to outdrive a hard-charging Kevin Harvick at the finish. However, Harvick tapped the wall and JJ cruised on to a win. Must be nice to be so darn lucky.
Speaking of Harvick - Richard Childress Racing is back. After a lackluster 2009, Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer are showing well and racing up front. Both Harvick and Burton had the race all but won at different times. And it's great to see these teams this competitive so early in the season. Harvick and Burton will be in victory lane before too long - they just need some of Jimmie's good fortune to rub off on them.
Empty stands - Even though the broadcasters on FOX didn't mention it, the pictures tell the tale. Does anyone in California like NASCAR enough to actually buy a race ticket? I know things are tough all over, but come on! All of those empty sections on the front stretch were borderline embarrassing and each empty seat flies in the face of that old cinematic adage "If you build it, they will come." Maybe NASCAR should rethink Fontana's two-race deal.
Darrell Waltrip, Climatologist - Waltrip's theory regarding how race cars keep the rain away is so off-the-wall, there could actually be something to it. He said he believes that when cars go round and round the track at high speeds, they create some sort of "vortex" that actually wards off inclimate weather. Waltrip's hypothesis just might be believable if both Daytona AND Fontana hadn't been rained out last year.
