2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona - Race Preview

There’s nothing quite like the first big racing event of the season and for the last fifty-one years some of the biggest stars in the world of motorsport have descended upon Daytona Beach, Florida and the legendary Daytona International Speedway – the World Centre of Racing, if you believe the speedway’s PR folks – for what is now known as the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a tough twice-around-the-clock test of man and machine on a tricky course that incorporates the high banks of the NASCAR speedway and an infield road course.

This year, the Rolex 24 has special significance, for it’s the first event of the new TUDOR United Sports Car Championship, which is the end result of a merger between the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. I wrote earlier about the positives that this merger has brought to sports car racing, and now the sport stands to rocket in popularity in America, and we should start to see signs of this resurgence early on, both at Daytona and at the following event, the 12 Hours of Sebring in March.

What’s great about the Rolex 24 is that it attracts a diverse and high-quality field of drivers who are looking to break the rust brought on by a long winter, and not yet completely consumed by preparations for their regular championships. It’s almost an unofficial All-Star race. Throw in a few Formula One Drivers, who haven’t been seen on Daytona’s high banks in some years, and you’d be hard pressed to beat the Floridian endure in terms of absolute talent.

Even so, the Rolex 24 does pretty well for itself.  We have a former Daytona 500 champion (Jamie McMurray), Indianapolis 500 champions (Scott Dixon and Tony Kaanan), 24 Hours of Le Mans winners (Mike Rockenfeller, Pedro Lamy), CART/Indycar Champions (Sebastien Bourdais), Australians (Ryan Briscoe, David Brabham and James Davison), A New Zealander (Shane Van Gisbergen), an Indy Lights champion (Sage Karam), a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver (Kyle Larson), sons of racing guns (Graham Rahal, Alex Gurney) and a host of brilliant factory drivers, the best that Audi, Porsche, BMW, Viper, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Corvette can produce. Particularly in the stacked GT field, competition promises to be as intense as ever.

Let’s take a look at the class structure for the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the rest of the United Sports Car Championship season.

Prototype (P): The Prototype 1 class was abolished in North America, meaning the old Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes and the Prototype 2 (P2) machines from the ALMS will be the speediest cars on track, all shod with control Continental tyres. The Daytona Prototypes have undergone changes during the off-season, to bring them up to speed with the more high-tech P2 machines. Ford and Chevrolet figure to lead the way here.

Prototype Challenge (PC): This class, featuring stock Oreca FLM09 prototypes with Chevrolet engines and Continental tyres, transfers directly from the American Le Mans Series, and is a low-cost option for teams, perhaps as a stepping stone towards the top tier of prototype racing.

GT-Le Mans (GT-LM): Cars that formerly raced in the American Le Mans GT ranks form the third class for the new United Sports Car Championship, the only class using Michelin tyres in 2014. This is where we’ll see the factory Corvette and BMW teams flexing their considerable muscle. It might be the deepest class in the entire series, stacked with good drivers and beautiful-looking cars.

GT-Daytona (GT-D): The home for the cars that last year competed in the Rolex Series GT field. A more low-cost GT option, with diverse mix of vehicles on the entry list, including Corvette, Porsche and Audi. Always entertaining and tight racing in their previous incarnation, there’s no reason to assume that won’t continue.

Sixty one cars – twenty-seven prototypes and thirty-four GT machines – will take the green flag in South Florida a little after 2.00pm local time, and usher in a new and exciting era of sports car racing in North America.

Here are the cars and teams to watch from each class as we head into race week:

Prototype

Obviously, most eyes will be on the prototype battle up front. It’s the real glory, the chance to say that you went twenty-four hours around Daytona International Speedway and were the first car across the finish line. And, after twenty-four hours, some deserved drivers will have their name etched into the record books, joining so many legends who’ve won outright at Daytona

Chip Ganassi Racing are always a force at Daytona, and this year have a driver line-up that includes Tony Kaanan, Jamie McMurray, Sage Karam and rising NASCAR talent Kyle Larson, as well as perennial frontrunners, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.

We know Ganassi’s drivers are going to be quick. The only question mark for the perennial contenders is their engine package. They switched from a Dinan-engineered BMW engine to Ford’s new Ecoboost turbo for season 2014 (joining Ford stalwarts Michael Shank Racing) and actually left the three-day test at Daytona earlier this month, due to quickly exhausting their inventory of exhaust headers. Shank’s squad had engine issues, too. So there’s plenty for the Blue Oval to get sorted. A durability test has been scheduled for prior to the race weekend.

Wayne Taylor Racing features Ricky and Jordan, the sons of team-owner Wayne (who is also scheduled for a stint or two) and Italian ace Max Angelelli. The defending Rolex Series Daytona Prototype champions are due for a big run at Daytona, and this may be the year they stand on that top step, particularly if the Ganassi cars have troubles.

Australia’s David Brabham will share an Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD prototype with Scotsman Ryan Dalziel and American stalwart Scott Sharp. This is a very solid driver line-up, and will likely challenge for the outright win, provided their car stands up to the tough test that twenty-four hours around Daytona represents. This and other P2-spec ALMS cars are in a sort of no man’s land, unsure of what might happen when the green flag drops.

Michael Shank Racing, popular race winners in 2012, return with Indycar favourite Justin Wilson and NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger. They also have Oswaldo Negri and John Pew on board. Like the Ganassi cars, questions remain regarding their Ford EcoBoost engines.

The Mazda Diesel effort will be spearheaded by two Indycar stars, affable James Hinchcliffe and rookie Tristan Vautier, with team owner Sylvain Tremblay entering two cars. Making their prototype debut in the year’s longest race, a win is unlikely. A podium would be a huge achievement.

Prototype Challenge

Watch out for the Starworks Motorsport cars. The Peter Baron-led squad have won early and often over the last few seasons, including a P2 World Endurance Championship crown in a memorable 2012 season. Alex Popow returns, and German ace Pierre Kaffer will drive alongside him in the #7 car, which looks to be the main Starworks challenger. Unknown entities Martin Fuentes, Isaac Tutumlu and Kyle Marcelli may be the difference between a win and a DNF.

Rocketsports Racing, owned by former Trans-Am gun Paul Gentilozzi, is another team bringing two PC cars. Indycar veteran Alex Tagliani and American open-wheel standout Connor Daly highlight the #08 car, and the #09 machine features another familiar Indycar face, Brazilian Bruno Junqueria

GT-Le Mans

This might be the most competitive category of all, featuring factory (or factory-supported) entries from motoring heavyweights like Aston Martin, Corvette, BMW, Porsche, Dodge SRT Viper and Ferrari.

Porsche and Corvette are both debuting new cars in the GT-LM category for the Rolex 24, and you can almost bet on the factory Corvette team running at the pointy end. These guys are far too good to be too far behind the eight ball for very long, even with a new car on a new racetrack. Australia’s Ryan Briscoe will make his debut in the #3, alongside Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. The #4 will be driven by Oliver Gavin, Tommy Millner and newcomer, Robin Liddell. Neither combination should be counted out.

The BMW camp figure to be strong, with Rahal-Letterman Racing bringing two BMW Z4 GTE cars to Daytona, with an all-star driver line-up – Joey Hand, Dirk Muller and the colourful Bill Auberlen amongst them – for their first ever 24-hour race. The fact that they’ve never gone twice around the clock before will be a concern.

Risi Competizione is bringing it’s Ferrari 458 Italia to Daytona, with a stacked line-up including ex-Formula One driver Giancarlo Fisichella and Olivier Beretta. These guys, ALMS veterans, are no strangers to winning big and long races. Should challenge from GTLM class honours.

Darren Turner and Pedro Lamy spearhead the Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 assault on Daytona, and bring years of endurance experience. Probably up against it, a one-car entry, albeit a factory-backed one, against so many multi-car outfits, but don’t count out the Aston Martin for a podium run – and more, if attrition is high.

GT-Daytona

Twenty-nine entries will take the green flag in GTD class, including the 2013 Rolex Series GT champion Scuderia Corsa race team, who’ll bring three Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 cars to Daytona, and the #63 of Alessandro Balzan, Jeff Westphal, Toni Vilander and Lorenzo Case should be right up there contending for the win.

Don’t sleep on the Turner Motorsport BMW Z4, featuring rising American star Dane Cameron alongside the improving Paul Dalla Lana. Augusto Farfus and Markus Palttala round out a strong line-up. Will Turner’s squad are Rolex GT veterans, and figure to play a big role in the outcome of the GTD class.

New Zealand’s Shane Van Gisbergen will drive a Porsche 911 GT America for the venerable, veteran Alex Job Porsche squad, who know the insides and out of a Porsche race car like few others, and is teamed with Cooper MacNeil, Leh Keen, LP Domoulin and Shane Lewis. This could be Australia’s best chance at a Rolex 24 class winner.

Hollywood star Patrick Dempsey is back in North American sports car racing, with a two-car Porsche effort. He’ll drive with Porsche guns Andrew Davis and Marc Lieb, as well as long-time business partner Joe Foster. As a driver, Dempsey improves year after year, but if this car is to spring a surprise, it’ll be due to Davis and Lieb, who are as good as it gets in terms of experience and ability in the 911 GT.

Long-time Porsche outfit Flying Lizard make the switch to the Audi Camp, and will campaign an R8 LMS at Daytona and throughout the Tudor Championship. Team owner Seth Neiman will drive in the lead car, and has some very solid drivers around him, including Audi factory regular Filipe Albuquerque. The Lizard Porsches were renowned for their durability. That will likely be a hallmark of their Audi setup, too.

Normally known for bringing a fleet of Porsches to the Rolex 24, The Racers Group (TRG) return with two Aston Martin V12 Vantage cars, and Australian James Davison is part of the #007 entry.  An unknown entity with their new car and manufacturer alignment, but TRG are no strangers to getting it done at Daytona.

Hopefully the above form guide gives you some idea of who to keep an eye on.

SPEED in Australia will broadcast fifteen live hours of the 2014 Rolex 24, beginning on Sunday morning. You can also watch the (American) overnight hours on IMSA.com. Broadcast times are as follows:

All times AEDT

Sunday January 26

6.00am - 12.00pm- LIVE (pre-race, race start, sunset, early evening)
6.30pm - 9.30pm - Highlights
10.00pm - 12.00am - LIVE (sunrise, early morning)

Monday January 27

12.00am - 7.00am - LIVE (morning, afternoon, race finish, post-race)
7.30pm - 10.30pm - Highlights

Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie & Kyle Chandler

Director: Martin Scorsese
In a few words...: The incredible rise and fall of Wall Street banker Jordan Belfort, from his humble beginnings as a junior broker through to the crimes that made him the subject of a major FBI investigation.
 
Rating: 9.5/10 

Beware: SPOILERS AHEAD

 

Last night, on the way home from the advanced screening of The Wolf of Wall Street, I thought about exactly what the film was, what I’d seen on the screen over not-quite three hours. 

For one thing, it’s extraordinary filmmaking. Martin Scorsese is an out-and-out genius. There’s no doubt about that. He’s put together an incredible film, somewhat loosely based on the bestselling autobiography of the same name, stacking the movie version of Jordan Belfort’s unlikely rise and enormous fall with brilliant actors, from Leonardo DiCaprio on down. It was well-directed, well-written, outrageously funny at times, and painfully real and very confronting at others.

Yet, the thing that hit me the hardest after leaving the cinema was that I’d just spent the best part of three hours watching a film about people I didn’t really like. How could you? Maybe you’re jealous of them making somewhere in the vicinity of fifty million a year, and getting to do the things – women, drugs, parties, holidays in fabulously exotic locations, more women and even more drugs – but, at the end of the day, most of the characters on the screen were crooks. 

They were as guilty as sin on so many dozens of counts, not least of which was smuggling a huge amount of money, though not particularly remorseful until their own heads were on the chopping block. They lied, cheated, scammed, stole, smuggled and laundered, lured to do so by the atmosphere of Wall Street, by wanting to get even richer, until it became their undoing.

Chief amongst them is the man they knew as the Wolf: Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio), a man wholly consumed with greed, and a mostly-unlikeable man as a result. He had nothing as a kid, rose out of the ashes of Wall Street’s Black Monday, made his brokerage firm Stratton-Oakmont into one of the biggest and most notorious firms of it’s kind and it’s day on Wall Street (mostly for the atmosphere of drugs and women, it seems; it’s a small miracle that Belfort is still standing, with all the drugs he did), and later gained a giant chunk of infamy courtesy of being arrested by the FBI for all manner of financial crimes. 

No doubt, Belfort’s rise was incredible – the guy apparently could sell ice to an eskimo – but his fall should serve as a cautionary tale. Everything he did was for the almighty dollar, and in the process he cost himself friends and, ultimately, his second marriage. Even so, you almost feel sorry for Belfort. DiCaprio is that convincing, stealing every single scene he’s in, and has the same charisma that the real Belfort probably oozed, too. Not to mention the gift of the gab. It wasn’t hard to see why his employees, Strattonites, as he called them, pledged their allegiance to him like they were soldiers in a communist army, all striving for Wall Street success, nearly always in a blatantly unethical manner.

DiCaprio was so good that I wanted to cheer for him when he was wrecking cars, manipulating people, swearing like a trooper and, worst of all, basically screwing over the United States Government and dozens of people investing small fortunes in stocks that were never going to go anywhere except down the toilet in a real hurry. It’s quite horrifying, actually: the lies spun by Belfort and his people to move stocks and make money.

The lifestyle these guys led is the stuff of legend, and it was vividly depicted at various junctures in the film. They rip people off, launder money, smuggle money, swear, snort coke at any random moment they feel like it (even during the middle of the working day), sleep with women of all kinds (mostly prostitutes, expensive ones), pop Quaaludes and wreck boats that cost more money than I’m going to make in a year or two. No big deal. Another day in the life of a Wall Street banker, right?

Until the FBI comes calling, of course. Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler is brilliant as Federal Agent Patrick Denham, the straight-shooting Bureau agent whom Belfort tried to bribe. Events transpire, and it's Denham who represents Belfort's eventual downfall, the reason he spent nearly three years in federal prison, forced to wear a wire to incriminate friends at Stratton Oakmont and losing his wife and children en route. There went Belfort’s life, unraveling in a horrifyingly spectacular chain of disastrous events. Or comeuppance, depending on which way you look at it.

Jonah Hill, an actor I never really thought was all that brilliant, has a career-defining turn as Belfort’s offsider and close friend, Donnie Azoff. Most of his funniest scenes are when Azoff (loosely based on a real character) is under the influence of one drug or another. Let’s face it: this was most of the film. Matthew McConaughey had a cameo as Belfort’s first wacky boss, Mark Hanna, and was genius. What would a movie featuring Belfort and Hanna together for three hours have been like? Off the chain, no doubt.

Australia’s Margot Robbie was brilliant as Belfort’s second wife, Naomi. The much-publicised nude scene came and went – and was hilarious – and Robbie kept up her strong performance, right ‘til the end. You could see her becoming more conflicted as the film went on, and the scenes where she finally asked Belfort for a divorce were some of the best of the entire three hours. What came after that was shocking and real, Ground Zero for Belfort, who went from nothing to everything and back to nothing again.

The Wolf of Wall Street was that in a nutshell, the story of a guy who was once treated like a god in the New York Financial District before a spectacular fall from grace that, you could argue, had been a long time coming and was well-deserved. You could argue, too, that DiCaprio and Scorsese have made the film of their lives – the perfect cautionary tale to stepping over the line in pursuit of riches; a window into how Wall Street can be like an irresistible drug – and you wouldn’t get an argument from me.

Film-making at it’s best. Go and watch it as soon as you can. You might not like the characters very much towards the end, but you’ll laugh, recoil in horror, shake your head, and recognise the brilliance that’s on the screen there for you to experience. Scorsese's finest achievement.

Opinion: The Minnesota Wild Deserve an NHL Winter Classic

Up north, in the Land of One Hundred Thousands Lakes, they outdo Detroit handily. Yes, the capital of Michigan is known colloquially and promotionally as Hockeytown, USA, but Minnesota lays claim – rightfully – to the proud honour of being the (American) State of Hockey. Passion for the greatest game on ice is Canadian-like once you come across the Minnesota border. Up there, men become heroes on the ice. More often than not, heroes become legends.

The list of great Minnesota hockey men who’ve gone onto bigger and better things is as endless as it is important to the sport: there’s Larry Brooks, coach of the 1980 Miracle on Ice; some of the college kids who were on-ice heroes in 1980 Rob McClanahan, Mike Ramsey, Dave Christian, Steve Christoff and Mark Pavelich; the Broten brothers, Aaron and Neal; legendary John Mayasich and perhaps the greatest of them all, the Godfather of Minnesota hockey, the legendary John Mariucci.

In all, Minnesota-born players have won countless Stanley Cup champions, tasted Gold medal success at the Olympics, and played thousands of National Hockey League games. As far as fertile environs go, there is no greater hotbed for American hockey than in Minnesota. It starts at a high school level, where Friday nights mean the renewal of decades-old town-on-town rivalries. It’s quite something to see, crowds in their thousands in often-dilapidated arenas cheering on their team, generations of the same family there in the stands, living second to second, every bounce and carom of the puck.

Saturday is for college hockey where the University of Minnesota – known simply as The U in Minnesota – has recorded five NCAA National Championship victories and has made the Frozen Four twenty times. If you grow up in the shadows of the Twin Cities of St Paul-Minneapolis, you’re hockey mad and want to follow in the footsteps of the Broten’s, and Ramsey’s on the hallowed ice of Mariucci Arena. You havent properly experienced college hockey until you’ve seen the Gophers play at Mariucci.

Or perhaps you’re born elsewhere, out along Minnesota’s Iron Range, when you idolised the Christoff’s of the world, or the great Brett Hull from the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. It doesn’t matter. No matter what part of Minnesota you’re born in, hockey’s in your blood. It consumes you.

In the NHL, the Minnesota North Stars had a proud tradition in the Twin Cities before politics and money took over, sending the North Stars to Dallas, and, after a pro hockey absence of too long – just ask a Minnesotan – a new franchise, the Minnesota Wold, now plays to some of the best, biggest and most knowledgeable crowds in all of hockey. Their recent acquisitions of superstars Ryan Suter and Zach Parise have the Wild rocketing upward in the Western Conference.

In the State of Hockey, even pickup games on your local frozen lake draw a crowd. In Minnesota, hockey is as important as college football is in the southland. Even if you’re just a regular visitor – like myself – you can’t help but get swept up in the obvious passion for the game. There are games on television nearly every night of the week. It’s possible to watch hockey, read hockey and think hockey twenty-four-seven.

So, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, here’s some free advice: it’s well and truly time – hell, it’s beyond time – for the League to stage a Winter Classic in Minnesota. Like putting the Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs on a rink inside Michigan Stadium, playing a game between the Minnesota Wild and, maybe, Chicago or Detroit, or as a twist, the Dallas Stars, would be a guaranteed winner. Target Field, where the Minnesota Twins play baseball in the summer, is a perfect venue.

If the NHL can manage to slot an outdoor game into a Southern California ballpark – we saw it just this weekend, with the Freeway Faceoff between Anaheim and the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium – they can certainly take an outdoor game to Minnesota. Minnesota is one of the league’s biggest American markets. Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Boston and Detroit and Chicago and Philadelphia have all had their turn hosting a Winter Classic, and other big US markets like New York City and Washington D.C. have had their teams feature in the league’s regular-season showcase. Now, it’s the turn of the Wild.

In case Bettman and co ever doubted that there would be the market for such an event, they need to look no further than last week’s Hockey City Classic, featuring both the men’s and women’s University of Minnesota hockey teams. The game was held outdoors on a temporary rink at TCF Bank Stadium, home to Gopher football during the fall months, and the crowd of 45,201, a record attendance for a hockey game in Minnesota. The Gophers won 1-0 on a Taylor Cammarata goal, and behind a 21-save shut-out by goalie Adam Wilcox. The game was only half the story. It was the atmosphere that counted. 

If Target Field isn't considered big enough for a Winter Classic, there’s a big football stadium near downtown Minneapolis that has a track record with outdoor hockey. Holding the  game on college grounds would provide a unique atmosphere – and a bigger crowd, which would surely make the NHL’s bean counters happy.

Holding a Winter Classic in Minnesota would open up a whole new realm of hockey in Minnesota. Around the NHL game, it isn't hard to foresee a festival of hockey, bigger than what ran on the Comerica Park rink in Detroit around the 2013 Winter Classic. The big Minnesota college teams – the Gophers, Minnesota-Duluth, St Cloud State, and Minnesota State – would likely have a heavy presence, as well as high school games and minor-league pro contests. 

I can imagine the great alumni games, and the occasion of a Winter Classic would be the perfect rallying cry for all the legendary Minnesota hockey personalities to come together in one place to celebrate everything that’s great about the State of Hockey. Imagine a reunion of all the Minnesota-born Miracle on Ice guys, plus the legions of guys who’ve skated for The U or Minnesota-Duluth or any other school mixing with Stanley Cup winners and Olympic medal winners. Now, that would be a celebration worthy of the great game of hockey.

Apparently 2015 is off the table. It appears likely that the Washington Capitals will take over Nationals Park and play a close rival – Philadelphia, anyone? – but the League, if it knows what’s good for it, should make an announcement soon, giving the 2016 NHL Winter Classic to the Minnesota Wild. As I alluded to earlier, there are enough teams around Minnesota with whom the Wild have, if not a blood rivalry, certainly a competitive streak brewing nicely that would provide a game-day atmosphere worthy of the outdoor showcase.

Your move, NHL.

Opinion: Calgary-Vancouver Brawl a Blight on Hockey

Aside from the headlines about the crowd of more than 105,000 who packed into Michigan Stadium on January 1 to watch the 2014 Winter Classic, I doubt there’s been a more talked about moment in the National Hockey League season than the shocking display of violence and stupidity that we saw to round out the passionately-celebrated Hockey Day in Canada out in Vancouver on Saturday night.

For those who might’ve been living under a hockey rock for the last few days, Calgary’s trip west to visit Vancouver on Saturday night resulted in 152 penalty minutes inside the first 0:02 of the contest after Flames coach Bob Hartley apparently lost his mind and decided to start his fourth line, including noted agitator, Brian McGrattan. Now, a coach only does this for one reason. He wants to stir up trouble right from the outset, and, boy, didn’t he get his wish!

Canucks coach John Tortorella followed suit, as he had to, putting out his group of grind/enforcer-type players, led by noted goon Tom Sestito, who has been in the headlines quite a bit recently. He knew what he was being forced to invite, just as Hartley knew damn well what he was trying to instigate.

The result was a mindless line brawl off the face-off. Every player on the ice, goalies excluded, paired off with an opposition player and went at it, the referees helpless, the crowd stunned. It was quite a debut for Vancouver’s Kellan Lain who found himself staring his first career NHL game, and then, seconds later, had a towering man named Kevin Westgarth in a red Calgary jersey trying to rearrange his face.

Look, I’ve long been an advocate of keeping fighting as a part of the NHL, because of the way it provides a deterrent to most players, the most obvious rationale being that a cheap-shot on a star player is likely going to earn you a chance to be pummelled by a towering enforcer with arms as long as telegraph poles the very next shift their coach can get his guy onto the ice with you. I like that aspect, the on-ice policing of unsportsmanlike play. It’s why there’s rarely headlines about cheap shots and otherwise dirty play.

Fighting can also be used as a way to change the momentum of a game. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen a home team looking sluggish on the ice in front of a packed but subdued arena before one of their players drops the gloves and goes at it. Not only does it energise the players, it often does the same to the crowd, and suddenly you’ve got a whole new game. I like to see that, too.

What I don’t like to see is what happened on Saturday night in Vancouver. Sure, the Canucks and the Flames might be rivals, but there’s a difference between two guys on the ice reacting after a series of niggling plays to the contrived and ridiculous brawl off the face-off. That did nothing to advance either the pro-fighting argument nor the image of hockey. In Australia, you rarely see NHL highlights unless it’s a brawl. No wonder so many people snidely remark that shooting the puck is only an afterthought, something to do to space out the fights.

For mine, blame must be heaped fairly and squarely on the shoulders of Calgary coach Bob Hartley. There was absolutely no – sane – reason that he could give as to why he felt the need to start his fourth liners. Especially not when he knew what sort of a reaction that move would elicit from his counterpart, Tortorella. It set entirely the wrong tone for the game, and you have to imagine that Hartley intended for his players to go out there and swing their fists from the outset. It was a brain explosion of the highest order.

People have criticised Tortorella for not defusing the situation by starting a different sort of line, but at what cost? Icing a line featuring his star players, the Sedin twins, would have been a sort of suicide. When you see the opposition coach’s line-up – the road team is required to submit their line-up ahead of the home team – is all fourth-line goons, it doesn’t take a genius to know what’s going to happen next, does it? 

So what is Tortorella to do? Watch the Sedin boys get plastered against the glass by a player like McGrattan and risk much, if not all of Vancouver’s season. No, way. That would be another brain explosion. Tortorella did the only thing he could do. He matched fire with fire to fight fire with fire, and the Canucks fourth-liners gave a good account of themselves. If they didn’t win their bouts, they certainly weren’t disgraced.

Tortorella, of course, was furiously unhappy. In the aftermath of the fights, he climbed down to the edge of the bench, leaned across the small section between the benches, through and past cameramen and the on-ice report for CBC, and it didn’t take a lip-reader to understand what he was saying to the Flames bench. Of course, television turned off it’s microphones, but that didn’t help. 

Notoriously fiery at the best of times, Tortorella was about as irate as I’ve ever seen him, and it continued in the first period, when the Canucks coach, apparently not happy with what he heard back from the Calgary coaches on the bench, tried to force his way into the Flames dressing room at the conclusion of the first period, but the appearance of McGrattan, Westgarth and some others doubtless convinced Tortorella that, on this occasion, discretion was the better part of valor. 

Okay, admittedly, not the smartest move ever, and Tortorella probably regrets that now, but not unusual in the heat of the moment. The guy wanted some answers, though he didn’t go about getting them in the right way. If I was in his position, so would I. One might reasonable argue, though, that nothing Hartley and his team of assistants could say would adequately explain their moment(s) of madness.

Consequently, Tortorella has been suspended fifteen days/six games without pay. To be honest, he probably deserved that, and he probably understands it, too, but what gets me is that Hartley, the guy who started this entire mess, gets off with a comparative slap on the wrist. His fine, $25,000, is barely anything worth mentioning. 

Interestingly – or absurdly – the Calgary President of Hockey Operations, Brian Burke, a guy who I had more respect for yesterday than today, released a statement saying that he is “perplexed” by the fine.

Really? It was Hartley’s actions that led directly to this blight on the game – a blight that hockey fans are still talking about three days after it happened. I won’t argue that Tortorella didn’t deserve some sort of suspension, though I think fifteen days is a little much. Yes, storming towards the other camp’s locker room wasn’t smart, but Hartley at least deserves something similar. After all, without his icing of the fourth line to start the game, there likely isn’t the scenes like we saw late on Saturday night.

You know what, I’m perplexed, too. Perplexed that the NHL has made their adjudication in this fashion, without benching Hartley for at least a few games. Call that sort of punishment a deterrent, call it well-deserved, call it both of the above, call it whatever you want. 

Let’s get real for a second here: twenty-five large isn’t going to trouble Hartley all that much. He’s making a small fortune to coach in Calgary. What the League is basically saying is that you can set the stage for a monumental brawl, one that’s given the entire sport a black eye, and twenty-five K is all you get levied by way of punishment. Hardly a deterrent there.

As bad as things were on the ice on Saturday night, the NHL front office’s strange handling of the situation – just when some public relations savvy might’ve come in handy – has made it all seem a whole lot worse.

Opinion: NBC Hires Dale Earnhardt Junior’s Crew Chief For 2015 & Beyond

The NBC Sports Group made a big splash last year when they got back into the NASCAR game, taking over a portion of the six-race TNT mid-summer run and all of the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races that used to be on ABC and ESPN, including the playoff-type ‘Chase for the Championship’, for both the NBC broadcast network and the Peacock’s fledgling cable home, the NBC Sports Network.

Come 2014, a season and a half away from NBC’s first broadcast under it’s new contract, and they’ve made another splash, hiring away Steve Letarte, who currently serves as crew chief for the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by the most popular driver in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This is a huge move for Letarte (who previously had success with Jeff Gordon, before a Hendrick reshuffle of crew chiefs a couple of seasons ago), who will step from the pit box at the end of this year to the NBC broadcast booth in 2015, and a huge move for NBC, one that is already making waves around the sport. 

More than that, it’s a sure sign that the Peacock network is ultra-serious about their second bite of the NASCAR cherry. This is a brilliant hire, and will go nicely alongside their previously-announced race analyst, former driver Jeff Burton (who, like Letarte, will be active at the race track this year) and play-by-play announcer Rick Allen. They’ve made some very smart hires. Not that I expected any different. With the money NBC is paying NASCAR, they need to ensure maximum return, and this is but the first step.

NBC, who will be responsible for bringing viewers coverage of the final 20 Sprint Cup races and 19 Nationwide Series races each season from 2015-2024, have definitely done their research. Executive Producer Sam Flood is no fool. This is a TV savvy guy, famous for putting concepts together – like the NHL Winter Classic – and making them into something big. 

To a point, NBC’s followed the FOX Sports method, and then taken it one step further. In Letarte, the Peacock has enlisted the services of perhaps the most-scrutinised crew chief in the NASCAR world, purely because his driver happens to be the most-scrutinised driver in the 43-car field week in, and week out. You don’t need me to tell you that Junior Nation is hugely prevalent at every NASCAR racetrack, and there are many hundreds of thousands more tuning in to Sprint Cup races weekly.

The fact that Letarte, whose #88 team enjoyed a solid 2013 – Earnhardt Jr. qualified for the Chase for the Championship after a solid points year, albeit one that did not include a visit to Victory Lane – is coming across from NBC suggests, I think, two things: this is going to be a very serious NASCAR foray for the broadcaster who lost the rights following the 2006 season to ESPN/ABC; and, perhaps more so, represents the sort of pressure that has been heaped on Letarte’s shoulders.

Consider the frustration amongst many Dale Junior fans. He’s won but one race in the last three seasons, though he’s made the Chase each of those three years, so there’s a sign that things might be on the uptick – and this season should be a good indicator of that. Consider: only one victory since the much-publicised move across to Hendrick Motorsports from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated.

The garage is firm in it’s belief that driver and crew chief have good chemistry. It just hasn’t translated into wins…yet. Chase berths, yes. Wins, not quite. In that regard, this might be the worst sort of timing for Earnhardt, who could rightfully call 2013 his best season in years. Now, he’s faced with a sort of lame-duck year with Letarte, before a new crew chief comes in for 2015, and everything changes again. Will this set Earnhardt back? Or will it propel him forward?

Letarte was transferred from Jeff Gordon’s #24 Chevrolet – where he and the superstar, Gordon, won many races and seemed to have pretty good chemistry – to Junior’s #88. The thing is, that’s not just a race car. With an Earnhardt, you take on more responsibility than just winning races. You’re The Guy to hundreds of thousands of rabid fans. If you don’t win, people start pointing fingers. Not at their favourite driver, who can do no wrong, no matter what happens out on the track – but at the crew chief. 

We can debate whether that is fair or not, but, regardless, it’s the sort of intense scrutiny that follows a crew chief of a star driver around like a bad smell. Letarte probably can’t escape it. Generally, it’s the crew chief who’s the first guy to go when there are troubles – or, at least, perceived troubles – with the team. I mean, no owner’s going to fire the guy who sits behind the wheel until they’ve tried everything, right? 

Especially not Dale Earnhardt Junior, who commands a solid sponsorship commitment from, amongst others, the US National Guard. He’s almost bulletproof in that regard. He doesn’t win often (though but he does manage to be there or thereabouts) but he’s popular enough that big-time companies line up to get their brand somewhere on the #88 Chevrolet. So, when things get rough, the crew chief gets jettisoned.

Rightly or wrongly, a lack of results (AKA a lack of visits to the Victory Lane) is what Letarte’s been dealing with for three years: a world of expectation. It’s not unfair to say that the Earnhardt-Letarte combination hasn’t really hit it off, at least in terms of wins. As I said earlier, wins are what makes the racing world go around. You need them to survive. Aside from that, he’s one of the most visible crew guys in the garage, and it’s not unreasonable to think that, just maybe, he’s had enough. Not of Junior, but of what comes along with being Junior’s crew chief. He might also simply want a new challenge. You can’t blame a guy for that.

On Junior as a race car driver, you might also make the argument that he actually ran better at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, the team founded by his late father, and run by his stepmother, Teresa. Certainly, he won more at DEI. Race victories, after all, are what makes the world go around. It brings sponsorships dollars in the door, and earns drivers nice, fat contract extensions. In that way, it’s a shame that Junior’s relationship with both his step-mother, his cousin, Tony Eury Jr., and Eury Junior’s father.

So Letarte, at the relatively young age of 35, gets to step away from the furnace after nearly two decades of loyal service for Rick Hendrick’s growing NASCAR empire, and into a nice, air-conditioned broadcast booth, assessing what crew chiefs are doing, rather than being in the position of having to make the big calls, which, of course, go a long way to determining whether your car ends up in Victory Lane or finishes off the pace and a lap down, mostly forgotten by the TV broadcast and fans…except that Dale Earnhardt Junior is never forgotten by either. Letarte gets to be at the track but with half the stress.

You can’t blame Letarte for this. It’s nice to be wanted, and it sounds like NBC pursued him pretty solidly for this role in the broadcast booth. His expertise will be invaluable, and is a breath of fresh air, for the crew chiefs broadcasting races this year (Jeff Hammond, Larry McReynolds and Andy Petree) have been out of racing for a while. Yes, they are all champion crew chiefs, but they havent had the sort of hands-on experience with the new cars, which are markedly different to cars from days gone by, that someone like Letarte has had, and his knowledge of the quirks of these new generation models will result in viewers being significantly more informed about what’s going on up top on the pit box.

After all, it’s an adjustment – minor or major – that often is the difference between a win and second place. Is there going to be a broadcaster on NASCAR television in 2015 with a better handle on the new generation Sprint Cup Series cars? I say no. That’s what makes NBC’s hire such a novel, game-changing one. 

Throw in Burton, who will drive a partial schedule this year for Michael Waltrip Racing, and has a full season of experience with the new car, into that mix, along with the fresh voice of Rick Allen, and you’ve got arguably the most cutting-edge broadcast booth that has ever called a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. If anyone thought that NBC wasn’t looking to make a giant splash ahead of the beginning of their contract…well, this string of announcements puts an end to that!

A good move for NBC Sports, and a good move for Steve Letarte. Who knows? It might even turn out to be a good move for Dale Earnhardt Junior, too.