Road course ringer: Difference between revisions
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A road course ringer is often brought in when either the normal driver is inexperienced at road courses,<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> or if the driver is having a poor season and the team needs an excellent qualifying run to qualify for the race.<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> [[Sprint Cup Series]] teams who are near the bottom of the top 35 in owner points hire a ringer or adept former competitor like [[Terry Labonte]] to ensure that they remain in top 35 to keep a guaranteed starting spot in future races. It is not unusual that a lower level team's best finish would be at a road course because of the use of a road course expert.<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> Some full-time drivers are adept at racing on road courses, but they are not considered road course ringers.<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> Road course ringers have competed in championships which race primarily road courses, frequently in [[IndyCar Series|IndyCar]] or [[sports car racing]] series such as [[American Le Mans Series|ALMS]] or [[Rolex Sports Car Series|Grand Am]]. |
A road course ringer is often brought in when either the normal driver is inexperienced at road courses,<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> or if the driver is having a poor season and the team needs an excellent qualifying run to qualify for the race.<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> [[Sprint Cup Series]] teams who are near the bottom of the top 35 in owner points hire a ringer or adept former competitor like [[Terry Labonte]] to ensure that they remain in top 35 to keep a guaranteed starting spot in future races. It is not unusual that a lower level team's best finish would be at a road course because of the use of a road course expert.<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> Some full-time drivers are adept at racing on road courses, but they are not considered road course ringers.<ref name="ESPN08102007" /> Road course ringers have competed in championships which race primarily road courses, frequently in [[IndyCar Series|IndyCar]] or [[sports car racing]] series such as [[American Le Mans Series|ALMS]] or [[Rolex Sports Car Series|Grand Am]]. |
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{{quote|I think a handful of guys, or 10 guys, 12 guys that really like going to [[Watkins Glen International|the Glen]] and like going to [[Sonoma Raceway|Sonoma]] and look forward to those races. Then there's probably half the field that can take it or leave it. Then there's a quarter of the field that would be fine if we didn't go.<ref name=" |
{{quote|I think a handful of guys, or 10 guys, 12 guys that really like going to [[Watkins Glen International|the Glen]] and like going to [[Sonoma Raceway|Sonoma]] and look forward to those races. Then there's probably half the field that can take it or leave it. Then there's a quarter of the field that would be fine if we didn't go.<ref name="MOTORSPORT080408">{{cite web|url=http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/pocono-ii-second-third-finishers-press-conference/|title=Pocono II: Second, third finishers press conference|date=August 4, 2008|publisher=Motorsport.com|accessdate=May 7, 2015}}</ref>|[[Tony Stewart]]}} |
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==Notable road course ringers== |
==Notable road course ringers== |
Revision as of 03:21, 8 May 2015
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Boris_Said.jpg/220px-Boris_Said.jpg)
A road course ringer, also known as road course specialist,
Current NASCAR national-level road courses include
NASCAR describes road course ringers as "drivers who specialize in turning both left and right," and says that "perhaps the greatest road-course ringer in NASCAR history might be Dan Gurney" after he won four straight NASCAR races at Riverside.[3] He lapped the field at the 1964 event.[3]
Term origin
"Ringer" is a slang term commonly used in sports to describe a particularly good competitor who is brought in to win in a specific match as opposed to competing in the entire schedule. It can also be used to describe a professional athlete who competes in amateur sports; a softball team might have a "ringer" who used to play minor or major league ball. The term does not relate directly to racing and does not refer to the shape of the race course.
Drivers
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/RonFellows2010Bucyrus200RoadAmerica.jpg/220px-RonFellows2010Bucyrus200RoadAmerica.jpg)
A road course ringer is often brought in when either the normal driver is inexperienced at road courses,
I think a handful of guys, or 10 guys, 12 guys that really like going to the Glen and like going to Sonoma and look forward to those races. Then there's probably half the field that can take it or leave it. Then there's a quarter of the field that would be fine if we didn't go.[4]
Notable road course ringers
For a more complete list of current ringers, click here.
- Mark Donohue
- Ron Fellows[1]
- Dan Gurney[3]
- Tommy Kendall
- Tomy Drissi
- open-wheel oval track racing)
- Sprint Cup Series season in 2008 with Bill Davis Racing)
- Boris Said[1] (although he does compete on a part-time NASCAR schedule)
- Brian Simo[2]
- Max Papis[2] (has run full seasons in the Cup and Truck Series; currently a driver coach at RCR)
- Alex Tagliani
- Mattias Ekström
- Andrew Ranger
- Kenny Habul
- Alex Kennedy
Full-time drivers
This is a list of regular NASCAR drivers who have shown particular prowess on road courses, though several of the these drivers were full-time road course drivers before transitioning to stock car oval racing.
- Jeff Gordon (9 wins 6 consecutive 1997-2000, 19 top five, 26 top ten, 8 poles out of 42 starts)
- Tony Stewart (7 wins, 5 second place, 12 top five, 19 top ten, 2 poles, in 22 starts)[5]
- Mark Martin (4 wins and 19 top five finishes out of 41 starts as of December 2010)
- Infineon and Watkins Glen since becoming full-time, winning at both tracks in 2003, second at Infineon in 2010)
- Terry Labonte (has driven as a ringer after his semi-retirement in 2006)
- Juan Pablo Montoya[2] (qualified for the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup, won at Sonoma in 2007 and Watkins Glen in 2010)
- V8 Supercarstouring car champion, two-time Watkins Glen winner)
- Nationwide Series; full-time driver in Cup)
- David Gilliland (full-time since 2007; finished second at Infineon in 2008 with Yates Racing)
- Kurt Busch (1 win at Infineon 2011, 2013 and 2nd at Watkins Glen 2010, 7 top five, 11 top ten, 2 poles out of 26 starts)
- Kyle Busch (3 wins, swept races in 2008, 5 top five, 10 top ten, 2 poles out of 18 starts)
- Chase Berth)
- Jerry Nadeau (nearly won at Sonoma in 2002 for Petty Enterprises before a mechanical failure)
- Casey Mears
- Cole Whitt
- Carlos Contreras
- Justin Marks
Wins
Current ringers Fellows, Said, and Pruett had combined for 13 Top 10 finishes in their 35 career road course starts (as of 2007).
Often, the disadvantage of having the NASCAR race car in itself, with its heavier car, narrower tire, smaller (compared to premium road-racing cars) brakes, (especially with inexperienced drivers) pit stops, and most often longer races (all NASCAR road course races are at least 200 miles/322 kilometers or longer) have hurt the "ringers".
Decline in the Cup Series
In the late 2000s, the "ringer" has steadily disappeared from the Sprint Cup Series. Factors contributing to this trend are:[7]
- The Chase for the Sprint Cuphas made it counterproductive for teams to sacrifice the driver points of their full-time drivers in exchange for a possible win by a road course specialist.
- Because of this, full-time drivers have been forced to become more proficient on road courses, which in turn means that the average NASCAR driver today is a much better road course driver than in the recent past.
The decline of "ringers" was dramatically illustrated at the 2009 Watkins Glen race. Only one road course specialist was substituting for a driver in a fully sponsored, full-season NASCAR team—
Further reading
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Borden, Brett (August 10, 2007). "Road race twists bring out new faces". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ a b c d Network, Mike (June 22, 2008). "Infineon: How Well did the Road Course Ringers Race?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ a b c Aumann, Mark (April 17, 2008). "Gurney was the sport's first 'road-course ringer'". NASCAR. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ "Pocono II: Second, third finishers press conference". Motorsport.com. August 4, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ Speedway Media
- ^ Bowles, Tom and Heffelfinger, Toni. What's the Call? Road Course Ringers, Frontstretch, June 29, 2005
- ^ a b Caraviello, David (2009-08-08). "NASCAR's road ringers reaching end of their era". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
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