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B.A.'s Archives 2006 |
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10/16/06 Mark Martin had a hard crash after being hit by J.J. Yeley. Quote # 1 One fails forward toward success. ~Charles F. Kettering Not that Mark failed in his driving at Lowes on Saturday night. After watching the tape many times I would have to agree with what Wally Dallenbach had to say. “It looks like Yeley decided to come down into pit lane and didn’t let everybody behind him know and I mean… took out two good racecars (Mark Martin and Robby Gordon).” And…”You can’t do that! You can’t just decide, I’m gonna come down to pit lane when you got guys running behind you 175 mph. You gotta pay attention to what’s around you!” Quote # 2 An optimist is a guy that has never had much experience. ~Don Marquis After coming out of the in-track care center, Mark once again reiterated his thoughts of, ‘It's just not in the cards for him to win a championship.’ After a hit like the one he had just received, is it really fair to call him a pessimist? The way he was running prior to the wreck was putting him in the lead for the Championship. After the hard hit and DNF…not so much. He is experienced enough to know it is going to be an uphill climb and not handed to him. Quote # 3 The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. ~George F. Will Mr. Martin maybe pleasantly surprised to find that many other drivers had problems and that the points are very close right now. Quote # 4 Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown Mr. Martin’s pebbles just happen to be the size of 3500lb stockcars. Quote # 5 Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald The final race is at Homestead, not Lowes. Quote # 6 When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time." ~Author Unknown Martinsville is a brand new beginning. Start your championship drive from that track. Finally, Quote # 7 The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. ~Author Unknown Did I just call Mark Martin ‘a little nut’? I’m having a good laugh right now. You would have to be a little nutty to fly around a track at 180 mph all of your life. And I’m just crazy enough to watch you do it! Comments: Your best article yet! I hope that Mark gets to read it :) Melvin PA Sounds like someone wants Mark Martin to win the championship! I wouldn't mind either. My mom would be thrilled. and given how everyone else doing I'd say it's still anybody's game! Er... race. tallglassofmilk CA Drink This! What a super way to look at things. Thanks for the chills I got just reading it. TAMEE LIGHTNER WV If its not in the cards, its not in the cards. But, if Mark gets his much deserved championship or doesn't, drives a Ford or Chevy, he will always be looked upon as a man that is one of the best at what he does and admired by those who love the sport. Drew TN  10/08/06 The Craftsman Truck Series is never disappointing. The inaugural Talladega race was full of fast, tight and hard racing. A few minor accidents, engine failures and pit stop hit-and-runs filled the first half of the race. But in true Truck racing style the “Big One” didn’t happen until the very end. Mark Martin had the lead. Todd Bodine passes him. Todd Bodine is black flagged with 9 laps left for passing Mark Martin under the apron (yellow line). When the race restarted Ted Musgrave had the lead. Mark Martin came up on the outside provoking Musgrave to block, but looking more like he was trying to slam Martin into the wall. Martin avoids this assault and with the help of Mike Wallace, zooms to the lead. On the last lap the trucks are so tight you could spit in your competitor’s window. Mike Skinner running 3rd gets loose and careens into 2nd place Mike Wallace. Todd Bodine does the same to Derrike Cope. Wallace and Cope slam into the wall. Cope’s truck takes flight. While in mid-flight Cope hits another truck that stops him from rolling and landing on his roof. In hindsight this is one good thing that comes of the trucks running so close together. Mark Martin crosses the finish line, leaving behind him a pile-up of trucks and assorted parts flying everywhere. How does the black-flagged Todd Bodine end up in 4th place? First, he was black-flagged under a yellow, allowing him to stay with the pack. Then on the last lap, the entire back row of trucks decided they didn’t want to be in the back. All of the drivers, Bodine included, began racing for the win. This produced five and six wide racing. This cannot be done at Talladega. Bodine bumped and slammed his way to a 4th place finish. Had this not been the last lap he would have for sure been penalized for “rough racing”. The top point leaders are... Todd Bodine Johnny Benson David Reutimann For all results click here Truck Series ARCA I’m going to tell you a little secret that the main stream media may not want you to know. Frank Kimmel won the ARCA race at Talladega. From reading other sports articles you would think the biggest news is that Juan Montoya’s finished in 3rd place. So? The guy raced in Formula One and we should get excited about his ARCA debut? Juan did a great job, but being a novelty in the sport should not overshadow who won the race. This is also Frank Kimmel’s first win in a restrictor plate race. Frank’s pit crew got him that win. He was the first out of the pits when the race was called on account of darkness. The race ran late and Talladega has no lights contrary to the movie entitled Talladega Nights. Highlight of the race… Taking a huge cooler of ice and dumping it into Chase Miller’s engine compartment in the hopes of cooling it down. I have never seen that done before. What happened to all the soda and beer that previously occupied the cooler? With one race to go the top three point leaders are Frank Kimmel Bobby Gerhart Billy Venturini For the full story and results click here ARCA 10/03/06 Tony Stewart rolled past the checkered flag without the loud churning of his powerful stockcar engine. He only had the sound of the crowd and the uncertainty of what position he ended up. He couldn’t have won this race? On his final lap the car sputtered. He pulled the steering wheel first to the left and back to the right, trying to get the last drops of gas to cooperate and keep those pistons firing. He rounded the 3rd turn at the Kansas Motor Speedway and heard the worst sound possible, the sound of silence. It seemed as if he had made a critical error in judgment and fuel mileage. At that moment Tony did not realize how big of a lead he had or that 2nd place Casey Mears was also out of gas and coasting in too. He also didn’t know the cars zooming past him at the finish line were lapped cars. A surprised Tony Stewart wins the Banquet 400 without any gas. His saving grace was the four Goodyear tires that kept on rolling. The Kansas race turned out to be quite a rodeo for some of the drivers. Ryan Newman spun out right off the bat and almost took out 3 of the Chasers. Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon did a grass sliding ballet (it was quite graceful) and Jeff Burton just held his breath (as did I) and hoped for the best. The pit road doubled as a drag strip in this race as I counted six drivers that received speeding penalties. Besides Stewart and Mears, Kasey Kahne and Tony Raines also ran out of fuel. The person with the biggest fuel issue was Jeff Gordon. He had fuel. He just couldn’t get it from the tank to the engine. It seems his fuel pump picked a most inopportune time to die. A very dejected (and rightfully so) Gordon will probably start bootlegging parts from the Roush garage. Mark Martin was the first driver to cross the finish line with his engine still running and the first of the Chasers, with a 3rd place finish. He’s also up to the 3rd position in the Chase. This makes me believe that Mark Martin is hinting he would like more than just a watch for his retirement gift. His determination makes me want to sing the Speed Racer song… And when the odds are against him and there's dangerous work to do you bet your life Speed Racer will see it through. (Dang! Now it’s stuck in my head) The next weekend race will take place at Talladega, Alabama. If you’re a Dale Jr. fan, this race probably gets you excited. If you’re not, you’ve probably already started twitching just thinking about the “Big One”, and will your driver be in it. 09/25/06 Jeff Burton, driver for RCR, wins the Dover race. It was a good win for Jeff because he has not won for quite a long time. It’s an even better win for RCR, not only because it moves them closer to a championship trophy, it also is a nice distraction from the past week’s events. -The Dilner Factor Bob Dilner of Speed TV reported after the Loudon race that the RCR cars of Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick had questionable parts. He reported that this was in the “gray area” of NASCAR rules so no penalties would be accessed but RCR would not be allowed to continue running their cars with this set-up. Two full days later, RCR and NASCAR said the entire story was false and what Dilner reported never happened (Jayski). Why did it take them two days to realize this story was out there? -The Corrente Factor Anthony Corrente, a former engine builder for RCR, filed suit against them for unlawful termination, defamation of character…blah, blah, blah. In a nutshell, RCR didn’t like the guy because he didn’t follow orders. His orders were not to talk to Kevin Harvick about the engines. Apparently he did talk to Kevin Harvick in depth and then got fired. He voiced his unhappiness to RCR and they didn’t like being sassed and probably told others in neighboring garages that this guy was bad news, thereby making it impossible for him to get a job. Thus infuriated, Mr. Corrente decided to get the money he felt he deserved by suing RCR. Then he jumps into the abyss by saying that RCR is a bunch of big fat cheaters and NASCAR has apparently always looked the other way (That's Racin). All this comes on the heels of the Dilner report. Why is Bob Dilner hung out to dry? Here’s my conspiracy theory… because I don't believe in coincidences. - NASCAR knew this Corrente suit was going to go public and decided they had to play interference. - Dilner's report was not false. And although not hurtful in itself, it would add fuel to the fire of the incoming lawsuit that touted outright impropriety. Therefore Bob Dilner had to be the sacrificial lamb and ‘take one for the team.' OR - It was false but spoon-fed to Mr. Dilner by "friends of Mr. Corrente" that in the past may have been reliable sources. This could make his lawsuit more believable, No? - NASCAR can pretend a “report” never happened but they cannot ignore a lawsuit where it insinuates NASCAR was either incompetent or turning a blind-eye to a single team. - RCR should be given the benefit of the doubt. They may have never cheated before (and elves and pixies run through my house daily) and this was simply too much bashing in one week. - All of these allegations of cheating were not only going to give RCR a black eye but NASCAR and The Chase for the Cup too. - NASCAR will always do, “What is in the best interest of the sport.” Always. The lesson learned today is… 1. Everyone cheats. 2. Nobody likes a tattletale. I learned that in first grade. For the Top Ten and more NASCAR news go to Splash and Go's Home Page Comments: RCR and NASCAR did actually reply the next day, Monday, but that doesn't make it any less fishy. And the timing of the lawsuit? Coincidental? Maybe. But in life there are no accidents--except on the racetrack, of course. Meanwhile... anybody but me miss Bob Dillner this weekend? Question is, would I have noticed him missing if all this hadn't gone on? Probably not. I think his awareness level went up a couple of notches. And RCR is kicking butt. So what else have we learned? A lil' controversy goes a long way--and sometimes works to everyone's favor. tallglassofmilk CA. http://drinkthis.typepad.com/answer_this/ Are you all dumb asses or something? Did you not read that NASCAR, uhhh duhhhh the people who operate and own the whole frickin' series says NOTHING HAPPENED? And because some dildo reporter gets bad information and reports a rumor, then makes a total ass of himself a conspiracy? Please jump of a building or something because your too damn stupid to reproduce more stupid people in your image. Oh yeah, i'm sure NASCAR has always been easy on Harvick and let him by with anything he wants... geeze. AP KY 08/18/06 Truck Series: The Craftsman Truck Series raced at Loudon on Saturday. It was another great race to watch, if not a little strange. Mark Martin got his jack (the entire jack with handle) stuck to the bottom of his truck. He did a full lap and pulled back into the pits to have it removed. He didn’t receive any penalties for this, I suppose because it never fell off on the track and he did not try to use it as weapon against other trucks. Didn’t the jack man notice he was missing a piece of equipment after the pit stop? Rick Crawford tags Ted Musgrave so Ted retaliated by ramming Rick into the wall. Ted then went to the garage and the moment he exited his truck he was escorted to the NASCAR trailer. Ted. Rick wants to know who put the bee in your bonnet? These drivers are in a points’ race also. Tempers flare up in this series as much as any. Johnny Benson wins again. This is getting to be a regular thing for him. Todd Bodine is the points’ leader. Cup Series: Kevin Harvick wins this multi-crash race. Early in the race… Spying an opening between Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin (an opening that a motorcycle, not a stock car, could fit through), Kevin Harvick took the lead. Denny Hamlin did a good job of controlling his car and not hitting the wall after Harvick pushed him out of the way. After watching the replay I don’t think Harvick thought this pass through and got himself in a predicament. He thought he could go between the two drivers but quickly realized he made a mistake and did not want to be apart of this Burton, Hamlin sandwich, which he created. Since racecar drivers rarely use their brakes he did what comes natural and punched the gas. The most dangerous place to be… - Wrecking on the last lap after you cross the finish line. Everyone behind you is racing for position and not thinking about slowing down until they cross that line; that’s what happened to Martin Truex Jr. He got loose on the front stretch, slid into another car and spun out-of-control across the finish line. Travis Kvapil and the Tide Ride slammed into Truex, went out-of-control and crashed into Tony Raines. The good news is they all crossed the finish line. And Finally… Tony Stewart does not like being on the outside looking in. He said about the race today, “It’s frustrating to race around those guys, it just makes you nervous.” Snap out of it Tony! It’s called racing. Would Dale Earnhardt have been worried about messing up another driver’s day? I think not. Don’t get me wrong. I like Tony. It’s just that I would prefer a fistfight to a post-race, pat-on-the-back, love fest for the ten guys chasing the Cup. Just race and maybe throw a punch now and then. (unedited) 9:22pm 08/13/06 The rumors at hand… - Robert Yates Racing (RYR) would like to have two veteran drivers for the #88 car in 2007. - Candidates are, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd and Ward Burton (Jayski). Mark? No. I do not believe Mark Martin will drive a full-time Truck schedule and part-time Cup schedule in the #88. Technically that’s a full-time schedule for Martin and if that is the case why not stay in the #6 car? Ricky and Ward? Maybe? Why a two-headed driver? Why isn’t one full-timer enough? Ward Burton said he wanted a full-time ride and as far as I know Ricky Rudd hasn’t said anything. Rumor 2 - Mark Martin with the help of Jack Roush to buy RYR. This would be another full-time gig for Mark. Once again, not likely. - Yate's camp said this business proposition was discussed. Martin's camp said it was not discussed (Jayski). This could have been a potential coo for Jack Roush. It would give Roush racing seven cars in the Cup circuit with Roush/Yates engines. Remember the four-car limit? This would provide a big loophole for Roush Racing. Rumor 3 I’m confused on this next rumor. - McDonalds may come on board as a sponsor for the #88 car with Martin as the driver (Jayski). At the same time RYR said they would put Ward in the #88 but he needed to bring a sponsor with him Scene Daily. What does McDonalds have against Ward? Can David Gilliland become competitive in the #38 car in time for the Daytona 500? RYR has to decide whether to stay or go, then get the #88 “ghost car” taken care of so they can finally concentrate on David Gilliland. Winning a Busch race does not make you a competitive Cup driver. I do believe he can become competitive if he has an owner determined to hone his driving skills. Here’s my answer… Put Ward in the #88 car with McDonalds and CitiFinacial as sponsors. Granted, Ward hasn’t been in a car since 2004 but I think with a little practice he will be ready for the Daytona 500. He has won the race before so I don’t think he’ll have too many problems. Crown David Gilliland the new “Candy Man” in 2007 and see what happens. If RYR's 2007 season goes down hill, then by all means...sell, sell, sell! As for Mark Martin… He will never completely retire. He will always have one foot in the ‘NASCAR door’, as long as his son is still rising through the amateur ranks. Once his son becomes a rookie in the NASCAR circuit, he may step back. Who am I kidding? Mark Martin will never walk away from the smell of gasoline and rubber. (unedited) Comments: I swear, I can't remember any retirement that started such stories as the one of Mark's. It's getting to be like a bad celebrity story LOL. He's like the Tom Cruise of the racing world. Melvin PA With Mark it is not about retirement but rather slowing down a little bit. The grind of 38 weeks is what has gotten to Mark. Great analysis Beth! Dennis Stockcarpitpass.com IL I think Mark will be part-time in the 88...it won't be a full-time season, because the Cup races he runs will be at the same track and the same weekends as the Truck races, so he'll have more weekends off in the season, which was his goal, to spend more time with Matt and Arlene. But you're right, Mark will NEVER retire...and I can see Roush buying RYR, that's very feasible, so that by 2009 one of his current teams can be transferred to RYR with Mark running it...BIG loophole, and he doesn't have to let anyone go. Who'd want to let any of his current 5 teams go?? And unless Todd washes out and the 6 goes away.... BB699 VA. 08/05/06 It’s been a real ‘snooze fest’ in the NASCAR world as of late. No hard racing, no snide remarks, fistfights, hand shoves or even a scathing glare. This is the time of year (since the introduction of the Race to The Chase) when everyone is protective of his points… or lack thereof. Mark Martin knows this better than any driver. He is dogged in his pursuit for a win, for a championship and validation for why he continues to race in the top tier of the NASCAR series. Mark Martin said after the California race, "I've been fighting and gouging in that 6 car for 19 years, and I'm going to fight with these guys to the very end. I'm going to go down swinging.'' I wouldn’t expect any less from this driver who has been described as, the best driver to have never won a championship. This doesn’t negate the fact that Kasey Kahne won both the Busch and Cup races in California. It is just recognition of how much harder this guy from Batesville, Arkansas has had to prove himself. He has been relentless in his quest for the championship trophy that defines greatness in his chosen career field. Would it have been easier for Mark had he had a chance to be a “young gun” of the last ten years? Who knows? I’m not a person who resides in the land of “What if?” I suspect Mark Martin also resides in a different land. He is from a place where he was a rookie and won, a team owner who lost everything and a racer who got a second chance to follow his dream. He’s got to scratch, claw and dig-in to make the “Chase” and once again try and grasp the NASCAR golden ring. Every driver feels that pressure right now. There is just something about Mark Martin’s perceived underdog status that endears him to the common folk and their daily endeavors to obtain their dream. Comments: They almost gave you props on nascar.com Several drivers tried to stretch their final tank of gas to the finish and rookie Reed Sorenson almost pulled it off, taking the lead on Lap 241 after most of the top cars pitted for a splash of gas and two tires. Just thought I'd hollar. Love you all Bubba Shafer LA Those words we heard Sunday night were that of a very determined Mark Martin. I have no doubt whatsoever that he will be in the Chase come Saturday night. I guarantee he will be exhausted, come out of that car pouring with sweat, and walk his way to that stage for pictures and be the same, hard-working Mark that will give it everything he's got. Melvin PA After the race a few weeks back they were talking to Jr. and he had Mark right next to him. Jr. couldn't have shown more respect and admiration than what he did for Mark that day. It was hard fought for both to get what they got. I have been watching Nascar since 89' and I have seen themm come and go, beat and bang and cuss and scream but Mark Martin has stayed the gentleman driver his whole career. I once read that he stayed up the night before a race having to grind and fill an oil filter fitting because he could save some weight. Passion is not a word for Mark but a way of life. Bubba Shafer LA 08/29/06 Bristol Motor Speedway lies in a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains. It sits there and seemingly waits. While empty, it holds its past tight. The ghosts roam freely for a bit. Although structurally opposite of Talladega, they both possess an invisible but thick haziness of yesteryear. Just as the fog is hard-pressed to leave the valleys, the phantoms of races gone by wander the grounds and wait. They wait for the gates to open and the vibrancy of life to fill the bleachers of this modern coliseum. Every racetrack is different and has its own feel to it, but not every track has such a past. The Bristol night race is a coveted venue. The race is unique. The track and its atmosphere is what calls the spectators home year after year. If you don’t feel the difference when you’re at this track, then you’ve probably got a different kind of spirit in you. That being said… Fellow fans are what made my on-track experience a fun one. Nobody is unhappy at a NASCAR race. You might find one fan a little hot and maybe a little tired, but once those car engines start up, all the earlier woes disappear. I find it easier to write about a race if I can watch it on TV and replay the video. There is so much more going on when you sit in the bleachers, experiencing it one on one. It’s as though it’s your race to own and not to share with others. I will share. Roush once again dominated this weekend. Mark Martin surpasses the field in the Truck race and Matt Kenseth sweeps the Busch and Cup series. I would be very surprised if a Hendrick car wins the Nextel Cup Championship. The Roush locomotive is gaining steam and everyone knows that ‘momentum’ wins championships. Mark Martin’s pit crew drops him to tenth in points. No excuses, no speculation, it is cut and dry. Barring any unforeseen accidents or engine troubles at California, Mark should be able to still make the chase. The same goes for Dale Earnhardt Jr. His sheer skill and determination at Bristol keeps him in the top ten. This week the NASCAR circus packs up and heads west. California is a fairly new track. It doesn’t have the haunting feel of Bristol, although it is still a pleasant race venue. Those of you going, enjoy! That means you, Mom and Jeff. Comments: Looks like you had a great time!! And Hi Dennis!! Long time no see!!! :D:D:D BB699 VA Too bad you didn't get any pictures of that questionable pit stop ;) But Mark will be okay. He's fought too hard to get there, and he will be contending for that Cup once again. Melvin PA Glad to read your coments on the race, I know how much fun you had, but it was even more fun listening to you when you got home! Love Mom B :) FL 08/21/06 Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not accustomed to being booed. You could see it in his face and hear it in his words after Saturday’s Busch race. He was the winner after knocking Carl Edwards out of the lead. Carl Edwards, who was the victim, quickly loses his victimized status when seemingly out of nowhere crashes into Jr.’s driver’s side door. Dale Jr. was none too happy about this as he had his hand out the window. Carl goes from sorrowful sufferer to villain in only seconds. That’s racin’. Matt Kenseth wins the Michigan Cup race. A Roush car wins at Michigan. No big surprise there. The final lap was exciting only for the fact that Mark Martin barely edged out Dale Jr. for fifth place. According to NASCAR.com, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are the only two projected to secure their position in the top ten, probably by the next race. Speaking of the next race, the interesting statistics are that seven of the drivers in the top ten have won at Bristol before. This will make for a very exciting race Saturday night. The funny quote of the weekend goes to Carl Edwards. After the debacles of the last lap in the Busch race, a reporter commented that Carl got loose right before he was punted (not his words) out of the way by Jr. The reporter then asked if Carl broke something (on the car). Carl said, “I broke something, I think it was traction.” Yes, it is hard to keep traction when someone is “freight training” you off the track. I laughed. For news and the top ten, go to my home page. Comments: I was shocked by Carl's behavior. It's one thing get up in someone's facemor even give 'em a shove. I wish NASCAR would let them get more of their aggression out that way. It's something else entirely to go after each other in the car when the race is over!!!!! Carl could have really hurt Junior with that hot-headed move and quite frankly I don't understand why he wasn't docked points. Of course I'm remembering back to when Dale Jr. got docked for saying "a bad word" on TV. Maybe if we complain to the FCC... But back to Carl... what's gotten into him? tallglassofmilk CA 08/21/06 Support your local short track. You’ve heard this before. I’m not going to reiterate the monetary reasons why. I am going to tell you that they are fun to go to and that should be reason enough. I can’t speak for all short tracks, but Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola seems to get better every time I go. Friday night’s features started off with a Media Night race; this race takes well-know people from the local media (TV, radio and newspaper), puts them in a ‘real racers’ bomber car and have them race a 10 lap sprint. Over the intercom they said there were only two drivers entered last year. This year there were eight. Marty White of WXBM won the race. The only woman entered in the race was Mollye Barrows from WEARTV and she finished 5th. Short tracks also have a lot more character if not characters. I had just purchased a can of libation when a security man zooms up on a golf cart. He looks at me and says, “I gotta get a drunk.” “Oh?” is all I say. Seconds go by and he comes out of the bleachers with a Deputy Sheriff. The deputy stands next to me. I crane my neck to look up at him. He stares at my beer. I then inform him I am not the ‘drunk’ in question. He laughs and jumps in the golf cart. Another deputy literally jumps past me and slides into the back of the golf cart. It was a very Starsky and Hutch move. The ‘tall-one’ salutes me and said, “We’re off to get us a drunk.” It was just another way to say, “I’m sworn to serve and protect, ma’am.” I busted out laughing. That was the reaction they wanted as I could hear them laughing as they sped away. They meant what they said because this is a family-friendly track and that behavior is not tolerated. This track is home of the annual Snowball Derby. Almost every legendary NASCAR driver has entered this race vying for the coveted Snowball trophy. If you don’t believe me, here are just a few names… All of the Allison’s Both Labontes Dale Earnhardt Mark Martin Sterling Marlin Kenny Schrader (What track hasn’t this guy been at?) Wallace’s David Pearson Kyle Petty Joe Nemechek Ted Musgrave Reed Sorenson Kyle Busch Ernie Irvan Bobby Hamilton etc… Go here to see more Derby Drivers There are many more great drivers that may be a little less well known to the NASCAR nation but are legends in their own right. On a side note, it doesn’t snow here. I’m supporting my track and they are delivering! I hope you have your own Five Flags out there. Tell us about your track! 08/14/06 Are you a road course fan? Do you want to read more about Watkins Glen? Or would you just like to hear a funny story? To be fair to Watkins Glen, it is a fine racecourse, probably one of the best. It just seems it would be a spotter’s nightmare. If I were a spotter and my driver told me he just wrecked on turn 8, I would have to say, “Really? Because I can only help you with turns 1 and 2. I’m not even sure what state turn 8 is in?” Okay, so I exaggerated a little. Here’s the recap… Kevin Harvick wins the Cup race. There was no roughhousing at the end because Kevin’s only competition was his ‘buddy’ Tony Stewart. Kurt Busch wins the Busch race at Watkins Glen. The ending was awesome as Robbie Gordon desperately did not want to be first place loser. They roughed each other up on that last lap. And Saturday in Nashville the Craftsman Truck Series bestowed Johnny Benson the winning trophy in what turned out to be the best race of the weekend. See my article below. Now for the funny story… My children got a new remote control racetrack. It came with two racecars, the #24 and the #48. My soon-to-be three-year-old son, disregarding the hand controls, grabbed the #24 and commenced to pushing it along the racetrack, all the while making a “fingernails on chalkboard” sound. My sweet six-year-old daughter sat down and asked to play. She really took to it and loved zooming around the track, sometimes being a little overzealous. She didn’t slow down on the turns, thereby sending the 48 car through the precarious plastic guardrails where it became airborne and slammed into the couch. Being a typical six-year-old the questions started. “Who am I?” “You’re Jimmie Johnson.” She starts yelling at Jimmie and telling him to slow down. I then told her that if she was going to yell at Jimmie, then she was actually his crew chief. “What’s my name?” “Chad.” “My uncle Chad?” “No, never mind. And if you’re in a race, why would you want your driver to drive slow?” “This isn’t a race, Mama, it’s practice.” “Oh. Shouldn’t he still drive fast?” “No, Mama, he keeps flying off the track and I’m tired of putting him back on. He needs to drive slower!” I walk away thinking this new toy will keep them busy and give me a much needed break. Then the 48 car hits the 24 car, sending it flying off the track. This angers my son and he throws the 48 car at its crew chief’s head. 48’s crew chief then screams, grabs the 24 car and throws it against the wall. I concluded, while avoiding all of the flying Hendrick cars, that racing can be a nasty business and being a track owner isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 08/13/06 Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the one you miss. Johnny Benson did just that and won the Toyota Tundra 200 in Nashville and got himself a guitar. Todd Bodine and Mike Skinner completely forgot there was a race and completely forgot they were the lead trucks. In the final lap they decided to just push, bump and ram one another into the wall. Their tempers (especially Skinner) got the best of them and allowed third place Benson to sail right by and capture the checkered flag. The funny part of this story is that Bodine, Skinner and their spouses are supposed to be going on vacation together. I might rethink those plans after watching Mrs. Skinner throw a clipboard from the pit box. And Todd did say, “That’s chicken you-know-what, to do something like that.” Since they are friends maybe Todd will give Mike a new nickname like “C.S.” When they’re fishing Todd can tell Mike, “Don’t forget the poles, C.S.” Yep, they’re going have some good times. Bib Bruton was on fire, literally. When Mike Skinner left his pits, a fire erupted and standing in the middle of it was catch-can man Bib. At first I don’t think he knew he was on fire. He began hitting at the flames climbing up his leg and only then did he realize he had a serious predicament on his hands. This is when he jumped over the pit wall and did the tuck and roll technique. It really works, folks! This man was using his brain. I would have just rolled there on pit road but Bib had the presence of mind to realize rolling on pit road could get him run over also! He may have been a little scorched, but he kept on working. Right front tire woes plagued many of the other drivers such as Rick Crawford and Ron Hornaday. As soon as that right front ‘went south’, the truck was quickly introduced to the outside wall. To round out the top five were Sprague, Ambrose, Musgrave and Gaughan. Todd Bodine maintains the points lead. 08/07/06 Tony Stewart called Carl Edwards an “Eddie Haskell.” I assume by that remark that he is saying that Carl is sneaky and an instigator. The track reporter then goes right to Carl for a response to this personal attack on Carl’s character. At this exact moment I take a big gulp of Coke. I thought Carl was going to say, “That race was last week and we’re going to concentrate on the race at hand.” Instead Carl says, “Tony’s a MORON!” I choked on my Coke and in true Three Stooges fashion, spit it across the table. Not what I was expecting him to say, but funny nonetheless. Carl is turning into Kevin Harvick. On with the race recap… Rick Crawford wins the truck race. I really like his website! Don’t be mad at me if the song sticks in your head all day. Todd Bodine retains the points lead. Kevin Harvick wins the Busch race and continues to reign as the points leader in this series. Jimmie Johnson wins the coveted Brickyard 400 trophy. The conspiracy theorist leapt out of the closet. Not that I don’t think there is some validity to what they are saying. Robin Miller on Speed Report (Speed TV) said that the only reason Jimmie was capable of winning after having a tire blow out and pit problems was due to all the yellow flags that were thrown for debris. He more than insinuated that the debris was imaginary and NASCAR did this to ensure that the points leader could play catch-up. The only reason I may entertain this idea is because later I was told Mark Martin said on more then one occasion during the race that there was no debris and tell them (NASCAR) to stop throwing those yellow flags. Speaking of Mark Martin, he finished 5th. In his interviews he always thanks his fans. I never hear any other drivers do that, unless they’re in Victory Lane. And Finally… Throughout the day the announcers questioned whether the Brickyard 400 is now bigger than the Daytona 500. I don’t think so. They are both spectacular venues at historic tracks; equally exciting with equally desirable trophies. If you offer me a ticket to the Daytona 500 or a ticket to the Brickyard 400, I will say the same thing to both offers. “What? Are you all out of Bristol night tickets? Come on! We’d all rather go to that race!” Have A Comment? Comments: Mark did say that on the radio at least 4 or 5 times...But not all of the yellows were for Jimmie to play catch up...At least one of them for so Jeff Gordon could get back on the lead lap...I like to call them Gordon yellows. John Blackburn IN Saying the debris cautions were thrown for Jimmie is ridiculous. There were 2 debris cautions in the whole race. I believe they were around lap 87-89 and lap 143-146. Jimmie was already leading by lap 143 so that one certainly didn't help him, it hurt him by taking away his several second lead. Plus, I can just as easily argue that the lap 87 caution was to help Stewart since he had to come back to the pits twice at one point. And, Mark is quoted as saying this after the race...“We had a loose wheel on the next-to-last run. We were very fortunate to get that caution, that last one.” That doesn't sound like a man who didn't want to see any cautions. Kim Fox MD I think it's ridiculous to compare the Brickyard to Daytona. This isn't our track. It's a storied track, but to me, tradition dictates what a good race is. It would be any other race if it were not for location. And it's relatively new. Daytona has been around forever. This has been around for 11 years. I'm not sold. Melvin PA 08/02/06 I’m not just a NASCAR fan, I’m a fanatic, although it sometimes comes with its own burdens. I am becoming intolerant of the disdainful looks I receive from non-NASCAR fans. You know the look! When you’re at a nice dinner and people want to know who you are and what you do. I tell them I’m a writer and I have a racing website. First they look you up and down. Then being the snooty people they are, they spit out, “What kind of racing?” This would probably be a good time to say ‘Formula One’ because most racing-illiterate Americans think anything European is fabulous; instead, I blurt out NASCAR! You’d think I’d said my grandpa was Hitler from the surprised look that I get. Then I get a comment such as, “You don’t look like the type.” What? I want to tell ya’ll a little story. I have this highfaluting friend. She is a professional woman usually dressed to the tee and drenched in jewelry and perfume. She could not understand why I was so excited about cars that went in a circle. I told her that no explaining could make her understand. She would only ‘get it’ if she went to a NASCAR race. Well, three years ago that is exactly what she did. She is now an absolute fanatic. She has drivers that she hates (sorry Carl) and drivers she is obsessed with (Hey Mark). She can give you a play by play of the race from the week before. We now go to races together and talk ad nauseam about the race for months afterward. I have many friends who are NASCAR fans and here are some of their professions… Lawyer Truck Driver Court Reporter Marketing Director Realtor Chief Petty Officer Chef Accountant Housewife Counselor Airline Pilot Secretary Contractor Boat Captain Off-shore Oil Rig Worker These people are the NASCAR Nation. And if you think that a Lawyer and a Truck Driver don’t have anything in common, then, literally, you don’t know Jack (Roush)! Comments: I understand completely. I'm the youngest and the only girl in my family..and the only person in the family obsessed with Nascar. Oh my..do I get teased a lot. But just for giggles...check our Scene and Heard on Nascar.com. There is a post there by Marty Smith called She's Smokin'. He was extremely rude in my opinion to this Nascar fan by printing this and I would like your opinion. Cindi Redding FL. As an avid NASCAR fan, gal, I feel your pain! I am a middle school teacher and you have to watch for clues to find "fellow NASCAR fans!" My husband calls it "The Secret Handshake." 1. Carry your driver lunch kit to school. (Bobby Labonte's is the best!) 2. Have your driver's number on your back windshield of your car. (At least 5" one and a small round decal to match!) 3. Call in "sick" on Monday after the Texas Race. 4. On t-shirt day, wear the "less gaudy" shirts with your driver's face on the front and the huge pic of his car on the back. (The bright yellow #43 Cheerios is always subtle.) 5. Always, and I mean always, pass ANY car with an #8, #24, or #20 plastered on the back of the windshield. Then when you get by their 1/2 ton truck in your VW turbo, SMILE and WAVE! 6. When someone says they just "don't get it" tell them they don't need to...because WE do and WE know who WE are by the "Secret Handshake!" Barbara Moore TX 07/17/06 I have a bone to pick. Race announcers in every race series are using the terms “Gas and Go” and “Splash and Go” in a very flippant manner. I’m here to set the record straight with B.A.’s dictionary. Gas and Go: A pit stop in which you fill-up with gasoline and/or top off with gasoline to ensure you have a full tank. No tire changes, no other adjustments. The driver can still maybe get a drink and have a windshield pull-off. Splash and Go: A desperate measure, because you have NO gas! You are literally running on fumes. A pit stop in which you have a gallon or two of gasoline thrown into your tank so you can make the last few laps of the race. No tire changes, no other adjustments, no drinks, no pull-off, NO TIME! In some cases, a catch can and gasman leave with the car because the driver has NO TIME to waste. The gasman usually falls off; the catch can sometimes becomes a permanent fixture. And “Splash and Dash” and “Gas and Dash” are not acceptable, so stop using those terms. “Folks, have you ever been nervous?” That’s what Benny Parsons said towards the end of this race. That is an understatement! The crew chiefs were sweating it out the final two laps, and for good reason. Every driver’s car was low on fuel. Elliot Sadler would have finished the race in 3rd (instead of 25th) had there not been two caution flags with three laps to go. Here are some conversations I picked up on some of the Race Day Scanners: Crew Chief: Looking good. We have enough gas to make it to the end. (What he was thinking was…“If this race ends NOW!”) 1st caution flag 2nd caution flag Crew Chief: Okay, lets watch that fuel. We wanna make it to the end of the race. Driver: WHAT? I thought you said I had enough to make it to the end? Crew Chief: Ahhh, not so much anymore. You’re doing a great job buddy; keep it up and save that gas. Driver: Radio is silent…but the driver was thinking…Son of a *****! I can either race or save gas, but I can’t do BOTH! Other happenings on the track… - Newman punted Stewart into the wall. - Waltrip punted Newman. - Kurt Busch crashes. - Junior’s car just gave up and died. - Bowyer takes out Vickers and Kvapil becomes a casualty of those two, or Kvapil's spotter was sound asleep. - Waltrip ran himself in the back of a car going about 30 miles an hour. Why’d he do that? Kyle Busch won the race and strangely enough had enough gas to do doughnuts and pretend to drag race himself. C’est la vie – That’s life in the gas lane! 07/11/06 Jeremy Mayfield opened up a can of worms that Ray Evernham could have done without. Jeremy’s run for the 2006 championship has been less then lackluster while Kasey Kahne’s has been shining. I believe the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back happened Saturday July 1st. Mr. Evernham was in attendance at the Kansas ARCA race where his development driver Erin Crocker was racing. He was not in attendance at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona Beach where his top-level drivers were racing. Kasey Kahne finished 25th and Jeremy finished a miserable 36th. The next day Jeremy did catch up to Ray Evernham and Erin Crocker at the F1 USGP in Indianapolis. Jeremy mentioned that Ray didn’t say a lot to him. So a week goes by and Jeremy says "I haven't talked to Ray much," Mayfield told reporters behind his hauler before qualifying. "We don't see Ray much. I don't know. He encourages us when he is around, but we haven't seen him much lately." And, "He wasn't at Sears Point, either. ... I don't think he is here today." NASCAR.COM Jeremy is clearly frustrated. He didn’t have to say anything. Instead of towing the company line and giving the same drab comments that Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are famous for, he opened his mouth and quotes like this came flying out: “He used to be on top of stuff like this pretty hot and heavy and he's letting it take its course, I guess," Mayfield said. "I don't know what else to say. I'm being honest with you." NASCAR.COM Ray then counters with, “Get off my back, Man!” No, I’m just kidding. What Ray really said was, "There are people that do it that are married; there are people that do it that have relationships. ... I've taken on so much more that I'm almost taken aback by the fact that people think I'm distracted." NASCAR.COM Jeremy needs the kind of love Mark Martin and Jack Roush have for one another. If Mark is racing and his car is not performing well, meaning it’s driving like a dump truck, he will tell Pat(Tryson),”WHERE’S JACK, GET JACK ON THE RADIO!” A minute will go by and you can hear Jack say “It’s Jack, Mark.” Now that’s what I call service! Just between you and me, Jack does not want to get on the radio with Mark because he knows Mark is in a really bad mood and will tell Jack to fix something that probably at this point in the race is not fixable. Race wrap-up. In hindsight Jeff Gordon made a real dumb move by knocking Matt Kenseth off the track. Jeff would have won anyway because Matt would have run out of gas. Instead, Jeff forced fans to waste perfectly good beer by throwing it at his car. Bad, Jeff, Bad! Have A Comment? Comments: I think Mayfield's days with Evernham are numbered, especially if he doesn't put up some numbers this year. There's too many up and comings. Melvin PA Jeff will wish he hadn't done that when he is racing for the chase and Matt knocks him out of the way accidentally. Rich OK It is not what happened, it was who was involved. Had it been Jr. or Smoke instead of Jeff, there would be few, if any, comments. I suspect most comments are anti-Jeff fans. Where was all this outrage when Matt took out Jeff in Bristol? Larry Miller TN A beach ball gets a caution thrown at it! This can only happen in NASCAR and only at Daytona. There were no actual “Big Ones,” aka, colossal crashes that take out half of the field. Throughout the race a car may have become loose, thereby snagging another car in it’s lone attempt at vehicular suicide. The largest stockcar melee actually came at the end of the race when J.J.Yeley and Greg Biffle tangled and took Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon out of contention with them. This wouldn’t have happened had they been running single file, but as in most restrictor plate races they were all packed next to each other like sardines. In these packs if a driver sneezes, he alone can take out five racecars. Would someone please tell Denny Hamlin if you are going to stand behind the Vice President of the United States, do not put the biggest wad of gum in your mouth and commence to chewing it like a cow with its cud. Tony Stewart wins the Pepsi 400. He not only climbs the fence but he jumps in the stands with all the fans. I was impressed, although he was going blind from all the cameras flashing just inches from his face. Tony did not think this stunt through, as his crew had to come escort him out. Not rescue him, but escort. Tony proved NASCAR has the best fans and no intentional harm would befall him. In other news: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins the Daytona Busch race and Terry Cook wins the Kansas Truck race. Which brings up a question: Why don’t the infield walls have softer barriers? Jeff Fuller in a Busch car and Kelly Sutton in the Truck Series had hard hits recently. I agree with Larry Mac when he said there should be no grass on the inside of a racetrack. It’s like racing a four-wheeler on an ice pond (I know from experience), you can’t stop on your own and it really hurts when you do stop. And if you’re like me, your dad will yell at you for cracking his race helmet. On to Chicagoland! My brother J.D. will be there taking great pictures and getting all the inside information. This is more of a plea than a statement. Have A Comment? Comments: "Would someone please tell Denny Hamlin if you are going to stand behind the Vice President of the United States, do not put the biggest wad of gum in your mouth and commence to chewing it like a cow with its cud." LMAO. Have you seen the pic of them during the anthem? tallglassofmilk CA As always pretty good. I didn't get to watch it because of promises and was happy Smoke was on fire. Leave it to Tony to go over the top (Pun intended) and into the crowd. wish I could have seen it. Once again being a redneck has its perks. Racecar drivers fall out of the sky. bubba shafer LA "Once again being a redneck has its perks. Racecar drivers fall out of the sky." Good one Bubba! B.A. 06/26/06 I figured out why road courses are not for my ‘viewing pleasure’. The Infineon race was in progress, I had just logged on to my computer and clicked onto NASCAR.com. Suddenly I heard Dale Earnhardt Jr. screaming with excitement. I looked at the TV and saw nothing that would produce such fervor. After a moment of slight confusion (it doesn’t take much) I realized one of the NASCAR/Trackpass videos started up and Dale Jr. was trapped in time at Daytona International Speedway on my computer and not in Sonoma, Ca. I never heard any shouts of excitement during the race at Infineon. There was no heart pounding acceleration, excluding restarts. Although that first crash took out several drivers, it still looked surreal. The crash seemed to take place in slow motion yet nobody had the capacity to stop and they continued to ping-pong off one another. How does a wreck like that happen on a track like Infineon? Both red-flagged crashes were more similar to a pile-up on a freeway rather then a crash on a speedway. I don’t want more crashes. I just want more speed, more side by side racing, and more exclamations of emotion coming from the driver’s radios. The big hubbub of the day was Brian Vickers going to a Toyota team and Jeff Gordon (race winner) announcing his engagement. Neither of them can apparently stick with American-made products. Terry Labonte made it clear he was not ready to be hauled off to a nursing home, as he led laps and finished in the 3rd position. Is the world off its axis? Busch drivers are beating Buschwackers, and veteran drivers like Johnny Benson (Truck Series) can’t stop winning races. If Derrike Cope (1990 Daytona 500 winner) wins at Daytona this weekend, it might be one of the most diverse years on record. Who came out winners this weekend, besides Jeff Gordon (who is now 8th in the standings)? Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne stayed stationary in the top three positions. Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle all moved up a position. Dale Jr., Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick all lost positions and Denny Hamlin fell out of the top ten. The July 4th weekend is approaching and that can only mean that Daytona is the next track to be visited. I want to say the Firecracker 400 but I know it's a soft drink race now. On a side note: NASCAR's very own Kurt Busch is voted 3rd on GQ's Ten Most Hated Athletes. Seems he's about as sweet as a stepped on rattle snake. Have A Comment? Comments: That was not Dale Jr. screeming when you opened NASCAR.com. It was Jeff Gordon ("You Guys Are Awesome"). Michael Binsley SC oops! I said I was confused! B.A. If it were not for characters like Kurt or Jr or either Gordon etc, writers would be hard pressed to have anything to write about and readers little to read as the racing in Nascar has ceased to exist. Paul Webster FL i agree im only a short trip to the track road racing doesnt do it for me either i went water skiing nice to read from somone with so much knowledge thanks Desmond Johnson CA 06/19/06 I grab my coffee, turn on my computer and begin to pore over the race recaps from this weekend. As a racing enthusiast I have a hard time transferring over from watching racing all weekend on TV to Monday morning talk shows. Today was different. I switch over to Speed Channel and instead of watching someone duct tape an engine together, Dave Despain’s Wind Tunnel is on. His show was dedicated to an interview with Chris Economaki, the great sports interviewer, past track announcer and teller of unique behind-the-scenes tales. Viewing this helps curb my racing withdraw for the day. I say, “withdraw” because only a handful of people I know care to discuss or listen to me talk “racing” ad nauseam seven days a week. Even my children sometimes wish I were more of a soccer mom and less of a racing/writer mom. But recently I proved to them that they can have much more fun at a go-cart track than a Chuck E Cheese. Nothing against Chuck E Cheese, but you really have to like children to go into a place like that. I don’t. On with the recap: Johnny Benson wins the Michigan Truck race in his home state to the delight of his family, friends and fans (who, by the way, had their own section). If you think that was an easy win, try having the tenacious Mark Martin on your bumper. David Gilliland wins the Kentucky Busch race. Who? Yes, a new name enters Victory Lane. Heck, so many Cup drivers enter the Busch race (affectionately known as Busch Whackers) and win it that I’m not familiar with most of the full-time Busch driver names. Mr. Gilliland had no sponsor, a not-so-well-known owner and all their engines are built in-house. He’s not even a full-time Busch driver. Talk about a Cinderella story. I predict he will participate in more Busch races and with a sponsor. Jeff Fuller had a hard hit in Kentucky. Whenever the rescue personnel are cutting the roof off of a car, you know it’s serious. Last reports were he is out of the hospital, and that is a great sign. Kasey Kahne wins the rain-soaked Michigan Cup race. Normally I don’t give much credence to someone who wins a race due to inclement conditions. That being said, Kasey’s car was strong and he has won 3 other times this year, so it’s not a stretch to assume he would have won had the race continued. There were quite a few crashes in this race, and if memory serves me, this isn’t normally a “crash fest” track. Tony Stewart, with the help of Jeff Green, hits the wall again. His shoulder seemed fine as he was hammering the front wheel-well of his own car. Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch were the losers for drivers already in the top ten. Martin and Stewart dropping two positions and Busch dropping out of the top ten altogether. Mark Martin is still having pit problems. Bad calls and bad pit stops have been plaguing him as of late. Has anyone thought about bringing Jimmy Fennig back? Nothing against Pat Tryson, but this is Mark’s last year. It’s just a suggestion. I watched a four set DVD collection called ‘American Stock’ that details the early years of stock car racing from 1936 –1971. I was pleasantly surprised. The pictures and film footage alone is worth taking the time to view. Some pictures, newspaper clippings and home movies were found collecting dust in these race family’s homes. I was told that since this DVD was produced no less than seven of the interviewees have passed away. This may not be the fast paced IMAX NASCAR DVD but it is much richer and full of stock car treasures. Here are some of the entertaining and hard-to-believe facts I found while watching this DVD. A driver could be held hostage by fans. A driver could make $500.00 a night running moonshine. If a driver ran out of tires he might steal the radials of a race fan’s car parked in the infield. If a driver’s engine failed he would have his son retrieve the family car from the parking lot to extricate the engine and place it in the stockcar. A woman had a land speed record. There was no auto racing for a three-year period. Many of the first racers and crew were highly decorated war heroes. The Hudson Hornet ruled the track from 1951-1953 and invented the saying, “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” The Hemi was invented in World War Two. You could drive with a monkey in your stockcar. An owner could be forced out of the circuit because he looked like a Nazi. Richard Petty was almost a mechanic and a ‘never-to-be’ seven-time Winston Cup Champion. AAA, who now adorns the Roush #6 racecar, had immense disdain for NASCAR. Louise Smith could be driving down the road in the family car, turn left and end up in a NASCAR race, much to the dismay of her husband. I’ve come to the conclusion that Kenny Wallace is the Fonty Flock of our time. I was posed a question after watching this DVD; Did I believe that the highly paid, slightly spoiled drivers of today would want to race if they had to go through the hardship of the drivers of yesteryear? The answer is, yes. A racecar driver is a racecar driver, no matter what. It’s in their blood and no amount of setbacks or hardships will curb their desire to compete. If you don’t believe me then watch the profile on Wendell Scott. You not only get the interesting early history of NASCAR and colorful stories but it is chalked full of comments by well known drivers, sportswriters, owners and family members. To find out more, go to American Stock The makers of this movie said it would make a great Father’s Day gift. They weren’t kidding. I’m all set and that was easy. (unedited) The Great Race Weekend May/2006 My intention is not to sound ethnocentric but I’m glad an American won the Indy 500. Sam Hornish drank the milk and draped himself in the American Flag. I loved it and felt proud to be an American. It’s Memorial Day weekend and that is how it should be.  After perusing the sports pages, I noticed there were as many articles on Danica Patrick as there were on Sam Hornish. She came in 8th place. Good job but Sam Hornish won. Granted, a woman in auto racing still seems to be a cute novelty (although it shouldn’t be) and IRL needs all the attention it can get, but the winner is the winner and everyone else is not. I prefer to read about how Sam made that slingshot move around Marco Andretti for the win. That was exciting and a one-for-the-records race finish. I watched so much racing this weekend that I have actually started running races together in my mind. I watched races in Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina and even Monaco. I’d go to sleep after one race or qualifying and the next morning didn’t know if I was going to the French Riviera or the Indiana cornfields. I need to get a life or at least get paid for living this one. In a nutshell, Congratulations to Ron Hornaday (CTS), Carl Edwards (Busch), Sam Hornish (IRL), Kasey Kahne (Cup) and Fernando Alonso (F-1). Tony Stewart has an injured wing. The ‘33’ Busch car has not been his friend this year. He should nickname it “Bronco” as that car has flipped him, rolled him and slammed him into the wall. The ‘20’ car turned on him too, and where did the ‘20’ car wreck, but on lap 33. Strange but true! Where’s your monkey, Tony? At least if you called him Chim-Chim, you could carry him in the car with you. Kyle Busch had an on-track temper tantrum. He’s just following in his brother’s footsteps, a little too well if you ask me. They fight Authority; Authority always wins (per John Mellencamp). Jeff Gordon has no love for Goodyear. The Roush boys are all smiles, as all five came in the top ten on Sunday night. Nobody could be happier than Ray Evernham and Kasey Kahne. Kasey is turning out to be the “real deal.” Even Jeremy Mayfield seems to have broken some bad luck by getting a 15th place finish. Your top 5 in the standings are: Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Truck, Busch and Cup races will all be at Dover International Speedway this weekend. The All-star Crashfest May/2006 That’s how Tony Stewart described Saturday night’s race. He should know. He was involved in two separate crashes. The first one he had no control over. The jury’s still out on the second one. How it played out: Scott Riggs wins the Nextel Open and advanced to the Challenge. Kyle Petty wins the fans vote and advances to the Challenge. The Victory Junction Gang is the true winner of this event. The Challenge is a very competitive race. They can race hard because no race points are involved. What is involved is only ‘One Millllion Dollars’! It consists of three segments. Kyle Busch won the first segment and 10 cars were then inverted. This put Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin in the one and two position. The second segment begins and Kasey promptly loses control of his car, smashes Mark up into the wall and a cornucopia of spinning cars ensue. Mark Martin suggests that Kasey’s inexperience caused the wreck. The cameras then go to Kasey. He admitted he got loose, although he never apologized to the other drivers. I think it is very difficult to stay mad at Kasey. When the camera panned to him, he looked like he was about to burst into tears. I don’t know if it’s a combination of his Opie Taylor complexion and soft-spoken manner, but he seems so sorrowful. Tony Stewart doesn’t even blame Kasey. Instead, he blames Jeremy Mayfield for hitting him. Jeremy was part of the cornucopia and had no control over his or Tony’s fate in that pile-up. Jeremy takes the time to go to Tony and explain this. Why? Maybe he doesn’t want another piñata made in his image. Tony has minimal damage and gets back into the race. The track is cleaned up and Kevin Harvick goes on to win segment #2. On the final segment, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth get into one another, eliminating both from the race. I have watched that crash over and over. I have no allegiance to either driver and from my view that was Tony’s fault. I could not see it the way Tony said it played out. I even crossed my eyes and squinted real hard. Jimmie Johnson wins the final segment and the million dollars. This win turns me into a conspiracy theorist. Why do Lowes cars keep winning at Lowes Motor Speedway? Are they just that good or is there something more sinister at work? I hate to bring up “voodoo” again, but it’s the first thing that comes to mind. Truck Racing Lowes Style May/2006 Kyle Busch wins the Quaker Steak and Lube 200. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Let’s start off with the truck race ‘media darlings’. Bill Lester, Erin Crocker and the Aussie. Bill Lester did not make the truck race. He did not get out of the garage in the allotted time to make qualifying. That’s just crazy. I don’t know what was wrong with the truck, but if it was that bad it probably would have been a dump truck in qualifying. That’s a punch in the stomach for points racing. He dropped five positions. Marcos Ambrose with Team Australia spun out only 5 laps into the race. I think he had a tire go down because he was alone when he spun out, but unfortunately he collected Mike Bliss and Jack Sprague. “I think a dingo ate his tire!” Erin Crocker started second. After a bad restart she never seemed to have any momentum. She hung around 14th place most of the race but finished 18th. Not a bad day all in all. Speaking of women, Kelly Sutton finished 27th after a great spinout save. Mike Skinner had looked promising, but after he lost the lead to Kyle Busch his descent continued. He ended up needing a new distributor cap. By the time they found out what it was and replaced it, he wound up in the pitiful 31st position. Mark Martin looked to be about the only person who could and would fight for first, but a couple incidences marred his evening: 1. Around the 16th lap he had to fight David Reutimann three whole laps for a position that cost them both a lot of time. Reutimann was racing like it was the last lap of the race. 2. Just as Mark was reeling in Kyle Busch, he came down on Bobby Hamilton Jr. Then Bobby came up on him and Mark blew a left rear. Then the tire started to come apart and disintegrated the entire left rear of Mark’s truck. He changed some tires and finished 13th. The one thing I didn’t like was the lack of sportsmanship shown by Ted Musgrave’s crew when Mark’s tire blew and Ted took his position. Cheering for his bad luck seems wrong. Ted took over Mark’s second place position but didn’t have a truck that could propel him to first. He ended up 4th. Todd Bodine finished 3rd and retained the points lead. For all the results click here. The truck race was as usual, exciting and entertaining. The All-star race should be spectacular! Darlington/May 2006 I love Saturday night racing, but I wish this one could have occurred in the daytime. I could have gotten some yard work done here and there. It’s not a jab at Darlington (okay, maybe a little), but I think this is one race better viewed in person. I was told I commented not less than three times that I was bored. So here we go. Congratulations, Greg Biffle. You still have a bit of an uphill battle ahead of you, but moving up six positions in points should put a smile on your face. Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth are driving like the Cup Champions they are. Darlington is a Jeff Gordon track as he has won there six times. And I do not believe Kenny Schrader prevented him from getting his seventh win. It’s not as if Schrader has it out for Gordon, it was just race traffic. There’s a lot of sixes in my story, so let’s move on to Mark Martin. What is going on with Mark’s pit crew? The last three races he has suffered more by going into the pits than being in a five-wide pack at Talladega. Did Jack give Mark a whole new pit crew? This guy is going for his one and only championship. You’d think Jack would pull out all the stops and give Mark the best of the best and not this sideshow. Did I see Tony Stewart’s monkey rolling a Goodyear tire from Mark’s car? I predict Dale Jarrett is not going to have a winning season, although he is 12th in points. You can’t say in the middle of the season you’re leaving Ford, Yates and UPS and think anyone is going to get excited about working on your car or team. Now that being said, Dale needs to do what’s best for Dale and the Jarrett family. And who’s that behind the Yates curtain number one, maybe Ward Burton? Michael Waltrip is doing flips, and why not? He’s going to have his own Cup team in ’07. And Toyota couldn’t be more thrilled. They have a Cup champion coming on board with his championship points, and Jarrett and Waltrip are Daytona 500 winners. Jarrett’s won the 500 in a Chevrolet and a Ford, so why not a Toyota? But something to think about; with all those rumors of a major car manufacturer leaving the NASCAR series, maybe Dale Jarrett knows something we don’t? Hey, Ford’s left NASCAR before (circa 1970). Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a virus. He was feeling so sick he asked the crew chief to find someone to take his place. He ended up staying in his car and finishes the race in fifth place. I don’t care who you are, that is determination! It was perfect timing on his part to fall ill. His mom was with him! Everyone would prefer their mom to take care of them when their feeling “sumthin’ tarr’ble.” Happy Mother’s Day. No matter how old we get, we still need our mamas. May/2006 This is an exciting month. We have Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and lots of racing days! All of these go together in my world and it’s a great big wonderful package. If it wasn’t for my mother, I wouldn’t be half as excited about writing or racing. Mom and Dad went to the Indy 500 when I was real little and they were hooked. They had always been stock car fans but were now hooked on open-wheel too. Dad bought Mom a 1970 Torino. She had it one day. We left my dad’s office, she threw it in reverse and rammed a big ol' dump truck. After she made sure I was okay, she looked in my four-year old eyes and said, “I never liked this car anyway!” So then Dad bought her a 1971 Mercury Cougar and entered them both in a pylon race. Apparently she liked this car. They ran all over the competition and walked off the course with a first place trophy in each of their arms. Mom also looked really cool in her racing gloves. On a side note, Dad won in his MG. You can’t beat an MG in pylon racing. My mom loved speed. We were on the interstate one day and I noticed the cornstalks were going by at break-neck speed. I looked at the speedometer and yelled, “Mom! You're going 100 mph!” She said, “Oh, I didn’t notice,” and slowed it to a crawling 90 mph. Mom would sit us in the front row bleachers at the county fair so we could watch her brothers destroy the competition in the Demolition Derby. We also watched the Powder Puff Derby because her girlfriends would be in that. She had her own motorcycle, but preferred to ride with Dad on the back of his. She supported my dad in the beginning when he, his brothers and nephews formed the Myers Racing Team in go-carts. I say in the beginning because a few incidences (concerning her children mostly) put a lot of animosity between them: 1. The track was built behind a bar. 2. Refer to #1, and Mom did not like me (a 7-year old girl) hanging with the team. On one particular day my dad’s best friend had a little too much libation and, after a racing incident, punched my dad’s uncle in the face. My dad, with me standing at his side, was talking to his uncle, who by this time had quite a bit of blood running down his face, when out of the corner of his eye Dad spotted Mom. She was standing next to her car with her lips tight together and hands firmly on her hips. I would say she was 5’2” and full of fury, but with her blond bouffant she was more like 5’6” and full of fury. No words were spoken between them. He told me to go get in the car with my mother. Before I could finish saying, “Awe, Dad, come on,” he knelt to my level, clenched his teeth and hissed, “Get in your mother’s car.” I ran to Mom’s car. Mom peeled out so hard, I’m sure some nice chunks of gravel pelted Dad in the head. My mom then witnessed my Uncle Kenny flip his go-cart and slide across the track. But the straw that broke the camel’s back was my brother getting burnt. With one of the races over, I hopped off the bleachers and ran with some of my cousins to a little pond off the side of the track. I was busy picking cattails when it happened. One of the go-carts would not fire back up, so Dad asked my brother to help push it off the track. When Jerry (my brother) went to push it from behind, he put his hand on the hottest part of the engine and fried the skin off his palm. Dad had to get my brother to the emergency room, but now he couldn’t find me. He knew he was in a predicament. He couldn’t call ‘5’2”-Full-of-Fury’ and tell her he had one injured child and one missing child. He would definitely get his fathering privileges revoked! After about 10 minutes I came skipping back, all the while my brother was in agonizing pain. I know it was a just a racing incident, but Mom saw one of her babies being hurt and this pretty much ended my times at the track. Did you read that last sentence? Whenever my brother hurt himself, he could continue doing it but I was banned from the event. That was Mom back then. She was the protector and Dad was usually the innocent bystander, watching his clumsy kids hurt themselves. My speed demon mother is much more tame nowadays, but you can’t take the Need For Speed out of someone. She has a 2003 Mustang GT. Enough said! Who had the Mojo at Richmond? May 2006 Dale Junior wins his first race in a long time. The NASCAR community seems overly thrilled with this. He is one of NASCAR?s brightest stars, so I can only assume it does more monetarily wise for NASCAR that Dale Jr. wins than, say, Derek Cope. A few notes: I could have done without DW?s graphic details of how Denny Hamlin ripped open his hand. I learned what the ?Arkansas Grip? (Mark Martin coined this word) was. It?s steering with your elbows because your entire arm lies across the steering wheel. Do you think DW likes Dale Jr.? He went on and on about what a great guy Jr. is. He was squealing when Jr. won. It?s good to have friends, and I will stop picking on DW now. Matt Kenseth?s car desperately tried committing hari kari. I know that?s a little anthropomorphic, but Matt?s car was not his friend Saturday night. His brake rotor broke off and then flew up into his oil tank, punching a hole in it. Maybe Matt should have rubbed Tony?s monkey all over his body before the race. Matt needed some "Mojo" of his own. What were Jeff Burton and Mark Martin thinking pulling into the pits when the pit lights were obviously blinking red? I can only assume they were completely "in the zone" and really needed their spotters and crew chiefs to be a little more on the ball. Why can?t Jeremy Mayfield catch a break? He?s minding his own business and out of nowhere someone crashes into him. He needs a little monkey rub too. Jeff Gordon?s car just quit running. How does that happen? And to have the announcers insinuate that maybe he hit the kill switch on his steering wheel and wasn?t aware of it. He?s not a rookie. I?m sure that was the first place he checked. The best pit crew had to be Kyle Busch?s. They acted like the Rainbow Warriors of the old days. Kyle has Kellogg?s Cornelius the Rooster as a sponsor. We could call them the "Rooster Boosters." The more names I come up with the more juvenile I become, so I?ll leave it to your imagination. Kevin Harvick is probably the driver with ?the most? at this point in the season. He sweeps the Phoenix races, won Friday night?s Busch race and led the most laps on Saturday night?s Cup race. With 110 laps to go he did not pit. That?s what lost him the race. The ?8? car was persistent, consistent and didn?t gamble. Jimmie Johnson is in the points lead with Stewart, Kenseth, Martin, Harvick and Junior in tow. And this weekend the race will be at "The Lady in Black" track in Darlington. COMMENTS: Wow! You sure did work up a sweat in recognizing Junior for his win. Too bad it wasn't the 48 or 24, for you would have used up at least half a page. Pull your claws back in, for they are not becoming to you. Go Junior. Try to remember just how many fans he has. Name: Ann Musgrove State: AL Thanks for the comments Ann. You are right in the fact that my racing room is filled with another drivers # but it's not the 24 or 48. B.A. 1. Any driver can make a mistake, even Jeff Gordon. I believe Gordon was the one who went the wrong way on pit road TWICE at Bristol after they changed the pits, right? 2. It wasn't actually old tires that cost Harvick. After all, when they finally pitted, they came back on the track on equal tires with the other front runners. But, they were 2 pit stops behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. They had 2 less chances to know what to do with their car to keep up with the track. Since his car had been so dominant, they were too conservative with the changes. His car wasn't as good as the 11 and 8 at the end. As to why they didn't pit - Junior had the benefit of having pitted early in the race and restarting 30th, then moving to the front fairly rapidly. He KNEW what his car was capable of. The 29 team, having led most of the race, was afraid to gamble on track position cause they didn't know what their car would do back in traffic. Sorry this was so long. Name: Janet State: SC Talladega Days April/May 2006 I don’t particularly have fun watching a restrictor plate race on TV, but watching it live in the grandstands is a whole different ball of wax! This is only my second restrictor plate race I have seen in person. It is exciting with a capital ‘E’! I don’t mind saying, I LOVE going to Talladega. Alabama is beautiful and I soak up that southern hospitality like a biscuit in gravy! Granted, I went to the Busch race instead of the Cup this year and the more thinned-out crowd may have contributed. As soon as we walked in the hospitality area we saw Mark Martin! Come on! Where else is that going to happen? I handled myself in an appropriate manner. I stood ten feet from him with my mouth open and my eyes as wide as saucers. I was happy when he left because my eyes were drying out and I needed to blink. The speedway and track personnel are very friendly. I asked a male hospitality worker if I needed a pass to get into a certain area. His answer was, “Honey, you’re so pretty if you act like you belong there, ain’t nobody kicking you out.” I suggest everybody make a trip to Alabama, if not for a race then at least for an ego boost. I went to the NASCAR Members Club booth and they handed me the very same magazine that I’m in! I accosted a nice group of men standing by me and showed them. They smiled politely and I can only assume thought I was a mental patient. I shoved it in the bottom of my bag for the rest of the day. The race started without a hitch and soon after, we had our first small melee. Everybody (not car) was fine and we had some great, never disappointing plate racing. Then, without warning or flight plan, Tony Stewart and his 33 car took to the air. It happened so quickly that all I could say was, “That car is not right”, meaning it was spinning around the track on its roof. The emergency personnel were on the track so fast they blocked the car number from my view. I was very concerned for the driver inside, not knowing who was in there. Then the paramedics plucked him out, he waved and the race fans started clapping. Pictures With a long drive ahead of us we left before the end and finished listening to the race on the radio. I can only image how excited the Alabama fans were to have Martin Truex Jr. win in the Dale Earnhardt paint scheme. With a good night’s sleep under my belt I was ready for racing on Sunday. But it was not meant to be. So I tuned in on Monday. That race was crazy. Who goes five wide? That was just insanity. Like I said in the beginning, watching plate racing on TV drives me nuts! So I will conclude with, Jimmie Johnson won. Watching a Cup race on a Monday makes my Tuesday feel like a Monday all over again. Does that make sense? Comments: Great pix darlin'. Wish I could have at least watched the race. I got all my Jayski updates though. Ye'll be good. Love you. Name: Craig Shafer State: LA Website: www.myspace.com/ceshafer/ If you think watching a plate race in person is great, you would love do what we do. We arrive the Saturday before "race weekend" and camp in the Pecan Grove right across from OV Hill North. Just a 2 minute walk to the track. Watch all the action and never fight the traffic. Name: Gail State: FL Fill 'er Up! Seriously, I Mean It This Time! Does anyone else find it strange that a car owner like Richard Childress is on a safari right in the middle of race season? I thought at first it seemed as if he had orphaned his drivers? That was until Kevin Harvick spoke in Victory Lane. Then I decided Richard is probably taking a well-deserved break. That being said, Kevin Harvick dominated Phoenix International Speedway. He is a skilled driver. They just need to cut his interviews short. He is afflicted with “foot-in-mouth” syndrome. I too suffer from that syndrome. But truth be told, as a writer I get a little excited when someone shoves a microphone in Harvick’s face. You never know whom he’s going to offend. He’s like the Don Rickles of racing. Everyone was running out of gas. Every time someone runs out of gas on the track I think back to when A.J. Foyt grabbed his so-called ‘fuel calculations’ computer and smashed it to smithereens on pit road. I imagine there are a few computers being broken over peoples’ heads today, especially in the ‘House of Roush’. There are a couple bright spots for Jack. Matt is in the points lead and Carl is acting like a team player by pushing Mark to his 11th place finish. But seriously, folks, whatever happened to a good ole’ Splash and Go? And to address a comment on my last article concerning cheating; every driver has a little something extra, that is, if they have a good car chief (yes, car chief, not crew chief). I also feel I was vindicated when DW and Jeff Hammond all but admitted ‘it’ on the pre-race show by saying they didn’t get better fuel mileage, they just had more fuel! They were implying it was hidden somewhere. So let’s review: cheating + getting caught = cheating but cheating + not getting caught = Winning. See kids! Stay in school because math really does come in handy. Well, except when it comes to fuel calculations. My mom always said I had ‘convoluted thinking’. My brother always said, “Whatever gets you through the day” and my Dad always said, “Stop standing in front of the TV and find my clicker!” But I digress. Restricter plate racing is back and I will be there, at least on Saturday. Speaking of fuel cells, didn’t they require smaller ones at this track (Dega) so people would have to come to the pits more often, thereby breaking up some of the ‘packs’? That’s my question of the week. Have A Comment? Name: Bubba State: LA Comments: As usual a brilliant observation. I figure Jr. gave up after getting a ford enema and cried to 21st. Mark and the boys at Roush had to be waiting for a debris caution or else they wouldn't have stayed out. Just my take on it. And as to your question about smaller fuel cells I say limit the gear ratio and if a guy wants to get in the lead so bad he will have to blow his car up to do it. Udden POP! Love you all at splash and go. A Full Day's Work/Martinsville 2006 The Paperclip is not a cookie cutter track nor is it an easy track. Drivers have to work their cars from the moment the green flag flies until they see the checkered. Drivers also don’t have as much time to be angry at one another. They are too busy saving brakes, making unscheduled pit stops, avoiding people spinning in front of them and yelling at their pit crew and spotters. It all uses up a lot of energy. Denny Hamlin has an unhealthy paranoia that Mark Martin is out to get him. J.D needs to sit him down and tell him it’s not a good thing for a rookie to bad-mouth Mark Martin. Denny had every right to be upset but after watching the replay, it was clear Mark got loose and slid down on him. That’s not aggressive driving, it’s just racin'. Then again, Denny might be right. Maybe Ol’Ironhead is driving with Mark, whispering in his ear, “I’ll help you get a championship buddy, but you have to do it my way!” Either way Mark Martin is second in the points standing. The come-back kid would have to be Dale Jr. Had this been an aerodynamic track, it would have been a death sentence for his car. He had to fight tooth and nail for that amazing fourth place finish. This track is a perfect example of sometimes you drive the car and sometimes the car drives you. Mark, Matt and Elliott are all an example of the car taking over. They’d be rolling along just fine then you would see the car decide, “I think I’ll go over here for a minute.” I don’t know how many times I said, “Where are you going?” Ward Burton was at Martinsville. He wasn’t in a car but he was sniffing around for one. I hope he finds one. Go to the truck series, Ward! It is a lot of fun and you will still have plenty of time to run your foundation. I think Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman have found in each other the perfect teammates. I’ll leave it at that and you can draw your own conclusions. Tony Stewart wins and it was an exciting race. I have one question. Is there a Victory Lane at Martinsville? I was trying to figure out why everyone was on the track and why Tony was conducting interviews there. I guess when you’re the 2005 Champion you can ‘hold court’ wherever you darn well please. I’m sure the fans enjoyed it. And that’s all that counts. Ban The Fans From the Pits? Ban the Family Members! It seems the major event from this weekend’s race is Greg Biffle’s girlfriend, Nicole, yelling at Kurt Busch’s girlfriend. First, every Biffle fan and crewmember had a right to be miffed at Kurt Busch. The explanation he gave about trying to get out of the way because he was a lap down, falls flat. That being said, wouldn’t it have been more appropriate for Nicole to yell at Kurt’s crew chief? The crew chief and spotter are the next responsible parties in line. Maybe these two ladies have had ‘words’ prior to this. Also, it is noteworthy that these are girlfriends and not wives. And we all know girlfriends are not spouses and therefore not actually entitled to bona fide family member status. It really makes you go hmmm. But fuel continues to be added to this fire as Kurt Busch throws out some flippant remarks about the incident and says about Nicole, “That just shows her professionalism.” Now it’s off the track and no longer a race related issue. Next, it’s an episode on COPS. Well, it makes for entertainment and I’m all for it! Ryan Newman is angry with Sterling Marlin. He also made a flippant remark, saying something about Sterling’s hairpiece must have got in his eyes. I laughed only because it is such a childish thing to say. I know because I’ve done it. When I am having an argument with my husband and I know I’m losing, I say, “Well, you’re stupid!” My Communications Professor would be horrified. First rule of an argument, never cuss and never personally attack your opponent; first one to do it, loses. I’ve lost many and I think Ryan has too. I’m sure some writer is going to pontificate that all this is a result of too much youth and inexperience in NASCAR today. I disagree. NASCAR has always been like this. It is a high adrenaline, high anxiety sport and that is the world they live in. What I do believe instead is that the inmates have finally taking over the asylum, that wonderful asylum being NASCAR. I know that I have gone on and on with the various soap opera dramas that are circling the sport that I forgot to mention whom actually won the race…Congratulations Kasey Kahne, you had them licked. But after watching Ray Evernham for a number of years I suspect that there is more to the car than meets the eye or Cup inspection. I suspect Ole Ray always has something up his sleeve. And to quote from the crew chief handbook, “It ain’t cheatin’ 'till you get caught.” Only two weeks to Talladega. I’ll be there, who’s with me? (Contributing writer – Jeff Carter. Why? He just had surgery, is stuck at home and is “all up in my business!”) Name: Marti State: ID Comments: I agree the women need to stay out of it. The men can fight their own battles and it made Biffles girlfriend look like an idiot. Yes, talking to the crew chief would have at least made a little more sense. They should talk to Patti Petty and have her tell them the story about how in the 70's and 80's the wives and kids had to sit in a car in the middle of the infield and only catch sight of the cars every once in awhile. If they're going to be on the pit box they need to keep their mouths shut and let the team take care of their driver. Name: Dave State: NE Comments: I never thought I would stick up for Kasey Kahne, but why would you try to insinuate that his car might be something other than legal after his win? That is such a slap in the face to him and his team, and it seems it is totally unfounded. Maybe his girlfriend needs to pay you a visit. RAIN, KAHNE, AND PAIN: NEWS From This Weekend The rain closed down the track on Sunday but Kasey Kahne prevailed on Monday. He ran a good clean race and got a well-deserved win. But I think the driver who worked the hardest was Matt Kenseth. He fell to the back twice and still managed to finish on the lead lap in 13th place. That’s not even “fun” racing, that’s a full day of playing catch-up! Pit road was a rodeo. John Slusher probably has a backache today. You remember, he’s Robby Gordon’s Catch-can man. Reed Sorenson picked him off on pit road. It’s the old story of man vs. car. Car wins! Carl Edwards and Dave Blaney played demolition derby there also. Bill Lester isn’t new or a novelty to me. I’ve watched him the last couple years racing in the truck series. I’ve always rooted for him because he is an underdog. He’s the only black man in the series and that makes him an underdog. He also seems genuine, articulate and never spiteful. That’s why I like him. He just wants to race. Reminds me a lot of Mark Martin. I have also said in past articles that the Truck Series is the most exciting series in NASCAR. I have been a fanatic of the Truck Series for 5 years. Sometimes when I'm in my Ford F-150 I race other trucks down the highway. They don't know they're in a race with me. Maybe that's why I always win! And Finally Bobby Hamilton had the worst news, as he will stop driving his #18 truck and begin chemotherapy. That is really going to be tough. There is nothing easy about battling cancer. Bobby Hamilton has never been known as a shrinking violet and he will fight it as well as anyone. (unedited version) Name: tallglassofmilk State: CA Website: http://drinkthis.typepad.com/answer_this/ Comments: Not to minimize Matt Kenseth's accomplishment from yesterday, but the stat that got me the most excited was this... Dale Jr. had the best streak of consecutive passes without being passed (18). He also had three additional strings of 14 consective passes without being passed, which was seventh best overall. That gave him four of the top-10 best streaks of the race. NASCAR SUPERSTAR! Note: This applies to NASCAR Superstars and not all NASCAR drivers. No more bass fishing. Now it’s yachting and ‘sports’ fishing. No more hunt’in trips; instead it’s an African Safari or a get-away to Prague. Instead of a cold Miller Light, it’s a glass of Kistler Chardonnay. No more ribs and barbeque chicken; more likely its Salmon Florentine on a bed of asparagus. Not only is the look of NASCAR changing  but the lifestyle of NASCAR Superstars is changing. You’d be hard pressed to find a NASCAR Superstar in one of those colorfully, loud, more-information-then-I-need-to-know t-shirts. But that shouldn’t stop you, the race fan, from buying them. That extra sawbuck will definitely come in handy because those bottles of Batard-Montrachet/Grand Cru 2002 can set a driver back about $325.00. They’re on 60 minutes and being interviewed by magazines such as Wine Spectator. They are asked to appear in primetime shows such as ‘24’ and ‘Las Vegas’. Even the upper eshelone cologne companies such as Drakkar and Halston want NASCAR drivers associated with them. And you know you’ve made it when Harlequin Romances wants the NASCAR name associated with its cheesy novels. I don’t care how these Superstars spend their money or where they place their face. I admire them. They can have the finer things life has to offer, because if you haven’t noticed by watching the Daytona 500, they are risking their life for the sport they love. And I have never left a race thinking, “What a rip-off, I want my money back.” Every race I have been to has been worth every penny I spent. They are that much fun. The problem I see happening is fan accessibility. The busier you are being famous, the less time you have for fans. Fan accessibility had been a major thing that NASCAR was built on. The new fans that have grown up with reality TV and who are constantly viewing the excesses of the rich and famous know those people are not accessible and may presume that this is the norm. This hasn’t been the norm in NASCAR, but I see it beginning. If there’s an autograph session I can get to, I will go. I don’t need autographs but I do need photos for my Website. I’ve watched Kevin Harvick, Sterling Marlin and Jimmy Spencer truly enjoy themselves around their fans. I’ve also silently stood back and watched Dale Jr. seem so sullen and not even look up at the people he was signing items for. He seemed to be worn out. I think the most entertaining person I watched was Kyle Petty. The people he signed autographs for would walk away with big smiles on their faces. I guess that’s the difference between ‘old school’ and ‘new school’. One group is happy you are their fans and the other group is too busy to notice. I-ROCK!! Did you catch the Iroc race last night? All I can say (And I'm usually more savvy then this) is HOLY CRAP! I was not as interested in the race after Hornish knocked Mark Martin in the wall but I kept an eye on it. I sat down to watch the last six laps and that was when 'all hell broke loose'. Kinser's car is in the air, Scott Sharp's car is blazing and everyone else is dragging sheet metal to the pits. I sat there and thought, much like Kinser I'm sure, "what the hell just happen!" It happened so fast and the wrecks were so spectacular that I found myself sitting there with my mouth wide open! Then the truck race came on. That was very exciting but I knew Mark Martin had the fastest truck and was proabably going to win. I disagree with Ray Dunlap when he spouted out that the race should not have ended under yellow. They wrecked on the last lap and there's no restart once you get down to one lap left. Ray makes it sound like Mark didn't get that win fair and square. Besides it would have continued to be an all night wreck-fest. I can't believe we still have the Busch and the 500 yet! 2006 Preseason #1 Daytona is getting the Hall of Fame. How do I know? It doesn’t take a genius! With Kansas City and Richmond out of the running it has become crystal clear. What NASCAR wants is money. This is how they get it: A populated city- All three remaining cities fit the bill. NASCAR fans- All three remaining cities fit the bill. A city with lots of tourism- Daytona. Atlanta & Charlotte have no ocean and everyone knows a city by the ocean equals “Good Times”, that and a higher rate of drowning and shark attacks. I have never been attacked by a shark in Atlanta! Keep up the Good Work Atlanta, Georgia! But I digress. Weather- No snow is a big bonus to year-round tourism. Atlanta and Charlotte get cold! And Daytona is in Florida and this is the “Sunshine State”. I know because it says so on my license plate. A NASCAR owned track- Daytona, sorry Atlanta and Charlotte. A place they can keep their eye on- Daytona. NASCAR is headquartered there. It’s Daytona, folks. I don’t even know why NASCAR wasted these other cities’ time or money. Seems like a cruel joke. And for all you cities that don’t get the Hall of Fame, just change your city slogan. You could say, “Visit Richmond, Virginia, celebrating another year of zero shark attacks.” Daytona can’t say that! Comments: Daytona wins for NASCAR history, too. I'd be shocked if it went anywhere else. Name: tallglassofmilk State: CA you couldn't have hit it more on the nose if it was bozo. Name: adam State: NC | B.A.'s Archives 2005 | B.A.'s Archives 2004 | | B.A.'s Archives 2009 | B.A.'s Archives 2008 | B.A.'s Archives 2007 | B.A.'s Archives 2006 | Splash and Go Blog | | Return Home | Drivers & Owners | Tracks & Schedules | B.A.'s Race Observations | The Garage | About Us | E-mail Us | |
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